Spain Directory of Tips, Stories, and Advice

When Can We Get a Real Spanish Tapas Bar in the USA?

We were spoiled when we went on a vacation in Spain for our honeymoon.

There is no easier way to say it than that.

From the world-class cuisine, free-flowing wine, all the way to the famous ham that we ate with every single meal, Spain satisfied our appetites with every bite.

After returning home we tried to find a great restaurant that embodied all of the wonderful meals we had while in Spain. In particular, was our quest to find a great tapas bar with the small plates of food that we had just about every day in the country.

But as it turns out, tapas bars in the style we fell in love with are hard to come by, and our search has gone on unfulfilled for the last year.

Missing Siesta Time in Seville

Without a doubt, Seville was my favorite city we stayed in during our honeymoon in Spain. Angie and I bicker about this one quite a bit because her heart was left in Granada (read our Granada restaurant review to find out why), but something about Seville keeps dragging me back.

It is hard to say what exactly about the city has the allure to me, other than its amazing architecture and tasty, cheap Spanish food.

Whether or not we settle this argument is one thing but one major piece of information is true, we both agree that our stay in Seville was one of the hottest during our time in Spain.

Even though I have significant disdain for being excessively hot while traveling, as I found out while spending three weeks traveling the Middle East in August, something about this hot weather in Spain is inviting. It could be that it is a dry heat and not humid like we have at home, but there is something far more important at play that makes this weather bearable: the siesta.

The Quest for the Best Churros con Chocolate in Madrid

One of the things we were most looking forward to about our recent trip to Spain was devouring churros con chocolate.

Fried to crisp perfection and served alongside rich dark chocolate, these are not your soggy elementary school cafeteria churros bathed in achingly sweet cinnamon sugar.

No, these are grown-up churros.

Everyone has their opinion on who makes the best churros and who makes the best chocolate, so we were eager to set the record straight on this matter while we were in Spain.

The title of best churros con chocolate would be decided in a battle, a battle where only the best, crispiest churros and deepest, darkest chocolate sauces come out alive. This is Churros con Chocolate Death Battle Royale!

Madrid seemed to be the epicenter of the churros con chocolate phenomena, so we decided the battle would take place there. The contenders? Restaurante Hegar, Chocolateria San Gines, and Valor.

Three go in, but only one can come out the victor of this death battle.

How Much Was Our Our Two Week Spain Honeymoon?

After returning from our Spain honeymoon, we had one question more than all others: just how much did it cost?

Well, we are not afraid to let the world know that we spent just about $5,885 for our 15-day luxury honeymoon in Spain, or about $392/day.

While that number is high, as Spain is known for being relatively inexpensive for the budget traveler, keep in mind the fact that we went all out in nearly every aspect of the honeymoon with little regard to prices.

Spain was actually our chosen destination for this very reason as we'd much rather spend more money in a cheaper destination doing everything we wanted to rather than skimping in a more expensive destination just to get by within a manageable budget.

But like all things on this site, we kept a record of our spending. Yes, even on our honeymoon we still worked to log every penny spent to give you a complete idea on what it would be like to travel the way we do.

Of course, as this trip was our honeymoon and is the opposite of what most people consider for budget or long-term travel, we'll do our best to highlight the reasons why our number was significantly higher than what should be required.