DAG

I have generally booked trans-Atlantic flights with AA miles early or late in the travel season and havent had trouble finding direct flights. My wife and I are headed to Spain next year for our anniversary (late June) and I am checking out our flight options for DFW-MAD. Were looking to leave on Thursday and come back the following Saturday or Sunday. I am not seeing any direct outbound or inbound at the moment. Is this bound to change? Is there any sweet spot I should wait for or are we destined for a connecting flight?

Cannot recommend this enough

Going from South to North Boston: Neptune Oyster House, Freedom Trail, Harbor Tour. If the Sox are in the playoffs at that point, head to Fenway and hang out for the atmosphere. I dont have any specific recs, but I have enjoyed the bars around there On your drive to Kennebunkport, stop at the Nubble Lighthouse and Congdons Doughnuts. I second the Kennebunkport Inn recommendation. We enjoyed the Clam Shack and Alisson's (specifically for this ridiculous version of poutine with clam chowder). There is a beautiful drive down the coast by St. Ann's church and the Bush compound Acadia is unbelievable in the fall, but with only Wednesday-Sunday, you are taking a big chunk out with the drive. If you decide to do it, go to Owl's Head General Store for a burger on the way

1. Looks like the tour I saw was private with dinner and a bunch of frills. Small group tours minus dinner are looking much appealing. Good to know on the bodegas 2. Sorry. Bad phrasing on this question. What I meant was only taking 2 nights in San Sebastian and adding the extra night AFTER Barcelona to enjoy Madrid (2 San Sebastian --> 3 Barcelona --> 2 Madrid versus 3 San Sebastian --> 3 Barcelona --> 1 Madrid). It will probably be easier to save Madrid for next time to give it proper time 3. Makes sense. It might be worth reversing as I wouldnt have to worry about the car until we leave Barcelona. I will check it out Thanks LL. You are a great resource as always!

My wife and I are looking to hit up Spain for our anniversary. We will be flying direct to Madrid and probably renting a car. My initial thought on itinerary: 2 nights in La Rioja (Laguardia area), 3 nights in San Sebastian, 3 nights in Barcelona, last night in Madrid before we fly out. With most of our trips, we usually try not to have too many things we HAVE to do in each city. In fact, we usually just end up getting a bottle of wine and seeing where the day takes us Thanks for all the recs here. Most definitely booking a pintxos tour in San Sebastian and will look into the Gehry hotel as that looks amazing. Questions: - Do we need to do a wine tour in La Rioja or would we be ok doing self guided? Is the convenience of being driven worth the price (~$250 a person based on quick research) - Should we take a night off of San Sebastian to add to Madrid at the end? I keep hearing how great Madrid is, but I wonder if it is worth taking a night away from San Sebastian? - It seems like renting a car is the only way to go, correct? As an aside, R.I.P. Shag. I hadnt been there in a couple of years, but I just listened to blacklabs interview. That is fucked up