Spain & France with Ella
Shirley and Ruffy take 18 year old Ella on an incredible journey to Spain and France
We have just had the most amazing month exploring a bit of Spain and France as a family of two adults and an 18-year-old.
2023 the year of travel with Ella.
We travelled with Singapore Airlines directly to Barcelona. Same great inflight service as always and Singapore’s Changi Airport remains a favourite to transit.
We spent four full days exploring Barcelona and trying to get a little used to 36–38-degree heat. Barcelona was bustling but we spent no real time in any lines for anything we were wanting to do/see/visit. La Sagrada Familia is still a work in progress but on track (thanks to the Kiwi in charge) to be finished in 2026. Park Guell was amazing – but important to book – it is a long walk up to the park to be told “it is sold out”!
We collected our rental car at Barcelona airport and headed off on our road trip. We headed to Zaragoza the capital of the Aragon region. It is a fabulous city overlooking the Ebro River. The first of our many UNESCO World Heritage Site visits.
From Zaragoza onto Madrid. Still a beautiful city loaded with beautiful people, with plenty of green spaces. We had a fun night here watching a Flamenco dance show with dinner.
Ninety minutes down the track is the gorgeous hilltop walled medieval city of Toledo. It was here that our decision to go with a smaller car become very apparent.
Via Segovia and the picturesque ancient aqueduct, we continued onto Burgos. Burgos was my favourite city on this trip. The architecture and Gothic buildings were breathtaking. The cathedral there, the French Gothic Cathedral of St. Mary, was incredible. Burgos was small and lacking the tourist numbers we had encountered so far – we felt more like locals than tourists. An incredibly special place.
Ella was tasked with the job of finding the squares or Plazas of each city. It didn’t take long for her to establish that the plaza stops equalled food and something to drink while sitting and watching the people.
We travelled from Burgos via Bilboa and the glorious Guggenheim Art Museum across the border with France into Ondres – just out of Biarritz.
We were truly fortunate to take a 45-minute private small plane flight over Biarritz. A spectacular way to see the coastline.
A visit to San Sebastian was fun too. We took the funicular to the top of the hill for fantastic views right round the beach to the old town…. which we later walked to.
Onto St Emilion in Bourdeaux, another incredible hilltop city surrounded by vineyards and then to Carcassonne. What a magical medieval walled city this is. We stayed just beyond the walls but there are a couple of very hip hotels within the city. A tour of the rampart is a must and was a lot of fun.
Up to La Rouge in Provence for Bastille Day. We joined the locals in the square for dancing and celebrations. We spent a day exploring the must-see spots of Provence in the immediate area. The fields and fields of sunflowers and lavender were spectacular. Colour as far as the eye could see.
Epernay was next …. Excitement grew as the champagne region welcomed us. We did discover that a bottle of anything lovely, didn’t last as long when split three ways. Ella has developed quite the taste for French Champagne. A couple of days in Reims zoomed by. We filled our days visiting champagne houses seeing some of the 25 kms of chalk caves that home millions of bottles of champagne. This experience was interesting for us all.
Paris was our last stop. Ella’s dream was visiting Paris and her reaction to seeing her first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower was emotional. She kept asking to be pinched. Paris is a real walking city, and walked we did. One day we did 23 kms – all without a complaint. We did and saw all the things Paris, including by chance witnessing the finish of the Tour De France. We had picnic dinners on the Champs de Mars and just took in that tower – somehow you never tire of it. Our last night in Paris was the most perfect dinner at Café de l’Homme which not only offers superb food and service but an unsurpassed view of the Eiffel Tower.
This really was a remarkable adventure. Great to have the freedom of a rental, but planning is essential, and I do recommend booking as much of your accommodation as possible in advance.
It is always amazing to see all the places you see in magazines, books, and movies in “real life” and sharing that with your special people only adds to the experience. We found the people of Spain and France just as welcoming and warm as the countryside we were exploring.
*Remember to prebook all the sightseeing on your bucket list. The Eiffel Tower availability tight over the peak seasons. Entrance to the Arc de Triomphe, La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell is all by time prebooked time slots.
