Hola everybody! We’re back from our glorious trip to Spain. And yes, we were crazy enough to make this trip with our little girl who is all of 2.5 years.
The day we went to the Spanish Consulate for our visa appointment, it rained so heavily that visibility on the freeway was almost non-existent and traffic was like a snail taking a leisurely stroll. We were on the road for quite some time and my toddler, who has motion sickness, threw up, got cranky, the works! S had an important meeting later that day and just my luck, I get the chattiest officer of the consulate who took ages to process my visa. So everything that could go wrong, went wrong. And the ‘anxiety girl” that lives in my brain thought, “Is this trip not meant to be?” I should have shut her up right then, because Spain was nothing short of divine! Except for that last leg in Barcelona where there were two robberies.
But let’s talk about the good part first. Spain has so much to offer to the travel-hungry and the adventure-thirsty. What I loved about the country most was that it is so versatile. It is steeped in history and yet there are modern cities jostling for space beside century-old cathedrals. I fell in love with the charming little cafés on every street corner, the narrow cobblestone streets of Sevilla, the history of Cordoba, the hills of Toledo and the zeal of Madrid and Barcelona. I miss those sweet old women who didn’t speak a word of English and yet, tried so hard to guide us to our destination. What I miss the most is the warmth of the people.
Traveling to Spain is one thing, but Spain with a toddler is a whole different ball game. We have taken enough local trips with her to know that we need to keep our expectations super-low. But, M was a champ throughout the trip. We really lucked out. My dear sister (Here she is) and BIL joined us too and it was just a big happy family vacation (I miss them so much as I’m writing this!). Also we had two extra pairs of eyes to watch M, which in itself was a vacation for me!
International travel with a toddler requires a fair amount of planning. I had to remind myself time and again that I was going to Spain and not a desert island. We found most everything she needed really easily, but one can never be too careful. It is certainly a lot easier from when she was an infant. Here is a toddler packing list, which will come in handy (use this as a rough guide) for anyone traveling with a toddler.
| InFlight | Pack this | |
| Cold pack with frozen blocks | Clothes | |
| Prepared Milk – 2 servings | Sunglasses | |
| Smoothies | Hat | |
| Cheese sticks | Jacket | |
| Pull-ups | Sweater | |
| Wipes | Mittens | |
| Hand Sanitizer | ||
| Back-up clothes | Toiletries | Shampoo |
| Sweater | Pull-ups (t0 last till we buy in Spain) | |
| Toys | Toothbrushes (all) | |
| Books (to read) | Toothpaste | |
| Ipad & Ipad charger | Sunscreen | |
| Readymade Mac n Cheese – Safeway | Wipes | |
| Pedialyte Powder | ||
| Toddler Dramamine’ (for motion sickness) | ||
| Toddler Tylenol/Ibuprofen | ||
| Bandaids | ||
| Neosporin | ||
| Soap | ||
| Gear | Stroller | |
| Bottles | ||
| Food | Rice + Moong dal mixture | |
| Small pack of bournvita | ||
| Cheese Sticks | ||
| Cheerios | ||
| Lollipops | ||
| Skittles | ||
| Kraft Mac n cheese – needs cooking | ||
If you’re planning a similar trip, I hope this info helps.
There is so much more I want to write about, so I wanted this post to be a curtain-raiser of sorts, to segue into all future posts about my Spain trip. You can look forward to posts on where to stay, where to eat if you’re a vegetarian and things to do in and around Madrid, Sevilla and Barcelona. I promise it will be a fun trip! Stick around! Hasta Luego!