Spain--April 2018

[Ghost of LL 15531]

So as to get this back up and running, Mrs.LL and I are going to be in Spain at the end of April.  We have three nights in Madrid, two nights in Elciego, two nights in San Sebastian, and one night in Bilbao (and one night in London on our way back).

We have dinner reservations at Botin in Madrid--Imma going to need one of those roast suckling pigs.  But otherwise, we haven't booked anything and welcome suggestions.

As far as sights--we figure we need to hit the Prado and the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid.  But isn't that it as far as "must-see" sights?  After we knock those out, we can spend the rest of the time in bars, right?

[elfenix 34241]

The Royal palace is nice. As is the thyssen museum. CaixaForum has something going on all the time. 

 

But yeah, drink and eat pork. Don't know if La Latina is still the area to congregate after dark, but you may be a bit olds for that anyway. Plenty around Puerto del Sol after dark for the olds.

[HenryJames 66052]

Eat at that tapas place.

[D_Goose 489]

El Escorial is cool, just outside of Madrid.

[Hate 20108]

The Royal Palace is pretty damn cool.  They have a armor museum on the bottom floor with all of the different varieties of armor the Spanish knights wore into battle.  I can't imagine how hard it must have been to fight with that stuff on.  Puerta de Sol is a cool gathering spot at night as is Plaza Mayor.  Order a large pitcher of Sangria and just people watch.  Retiro Park will be perfect in late April for just strolling around.  

[NeverMarryAStripper 21907]

The Royal Amoury at the Palace and the Prado are my two favorite things to do in Madrid.

[Mo Horn 8843]

Churros and chocolate at San Gines. 

[52-80 19159]

Steaks - chuleton

Madrid @pelotari

Bilbao @markina

2 of the most standout steaks in my life , amongst all the popular ones in Vegas, TX, NYC, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, etc

Can't really go wrong with 80% of the food places there or San Sebastian either.

 

Gaztelugatxeko is worth a stop and it's never a good idea to spend a day in Biarritz

[Ghost of LL 15531]

2 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Gaztelugatxeko is worth a stop and it's never a good idea to spend a day in Biarritz

Why not?  I was actually thinking of driving up to Biarritz.

[52-80 19159]

That was supposed to read it's never a bad idea. shits pretty

[Ghost of LL 15531]

Well, that makes a lot more sense.

I'm actually really interested to go, given its history as a resort frequented by royalty during the late-19th - early-20th Centuries.  There are supposed to be some great Belle Epoque buildings, including the Hotel du Palais.

[PenelopeWitherspoon 19101]

Spain, especially Basque country, is on my 5 year list.  

[Spoosner 86]

We were sent to La Castela (http://restaurantelacastela.com/) based on a recommendation from a Madrileño we met during some other travels who said it was his favorite restaurant.  Take recs from the waiter based on what's good.  We were the only tourists there, and it was probably the best meal we had while in Madrid.  It's a tapas bar in front, with restaurant in the back.  I would say skip the tapas bar to save room.  I've sent others who had similar experiences.

Madrid has a bustling live music scene, and it's a good way to do as the locals do.  We went to a place called Cafe La Palma that was really cool.  Obviously you would just need to check schedules of places when you're there.

Suggest doing a guided food tour in San Sebastian.  There are hundreds of tapas places, and of course not all of them are good.  We did a private tour.  The guide takes you to the best places, orders their specialty, takes care of paying, etc.  The history lessons while walking around are of course an added perk.

I could go on.  We spent a month in Spain for our honeymoon.  Such a badass place.  Eat all the jamon iberico de bellota.

[HornPhD 1368]

Korgui in Madrid is a great place for food and cocktails. Commo for late night beer pong tournaments.

[Ghost of LL 15531]

On 3/28/2018 at 4:16 PM, Spoosner said:

We were sent to La Castela (http://restaurantelacastela.com/) based on a recommendation from a Madrileño we met during some other travels who said it was his favorite restaurant.  Take recs from the waiter based on what's good.  We were the only tourists there, and it was probably the best meal we had while in Madrid.  It's a tapas bar in front, with restaurant in the back.  I would say skip the tapas bar to save room.  I've sent others who had similar experiences.

