The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the center of town and the focus of hundreds of pilgrims each day. Since we stayed so close by, we visited the massive plaza in front of the cathedral...
Blog posts from Spain 2026
Eric’s 50th: Santiago de Compostela food and drink
After dropping our bags at our apartment, our next stop was for helado from Boco de Xeado. Eric got a scoop each of coconut and intense chocolate, while I opted for a (solo!) pistachio cone. All...
Eric’s 50th: O Grove and the Rías Baixas wine region
O Grove Peninsula On our one full weekend day in the area we drove to the O Grove peninsula, checking out some coastal villages along the way. The first stop was Combarro, a town about 20 minutes...
Eric’s 50th: Pontevedra sites
On the drive from Santiago de Compostela to Pontevedra, we took the non-toll scenic route south. Halfway we stopped for Fervenza de Segade, a waterfall, where I stayed with the car while Eric hiked...
Eric’s 50th: Pontevedra food and drink
Due to a work conflict, we had to cancel our Bib Gourmand lunch reservation in A Coruña, so I was looking forward to trying our luck in Pontevedra with Trasmallo. We sat upstairs with a few other...
Eric’s 50th: A Coruña, molecular gastronomy cooking class
If you’ve been around this blog for a while then you know that I love to take cooking classes in foreign countries. I made good on this in A Coruña with a molecular gastronomy course! This workshop...
Eric’s 50th: A Coruña sites
A Coruña is a beautiful port city, known for the "oldest known extant Roman lighthouse" (the Tower of Hercules), plus a long coastal promenade (13km!), beautiful beaches, and fresh seafood. All of...
Eric’s 50th: A Coruña food and drink
There are a lot of restaurants and bars in A Coruña, so even with a week we barely scratched the surface. Here is what we tried. We had been eating a lot of Asturian food, so we decided on an...
Eric’s 50th: Galicia, where we stayed
NORO Plaza, A Coruña Our apartment here was a comfortable 1-bedroom with tons of space, which felt especially roomy after our tight spot in Gijón. The apartment had lots of windows, and each one...
Eric’s 50th: Northern Spain coastal sites
East from Gijón Mirador de San Roque On our way to Potes and the eastern side of Picos de Europa national park we traveled along the coast, stopping at a few spots on our way. Our first stop was an...
Eric’s 50th: Gijón sites
Located just outside of the city, the Jardín Botánico Atlántico was larger than we expected. From multiple points around the grounds you could see the massive Cultural Center building across the...
Eric’s 50th: Gijón food and drink
Our first taste of Asturias was at a traditional cider house, Sidrería El Tasqueru, about 15 minutes from Gijón. The server didn’t speak English and there was some confusion about ordering at the...
Eric’s 50th: Gijón, where we stayed
In Gijon we had a one-night stay on our way to the mountains, and then a week-long stay near the beach. ARTIEM Asturias ARTIEM was a good stopping point after a morning of travel, located on the...
Eric’s 50th: daytrip to Oviedo
The bus from Gijon to Oviedo is way cheaper (and more frequent) then the train, which makes it popular, but it’s a little tricky to figure out. We bought our timed tickets for 11:15am via credit...
Eric’s 50th: Picos de Europa hikes and sites
We spent six days around park, moving every two days from east to north to west. Our plan was to do one big hike per day in the park. Brez to Canal de las Arranedos The morning started overcast with...
Eric’s 50th: Picos de Europa food and drink
Potes La Soldrería doesn’t take reservations, so we decided to go on the early side to see if we could snag a table. The regular tables were all full at 8:30pm but luckily there were two seats at...
Eric’s 50th: Picos de Europa, where we stayed
We wanted to be close to certain hikes and sites and ultimately chose three different towns around the park. If we had to do it again I would have skipped Las Arenas and added an extra night in...
Eric’s 50th: Madrid sites
Our only full day in Madrid was spent visiting free museums and getting our steps in! Our first stop was Museo Geominero, where one of us had to show our passport to enter. This museum was...
Our Itinerary
2026 Trips
Parrish, FL (Jan)
Medellin, Colombia (Feb)
Wilmington, NC (Apr)
Madrid, Spain (May)
Asturias, Spain (May)
Galicia, Spain (June)
London/Cotswolds, UK (July)
Long Island, NY (July)
Ireland (Aug)
Vietnam (Nov)
Laos (Nov)
Cambodia (Dec)
Singapore (Dec)
2025 Trips
Tampa Bay, FL (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Villa la Angostura, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls (Feb)
Miami, FL (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Mar)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)
Doha, Qatar (May)
Bristol + London, UK (Jul)
Long Island, NY (Jul)
Slovenia (Sep)
Treviso, Italy (Sep)
Bologna, Italy (Sep)
day trips from Bologna (Oct)
Turin, Italy (Oct)
Greensboro, NC (Nov)