I'm back from our first road trip and it was a blast!! We picked up our car (little buddy) and took off for San Sebastian. I had been there on my trip last year, but the weather this time was incredible and made it even more beautiful. We got there later at night, so wandered to find a dinner place (Anne & Squid - actually found some great food there) and then called it a night. The next day, we walked around town for a bit and then hit the road again. We decided to stop in Bordeaux the second night and were hoping to do some wine tasting, but by the time we got there, it was too late. So, we checked into our room (see photos) and created our own little wine tasting tour. Went to a nice wine bar across the street from the hotel and tasted some excellent wine - the girl that worked there was really helpful and picked out some good ones. Then we found a great place for dinner where I cluelessly ordered a couple things - the menu was all French. Apparently I like ratatouille :) We also found a Mac store while we were there - thank God - we were tired of listening to the 2 cds we had and the radio. The iPod hook up for the car was key for the rest of the trip! Next we were off to Paris. I'd never been before and it was incredible - absolutely loved everything about it. Th
e first day we walked the entire city...our hotel was close to the Marais and we walked all the way to the Arc de Triomphe and back. That night we had my favorite meal of the trip at a place called Bistro les Sans Culottes...it was adorable and delicious. The next day we cruised around again - hit a couple museums (the Louvre was packed....almost too much for us to take!) and then of course ended up on Ile St Louis for gelato. That night we went to dinner by the Eiffel Tower and thought we would cruise over after to see if it was still open and it was - it was amazing!!! As you can tell from our many pictures, it was a highlight of Paris. The best part was it was about midnight, so there weren't very many other people around - definitely the way to go as that city is crawling with tourists and lines. The next couple days were more of the same...exploring Paris and good food and wine. Next up was Amsterdam. Also incredible, but in a totally different way. We stayed at a house on one of the canals and it was so great. Perfect location and an amazing view. We cruised around the city and saw all the sights and then just enjoyed the weather and all of the outdoor bars and restaurants. My friend Jesse is working on a tour boat there for the summer, so he joined us for a couple days in Amsterdam for wine and cheese on the canal and many beers. We all had a blast! We loved it there so much that we decided to stay and drive up to Hoorn for the night where the boat Jesse is working on is docked. I am so glad we decided to do it - driving through The Netherlands and stopping in an adorable town called Alkmaar was beautiful. There is nothing like it. I really wanted to see the tulips and we saw a lot on the drive. 
That night the weather was again perfect, so we of course had more wine and cheese on the deck of the boat and enjoyed the sunset. After that, we headed into town and hit the local skipper's bar...it was awesome. No tourists and just real locals - my kind of traveling! I love to really be around the people that live in the different towns. Needless to say that night was also a blast and the next day we got a little bit of a slow start on the road. We decided to head to Provence for a night. The drive turned out a little longer than we'd hoped and we were exhausted by the time we got there. Stayed in a town called Arles and really just had time for dinner and to sleep. At first, we couldn't find a hotel (I am not good at the spontaneous travel and finding hotels), but finally found a nice one. The next day we took off for Toledo - we thought it was going to be a nice 6 hour drive, but it turned out to be closer to 10...brutal. We tried to find this one hotel we'd read about in town and it was insane...the streets were SO narrow I almost had an anxiety attack driving through them (we had to pull in the mirrors) and when we finally got there, all they had was a room with a twin bed and hardwood floors. We were so tired, but not that tired, so I navigated out of the teeny streets and we found a nice big hotel on the main road just right out of town. Unfortunately we didn't get to enjoy the place b/c it was beautiful, but plan on going back when we head back to Spain. We had a nice quick drive back to Lisbon and were definitely ready to relax a little and wash our clothes!! It was such a great trip - and seemed nice and long. I can't wait for the next one! My dad arrives this week, so I'll just be hanging around town for the next couple weeks and exploring more of Portugal. Very excited! I added the pics from the road trip - they tell the story better than I can :) I attempted to condense them, but to capture it all and the fun times there are definitely a lot. Sorry for the long-winded blog...a lot to cover in the last few weeks. Miss you all and can't wait to share all of my stories live with you when I get back! xo
e first day we walked the entire city...our hotel was close to the Marais and we walked all the way to the Arc de Triomphe and back. That night we had my favorite meal of the trip at a place called Bistro les Sans Culottes...it was adorable and delicious. The next day we cruised around again - hit a couple museums (the Louvre was packed....almost too much for us to take!) and then of course ended up on Ile St Louis for gelato. That night we went to dinner by the Eiffel Tower and thought we would cruise over after to see if it was still open and it was - it was amazing!!! As you can tell from our many pictures, it was a highlight of Paris. The best part was it was about midnight, so there weren't very many other people around - definitely the way to go as that city is crawling with tourists and lines. The next couple days were more of the same...exploring Paris and good food and wine. Next up was Amsterdam. Also incredible, but in a totally different way. We stayed at a house on one of the canals and it was so great. Perfect location and an amazing view. We cruised around the city and saw all the sights and then just enjoyed the weather and all of the outdoor bars and restaurants. My friend Jesse is working on a tour boat there for the summer, so he joined us for a couple days in Amsterdam for wine and cheese on the canal and many beers. We all had a blast! We loved it there so much that we decided to stay and drive up to Hoorn for the night where the boat Jesse is working on is docked. I am so glad we decided to do it - driving through The Netherlands and stopping in an adorable town called Alkmaar was beautiful. There is nothing like it. I really wanted to see the tulips and we saw a lot on the drive. 
That night the weather was again perfect, so we of course had more wine and cheese on the deck of the boat and enjoyed the sunset. After that, we headed into town and hit the local skipper's bar...it was awesome. No tourists and just real locals - my kind of traveling! I love to really be around the people that live in the different towns. Needless to say that night was also a blast and the next day we got a little bit of a slow start on the road. We decided to head to Provence for a night. The drive turned out a little longer than we'd hoped and we were exhausted by the time we got there. Stayed in a town called Arles and really just had time for dinner and to sleep. At first, we couldn't find a hotel (I am not good at the spontaneous travel and finding hotels), but finally found a nice one. The next day we took off for Toledo - we thought it was going to be a nice 6 hour drive, but it turned out to be closer to 10...brutal. We tried to find this one hotel we'd read about in town and it was insane...the streets were SO narrow I almost had an anxiety attack driving through them (we had to pull in the mirrors) and when we finally got there, all they had was a room with a twin bed and hardwood floors. We were so tired, but not that tired, so I navigated out of the teeny streets and we found a nice big hotel on the main road just right out of town. Unfortunately we didn't get to enjoy the place b/c it was beautiful, but plan on going back when we head back to Spain. We had a nice quick drive back to Lisbon and were definitely ready to relax a little and wash our clothes!! It was such a great trip - and seemed nice and long. I can't wait for the next one! My dad arrives this week, so I'll just be hanging around town for the next couple weeks and exploring more of Portugal. Very excited! I added the pics from the road trip - they tell the story better than I can :) I attempted to condense them, but to capture it all and the fun times there are definitely a lot. Sorry for the long-winded blog...a lot to cover in the last few weeks. Miss you all and can't wait to share all of my stories live with you when I get back! xo
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