Summer In Spain - Day 4

Stop 7 - Cariñena, Aragón Region: The next morning we got up and started our journey towards Valencia. On our way, we drove through the beautiful Cariñena, Aragón wine country.

Stop 8 - Gulliver's Park: Once we arrived in Valencia, our first stop was at Gulliver's Park - a giant figure of Gulliver from Gulliver's Travels made into a playground for kids. Although it was a bit hot outside, the kids had a blast climbing up the giant and sliding down his body and hair. A few of us may have gotten burnt going down the slides but it was well worth the pain.

Stop 9 - The House of Cats: After reading about the House of Cats online, we knew we had to add it to our "to do" list. On our way to the house we stopped at a little corner store and picked up a carton of milk. When we arrived at the house, the kids were excited to see that it was a tiny house their size. The detail on the house was amazing! With it's own little balcony and fountain, the cats have a beautiful private entrance to their house. The kids enjoyed pouring milk into the little fountain and peeking in through the door.

Stop 10 - Cullera Beach: We figured that the perfect way to end the day would be at one of Spain's best beaches. The weather was great, the beach was gorgeous, and the kids were able to run free in the water. When I asked Maeli later if she liked sleeping on her towel on the beach, she corrected me and said "We weren't sleeping, we were relaxing."

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Summer in Spain - Day 3

Stop 4 - Running of the Bulls: In order to save money on our hotel, we booked a hotel about a half an hour outside of Pamplona which meant we had to get an even earlier start the morning of the run. I was still debating whether or not to run because it had always been an item on my bucket list but as soon as we saw the crowds in the city, I knew there was no way I could leave Ryan with 3 kids under the age of 4 all by himself in those streets. As we began searching for a spot to watch the run, we quickly realized that there was no way it was going to be a pleasant experience for any of us if we watched it from the streets. It was obvious that the best place to watch was on a balcony above the race. We hadn't reserved a balcony but figured it was worth a shot to offer money to some of the owners to try and get a better view. The first woman we asked took pity on us with our "hoard" of kids and agreed to let us up for a discounted rate. 

Once we got up to the apartment, we had about 45 minutes to kill before the run started. We did our best to entertain our tired, hungry kids by pointing out all of the craziness going on below. Once the horns blew signaling that the bulls were on the street, the race was over before we knew it. The owners of the apartment had the race on tv so we could watch the race in its entirety - even when the bulls weren't outside our balcony. The apartment we watched it from had a pretty good location allowing us to see a good stretch of the run. After the run was complete, we watched the paramedics bring a guy to the ambulance on a stretcher. It was amazing to see all of the crazy reporters climbing on fences trying to get a good picture of the guy. 

The bull run was an item that we specifically planned our trip around and it was truly one of the craziest things we have ever experienced. The energy in the city of Pamplona was amazing and the bull run itself was an experience that we will never forget.

Stop 5 - La Rioja Region: After watching the bull run, we got a quick breakfast in Pamplona and started our journey towards Zaragoza. On our way, we took a detour through the La Rioja region which is known to be some of the beautiful Spanish wine country. It was amazing to see fields of grapevines for miles.

Stop 6 - Parque Grande, José Antonio Labordeta: Since we ended up getting to do all that we wanted to do at the San Fermin Festival the day before, we were able to get into Zaragoza earlier than expected. Randomly, we ended up eating lunch at an American-style mall and found a Southern California taco shop for lunch. While that may not sound exciting to most, having not had Mexican food in a LONG time, we were excited for this unexpected surprise. After the mall, we dropped our gear off at the hotel and headed to Parque Grande. The kids were excited to run free and explore the park. After exploring for a bit, we rented a 4-person bike and finished our excursion with some ice cream cones and duck-watching.

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Summer in Spain - Day 2

Stop 2 - Plaza Nueva Flea Market: The next morning we got up and drove over to the flea market in central Bilbao. The flea market was tiny and mostly consisted of coins and books but was in a beautiful plaza in the midst of alleys of shops. On the way to the market, we walked past a street performer who had a blanket over his body and a small wooden dog head popping out the top. The dogs mouth snapped open and closed creating a clapping sound that you could hear as you walked up. The kids thought the dog was funny and Maeli kept talking about it hours after we left. Needless to say, as weird as the performer was, he got our money.

Stop 3 - San Fermin Festival: After visiting the market, we drove to Pamplona for the kick-off of the San Fermin Festival. From the moment we got into the city, you could feel the awesome energy of the event. The streets were crowded with people wearing white and red and they had vendors lining the streets selling San Fermin gear. We stopped and ate lunch and Ryan got to try paella for the first time. 

After eating, we roamed the streets for a while, enjoying some good "people-watching" and then headed over to the "Giant and Big Heads" parade. The parade was exactly what it sounds like - people dressed in oversize costumes with giant heads on top. We had heard the parade was geared for kids but really had no idea what to expect. Once the big heads all came out, all of the spectators walked into the streets with the heads and danced down the street with them. It was truly unlike any other parade we've ever been to - the kids spent most of the time just trying to figure out what was going on.

Following the parade, we went over to Plaza Conde de Rodezno for what they call the "Menudas Fiestas." it was essentially an entire square dedicated to activities for kids. The activities ranged from bounce houses, to trains, to carnival games. The lines were a bit crazy but it was the perfect way to end the day with the kids.

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Summer In Spain - Day 1

Stop 1 - Bilbao, Spain: After getting into Bilbao in the afternoon, we quickly stopped by our hotel to drop our gear off before heading over to the Guggenheim Museum. Bilbao was super quiet with it being a Saturday evening which made for a nice evening stroll through the city. We stopped at a restaurant by the museum and had our first Spanish meal and then wandered over to the playground situated at the base of the museum to let the kids run wild.

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