Vacation

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Spain Vacation

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[11-22 September, 2023]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this Blog, even as I try to continue to do so as frequently as I can on Today, but this trip to Spain warrants a bit more words than just photos or videos.

This trip was originally planned for December, 2021 but due to travel restrictions because of COVID-19 (remember that?), it’s been pushed back almost 2 years to just this past month. The wait was worth it, though, as this was a whirlwind tour de force of Spanish culture and cuisine all packed in a short, 11-day vacation. Plus, it was time spent with my lifelong best friend and his family, and this has been the longest time that we’ve spent together in a very long time.

Madrid was the epicenter of this trip, with quick visits to the Centro attractions: Plaza del Sol, Plaza Mayor, the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), the main shopping district of Gran Via, and the modern museum, Reina Sofia, highlighted by Picasso’s masterpiece, Guernica. An evening of tapas, churros con chocolate from San Gines, a bocadillo de jamón Iberico, and a trip to the Real Madrid official merch store, we hardly scratched the surface.

‘Guernica’ by Picasso, at the Reina Sofia National Museum, Madrid.

Madrid was very quickly followed by trips to Toledo, a nearby neighbor city in the same Castille/La Mancha province as the capital city, then to Andalusia for the cities of Sevilla and Granada, and finally to Basque country, notably Spain’s foodie capital, San Sebastián.

Toledo was the former capital of Spain, a UNESCO heritage city with no modern buildings. We took a Rick Steves-prescribed “city walk” that took us to the Alcázar (Army Museum), lunch at Plaza de Zocodover, a wonderful tour of the amazing gothic Toledo Cathedral, delicious snacks of mazapán treats in Santo Tome, and finally a visit to the El Greco Museum, all in a very long, very packed day.

Toledo, Spain’s former capital city, sits on a hill surrounded on three sides by the natural moat of the Rio Tajos.

Next, a high-speed train to the Andalusia region in Southern Spain, for the cities of Sevilla and Granada.

Due to our limited time, we were able to visit only two of the most highly recommended sights in Sevilla: on day 1, the Sevilla Cathedral, the 3rd largest church in the world, after only St. Peter’s Basilica and London’s St. Paul Cathedral; and on day 2, the Real Alcázar, the 10th-century royal palace built by the Moors that’s been a lavish residence for Spain’s rulers for over a thousand years. In between, we were also able to visit Plaza de España, a popular filming location for Hollywood hits like Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (Episode II) and Lawrence of Arabia.

The unquestionable superstar in the city of Granada is the Alhambra, the last and greatest Moorish palace and one of Europe’s top sights. Attracting over 8000 visitors a day (!), it was pure luck that we were able to get exactly the tickets we wanted just a day before our planned visit. Nowhere else does the splendor of Moorish civilization shine so beautifully. The Alhambra is a mind-blowing place, truly one of the most beautiful examples of world architecture I’ve ever seen.

Basque Country (El Pais Vasco) is the culinary capital of Spain, and San Sebastián is the culinary capital of Basque Country, with more Michelin-starred restaurants per capita than anywhere in the world. Needless to say, I was in foodie heaven! Our three days in San Sebastián were a scandalous array of food adventures one after the other. From pintxos and raciones of the most exquisite examples of Basque cuisine paired with the best local hard cider (sidra) and sparkling white wine (txakoli), finished with delectable sweet treats like Basque burnt cheesecake, hopping from bar to bar in Old Town is a serious physical sport. Mixing influences from mountain, sea, Spain and nearby France, Basque food is reason enough to visit this corner of Spain.

This vacation was definitely one for the books, a shining example of what world travel can be: a soul-filling immersion of local culture and cuisine, experienced with dear friends in the most beautiful places.

The following videos capture my most memorable moments of the trip, with all the sights, sounds, and tastes of these amazing 11 days.

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1500-Mile Road Trip

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[24-30 May, 2022]

This was the first true long-distance road trip in the MDX (the Chicago trip earlier in the spring notwithstanding) and it couldn’t have come any sooner.

First stop was Hesston, PA where I spent a couple of nights at the Hills’ (old friends Drew and Stacy from back when Drew used to work at Honda in the late 90’s/early 00’s) vacation cottage near the Raystown Lake Recreation Area. Unfortunately, due to the cold and rainy weather, we were unable to partake in any water recreation activities. There was lots of good eating, though!

We then drove to the Hills’ primary home in Ellicott City, MD, a suburb of Baltimore where more eating and imbibing took place.

From Baltimore, it was off to see the Hsu’s in East Setauket, NY. Jim and I were old roommates back in our old Ann Arbor days, where we both went to the University of Michigan. His eldest, Peter, began studies in Neuroscience at the Ohio State University in 2015 so we ended up seeing each other more frequently during their visits while Peter was in Columbus, up to his graduation a few years ago, just before the pandemic. Of course, a visit with them in NY is not complete without a trip to Flushing for some of the city’s best dim sum.

