[BARCELONA] — I know I’m in the minority in being a steadfast fan of boutique hotels these days, whilst the rest of you are Airbnb’n, but I still am bullish on the whole hotel experience. In fact, I usually book my vacations around the hotel, often traveling far and wide just to visit a special place. Barcelona has been almost overrun by Airbnbs, so much so that whole apartment buildings are being converted by investors into full-on apartment rentals — much to the scorn of local residents, pushed out by reasonable growing rents. But just before the HomeAway trend hit BCN, a flurry of boutique hotels were built, high on style, funky design and cool restaurants, dramatically increasing this great city’s inventory of cool places
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[COSTA BRAVA, SPAIN] — Here’s a post all about cool things to do Costa Brava. The best boutique hotels in Spain’s Costa Brava. What to do in Costa Brava. And a review Hotel Mas Lazuli. A review of Hotel Castell d’Empordà all about the best things to do in Costa Brava. ____________________________ This is a big, long post about cool things to do in the Cost Brava region of Spain. But hopefully, a good overview to start planning your trip here. I consolidated several previous posts into one comprehensive post for Costa Brava. I haven’t spent a lot of time on the Costa Brava, but passed through here two different times over the span of three months on the way to other places, each time just for
[CATALONIA, SPAIN] — An overview of where to hike in the Spanish Pyrenees and the Val d’Aran. Exploring the Spanish Pyrenees and driving the N260. Overview of Le Seu d’Urgell. Hiking Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. _____________________________________ So I was sitting in a cool hotel on the edge of the Sahara one day before I was scheduled to fly back to the States. I’d been on the road for a month in Portugal and Morocco, but I wasn’t ready to go back quite yet. So I cancelled my return flight, flew to Barcelona, walked up to the Hertz desk and asked “Can I rent a car for two months?” “Si! Si, Señor!” I had no plan. And a lot of time. I