Go big! Road trip through Spain and France!

Before heading home to South Carolina after our two-year adventure in Barcelona, we had a wedding to attend! Our dear friends, Emmanuelle and Eric had nuptials planned for August 31st outside of Lyon. With some time to spare, some sites to see and with a wedding destination on the books, Bucky and I decided to visit places in Spain that we had not yet seen and then spend some time in our beloved Provence before the wedding. We decided to rent a car and map out must-see places. We planned out each day, making sure we were driving only about four hours and scheduled boutique hotels using www.iescapes.com and Airbnb. As usual, we depended on Trustedhousesitters to find someone to stay with India and Bisoux and we were not disappointed. Jane from England was an absolute joy to have watching our animals as we set off on our roadtrip.

Our first stop was a little, nondescript town called Rafelguaraf located near Valencia. It was a four-hour drive from Barcelona and home to Casa Sibarita, our first iescapes destination. It is a lovely bed and breakfast tucked behind wooden doors in this little town with nothing else going on. We were greeted by an enthusiastic woman who got us settled in. She confirmed that she was preparing dinner for us that would be served al fresco by the pool. (She had offered to do so via email and we promptly accepted. Good thing we did because there were no restaurants to speak of in the town!) We spent the afternoon swimming and relaxing and then prepared for dinner. We had the terrace all to ourselves so it was a romantic evening of delicious food and friendly service. It was a great start to our trip.

Our destination for the next day was Granada. Bucky had found a book called Lazy Days Out in Andaluscía that he read in preparation for our journey. One of the places that intrigued him was in Almeria, where the old spaghetti westerns were filmed so we went there. There was nothing in the small town except for an old hotel that was a draw for people who wanted to enjoy the heated springs, and a couple of small bars. We had a beer to cool off and then went to take pictures of the abandoned movie sets. Needless to say, Bucky was enthralled.

We arrived in Granada that afternoon. We followed the GPS precisely as the streets were tight and mostly one way and we didn't want to miss the hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Santa Isabel la Real. We went to Granada to visit the Alhambra so were thrilled to find out we had a view of it from our window! Granada was HOT so we wandered around minimally the first afternoon. Our guided tour of the Alhambra was the next morning and it was spectacular. Definitely, a must place to visit when in the south of Spain.

That afternoon, we drove to Tolox for a night at Hotel Cerro de Hijar. The hotel is on the top of a mountain and getting there was treacherous, but it was worth the trip. The staff was friendly, there was a nice pool, a lovely view and very tranquil. We enjoyed our meals outside in the relatively cool weather. Tolox was a nice respite! We visited Rhonda, a more popular location in the White Villages of southern Spain. We wandered around the town and were real tourists. We then headed to Seville.

Our arrival in Seville was less than ideal. It was a challenge to find parking so we had to do multiple trips around the city. Plus, we were tired and hot so somewhat cranky. Then, we followed the directions to our hotel, Hotel Elvira Plaza, and when we arrived, there was no one at the front desk. We waited around, rang the buzzer and finally called the reservation number. The person who answered said that we had to come check in around the corner. So we hauled our bags out of the hotel and around the corner and waited our turn to check in. We soon learned that we were in the wrong hotel and that the place to check into our hotel was further down the street. So we hauled ourselves and our things down the street. The receptionist was not pleasant, nor apologetic for the lack of direction on how to check in. Needless to say, we were not happy campers. The room was fine, we walked around and ate tapas, but Seville was not our favorite place. Mostly due to the challenging hotel experience. It is interesting to note that the hotel is no longer part of the iescapes.com website!

The next day, we had a long trip from Seville to Salamanca with a stop in Plasencia. Our daughter, Kathleen, is engaged to a man from the Philippines named Venice Plasencia. So we HAD to visit Plasencia. It was a beautiful little city with a spectacular cathedral and main square. It is definitely NOT a tourist destination. We were hoping to find lots of "Plasencia stuff"i.e. keep rings, t-shirts, stickers, but there was NOTHING to be found. We took lots of pictures though and kept maps and posters that had the city name on them!

We then headed to Salamanca for the night and stayed in a lovely Airbnb within walking distance to the major squares full of people and restaurants. We enjoyed a pizza dinner outside and wandered around the city that evening.

The next day, we headed north to Bermeo where we had an Airbnb rental for a few nights. The town is on a marina, but really didn't live up to our expectations unfortunately. The Airbnb was lovely and we did day trips around the Basque county. We spent the day at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao,  drove around the Urdaibai Estuary and hiked up some mountain made famous by The Game of Thrones. The hike was tough, but I did it for our daughter Lucie, who is a real Game of Thrones fan!

