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Northern Spain May 2024

SGF

Just back from a wonderful trip to the Basque region of Spain.

We have wanted to do this tour for awhile now, but had cancellations due to Covid and work, so the anticipation was quite high. The trip definitely met or exceeded my expectations. It was exactly what I had hoped it would be.

Note: I polled most of the 28 members of our tour, asking if they had ever used the Forum. Not a one! I urged them to write reviews of this trip, since there isn't much info here. No interest. Most of them were completely unaware of this page, despite taking numerous trips with Tauck over many years. The numbers ranged from 4-16 tours.

I wonder if Tauck should publicize this page? Or is Facebook taking over the conversation?

The group was mostly people who had done Spain/Portugal with Tauck or other tours. It would not be an area of Spain first timers would likely choose to visit. The time spent in Barcelona and Madrid is quite limited, so one would need to add extra days to cover those cities.

Starting in Barcelona, we toured the Sagrada Familia as a group, but then mostly had free time. I'm not sure if people booked the other Gaudi sites; we had been before so just rambled on the Ramblas, ate falafel and shopped in the Boqueria and went to a 1 hr flamenco show which I had pre-booked. Touristy, but entertaining. The location of the hotel was right on the Ramblas which was really convenient. Did a work (ish) stop to a vendor I do business with - company has their flagship store in Barcelona and the manager spent an hour showing us their facility - very fun! Ate dinner on our free night at a middle eastern restaurant, Ziryab in the old quarter. Delish and very gluten free friendly. Felt very safe walking at night- the streets were crowded and lively. Always aware and alert, of course.

On to Montserrat which was quite scenic and had a really worthwhile art museum. From there we ended our day at our first Parador, which are state run hotels all over Spain. They have been converted from hospitals, monasteries, schools, etc. Very comfortable, and while not super fancy, they have all the amenities you might want in a fine hotel. People complained that there were no washcloths...I suggested they use the little towels hanging by the bidets. 🙄

Next day it was on to Andorra - the little country that sends 3 athletes to the Olympics (our local guide admitted that they weren't very good!). TD was insistent that we put our phones on airplane mode, for fear of getting exorbitant roaming charges. Guess he's had some issues in the past. We brought passports, but our coach was hardly stopped.

Day 5 took us to Elciego and the Hotel Marques de Riscal - the Frank Gehry masterpiece in the middle of wine country. Oh my! It is a beauty. Swaths of titanium glistening in the sun, their colors representing the grapes. I was in awe. Of course, it sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of a vineyard and small village, but it is magnificent. The rooms were spacious and airy and modern; the bathroom gigantic and luxurious. Washcloths and delicious toiletries galore. We stayed for 2 nights, begging for more. One dinner on the premises, another off site at a cute country inn, with local folk dancers. We were given gifts of wine in the room (champagne and chocolates for us, in honor of my husband's BD).

On to Pamplona...

Comments

British

We are taking Northern Spain the Rioja Valley and Madrid later in the year, I’m more interested in the sites than the hotels, please could you highlight your favorites at the end of the tour. Thank you 😀

BKMD

Facebook - yuck. To paraphrase Karl Marx: Social media, the opiate of the masses.

SGF

Pamplona began at the Cafe Iruna, where Hemingway spent considerable time. There's a small, dark bar dedicated to him with some photos. We walked the path of the running of the bulls, which occurs for multiple days in July. There are digital clocks counting down to the start of Day 1. Pamplona is all about the bulls - tourist shops everywhere, where you can take a photo as if you are running alongside them.

This is also where we started to see people doing the pilgrimage of the Camino. Our TD pointed out those walking with their backpacks draped with the white shell to signify their voyage. He has done this trek several times, and shared personal photos and his "passport" which had stamps of the stops along the way. He gave us shells and passports which we could have stamped at our Paradors or various churches if we wanted. Only those walking 100 km or more get official certificates at the end. On one of our longer bus rides, we watched "The Way" with Martin Sheen, a fictional movie about the Camino.

Next was San Sebastián, a beautiful seaside town. Our hotel overlooked the bay which leads out to the Atlantic Ocean. There was a long boardwalk which was perfect for strolling; we did a walking tour of the old town and then a tapas tour which I had booked through Devour privately. Perfect weather and sunsets at 10 pm.