Going here tonight on our first night in Madrid.  I'll let you know how it goes.

[Brisketexan 105142]

Quote

 

If you don't get the Arroz meloso con Pulpo y Calamar, you suck.

[Ghost of LL 15531]

What is "meloso"?  That is the one word I don't understand.

But I like all the other words.

[Brisketexan 105142]

In this context, it means sweet/sticky.  So, sticky rice with squid and octopus.

[Spoosner 86]

3 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

Going here tonight on our first night in Madrid.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Nice.  Jealous and hope y'all enjoy.  I'm sure the waiter will direct you accordingly, but the Milhojas de Ventresca was a thing of delicious beauty: 

[Ghost of LL 15531]

No pictures, since tapa isn't cooperating.  I did go with the rice with cephalopods.  It was really good.  The squid ink really made it.  

[Ghost of LL 15531]

Now that Tapa is back up and running—let’s get to those photos:

The arroz con pulpo y calamares from La Castela on Friday night:



That meal started with a plate of iberico game for MrsLL and a plate of cockles for me:





We stopped in at the big market outside the Plaza Mayor, and could have spent a lot more time there. It had all manner of little tapas stands.



After Madrid, we went to Elciego in the Rioja wine region. We stayed at the Hotel Marques de Riscal and ate at the restaurant there:







After that was San Sebastián—I think that’s the highlight of the trip. I can do a more exhaustive review of places another time, but here’s a feel:








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[52-80 19159]

how was the FRESH GRASS

 

lo siento, grassa fresca

[Ghost of LL 15531]

In Biarritz today eating all the sea’s foods:




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[Ghost of LL 15531]

how was the FRESH GRASS
 
lo siento, grassa fresca

The fresh grass was interesting—it was some foam concoction with stuff.




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[kevwun 15789]

Was San Sebastian as great as I imagine it to be?

[Ghost of LL 15531]

Was San Sebastian as great as I imagine it to be?

And more. It’s a great town all around.


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[Bat Guano 359]

Guggenheim in Bilbao. Do not miss it!

[Thetexashammer 1062]

So say that I'm going in August for two weeks. Looks like Barcelona in and out? Could do Madrid in and Barcelona out?

Propose an itinerary. If Bilbao is a must then northern Spain, probably won't get a car for more than a day or two if there are wineries or something. Maybe drive through Biarritz and the Pyrenees? Seems like I might want to visit Pau as well. Anybody been to Andorra?

How much time in Barcelona and is Madrid a must see? It would cost some travel time if we stay north.

[Mo Horn 8843]

I would say a minimum of 3 days each in Barcelona and Madrid, and even with that you'll have to make some choices about what to do and not do. But 3 days allow you to hit the big things. 

[Ghost of LL 15531]

We had a blast in Madrid.  I think the general consensus is that there's not much to do in Madrid, but I think that's overstated.  If you're a museum guy, there are two really great museums (i.e., the Reina Sofia and the Prado).  But if you're more of a walking-around-and-exploring guy, there's plenty of that.  Retiro Park is a great place to spend an afternoon, and the area surrounding the Plaza Mayor is filled with great places to eat and drink.  Hell--we spent an afternoon just in the market off the Plaza sampling a thousand different snacks and drinks.

Bottom line:  I would spend not less than three days in Madrid.

I think Bilbao is eminently skipable--spend your time in San Sebastian.

But if you're going in and/or out of Barcelona, then I don't see how you get up to the Basque Country and Madrid in the same trip.  That's just in the opposite direction from Madrid.  So I think they're mutually exclusive.

So I guess here's the question for you--if Barcelona is a must, do you want to do a Barcelona-Madrid trip, a Barcelona/Southern Spain trip, or a Barcelona-Basque Country trip?

[staboner 4969]

Thanks for your pics and summary.

I agree on Madrid. Actually it is one of my favorite cities in the world. Its just full of life. I like that its not overrun with "shit to do" like a Paris, London or Rome. Its just itself and you can just walk around Madrid for days and have a blast. Love that place. Fucking cheap eats and good wine and great people out at all hours.

