Travel notes

My guiding principles 

Slow down 
Pay attention, savour, appreciate. Stay longer in fewer places. Be open to spontaneity.
Support local and small businesses
Immerse myself in the local culture. Frequent family run businesses. Go beyond the touristy areas to lesser known places and neighborhoods.
Consider my carbon footprint
Explore by foot, use public transit, take train journeys. Purchase carbon offsets for air travel.
Be grateful
Look for ways to give back. I am fortunate to be able to travel.

Responsible Travel is a UK company promoting trips that support local communities and preserve nature. I was looking for a self guided walking tour in Spain so I narrowed my search on their site using this criteria (there are many trips to choose from!) You can also search by region (e.g., Andalucia). This is how I discovered the eco-friendly Posada San Marcos run by Lucy and Ángel and their amazing walking tour from Alájar (with detailed and easy to follow walking notes). They were super knowledgeable, friendly and helpful hosts. Their posada feels more like a home than a hotel. Rooms are named after Alajar’s hamlets, and these illustrations are hung outside each room door (my room Collado is shown below).

Devour Tours offers food and culture tours, mainly in Spain but there are a few others in Europe. They take you to family run shops and restaurants and support local traditions. I loved the three tours I took (the evening Tapas, Tavernas and History tours in both Madrid and Sevilla and the daytime Taste, Tapas, and Tradtions tour in Sevilla).

Spain Revealed (YouTube channel created by James Blick, co-founder of Devour Tours) is a fun and informative resource for food culture, Madrid and places to visit in Spain. His Madrid Revealed guide was also really helpful to navigate the city and learn “how to eat and drink like a local”.

Pure Leapfrog is the company that runs the carbon offset program for British Airways. You have to purchase the offset separately on this site (rather than at ticket purchase) and can add a contribution for sustainable fuel. There’s a calculator to determine the carbon emissions of your ticket (my return Toronto-Madrid flight was 1.44 tCO2e, $90 for the offset plus sustainable fuel contribution).

Renfe is the national train company. The long distance high speed trains are called AVE. Book AVANTE if available since it’s as fast but cheaper. It’s easy to book tickets online at Renfe.com, which I did mostly while I was in Spain (except for my first train trip Madrid-Sevilla).

Unlike the train there are multiple bus companies in Spain. For my bus from Sevilla to Alájar, the company was Damas damas-sa.es. For Sevilla to Córdoba it was Alsa alsa.com (train is much faster for this route).

Hotel Viento 10 is a wonderful family run hotel in Córdoba, run by father and son (both Gerardo). It’s on the edge of the old city, away from the main tourist areas but easily walkable. Beautifully restored building, amazing breakfast and friendly and helpful hosts.

For places to eat and drink, if I named a restaurant/tavern/shop in a post, then it means I liked it! Some standouts: Sal Gordo and Casa Ramon (both in Seville), La Tinaja Córdoba (Córdoba), Rincon de Juan (Aracena) and La Plazita (Alájar).

Responsible Travel is a UK company promoting trips that support local communities and preserve nature. The Alicante self guided walking tour (no longer available) was run by Erik, who operates a stylish newly renovated inn in Taberna at the end of the trek: Can Perles (he can help with walks from this base). He booked the accommodation in the other 7 villages I stayed, all locally or family run. The hearty delicious dinners (such as the grilled swordfish below) were also prearranged which was appreciated at the end of a day of hiking (and there was often only one place to eat in the village). The mountain terrain was more challenging than my walk in the Sierra de Aracena.

Hotel Nou Roma is a nice 11 room hotel in Dénia. Great location in the historic centre, close to the castle. It is built around a leafy inner patio. The buffet breakfast was excellent.

Barracart apartments in El Cabanyal maritime district was a fantastic base for my week in Valencia. The studio apartment was thoughtfully and fully equipped (even laundry!), super stylish and comfortable. Everything is automated, no front desk, but the helpful and friendly manager (Olga) was available anytime by WhatsApp. Easy bus ride into centre of Valencia and a commuter train station in El Cabanyal for other day trips.

There are so many great places to eat in El Cabanyal. Places that stand out for me: Bodega Anyora, Casa Montaña, Bodega Bar Flor, and Bodega Aldeana 1927 (just thinking about their traditional rice dish Fesols i Naps, served in sturdy cast iron pot, makes me want to hop back on a plane to Valencia).

Withlocals offers guided private tours by locals. Pick a tour and choose a local. I had a lovely three hour walking tour around Valencia with Valentín López. He helped me get acquainted with the city and was patient as I practiced my Spanish (tours are available in English).

Toni Barranco (YouTube) lives in the city of Valencia and ventures into small towns around the region and further afield. Great ideas for day trips and good practice for my Spanish (English subtitles).

