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1. What are your top five spots for cheap eats in Barcelona?
Juicy Jones for inventive Vegetarian at ridiculously low prices; Bar Pinotxo in the Mercat de la Boquería for market fresh Catalan tapas; Buenas Migas for upscale fast food on great house-baked bread; Origen 99.9 for unbelievably good value Catalan food (their magazine/menu is also a great place to get a primer on Catalan cuisine); Bar Jai-Ca in Barceloneta for finger-licking good fried squid eaten shoulder-to-shoulder with rowdy locals.
2. Top spots to grab tapas in Madrid?
Anywhere around Calle Cava Baja in the barrio of La Latina. Some favorites include: El Tempronillo, Juana la Loca, Alemendro 13. Around Sol/Plaza Mayor, El Abuelo for shrimp, Las Bravas for spicy potatoes. By Opera, El Ñeru for Asturian tapas and hard cider poured from overhead by the bartenders. In Chueca, Cisne Azul for wild mushrooms. This list could go on indefinitely.
3. Where would you take a week-long road trip?
Along the Northern Costa Verde, Green Coast starting in San Sebastian in the Basque Country and heading west to Cudillero in Asturias. It will take you past some of the most lovely scenery in Spain--lush green hills, steely mountains with snow-capped peaks, churning blue ocean, infinite sky. Inland you'll find Romanesque structures from the 8th and 9th centuries and beyond that, the vineyards of La Rioja. And throughout the area, amazing food, particularly in Pais Vasco—Pintxos (bite-sized tapas) in San Sebastian's Parte Vieja (old center) are a must and if I had only one day in Spain, this is where I'd spend it. Further along the coast, you'll come to Bilbao and the amazing titanium swirl of the Guggenheim museum. Continue West and you'll enter the region of Cantabria where you can't miss the villages of Comillas, Santillana del Mar, and San Vincente de la Barquera. Next you enter Asturias and some of the most dramatic coast in Spain—barely two miles from the sea, the Picos de Europa mountains rise up to over 8,000 feet. Stunning! All along the coast are beautiful beaches such as Playa del Silencio and Playas de las Cuevas del Mar. This is also sider country and you'll find siderías (cider bars) everywhere all featuring great menus of fresh seafood from the Cantabrian Sea. Finish in Cudillero, a charming fishing villages famous for its brightly colored houses clinging along a cliff.
4. What is your favorite weekend getaway spot?
If I had just one weekend, I'd take the AVE (high speed train) down to Sevilla and spend the days enjoying the architecture (and hopefully a bullfight if it is the season), the evenings indulging in tapas in the Barrio Santa Cruz, and the nights listening to flamenco in Triana.
5. Top 3 Museums?
Museo del Prado in Madrid, the Museu Picasso in Barcelona, and Museo Chillida Leku just outside of San Sebastián.
6. Five best places to stay on a budget?
In Barcelona, Gat Xino, Gat Raval, Banys Oriental. For the youth hostellers, Gothic Point and Alberg Palau.
In Madrid, Hostal Santa Isabel, Hotel El Prado, Hotel Plaza Mayor. For youth hostellers, Cat's and Mad.
In Valencia, Hostal Antigua Morellana, Home Deluxe Hostel. For youth hostellers, Home Backpackers, Red Nest and Purple Nest.
In Sevilla, Pensión Alcázar, Hostería Doña Lina. For youth hostellers, Oasis Backpacker's.
7. Favorite sea-side town?
For big city vibes sea-side, I adore Valencia. It has an atmospheric medieval center, a thumping night life, a gourmet scene of great restaurants, an abundance of green space and parks, an ultra-modern cultural complex (La Ciutat), paella, paella, paella, and miles of beaches.
8. Favorite beaches?
Along the Costa de la Luz in the province of Cádiz in Andalucía--Bolonia for Roman ruins on the dunes and Caños de Meca for great chiringuitos (bars on the beach) and bohemian vibe. On the Asturian coast in the North, Playa de Silencio and Playa Cuevas del Mar for breathtaking natural beauty free from the crowds. In the Islas Baleares, Es Trenc on Mallorca, Llevant and Mighorn on Formentera, and Cala Macarella on Menorca.
9. Best place to see flamenco?
If there is duende (the ethereal passion that fuels flamenco), then wherever you are will be the best flamenco experience of your life whether it is a "tourist trap" or a dive bar. The best flamenco I ever heard was in the back room of a bar in Burgos, not an area know for its duende, but there it was. A few places that are consistently conducive to duende include: In Sevilla, the barrio of Triana, Casa Anselma; In Jerez, any of the peñas (social clubs) in the Barrio Santiago; In Granada, the zambras (caves) in Sacramonte, they may be touristy, but you can hear some amazing flamenco. In Madrid, for impromptu shows, La Solea, for something more formal, Casa Patas, it is pricey but tends to be worth it.
10. Top 5 historic sites?
The 1st century Roman Aqueduct in Segovia--one of the best preserved aqueducts in the world---very impressive!
The Judería, Jewish quarter of Toledo, one of the most atmospheric places in all of Spain, make an effort to spend the night to really enjoy the moody cobbled streets.
Gaudí's buildings. Barcelona's native son was an architectural genius and no one since has brought such wild whimsy to building--La Sagrada Familía, La Pedrera, Casa Battló, Parc Güell.
La Alhambra in Granada, quite rightly this magnificent structure should hold the title of World Wonder.
The old medieval centers of Caceres and Trujillo (both in Extremadura), built in the 15th and 16th ages by Spanish conquistadors who brought wealth, treasures (and occasionally wives) home from the New World.
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