NOTE -> This trip occurred pre-COVID-19 and feels like 100 years ago

Highlights

• Barcelona game experience
• Well timed Valencia beach day (was sunny and warm while the next day it rained)
• Real Madrid museum and stadium tour
• The markets in all the cities
• Cheap taxis making it easy to get around
• Lots of great food

Lowlights

Unused Barcelona transportation passes. Shouldn’t have bought them

Sagrada Familia tour timing. We were too jet lagged to appreciate it.
• A self guided tour would have been better

What Went Right

• Plane schedules worked well
• Trains to Valencia and Madrid were easy and affordable
• Taxis were easy to find and surprisingly cheap
• Managed to get connecting rooms or suites in Barcelona and Valencia
• Amazing suite in Madrid
• Right mix of relaxation and excitement

Takeaways

Spain has been on our bucket list for awhile and we were excited to finally take our chance to visit. It did not disappoint. While the trip was more of a whirlwind tour compared to our typical trip, it worked very well. We took advantage of a great fare on the flights and patched together a wonderful trip.

It’s telling that the only “lowlights” on the trip happened within the first 24 hours. I had purchased the transportation passes online just before we left assuming we would use them, but the taxis were so cheap we never used them. We spent about 100 euros on taxis in Barcelona compared to 85 euros for the passes. Using the taxis was much more direct and convenient while it saved us hours navigating buses and subways in addition to hours of extra walking. The taxis in Valencia were by far the most aggressive drivers of the three cities.

The train was a fantastic experience. It was easy to get to, relatively inexpensive, and saved time over dealing with the airport options. I wouldn’t hesitate to travel anywhere in Spain by train.

Before leaving for Barcelona, we heard countless warnings and first hand stories about pickpockets. We were sufficiently paranoid that we were careful not to Cary much of value with us and to keep our phones close to our body. Even the taxi drivers warned us when they dropped us off at some places, but we never did feel the threat. It may be because it was low season and the crowds weren’t thick. It could have been because we took the correct precautions to protect our stuff. Maybe it was a combination of both. I have no doubts the stories we heard were true so keep that in mind when traveling there or really anywhere.

I loved how the boys got to practice their Spanish. My youngest got significantly more confident with his, especially when we were in restaurants where the staff didn’t speak English. With Tomatico, that is never a problem. He knows what he wants and knows how to order it.

Speaking of food, it was pretty fantastic. Even I found food I liked without any trouble! My wife and Tomatico tried all sorts of new food and loved nearly every bite. The markets in all the cities were a highlight for all of us. The variety was unlike anything we have in the U.S.

The flights themselves worked out great. The price was right and the direct flight to Barcelona was a breeze. It was slightly inconvenient that it got changed to leave earlier in the evening (6:30 instead of 10:30) but that gave us more time in Barcelona on our first day. On the return flight we would have preferred a nonstop, but the layover in Gatwick wasn’t all that stressful thanks to the Priority Pass. Getting a free meal followed by an hour in the lounge was more relaxing than I expected.

As for jet lag, we didn’t suffer from it very much except on our first day where we didn’t sleep much on the plane. We powered through the first day and were fine the rest of the trip. On the trip back we were just tired on the travel day but woke up fine the next morning for school at our regular time. I had expected we’d wake up at 3am but we all woke up just before the alarm went off. We must be getting good at this travel thing…

Of the three cities we visited, I would definitely go back to Barcelona. Valencia was nice, but we did all that we wanted to do there, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back. There was more we didn’t do in Madrid, but I’m not sure I’d make a specific trip to go back to Madrid. It might be a good central location to take a train to visit other parts of the country, though.

In the end, I can see why my wife’s family and so many of our friends loved their time in Spain. It’s a beautiful and interesting country. It has a great culture to explore. We’ll definitely be back!

In hindsight with COVID-19, we were extremely lucky to be able to go on the trip. If it had been planned a few weeks later we wouldn’t have been able to go or would have been trapped there in lockdown. There have been many times over the last few months looking back at the trip fondly and longing to return. We’ll get there at some point!