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...
Blog posts from Spain 2026
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...
Eric’s 50th: Madrid food and drink
On our first evening in Madrid, we took a leisurely walk up Ponzano Street to check out the tapas spots the area is known for. Our first stop, Bokaxankla Bar, had a young vibe. Lots of tables were...
Eric’s 50th: Madrid, where we stayed
Madrid: Hyatt Regency Hesperia Madrid We had a nice quiet room at the end of the hallway that faced an inner courtyard, which was perfect for sleeping. The bathroom was a good size, but the frosted...
Eric’s 50th: flights, trains, and rental cars
RDU > LHR > MAD Our flight out of Raleigh was on time and Eric managed to snag us main cabin extra seats in the bulkhead area so we had two seats to ourselves. Neither of us slept that well...
Eric’s 50th: overview and planning
When thinking about where I wanted to spend my 50th birthday I knew I wanted good food, moderate weather, and somewhere at least a little new to us. Northern Spain really fit those criteria: we...
Our Itinerary
2026 Trips
Parrish, FL (Jan)
Medellin, Colombia (Feb)
Wilmington, NC (Apr)
Madrid, Spain (May)
Asturias, Spain (May)
Galicia, Spain (June)
London, UK (July)
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)