Kate & Sachin: follow us on our adventures!
Follow our travels here
When were we there
5 days, March 26-30
Where did we go
✈️ Flight from Barcelona to Paris
🏨 W Hotel Opera House
Our last international stop of the trip! We got a great deal on a flight from Paris to NYC so we decided to spend a few days there. We mostly took it easy and drank great wine (of course).
When were we there
26 days, March 1-26
Where did we go
✈️ Flight from Lisbon to Sevilla
🏨 Hotel Palacio de Villapanes
🚗 Drove from Sevilla to Gibraltar
🏨 The Rock Hotel
🚗 Drove from Gibraltar to Ronda
🏨 Catalonia Reina Victoria Wellness & Spa
🚗 Drove from Ronda to Granada
🏨 AC Palacio De Santa Paula, Autograph Collection
🚗 Drove from Granada to Madrid
🏨 Only YOU Hotel Atocha
🚗 Drove from Madrid to San Sebastian
🏨 Hotel Maria Cristina, a Luxury Collection Hotel
✈️ Flew from San Sebastian to Barcelona
🏨 Hotel 1898
Highlights
We loved Spain! In particular it was great to see the Islamic art and history in the south part of the country. We drove through Andalusia, stopping in Seville, Gibraltar, Ronda, and Granada. We learned about how the region changed under Roman, Visigoth, and Moorish rule until it was reclaimed by Spain in 1492.
Gibraltar was a weird place, a little slice of Britain! Seeing the Rock of Gibraltar was incredible (one of the Pillars of Hercules, historically thought to be the end of the world). The city itself kinda sucked: lots of British tourists who are too scared to travel anywhere else :(.
We drove to Madrid and spent a week there, and then continued up to San Sebastian, a surf town known for incredible food.
From San Sebastian we did a day trip to Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim. It’s housed in a beautiful building designed by Frank Gehry. The interior is as crazy as the exterior! The museum has an amazing collection of modern art and sculpture. We loved it!
That day we had lunch at Azurmendi. It was one of the most unique and wonderful dining experiences of our lives, full of fun surprises from start to end! Michelin 3 star restaurants are supposed to be “Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”. I would definitely recommend visiting Bilboa and San Sebastian just to go to Azurmenfi.
You start with a tour of the building: the garden, the kitchen, and the greenhouse. Along the way you meet the staff, learn about the restaurant and its sustainability efforts, and eat a bunch of little snacks.
Then you move on to the dining room. We had ~10 more courses while looking over the beautiful Basque countryside. Foie, egg, oyster, uni, mushroom, truffle, lobster, fish, pork.
Every dish incredibly creative and playful. Even though you saw the menu, you didn’t know what you were going to get. 👍🏾 bread and wine too! Totally blown away.
Our last stop on the trip was Barcelona, and of course it was spectacular. It didn’t hurt that we got a free upgrade to a $1000/night room with a private rooftop pool!
When were we there
6 days, February 23-March 1
Where did we go
✈️ Flight from Marrakech to Lisbon
🏡 Airbnb in Lisbon
Highlights
We added Lisbon to our trip at the last minute. We wanted to go from Marrakesh to South Spain, and there were no good direct flights. So we decided to spend a few days in Lisbon. We’re glad we did!
Absolutely loved it here! We had zero expectations going in and we were blown away. Amazing food, wine, and friendly people. The central area is touristy for sure, but didn’t feel obnoxious. Sintra is a great day trip.
Lots of stuff to see. Castles, palaces, monuments, squares… We were there for 6 nights (one of our longer stops for a single city) and we were never bored!
Food is great, similar to spanish tapas. Wine was incredible, 4 euro glasses were common. It’s common culture here that when you order wine, the waiter will bring out a few so you can try them and pick your favorite.
Our Airbnb was perfect. Brand new one bedroom in the middle of everything. It was directly above the oldest bookstore in the world! Felt like being in the East Village. If you’re visiting Lisbon (you should!) we’ll tell you where to stay!
Kate & Sachin: follow us on our adventures! 