Postcard: El Xampanyet, Barcelona, Spain | Art by Todd Berman We’ve settled in so well in Spain that in Barcelona, we’re briefly mistaken for locals by a German tourist, Reinhard, when we help him order “siete cervezas” for himself and…
When traveling around Madrid and Barcelona, I recommend bringing along your own talented architect who can help you fully appreciate the beauty of these well-built Spanish cities. Most especially, you can feed off the architect’s bubbling excitement at the chance…
Todd with pintxo | Photo by Lauren Girardin Todd and I spend our last day in Donostia-San Sebastián with the Baron and Baroness hiking Monte Urgull and making DIY picnic pintxos from bread, jamón, romesco sauce, and queso while sheltering…
Postcard: La Concha beach in San Sebastian | Art by Todd Berman Some of the most interesting travel writing spring from disasters, misadventures, or simply the unexpected. Luckily for me and Todd, when friends join us on the global road,…
Where we ate: La Trucha – After being in Spain for a while, a Californian will crave vegetables. This is the tapa bar to get them, along with delectable smoked fish and perhaps a free plate of calamari with your…
Chin jutting matador | Photo by Lauren Girardin It ends with an old man crouched over a short-handled hoe, scooping sand soaked with coagulated blood into a woven basket, the kind you might see eco-minded people using to carry fresh…
España street art | Photo by Lauren Girardin After living in San Francisco for ten years, whenever Todd and I spend a weekend afternoon walking around the Mission District – our beloved home ‘hood – we always run into someone…
Seemingly infinite columns at the Mezquita | Photo by Lauren Girardin I’ve seen the light. No, not the intense noontime light filtering through the rattan roofing covering the streets of a medina. Not the sunlight sparkling off of multi-colored fractured…
When I told my friend Cristina that Lauren and I would be visiting Spain, she got very excited, telling us that we had to visit Granada, the Alhambra, and drink lots of tinto veranos. During her semester-long study-abroad program, she…