That seafood pic looks straight porno

[mycox 582]

Put me on team Madrid. Less touristy, no prostitutes running around trying to pickpocket, and better food in Madrid . The only minus is no beaches if you are into that. Madrid could be scorching hot in August and most of the locals will be out of the city on vacation.

[Thetexashammer 1062]

I was starting to get worried. Thank you all for the input.

I saw a really cheap one way to Barcelona. Like under $500. Wow, but no really long flights and a 10 hour layover in Reykjavik. Don't have a return flight yet.I

I am a pretty good traveler but I have never been to Spain.

Ghost pointed out my first concern - overtraveling. We have 14 days, three lost to travel (including my one day in Iceland there). So 11 free days. If I can avoid losing a travel day in the middle that's best. So yeah from looking at the map I was thinking northern Spain. Probably Basque country, Med Coast. But more relax, less moving. Car isn't determined.

I mentioned Bilbao mostly because Guggenheim, obviously. Geography gets to be an issue there. I don't know how long the train would be. I think staying in Basque country is gonna be the end point.

Food is huge. Really was interesting food. Barca is gonna be great. La Boqueria is already on the list. Can I call it Barca? I found it on a map, I'm like a pro now.

I think like 4-5 days Barca. Then I don't know where. If there is a smaller town with good food and some hiking, that would be perfect.

Again thanks for the thoughts.

 

 

 

 

[52-80 19159]

Food is good everywhere in Spain.  Bilbao and San Sebastian especially.  It does not make sense to visit one, and not the other, since they are neighbors.  I actually prefer Bilbao - interesting architecture, including the Goog. 

 

Don't really care about Madrid.  Nothing wrong with it, but if you want something that represents the slow Spanish/Lifestyle of lounging and eating, you can experience that anywhere and remove the big city from that equation.

 

Never heard my Catalan colleagues refer to it as Barca.  That might be a referenced only to the sporting club.

[Thetexashammer 1062]

Yeah, kind of a bad joke about how little I know since Ive never been there.

So I think in the interest of making order from chaos, we may stay in the Catalonian region for a week or so. Montserrat looks like a great place to visit, it has mountains and hiking. Sant Jeroni summit looks like it's in the calculator.

Just starting to look but they seem to make wines in the region. So that's a big plus.

[Ghost of LL 15531]

Shit--with only 11 days that's tough.  There's no good train option to San Sebastian, so if you want to do that you need to drive.  And the road trip from Barcelona to San Sebastian is an all-day thing--six hours without a stop.  

If you want to do five days in Barcelona and five days in San Sebastian (with a travel day in between), I think that's reasonable.  Out of San Sebastian, you can do Bilbao, Biarritz, and Hondarribia.  Actually--that's probably a pretty good itinerary.

[Thetexashammer 1062]

Yeah when I google driving distances, Google says stuff like "60 kilometers, 90 minutes". Seems like driving will be pretty slow. 

Just talked to wife and she wants San Sebastion. So I guess we go. You're itinerary is what we'll do. I was starting to think we could stay in Barcelona for a straight week, to include day trips outside the city like Montserrat and down to Cava country. The drive will be nice though.

 

[Ghost of LL 15531]

The drive is nice.  

If you want to break it up a bit, you could stop for a night in Elciego like we did and stay at the Gehry-designed hotel photographed above.  Or just stay a night in another little Spanish town like Laguardia (which we really enjoyed).  

[Ghost of LL 15531]

12 hours ago, Thetexashammer said:

Yeah when I google driving distances, Google says stuff like "60 kilometers, 90 minutes". Seems like driving will be pretty slow. 

Just talked to wife and she wants San Sebastion. So I guess we go. You're itinerary is what we'll do. I was starting to think we could stay in Barcelona for a straight week, to include day trips outside the city like Montserrat and down to Cava country. The drive will be nice though.

 

Incidentally--the first night in San Sebastian we did a pintxos tour with Devour San Sebastian, and we highly recommend it.  The whole deal of ordering pintxos from the bar can be somewhat intimidating, and the tour gave a really good primer on what to do and where to go.  After I got home, I was doubly happy we did it after talking to another dad at the Little League ballfield who had just been to San Sebastian.  He said he felt that they had missed out because they were  intimidated by the pintxos thing the first few days and didn't get enough out of the experience.

