What sounds better than a revitalizing trip to warmer weather? Even better when part of the trip is paid for by somebody else, right? Well that’s the situation I found myself in when the wonderful countertop brand Cosentino reached out to a handful of Midwest interior designers and invited us to their headquarters tour in Almería Spain. Dream trip! We would not only be able to visit their headquarters, but also see their stone quarries. Swoon. The catch? All we had to do was book our flights and then they would put us up in a hotel and feed us for 3 days. Deal! My husband and I are avid travelers and Spain has been at the top of my husband’s wish list for years. We booked our flights and added extra days so we could visit surrounding areas and see breathtaking architecture. We planned to go to the South of Spain for 10 days. We were so excited about this trip….. and then on my husband’s 36th birthday, he got in a snow skiing accident and had to have a complete knee reconstruction surgery because he tore his ACL and ripped his MCL and PCL off the bone. Yikes! So this is the blog about where we would have gone and what I would have packed.
When we travel abroad we love to be efficient- both in our packing and in the chronological order of the locations we visit. (See our travel must have list HERE.) So when we planned our trip to the South of Spain, we looked at all the places we wanted to go and how we could navigate from town to town with as little “time waste” as possible. We never want to retrace our steps. We wanted to hit every town in an order so we decided to start at the top and work our way down. We planned to fly into Madrid, then ride a train to Cordoba. There we would see the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, officially known by its ecclesiastical name of Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. We would take the train to Seville and stay there for the night. We planted to visit the Royal Alcázar of Seville, Stroll along Sevilla’s Plaza de Espana and dine at Restaurante El Pintón. We hadn’t booked our hotel yet but we were eyeing Corral del Rey, Hospes Las Casas Del Rey De Baeza, Pájaro Rebelde Sevilla or Plácido y Grata. The warm plaster and terracotta tiles evoke an arid feeling and with the hot southern sun beating down on us, we planned to pack in lightweight clothing to beat the heat. In order to stay fashionable I was envisioning lightweight linen in colors that would compliment the surroundings: red, ivory and yellow!
We love doing day trips so we looked at a full day trip that included transport to Ronda and Setenil. Ronda was a location they visited on the Amazing Race season 34 episode 10. Check it out! Setenil Spain is known for it’s whitewashed homes that are built under a cliff. It’s truly remarkable! Next stop: Malaga!! There is so much to see and do in the vibrant city of Malaga Spain. I especially wanted to visit the famous Botanical Gardens in Malaga. From here we wanted to do a day trip to Camito Del Rey so we could hike the incredible hiking paths there. Then we would proceed to Almeria to tour the stone quarries.
Finally we would end in Grenada. I have long swooned over the interiors of Hotel Casa 1800 in Granada. The plaster walls, traditional furnishings and exquisite details are sure to entice any design lover. I thought a lot of natural fiber accessories would be the perfect fit. We focused on woven straw, leather and pearls because they compliment the naturally warm environment we’re in. All of these accessories and outfits can easily be mixed and matched because they all compliment the beautiful setting of Southern Spain…. Ohhh what could have been. I hope we visit in the future because it looks lovely!