Day 8/9/10 - Picasso, Monaco and Portofino...

So a week into this adventure I find myself waking up in Baux-de-Provence to pack and get on the road towards.... if you guessed Monaco... 2 points for you. Christine and Phillipe, the owners of the absolutely wonderful "Riboto" hotel, urged us to stop at a type of art museum down the road by the name of Cathedrale D'Images before leaving town. Our decision to check it out may well be the best decision of the trip. The Cathedrale D'Images is likely like no other art gallery I'll ever see again. A stone quarry turned art installation - this gallery was featuring the works of Picasso this year. The art projections on the walls, columns and floors were complimented with music giving a art experience like I've never had before. It's pretty amazing how you can find these amazing unique art concepts in the most remote towns in Europe.

After the great visit - it was off to Monaco to our Hotel #4 in the Hotel Tour - the Hotel Monaco - Port Palace (http://www.portpalace.com/). Although ideally located and stylish - I have to admit the hotel felt somewhat out of place in Monaco. Nevertheless - the location directly on the harbor was ideal for visiting the Monte Carlo Casino and strolling past the fortune of yachts moored just outside our window. My overall impression of Monaco was a little too commercialized with swarms of tourists everywhere looking to take pictures with the miriad of Bentley's and Ferrari's around town. Nevertheless - it was worth the visit and as quickly as we had gotten there - we were off to our next destination: Portofino, Italy.

To be clear - Portofino was not originally on the itinerary as we had planned to drive directly from Monaco to Firenze, Italy. We added Portofino last minute to breakup the drive into two days and it will likely be the best decision of the trip. I will not go into the details of Portofino - I will only say it is likely the most amazing place I have visited. Our "home" for the night was Hotel Splendido (http://www.hotelsplendido.com/) - Hotel #5 on our Hotel Tour and likely the gem of the entire trip. A 56-room property built on a lush green cliff above the "Plazzeta" of Portofino - the hotel perfect the art of casual elegance. A spectacular lunch of carpaccio and pesto spagetini was followed by a walk through town and dinner in the Plazzeta below. I have to say - it was tough leaving this amazing place but it is on the "Will Return" List without question.

Day 5/6/7 - Adios Barcelona.... Bon Jour France.

Day 5 marked our second day in Barcelona and kicked off with a quick breakfast and off to the other amazing Gaudi house – Casa Batllo. This is Gaudi’s more famous residence in Barcelona and unlike Casa Mila – is representative of Gaudi’s modernistic style both inside and out. ‘Amazing’ falls terribly short in describing this work.

After Casa Batllo and with perfect weather abound – we decided to jump on the ultra popular, ultra-convenient Bus Turistic which operates a double decker open-air tour bus around all of Barcelona. Our first stop – La Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia is a still-in-construction Gaudi masterpiece and his lifework obsession engulfing the last 40 or so years of his career. Even at less than 50% built – I can say it is without question one of the most fantastic structures I have ever visited. Pictures are poor representatives of the imagination and detail in this project and I only hope to see it completed sometime in my lifetime. I struggle to compare it with any other man-made structure I’ve ever seen – maybe the Vatican? I would think the Taj Mahal evokes the same awe and wonder but that is still on the travel “To Do” list for me so for now – add La Sagrada Familia to the Wonders of the World list for Luis.

Next Stop: Park Guell – another fantastic Gaudi project built on top the large hill to the west of the city. At this point – my visit to Barcelona has clearly become a personal study of the work of Antoni Gaudi and I am thrilled it has. Park Guell was just another example of taking the simple, mundane and making it extraordinary and fantastic. Pictures below.

With the late afternoon upon us – a quick trip back to the hotel was followed with some fantastic tapas before jumping on a previously planned “Nit” Tour of Barcelona. With so many amazing buildings and monuments – I could not resist the chance to see these lit up at night. (Pictures below).

The biggest (and best) surprise of the tour was the “Magic Fountain” in the less visited Plaza Espana. Think –Bellagio in Vegas meets Trevi Fountain in Rome meets Disney on their best day… and you’ll get the idea. The plaza is filled with locals and tourists alike enjoying the cool summer air and the water + color + music spectacle at the foot of the great Palau Nacional. If you visit Barcelona – make this a stop. It is often overlooked and really should not be.

The tour finished near midnight with Day 5 drawing to a close with a few last minute pictures of the Murmuri Hotel. Enjoy!

Day 6 involved saying “Adios” to Barcelona as we picked up the rest of the family at the airport and headed north to France. Our destination – a small town nestled in the middle of nowhere called Moltig-les-Bains. On our drive up the west coast of Spain – we stopped in a small town called Figueres – famed to be the birth place of a guy called – Salvador Dali. After a quick stop in the Dali Museum – we were back on the road crossing the border into France.

