Spain, with a Baby: Part I

Last Fall we packed up our backpacks, and our eleven-month old son, and went to Spain for ten days. We’ve always said that we won’t let having babies stop us from doing the things we love and find meaningful. Travel is one of those things. So far, we had only taken Johann on domestic flights, the longest of which had been four hours. Now, we were looking at a ten-hour flight from Seattle to Frankfurt, a two hour layover, then another two-and-a-half hours from Frankfurt to Madrid. Rinsing and repeating just ten days later. So, the long-haul flights and the destination itself were going to be new experiences.  While we felt prepared, we were sure unexpected situations would confront us. And, they did. For us, it was as much about doing it and learning from the experience as it was about the destination.

We had saved up for a big trip in 2014, and we wanted to see a new country, so we searched for options based on our budget and the ten days we had available. We were surprised and excited to see cheap flights to Madrid. Neither of us had been to Spain before. It fit our budget (as Spain is not yet as expensive as some other European countries), and it seemed liked we could have a great time in ten days there. We thought about it for all of two days, Ryan cleared it with work, and we booked our flights before we could change our minds or talk ourselves out of it. Amazing local food, culture, history and architecture awaited us, and we couldn’t wait to go!

We wanted to go slow and allow time to enjoy ourselves, rather than follow a busy go, go, go schedule. We figured ten days would let us set a relaxed pace and still have fun and see and do a lot. Johann was taking two naps a day, and while he napped well in the Ergo carrier, we wanted to be sure to give him space to play and burn off energy as well. Even though we knew this would be an epic trip, we didn’t feel pressure to “see it all” as we know our family will continue to travel. We planned to spend three days in Madrid, and the rest of the time in Seville before heading back to Madrid on our last night to catch our (very) early morning flight home. We could take high-speed trains from Seville for easy day trips to the other Andalusian towns we wanted to see, as we knew the region had a lot to offer.

We had a strict budget, so we were going for hostels with private rooms, or cheaper hotels, in Madrid and Seville that had easy access to public transport. We found a clean hostel in a safe neighborhood in Madrid that had ensuite bathrooms (a must!), hotel-like-amenities such as daily housekeeping, and access to the Metro half a block away. The museums and the big city park we wanted to see were just a short walk down the road. Everything else was an easy Metro ride away. We were thrilled with our find.

In Seville, we booked a room in a small beautiful hotel in the barrio Santa Cruz, right in the heart of old Seville. The main square with Seville’s Cathedral and the Real Alcazar were a block away, and everything else we wanted to see was within walking distance. We would only need to use the public buses to get to and from the train station. Score! Both accommodations confirmed that they would provide a complimentary crib in our room for Johann, which meant that we wouldn’t need to carry a travel crib with us (or risk all of us sleeping in the same bed very uncomfortably since we are not co-sleepers!).

Now we just had to pack. As aspiring minimalists, we both wanted to travel light and have our hands free. Everyone defines “traveling light” and “packing light” differently. For us this meant:  Our backpacks, Johann in his Ergo carrier, a diaper bag and my purse (both messenger-style). This meant that we were carrying everything including our son like pack mules, but it was completely worth it to be able to move freely and quickly while navigating airports and busy streets, hopping on and off of crowded trains and buses. We didn’t need a carseat since Johann would be on our laps for the flights, and we would only be using public transit in Spain. A stroller was not even a consideration since Johann loved riding in the Ergo carrier, and both Ryan and I were healthy and able to trade off carrying him.

But, taking only backpacks presented a few concerns. How were we supposed to anticipate our baby’s needs for ten whole days and pack it all in two backpacks along with all our own stuff? Were we actually planning to go backpacking across Spain with our baby?! This fragile creature who was so tiny and completely dependent on us for everything. What were we thinking?! The planner in me wanted to be prepared for all contingencies. We then realized that if we lost, left behind, or ran out of something we could buy it locally. Duh. We started a list of the essentials, did a mock pack, then saw that we had room for some nice-to-haves as well.

