Platja de Sant Sebastià

- Spain is WAY cheaper than we expected. When we followed the advice of our Airbnb hosts, we were able to find amazing, local, non-tourist restaurants for a fraction of the price of the US. When we ended up in very touristy areas, we spent a lot.
- Once we figured out what we liked, the food was great. At first, it seemed all they had was meat, cheese, bread/pastries, and paella. We learned how to order some fantastic and balanced tapas meals, figured out how to get our daily servings of fruits and veggies, and ate so much delicious seafood.
- The public transportation system is awesome.
- Throughout the country, we found that pet dogs are rarely on leashes. They follow their owners around loyally, no matter how busy the street.

- Madrid was a great introduction to Spain. We had three back-to-back amazing tapas dinners. The day trip to Toledo was the highlight.
- Seville and Granada are two of the coolest cities we've ever been to. And some of the friendliest people we have met in Spain.
- Cadiz had one of the most beautiful beaches either of us has ever seen. Some of the people in Cadiz were a little rude to us, but we figured we were probably doing something wrong without knowing what!
- Barcelona is pretty cool. A little dirty and a little crazy, but lots of great art and architecture, cool alleys and streets to wander through, and great food. Most of the beaches are a bit rocky and shelly, but there are some sandy beautiful areas to be found.
- Everyone speaks English in Barcelona. In the other cities we visited, not so much. My Spanish came back to me throughout the trip, but it was definitely difficult to communicate. I could get around with the basics but couldn't carry on a decent conversation. Tim had about 5 or 6 phrases down.
- Siestas, sleeping in, small breakfasts, big lunches, and tapas dinners will all be missed!!

- Overall, we had an amazing time. We would love to come back and do a southern/Andalusian trip to Spain, revisiting Seville, Granada, Cadiz, and hitting some of the other southern beaches. There is so much to see in Barcelona that we could return for some of the museums and attractions (and to get inside Sagrada Familia!!), but I don't know that we need to return. There are way better beaches elsewhere. Three days in Madrid was probably enough. There is also the whole northern region of Spain to see!Lue lisää