Moltig-les-Bains is a “nowhere” town nestled in the Pyrenees mountains about an hour drive inland from Perpignon just north of the Spain/France border. The destination – Hotel #2 on our Hotel Tour – Chateau de Riell (http://www.chateauderiell.com/). I’ll let the pictures do the talking for this property. A walk around the property was followed by a wonderful dinner – my choices escargot (first) with a mandarin glazed duck (second). Magnific! FYI – as wonderful as a night in a castle may sound – it was hard not to think – this hotel is top of list of places I’ve ever visited on the “Most Likely to be Haunted” scale. Luckily – the excellent meal and wine helped me sleep like a baby. Goodnight!

After a nice breakfast in the Russian-style “tea room” on the side of the property – we were off to Day 7 and our second destination in France: Les Baux-de-Provence. The hotel chosen for this little town was a little gamble by the name of Riboto de Taven (http://www.riboto-de-taven.fr/). Unlike Murmuri in Barcelona (Preferred Boutiques) and Chateau de Riell (Relaix & Chateau), this small property is not affiliated with any hotel company or organization. It is literally a family-owned property with a husband/wife/brother team running the entire hotel and restaurant. Driving the small streets of “Baux” I must say I was a little nervous driving up to the property – only to be pleasantly surprised by the property. Truly unique and again – I’ll let the pictures enchant.

With a few hours before dinner – we decided to walk up to the actual village of Baux at the top of the mountain steps from the hotel. Another pleasant surprise awaited us at the top with a beautiful town lost in time which by total chance turns out to be one of the top “medieval” tourist spots in southern Europe. Who knew? I was just looking for a cool hotel. (see below).

Dinner was as expected (the property was a restaurant before a hotel) amazing with the star being an artichoke and cod salad that was sans doubt – best salad of my life (and I HATE salad). It is amazing how a chef can make a simple fish like cod taste like anything he/she wants – in this case: garlic infused lobster.

An exhausting few days but truly spectacular all the same – tomorrow is a few more sights in Baux before leaving the countryside for a little more urban feel. Any guesses?

Day 3/4 - Barcelona by Sea

For those who thought I'd quit after Day 2.... PISS OFF!!!

I've been a little busy but lots of fun over the last two days to share... Day 3 in Mallorca was light as it involved a ton of packing and last minute itinerary changes (more on that later). Regardless, after a very nice day at home - we packed up our bags and kicked off the roadtrop/hotel tour. By hotel tour - I mean Dad and I boarding the S.S. Who Knows What? at midnight to take our overnight "cruise" to Barcelona. This would TECHNICALLY start our "hotel" tour with a simple yet clean cabin waiting for us for our 7 hour overnight voyage.

I wake up to Day 4 with the unnessarily loud speakerphone man telling us we've arrived to our destination. Barcelona!

A short drive from the Port of Barcelona gets us to Rambla de Catalunya (streets are called Ramblas for the most part here) and to our actual first hotel destination - the boutique hotel Murmuri (http://www.murmuri.com/) = a spectacularly modern property which I was loving. A trippy all glass elevator takes me to my room 406 to find the incredible design continued.

The hotel tour is off and running and so far off to a great start.

After a quick breakfast, our first stop is Casa Mila (aka La Pedrera) - a architectural work by Antoni Gaudi. The architecture in Barcelona was one of my top points of interest and this first stop did not dissapoint. 50 or so pictures later - you get to see the two below (entrance, rooftop)... in a word - remarkable.

After Casa Mila - we start on a walk down the entirety of Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is a long touristy yet fascinating street that goes from the city center roughly to the the sea port. The walk itself is a walk through the cultural "shades" of Catalunya with sections of the long street dedicated to various themes - starting with PETS of all things (literally - you can buy a pet bird on the street) to flowers to art crafts to street performers. Halfway down we come across La Boqueria.

Friends - I've been to dozens of open air markets in my day and nothing I can say will describe this spectacle appropriately. Imagine a football field filled with every fruit, vegetable, fish, meat, poultry, shellfish, herb, spice, cheese and related (e.g. Ostrich Egg perhaps) and you may begin to come close to this absolutely ridiculous market. Endless colorful rows of fresh product of all sorts. With a kitchen (and culinary skills) lacking - we decided to eat at one of the several in-market "eat at the bar" kitchens serving the very same super fresh meats and seafood of the market. To say the least - amazing.

After that - a quick rest and recovery at the hotel before dinner at a fabulous tapas bar called Cerveceria Catalunya just down the street from the hotel.

A after dinner walk brought us across another five star property worth a mention here - La Casa Fuster - a Leading Hotels of the World hotel. A quick walk through highlighted beautiful arched walkways with a large dimly lit lounge clearly mixing the jazz lounge feel with the modern edgy design of the city. Pictures below for your viewing enjoyment.