[DAG 0]

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

Edited June 25, 2018 by DAG

[Ghost of LL 15531]

1) I think a wine tour would be really helpful.  It's not like Napa--Rioja isn't really set up for the mass tourism.  Many of the tasting rooms are open only by appointment, which is really bizarre.  There's one we went to--Ysios--which is in a Calatrava designed building.  So you spend all that money on a building that is designed to attract people to your bodega, and you're only open by appointment?  Who came up with that model?

But damn--$500/couple is really pricey.

2) No.  Madrid is great.  But it's five hours from San Sebastian to Madrid.  You're not taking away a night from San Sebastian to spend in Madrid; you're taking away a day from San Sebastian to spend in the car.

3) If you reverse your itinerary, I might recommend the train from Madrid to Barcelona (I assume you're flying into Madrid for airfare/miles reasons).  But otherwise, I think the car is needed.  The train schedule is great between the big cities, but train service to San Sebastian is lacking.  

[DAG 0]

59 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

1) I think a wine tour would be really helpful.  It's not like Napa--Rioja isn't really set up for the mass tourism.  Many of the tasting rooms are open only by appointment, which is really bizarre.  There's one we went to--Ysios--which is in a Calatrava designed building.  So you spend all that money on a building that is designed to attract people to your bodega, and you're only open by appointment?  Who came up with that model?

But damn--$500/couple is really pricey.

2) No.  Madrid is great.  But it's five hours from San Sebastian to Madrid.  You're not taking away a night from San Sebastian to spend in Madrid; you're taking away a day from San Sebastian to spend in the car.

3) If you reverse your itinerary, I might recommend the train from Madrid to Barcelona (I assume you're flying into Madrid for airfare/miles reasons).  But otherwise, I think the car is needed.  The train schedule is great between the big cities, but train service to San Sebastian is lacking.  

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!

[bigcigar 1164]

Just finished my Spain itinerary for an anniversary trip. 3 nights Barcelona, 3 nights Seville, 2 Madrid and 1 Toledo. After readying this, we’ll probably be stetched thin by travel days, so any must see/eat recommendations by city would be helpful. I think we’ll plan on a devour tour in either Barcelona or Seville. Hopefully the night in Toledo isn’t wasted, but we’re coming from Barcelona to get there and I figured we may want the extra time since it will take half a day before we’re there.

[Sheep Have Wool 1053]

For Madrid, I'll definitely +1 Mercado de San Miguel that LL mentioned earlier. It's great day/night. Try some of the vermouth on draft there - it's probably not what you expect. I also had a great, great meal at Angelita Madrid, and they've got an amazing wine selection.

[Thetexashammer 1062]

I just want to say that my Spanish didn't fucking help at all. I'm maybe 50% here in Texico. I understood not a damn thing, even in Madrid, because many of the words were different and the accent was different and they talk fast.

I couldn't even read the damn menus very well. "Jugo de Naranja" became "Zumo de Naranja". I got it, but I'd never seen the word "zumo". 

 

[Js1 85338]

Just remember every "s" has a "th" sound.

Ethpaña

[Zombie 284]

Any recommendations for south of Madrid? I'm thinking of a trip including Toledo, Cordoba, Seville, Granada, Malaga, Cadiz, perhaps a day trip to Tangier, and up to Valencia. 

Edited September 19, 2018 by Zombie

[HenryJames 66052]

How about Cordoba, Seville, Granada, Malaga, Cadiz, perhaps a day trip to Tangier, and up to Valencia?

[Js1 85338]

Seville and Granada were nice.

Get to Alhambra early.  Gets crowded and long lines, even at like 7am.

[elfenix 34241]

22 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Seville and Granada were nice.

Get to Alhambra early.  Gets crowded and long lines, even at like 7am.

truth.  we stayed at a place right across the street from the ticket windows and got the first or second showing of the morning.  price for the hotel was pretty reasonable (66e - that was in september and a weeknight, though)