Join us in Beautiful España with Hannah Johnson

Back in 2019 to celebrate graduating from college and getting into the Master’s program, Hannah and her friend Jamie used Costco travel to plan a trip. They paid one price for a round trip flight, a hotel stay in both Barcelona and Madrid as well as transportation to and from the airports. The trip was for 8 days! 

Barcelona: Stayed at the NH Collection Barcelona Podium Hotel

Customs was really easy in Barcelona, and they made it there pretty quickly. Immediately after putting their luggage in the hotel room, went on a double decker bus tour of the city-this was a good idea because Hannah says they had some things planned but let the bus tour tell them where they would want to go after that.

At night they went to Fonta Magica de Montjuïc and saw the coolest fountain and light show!

After that they walked down to the restaurants to find some food and ended up at a rooftop bar in a hotel. Great drinks and food! It's called 173 Rooftop Terrace Tapas Bar.

The next day they went to see the prize of Barcelona, the Sagadra Familia Basilica. This thing is MASSIVE. They went inside and looked at all the stained glass and got to go up in one of the turrets! She says it was scary and breathtaking.

After this they ate lunch at a cute spot nearby called Casa Angela where she had the best croquetas and patatas bravas!

After that they went to Parque Guell- which is one of Antoni Gaudi’s most famous architecture works. It’s like a botanical garden meets a surrealist painting. It is made up of interesting buildings and features built into the side of a mountain.

Montserrat Monastery 

They then took a train from Barcelona to a sketchy little outpost station in the middle of the country. Hannah says they then took the scariest rickety cable car ride of her life up the mountain. It opens up at the top where you can see the craggy rocks of the mountainside. This area is a beautiful monastery that is built into the side of the mountain. It is known for having a black Madonna carved in the 12th century-known as “the dark one, our lady of Montserrat." It survived the storming of the abbey during the Spanish civil war.

There are tons of things to do in this area: fun hikes, a few cafes, outside viewing of the living quarters of the monks and nuns, walking around the gardens with the holy water fountains, and listening to the choir and organ inside the nave.

Madrid NH Collection Madrid Abascal

The next portion of the trip was Madrid! They took the train from Barcelona to Madrid, and had lunch service on the way, lots of fields, rural areas, not a lot of houses or villages but we saw a lot of farms, lots of pigs-Spain is known for their ham.

On their first day in Madrid they went to the Royal Palace and got to see all of the rooms. Lots of history-over 3000 rooms, a grand staircase, beautiful art including “Salome with the head of John the Baptist”, and the royal armory! After the palace they explored more of the city. 

Text next day, went to the Del Prado Museum which is the classical art museum in Madrid-they got to see so many baroque paintings and Hannah's favorite painting Las Meninas by Diego Velasquez which is one of the most analyzed paintings ever.

The next day they went to the modern art museum called the Reina Sofia—and saw the Picasso and Dali exhibits! Because it was a rainy day they spent a lot of time there. 

For almost every dinner in Madrid they went to this little tapas bar right down the road from the hotel because it was so good!! Hannah says she had ropa vieja empanadas and paella that was to DIE for-this place is called La Gabinoteca.

Toledo Aka Castillo La Mancha 

They took the train from Madrid into the country and stopped at yet another sketchy outpost station! Toledo is Medieval walled city on top of a mountain that is surrounded by the Tagus river on three sides. It is the oldest city in Spain and built pre-Roman empire but captured by the Visigoth Kingdom after the fall of the Roman Empire in like the 5th Century. Known for being the “City of the Three Cultures” where there are heavy influences of Christians, Muslims and Jews throughout history. In the city you can still see mosques, cathedrals, and synagogues from over the centuries that hold art that is culturally and historically significant to those religions.

Hannah and Jamie stopped at McDonalds and had some interesting combos—they have eggs on some of the sandwiches, and you can get just plain cherry tomatoes as a side. 

Top sites to see: 

Cathedral de Toledo-13 century cathedral 

Alcazar de Toldeo- the fortress during the Spanish Civil War, Military Museum

Sinagoga Santa Maria La Blanca- one of two of the twelve surviving original synagogues in Toledo

Iglesia de Santo Tome-home of El Greco’s  most famous work: “the burial of the count of Orgaz”