My transfers to the beginning of my trek (airport – Finestrat) and from the end of my trek (Tarbena – Dénia) were arranged by Erik. From Dénia to Valencia I travelled by bus (alsa.com).

Air France offers extra options to reduce the carbon footprint of your flight. I purchased options for Sustainable Aviation Fuel ($61) which reduces CO2 emissions by at least 75%, and Tree for Trip Programme to fund a reforestation project ($48).

Hotel 7 Las Islas is a family-run hotel in the Malasaña neighborhood, a few hundred metres north of Gran Vía. I walked everywhere from there. Nice airy white rooms (Islas refers to the Canary Islands). I was glad to be have a quiet interior facing room.

Salamanca Studio Suites are modern suites (incl. small kitchenette) on Plaza Libertad (photo on left below) which is steps from Plaza Mayor. Amazing location. Helpful and friendly staff. It was easy to pop out for breakfast, many cafes nearby.

Hotel Infanta Isabel has a prime location on Plaza Mayor in Segovia (photo on right below). Bright traditional decor. My spacious room overlooking Plaza Mayor was lovely and quiet (there were a double layer of windows).

Renfe trains: Madrid-Salamanca (1 hr 41 minutes), Salamanca-Avila (1 hr 25 minutes), Segovia-Madrid (28 min)

Avanza bus Ávila-Segovia (1 hr). There is a train but more options by bus.

I traveled from Segovia to Madrid Barajas airport on my day of departure to avoid staying an additional night in Madrid. It worked well as the train from Segovia goes to Madrid Charmatin station (28 minutes, plus a good 10-15 minute walk to the metro) and from there you can take the metro to directly to Barajas airport (20 minutes, departs every 30 minutes). There is a shuttle bus from the metro at T4 to T1 (this took a good 20 minutes).

Air Canada offset program is with Chooose. Offset for C02 emissions (561.76 kg) was $13.65. It was not easy to find this program (according to Air Canada customer service it is supposed to be integrated with ticket purchase but it was not when I purchased my flight). Note: you can now add this offset with ticket purchase.

Madrid restaurants and taverns I enjoyed: Casa Ciriaco, Restaurante La Sanabresa, Restaurante El Bierzo, Bodega Ardosa, Casa Baranda, Lambuzo Conchas.

My second Devour Tour in Madrid: the Tapas and Flamenco tour. Wonderful. The venue for the flamenco show was intimate and our seats where in front of the stage.

I took 2 guided tours in Salamanca: Leyendas, Curiosidades y Subterrráneos de la Salamanca Oculta and Todo Salamanca Monumental. I booked them in advance on the website but they can also be booked at the tourist office on Plaza Mayor.

Is this making you curious about Spain? Check out my list of things I love about Spain.

I found the self guided Umbrian walking tour through Responsible Travel. The 6 night tour was organized by the family-run company Italian Delights. Patrizia and Guilia (mother and daughter) planned a wonderful itinerary, booked my accommodations, provided me with detailed walking notes and were available throughout my stay. Loved the small medieval towns and easy relaxed walking through the green Umbrian valley.

Hotel Locanda della Posta is a fantastic hotel on Corso Vannucci in Perugia. Step inside this old house to find modern, fresh, comfortable rooms. The breakfast spread was extensive and served in a beautiful frescoed dining room. Hostesses were very helpful with suggestions for things to do and booking dinner reservations.

As for those dinners, I enjoyed delicious meals in the lofty stone vaulted dining space above the bodega at Osteria a Priori and at colourful Maramao Pane e Vin further down Via dei Priori. At lunch I had a great wood fired pizza at Pizzeria Mediterranea.

Train travel booked through TrenItalia: Rome-Perugia (3 hours, change trains in Foligno), Perugia-Foligno (45 minutes), Foligno-Rome (2 hours). Stick with 2nd class (the seats seem to be the same in 1st class.)

Hotel Oceania Rome was a Rick Steves recommendation. It’s a great little family run hotel on the upper floors of an old palazzo. Traditional decor, reasonably priced, breakfast served in an elegant dining room, attentive 24 hour service, and the owners (Stefano and his wife) are lovely.

If you find yourself in Rome at Christmas, I suggest booking traditional set meals in advance (though there were a surprising number of restaurants open in the historic centre both December 24 and 25 so you could easily find pasta and pizza). We enjoyed our Christmas Eve seafood dinner at Hosteria iClementini and the traditional long and leisurely Christmas lunch at Hosteria Grappolo D’Oro (photos below).

Devour Tours is in Rome! In the Taste and Traditions day time tour (Testaccio Food and Market Tour), we visited several stalls in the market (fresh ricotta was a standout as well as caramelized onion pizza) and then sat down at a restaurant for three traditional Roman pasta dishes (think plenty of pecorino and guanciale). Since it was Christmas time, our final stop was in a bakery for chocolate pear Panettone (so yummy).