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When I think about our recent Knitting Basket Knitting and Kumihimo Trip to Spain, the first word that comes to mind is AMBITIOUS. Our group of 33 saw everything there was to see (and eat) in Madrid, San Sebastian and Barcelona - in two weeks! No small feat and very tired feet. The adventure, led by Bill York, was meticulously choreographed with a nice balance between group and individual time. The participants on the trip, more like a large family, blended beautifully mixing and flowing from one group to another. I taught three Kumihimo Classes and Irene York inspired the knitters of the group with a new knitting project. It was a great trip.
Our first stop was Madrid. The streets were packed around the clock with people, shoulder to shoulder. I felt like I was in the middle of a parade everywhere we went. It was exciting. The first night we dined at Restaurante Botin, listed by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest restaurant. Turning out meals since 1725, Restaurante Botin is packed to the gills every night. We had plenty to see and do at the Prado, Picasso and Thyssen museums that were within walking distance of our hotel (okay, some took a cab back). The Teatro Real and the Royal Place were spectacular. While in Madrid we also visited Toledo, a beautiful city packed with churches and cathedrals and we are all convinced that's where the phrase "Holy Toledo" originated.
After Madrid, we took a comfortable bus to San Sebastian where, upon entering the city limits, we had a police escort to our gorgeous hotel, Hotel Londres, located on the beautiful and picturesque Bay of La Concha. 
 San Sebastian, located in the Basque country, is one of the most famous destinations in Spain. We had a great tour guide, Agustin Ciriza of Gorilla Trip, show us the sights of the city where he grew up. His tour provided us the "lay of the land", so to speak, and on our free days we all explored the picturesque coastal city with confidence. Loved, loved, loved it. Old, rich, historical, pristine are a few words that come to mind. We also took a day trip, with Agustin, to Bilbao where we all perused the famous Guggenheim Museum. Kind of fun to see the real deal - the works of Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky and many, many more! A favorite pastime in San Sebastian was exploring the Old Town, Parte Vieja, meandering paver lined allies through tall buildings that housed shops, apartments, restaurants and bars. We did some shopping, but mostly grazed at the many Tapas bars. We ate out way through San Sebastian. Delightful.
Barcelona was the final destination on our Spain adventure. Colorful, bustling, busy and exciting, Barcelona is the 2nd biggest city in Spain with 2 million  people within the city limits. Our hotel, located right on upper part of Las Rambla was adjacent to EVERYTHING! Not being a fan of super "touristy" things, I did one of the most touristy things of all - I rode the "Hop-on-Hop-off" double decker bus and toured the city sites hopping on and off the bus whenever I wanted with no time limits. I spent my time exploring three of the many districts and marveled at the confounding maze of narrow medieval streets in El Born and Barri Gotic to the uniform grid pattern residential streets of Eixample with Art Nouveau architecture of well-known  architects like Antoni Gaudi. The Sagrada Familia was breathtaking (and so was the line to get in) and the Palau de la Musica Catalana was spectacular. I loved Park Guell and went back for a second visit!
We all arrived home, exhausted, a few pounds heavier, a couple of inches shorter and with stories to tell and memories to reflect back on. I so appreciate the wonderful people on these trips which make the experience extra special and extra rich. Each year I get to see old friends as well as make new friends which, when combined, make for an incredible journey. I thank everyone for making my trip so great. Click here to check out the Spain 12013 Slideshow!
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reminded of it when I returned home from Spain. I packed very carefully for my trip but by the time I returned, 2 weeks later, my suitcase was not so perfect. In fact, many of my Kumihimo necklace had rolled around until that looked a bit out of sorts. 