And that brings day 4 to a close - a very busy day but full of great sights, sounds - and of course - FOOD! Tomorrow is another day.

Day 2 - Around the Island

OK.. so 2nd post... let's see how long I can actually keep this Blog thing going... :)

So woke up to a beautiful cloudless morning in Mallorca with a wonderful breakfast of toast, jam, cheese and, of course, jamon iberico. For those who haven't had jamon bellota... look it up. It will change your life. Took a quick trip to the rooftop to see the latest changes to it... I have to say... home run!! Polished dark woods with white rocks and asian-inspired giant potted plants. More to come on this later.

At noon, the family and I took a trip to (no jokes) the gym. :) The local gym is of course.. amazing, in the classic arabian style with vaulted archways and indoor/outdoor pool. I decided to try and swim for half an hour and let's just say... after 5 minutes i almost had a heart attack in the pool. KUDOS to my swimming buddies.... swimming is no joke hard when you are doing it competitively.

After the gym a nice rooftop lunch.. and then off to Valentina's piano recital at the Real Club Nautico . Vale has been taking piano lessons since she was 6 and it shows. She played Nocturne by Chopin. Amazing! My music playing past involves a 2-6 month stint on about every instrument you can think of... (guitar, piano, violin, etc)... never really got off the ground with any of them. However, I happen to be a musical prodigy on the bongos... for those who have heard my work. :)



After the recital, a walk into downtown for dinner at El Caballito de Mar (translation: Seahorse) to meet up with Aunt/Uncle/Cousins on the island. A nice shot of one of the many beautiful walks in downtown Mallorca below.

Dinner ended at about 11:30 (early in spanish terms) but enough of Day 2. Day 3 will be busy with our overnight trip to Barcelona. More to come.

Day 1 - Mallorca Bound

Welcome to Luis´s Hotels and Bread Crumbs Blog.

If you are reading this.. its means you either a) googled hotels and bread crumbs and found yourself here or b) decided it is worth your 5 minutes to see what the hell your friend\ex\enemy\coworker is up to this summer. Either way.. happy reading and i hope you enjoy my rambling as this is my first blog ever.

First a quick intro to the name... for those who know my plans this summer.. hotels will be a big part of this blog as I will be visiting several properties all along the "Côte d'Azur" on my roadtrip from Barcelona to Rome. The Bread Crumbs is a reference to the concept of "finding your way home". Ironically - this summer trip for me in many ways is very much about "home" although that home not at all being four walls and a front door. It is about family and friends... and ensuring that no matter where the winds take me.. I remember the great people who have loved and supported me along the way. This roughly 5 week trip in Europe also marks the longest continuous time to be spent with my dad since I was ten years old... so a concept of "home with dad" is a big part of this adventure.

With that said.. let's get to today. I´m writing this first entry from the Iberia Business Lounge in the Barajas Airport in Madrid, domestic terminal. As no surpise for anyone who has traveled Iberia, my flight was 3 hours delayed out of JFK which meant a lost connection to Mallorca and another 3 hours of chillin at the airport before the next flight out. If you guessed that this blog is part of me burning these 3 hours in some type of productive yet not work\school related way - give yourself 2 points in the ´I know Luis´category.


Barring the delay, the flight across the pond was pleasant.. with a mad dash before taking off to respond to the many very nice ´gonna miss you´notes from some very special friends in NYC. I have to say the last day and a half in NYC was very tough.. and i do not mean the killer hangover from saturday night. It really did hit me that NYC has been really pretty spectacular over the years and the people i have met.. as well as the old friends that came along for the nyc ride... made this city like no other. Lucky for me... many many friends made my last weekend one for the books with friends from every chapter in my life showing up to send me off. In the seat next to me was Fran, a spanish chap coming back from a week in NYC with his girl. Unfortunately - Fran got upgraded to Business with his girlfriend stuck in Coach. He mentioned it happens all the time which he managed by having his girlfriend switch with him in the middle of the night.... pretty funny. As we got to talking, I decided to pick his brain regarding the spanish healthcare system. With all the buzz of Universal Healthcare currently running through the US media... I wanted to get educated on what other countries are doing and how its really working from people "on the ground." Long story short - Fran had nothing but good things to say about the Spanish "socialized medicine" program. He said yes - there is waiting list for non-essential treatments but that anthing urgent is treated immediately and the entire program is funded by employer contributions. I was interested at how this program was first developed as I see the long fight against private interests in the US coming and Fran explained the social medicine program is one of the only remnants of the Franco regime. Interesting to say the least.

damn... gonna miss my flight.. to be continued.