Then on to Bilbao, and the Guggenheim. The structure is unique and the artwork inside is suited to the architecture. Even if you don't love modern art, there are funky pieces to entertain. Luckily, we got there at opening, because the crowds swelled as we were leaving.

Next was León, with another historic tour of the old town and beautiful stained glass windows in the basilica.

Then on to Santiago de Compostela, where our final Parador was a former orphanage. We had a walking tour of the cathedral and connecting museum. The Cathedral is where the supposed remains of St. James are buried.The square outside our parador and the cathedral is the end of the Camino. Pilgrims were photographing themselves with their passports; it was a place of great emotion and triumph. Our TD offered us an opportunity to walk the final 5k of the path, and myself and 10 others chose to do it in the mid afternoon with a local guide. We were bussed to just outside the town. It wasn't particularly strenuous, but a little hilly. We walked on paved sidewalks. I felt a sense of accomplishment, despite the fact that I am not Christian. No fanfare at the end.

Our last two nights were in Madrid- we had an early flight which was seamless. Our bags went by bus so we had nothing to carry. In Madrid we had a driving and short walking tour and then time on our own. The next day we toured the Royal Palace, and then during free time we visited the Cerralbo Museum, a small home filled with collections of antiques.

SGF

British- regarding my favorite places...

This is not a site heavy tour. Yes, we toured cathedrals, basilicas and churches. We walked through many old, cobblestoned towns. We ate and drank in excess (I gained 5 lbs, despite all the walking!). We learned about the culture, history and language of the Basque region and Galicia. In some respects, it was very relaxed, despite some early mornings and frequent moving of hotels.

I loved seeing the Sagrada Familia, although it didn't look much different from my last visit, eight years ago. There's still scaffolding up. I really enjoyed San Sebastián, because I could walk the boardwalk alone, people watching and listening to street musicians. I even walked on the beach at the shoreline. It wasn't warm enough to swim, but nice to get my feet wet.

And I loved the Gehry architecture amidst all of the medieval structures of the area. Bilbao has been transformed by that museum - it has contributed to the financial wealth of city. We even saw where a U.S. Olympian slalom paddler won gold in 1992 and now lives in the little town with a raging river. And went to a cheese museum that was, just a little bit, stinky.

It was a different kind of trip. You're going to enjoy it, I'm sure. The rooftop infinity pool in Madrid looked very inviting...

SGF

Kfnknfzk- yes, and the tour is changing again in 2025. Instead of Madrid, it ends in Porto, Portugal.

SGF

Todd H. was our tour director in Morocco! Alas, he is not currently doing this tour. I believe he's doing the southern Spain tour. Our TD was Fernando, who also lives in Madrid. He's also switching to the southern tour (bridges) this summer. He was really good - somewhat serious but never condescending or impatient. We had a great group which was a classic tour with 28 people out of a possible 40.

British

It sounds just lovely, thank you!

MikeHenderson

Good review. For anyone going to Bilbao, try to check out the Vizcaya bridge of Bilbao. Everyone goes to the museum and ignores the bridge, but it's a very interesting and unusual bridge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vizcaya_Bridge

Choc

SGF, excellent recap. I was also on this tour with you. This was my 13 Tauck trip and as always it was great. Thanks for the review.

Claudia Sails

Excellent review. Its a tour we've considered.

On forum participation your experience is about the same as mine. In 10 yrs/12 tours I've only met 3 people who at least read posts - one of whom has become a friend.

Tim5022

We’re leaving next week for this tour and so excited! It’s our first trip with Tauck so any info you can share on how to dress would be so helpful! Daytime tours and dinner both would be so helpful!!

SGF

Tim 5022- for daytime, casual clothes are fine. Some men wore shorts - just pay attention to the schedule and ask your Tour Director if you'll be visiting churches where they require long pants. For evenings, nicer polos or button down shirts with khakis or other pants are fine. I expect it's getting hotter in Spain - when we were there in May it was already getting warm. It's really not necessary to bring a blazer - you might wear it once but it is not required. You'll probably end up taking it off since the AC is not that cold in Europe. So don't bother wasting the space in your suitcase. Better to take a nicer pair of sneakers for evenings!

Have a wonderful trip - be prepared to diet when you return!

liz_burke

Yes SGF, I too wish Tauck would have this Forum in a more visible place on their webpage, so travelers can share information. it seems a lot of the information here is from past years , would prefer 2024 or 2023.