After a few days in the Basque Country, we headed for France. Our destination was Saint Remy de Provence where we would stay for five days, but the drive there was long so we planned to break up our trip with one night in Toulouse. While en route, we saw that Lourdes was on the way so we took a detour and visited this amazingly spiritual place. It was a spur of the moment decision and it was definitely a good one! Being there and visiting the grotto was a remarkable experience.

Toulouse did not disappoint either. It was our first visit to the Pink City and our evening there gave us a taste of its charm. We wandered the streets, visited the river, and dined outside. We were so happy to be back in France! The remainder of our trip was full of nostalgia. We spent five nights in Saint Remy de Provence and visited some of our favorite places including Eygalieres and Les Baux. We did the market in Saint Remy on Wednesday, had lunch at Bistro du Paradou and even found a vide grenier! We enjoyed lots of rose, fabulous food and strolling the streets of towns we love. It was magical.

Our final stop on this trip was Charbonnieres-les-Bains, near Lyon, for the wedding! We stayed at the Hotel Beaulieu which was really cute and had a great restaurant. Emmanuelle and Eric had a charming ceremony at the town hall in the tiny town of St. Romain au Mont D'Or. The reception was held at a traditional chateau in the woods nearby and it was truly lovely. Emmanuelle has such great style and her celebration reflected it in spades. It was a joyous event and we were so honored and happy to be included.

The day after the wedding, we had to drive back to Barcelona to prepare for our trip home to the States. Our trip was lots of fun! It was exciting exploring new places and finally seeing the south of Spain. We drove almost 5000 kilometers and went through at least 30 tolls during the trip. When looking back on the photos, I was big on taking selfies and the two of us at each location and documenting food and wine that were consumed. Below are just a few of the plethora of pictures I took that will hopefully give you a taste of our adventure. Enjoy!

Our first wine in the south of Spain. On our first day, we ventured outside of Rafelguaraf to forage for lunch and found a cute cafe in a town about 15 minutes away. We sat outside and enjoyed the people watching. 

There was a festival ongoing in the town where we ate lunch the first day. There were TONS of canes for sale throughout the town. We couldn't figure out why, but took a picture to remember!

I curled my hair for dinner! 

The appetizer for our private dinner at Casa Sibarita. They were really tasty!

My beet salad at Casa Sibarita.

Date night at Casa Sibarita. 

It was HOT on the terrace so Bucky cooled off in the pool!

Hot springs in Almeria.

View from the little town in Almeria.

Selfie in Almeria

Random local bar. Time for a beer!

Location for the spaghetti westerns. 

View of Alhambra from our hotel window in Granada.

Taking a break and trying to stay cool!

Another view of the Alhambra.

Bucky with Washington Irving!

Some of the gardens of the Alhambra.

Alhambra guided tour selfie.

We actually asked someone to take our picture!

View FROM the Alhambra to the neighborhood where our hotel was located.

View from our hotel in Tolox. 

Dining al fresco in Tolox. 

The hotel in Tolox. 

Two Tauruses in Rhonda. 

Rhonda bridge. 

Selfie in Rhonda. 

Another Rhonda view.

Me at the Plasencia Cathedral.

Bucky in another Plasencia site!

Selfie in Salamanca!

The buildings in Salamanca were lovely.

The Bermeo Marina. 

Good Rose!!

Bucky at the Guggenheim in Bilbao!

Spider sculpture at the Guggenheim.

More fantastic art at the Guggenheim.

Selfie at the Guggenheim.

View driving around the Urdaibai Estuary. 

Filming spot for the Game of Thrones. Bucky and I walked up to the top and back and it was a challenge!

Quick visit to Guernica.

Lourdes. A great last minute decision.

The grotto at Lourdes.

Walking through the grotto at Lourdes. 

Selfie in Toulouse! We are happy to be in France.

We lucked out by finding a vide grenier in St. Etienne de Gres on our way to Saint Remy de Provence. 

First meal in Provence. So happy.

Eating lunch at Chez Paulette in Eygalieres. 

Me at Chez Paulette. 

Bucky's lunch at Chez Paulette. 

Selfie in front of our old house in Eygalieres!!!

Le petit dejeuner at our Airbnb in Saint Remy de Provence.

We couldn't find any flamingos in the Camargue, but we found some swans and lots of ducks!

Selfie at Les Baux.

Taking the bus to Bistrot du Paradou.

I love Perrier.

I love this guy more! Enjoying the house drink at Bistrot du Paradou.

Oui oui! Escargot!

And the cheese plate at Bistrot du Paradou.

Here is a picture of the spice guy at the Eygalieres market on Friday morning. It was an emotional walk down memory lane!

Our hotel in Charbonnieres-les-Bains!

Hiking in Charbonniere-les-Bains!

Another hiking pic!

Hiking selfie!

The bride and groom on the way to Town Hall.

Before the ceremony.

The bridal party!

La famille!

During my wishes!

Pure joy!

The lane to the reception.

Selfie prior to the reception.

Celebrating with the bride!