After a couple of nights with the Hsu’s, it was on to Brooklyn to meet up with an old friend from high school, Lito from this 2018 Colorado adventure and this 2018 Ireland Bro-cation. It was a day-long gallivanting walkathon in the Chelsea, Flat Iron, and Hudson Yards districts, with a final stop at K-town for some K BBQ.

And finally, on my last day in Manhattan, it’s time to drive back home but not without first stopping by the Washington Heights area to pick up Lenin who just left his job of 6 years at Columbia University for a new (and better) one at Washington University in St. Louis.

And so ended my 1500-plus mile roadtrip through West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York with neither traffic incidents nor speeding tickets. The next road trip is still on the planning board.

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Colorado Adventures

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It's always an adventure when you fly out for a 4-night, 5-day long weekend holiday with only the first night's hotel room booked.  Plus, several grumblings already made about going to places and sights outside of the original itinerary (or, what poses as one).  But such is reality with the two knuckleheads I was traveling with.  Ed and Lito flew out of JFK and met me at Denver airport on Thursday night, April 12th, with an already rented 4WD Toyota Highlander (so much for the Camry reserved ahead), pumped for the long weekend bro-cation.

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Friday, the (April) 13th

First day started with a hearty breakfast at Four Friends Kitchen in Denver and an expectation that the next full meal will be dinner wherever the day took us.

First stop: Colorado Springs where we planned to visit Garden of the Gods and then drive up to Pikes Peak.  As with anything Colorado, both places were spectacular and great for the photo enthusiast.

Unfortunately, only 13 of the 19 miles leading up to Pikes Peak summit was open due to snow and weather.  Nevertheless, the drive up was still quite exhilarating, notwithstanding the 12-degree temperature drop from mile 1 to 13.

Next, we left behind the cold and snowy environs of Pikes Peak and began heading south towards the dry and desert-like landscape of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve which couldn't stand in starker contrast to Pikes Peak.  We reached the dunes at the golden hour and witnessed one of the most breathtaking sunsets in the most desolate of locations in the Colorado wilderness.  Our packed day ended in Alamosa, deservedly with a fat and juicy steak dinner.  Total distance driven: ~300 miles.

Saturday, April 14th

Happy Birthday to me!  The day started with another hearty breakfast courtesy of the Holiday Inn Express in Alamosa.  Our modified itinerary took us first through the Rio Grande National Forest where we were held up in over an hour of stopped traffic due to an overturned RV trailer that completely blocked Highway 160 just before Bayfield.  Past that, it's straight to Durango and the San Juan National Forest before reaching the quaint old mining town of Silverton where we started our trek on Colorado's Million Dollar Highway (Highway 550), which, despite its spectacular and breathtaking "million dollar" views, was one of the scariest roads I've ever driven on.  It was a bit of a relief when we finally reached the charming town of Ouray (the Switzerland of Colorado) which marked the end of the highway and where we stopped for burgers and fries.

Alamosa to Durango, via San Juan National Forest and Rio Grande National Forest

We left Ouray full and refreshed for the long drive back to the Denver metro area.  Heading east on Highway 50, we passed through Gunnison National Park and Forest on the way to Buena Vista via the Brown Canyon Wilderness Area, where we stopped for prime rib dinner.  Then it's off on Highway 285 all the way to Denver, passing through Boulder and on to our final destination for the day, Longmont, where we planned to stay the night before heading up the next day to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Total distance driven: ~600 miles.

Sunday, April 15th

Have you ever looked around and gasped in wonder at the incomparable beauty around you? Yeah, Rocky Mountain National Park.  RMNP is truly one of Colorado's most beautiful places in a state chock full of beautiful places.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

As has become the norm of this trip, we started the day with a breakfast of lox and bagels at Einstein Bros. Bagels just across the street from our hotel in Longmont.  Then it's back on the road to Estes Park with a stop at the Stanley Hotel, famous as Jack Nicholson's favorite haunting grounds in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.

We arrived at Rocky Mountain National Park at its eastern entrance in Fall River and was immediately enthralled with the park's natural beauty.  However, the entire western half was still closed to visitors due to snow (the park's fully open only from June to October).  Nevertheless, what we saw at various stops and lookouts was enough to impress upon us the majestic beauty of this amazing collage of natural wonders.

Leaving the park through its other eastern entrance at Beaver Meadow led us back down to Estes Park where we stopped for lunch before heading down to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater, famous for its big name summer concert series.  This was our last destination for the day, in fact, for the entire trip, before heading back to downtown Denver for a relaxed final dinner of Korean barbecue.  Total distance driven: ~150 miles.

Monday, April 16th

We stayed at a Staybridge Hotel and Suites at Denver airport the night before our flights back home but weather in the east coast brought us considerable flight delays.  Finally landing back in Columbus almost 3 hours later than scheduled, I was hit with the realization that the magical Colorado adventure was over, and that I have to be back at work early the next day.  Making a quick stop for Chinese takeout, I was gifted with a heartwarming message from a fortune cookie:

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