Several people have asked me exactly what we packed for this trip, so here it is:

CLOTHES & SHOES:

• Three outfits each, plus two extras for Johann just for plane emergencies.
• Pajamas for all of us, but two for Johann.
• All our swimsuits, and Johann’s reusable swim diaper. (Our hotel in Seville had a pool. Not in our search criteria, but a nice bonus!)
• One extra pair of shoes for all. (Ryan and I made sure our shoes were comfy since we anticipated walking miles everyday.)
• Flip-flops for the adults.
• Three extra pairs of socks each, and three extra pairs of underwear for the adults.
• Sunglasses for the adults, and sun hats for Ryan and Johann.
• Three scarves for myself – these were “nice to haves” – mainly to give new life to my three outfits. It’s amazing what accessorizing can do!

DIAPERS & WIPES:

• Enough for four days, after which we would buy more there.

HEALTH & GROOMING ITEMS:

Small things that didn’t take up much room in our packs. Infant Tylenol, diaper rash cream, basic nail-clippers, disposable razors, travel-sized containers of hand-sanitizer, sunblock, moisturizer, toothpaste, toothbrushes, Q-tips, etc.

LAUNDRY STUFF:

You’re probably wondering how we got away with only three spare outfits. With space at a premium, and our packs’ weight needing to be as low as possible, our plan was always to do laundry there. But laundromats in Spain are pricey, so that wasn’t an option for our budget. Nor did we want to waste precious vacation time lugging our laundry around, looking for places to do this unpleasant chore! So we chose the DIY option. While washing small things in sinks has worked fine for us in the past, we were now in the brand new world of food-and-spit-up-stains, and clothes would never get as clean in a sink. By some amazing coincidence (seriously!), the same week that we were packing, I saw a contraption called the “Scrubba Wash Bag” online. I saw the demo video, got hooked immediately, and called Ryan at work. We quickly discussed it, agreed that the $50 pricetag was worth the investment and time-and-hassle-savings, and I ordered it right away! The Scrubba weighs a mere five ounces, and folds up into a small triangle that fits in my hand. Ahhhh! This, and six single-use Tide liquid laundry packets went into our packs.

We “did laundry” in our room every other night, wrung it all out and hung to dry overnight. All the sweat-and-baby-spit-up-stained clothes came out clean! Oh, what a simple sweet blessing!

BABY FEEDING ITEMS:

• Sippy cup (one).
• Ten organic food pouches. We allotted one per day in case no other food was available, or if we ate something special that we didn’t want to share with Johann (like chocolate con churros). This was our first foray into “baby food” as Johann loved to self-feed and normally just ate what we ate at mealtimes (putting his six teeth to good use). He was still nursing four times a day so we had no need for bottles or anything else.
• Two spoons, which turned out to be completely useless. We used one once to give Johann some soup we had ordered. We could have just used a regular spoon for that.
• Four disposable bibs and placements – also useless. A friend gave us these and we used them only once on the whole trip. In about five seconds Johann ripped the placemat off the table, which obliterated the sticky back. He ate almost all his meals sitting in our laps and eating off our plates (high-chairs are very rare in Spain, FYI), and we were happy to hold him. We quickly discovered that it was best to just take his shirt off to avoid food spills as most of our meals were out on the street on patio tables. No one cared and it was warm enough to be shirtless. Besides, our baby just became that much cuter to the Spaniards who already love the babies!
• Snacks: We took a zip top baggy filled with cheerios. We used some on the plane rides but brought most of it back home, as Johann’s favorite snack in Spain turned out to be the free bread and breadsticks they brought out whenever we sat down for tapas and drinks!

OTHER STUFF:

• Umbrella. The forecast called for sunny, mild weather, with a chance of rain, so we packed it just in case. It was handy on our last day there, when it poured cats and dogs while we were out walking around on the streets getting dinner and making our way to the airport.

Once we added our small electronics, camera, travel documents, plane snacks, a book each, neck pillows, and an empty water bottle, our packs were mostly full.

We were ready to go to Spain!