Renowned accessories designer, Nathalie Trad, recounts her summer adventures within Northern Spain’s idyllic scenery and hidden recesses to MOJEH.
I’ve always said that my favourite destination is my next destination, as I make it a habit to constantly travel to somewhere I haven’t been before. Every year, my husband Bassem and I escape the heat of Dubai for a few weeks and celebrate our wedding anniversary. This summer we decided to trip around the North of Spain. I’d visited the South of Spain on a school excursion when I was 16 and had such fond memories of it – since then I’ve been very keen to return. Bassem and I love the Spanish dialect and have been learning it for a while, so we wanted to put our knowledge to the test and better acquaint ourselves with the language, while immersing ourselves in different cities and places.
Some of my Spanish friends recommended places in the North for us to visit, so we looked at the map, compared it against the time frame we had and just went for it, moving on to a new place every three days. I was very conscious of not packing too much as were going to be moving around a lot, and wanted my options to be as light and as easy [to wear] as possible. I packed some of my clutches, J Brand shorts, Reformation t-shirts, Osman trousers, Kiini swimwear, as well as floaty dresses including a dreamy white piece by Saloni and sandals – all really simple but chic. However, it was a little bit cooler in Asturias [than I had anticipated] and I found myself wishing [that] I’d packed some jeans.
Picos de Europa National Park, Asturias.
Our trip began with a flight from Dubai to Madrid, which was followed by an internal connecting flight onto Ibiza. Once there, we rented a car which gave us the freedom to do things at our own pace and stop wherever and whenever we wanted to. I’d always heard so much about Ibiza and there’s a lot of mixed reviews, so I was a little bit apprehensive, but I actually fell in love with the Northern part of it, which was a lot calmer than the main tourist spots. [It’s] a little bit bohemian and had stunning scenery and beaches that I wasn’t expecting to see. We stayed in a little house called the Giri Residence. It just has five suites and is tucked away nicely in San Juan, so it’s far enough removed from all the craziness. They also have a gorgeous café next door that uses organic food grown in their own garden, which is a special touch. I love staying in little boutique places as they have so much more character and charm, and the people that run them are incredibly hospitable and warm.
From there, we flew to Barcelona and walked the entire city! The Gaudi buildings and architecture are fantastic, as are the vividly coloured tiles and mosaics you see everywhere. It made a nice change from spending days roaming the air-conditioned malls of Dubai. A few days later we flew on to San Sebastián and spent a day and a half there covering its hotspots. It’s one of the most well-known gourmet cities in Europe, and has the biggest concentration of Michelin star restaurants in Spain, so we took advantage of that and indulged in many different delicacies by opting to order the special of the day and fresh seafood wherever possible.
A picturesque outdoor setting at La Granja.
Next up, we drove from there to Asturias, which takes about four hours. The entire road was flanked by nature and greenery that was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. We made plenty of stops along the way for food and to soak it all in. A good soundtrack is one of the most important components of a road trip as far as I’m concerned, so I had some playlists I’d made before we went on holiday that included a mix of blues, jazz and old rock. We also wanted to listen to the radio too so we could get a feel for what people in Spain were listening to, but we were surprised to find there were a lot of English stations, which almost defeated the purpose. I was also on GPS duty, so sometimes the tunes had to take a backseat. The nature in Asturias was mind-blowing, I’ve never seen such beautiful nature – and such long stretches of it – before. It’s so good for your body and mind to be surrounded by mountains and fresh air. We took advantage of our time by going up to the Picos de Europa National Park and trekking the mountains there, it truly was unreal. We stayed in another lovely boutique hotel, Puebloastur – in a wonderful little town called Cofiño, which was central to both the mountains and the beaches. I could have quite easily spent the rest of my life there sat on a terrace taking in the views and appreciating the nature.
We finished off our trip with two days in Madrid, before flying back to Dubai. I was really surprised by the city- I thought I would have [had] more of an inclination towards Barcelona, but when we got there I found it really touristy and packed, whereas Madrid for me had a bit more [of an] allure and culture. It was wonderful to simply stroll the streets and pop into museums.
One of the five unique suites at The Giri Residence.
If I could recommend one experience from our trip, it would have to be discovering the nature in Asturias. I feel it’s really under the radar as far as attractions go. We spent three days there, but honestly, you really need a week, there’s so much to see, do and experience. It’s not very lively in terms of nightlife, but the scenery makes up for that. It’s picture perfect.
Bassem and I aren’t big planners when it comes to travel. We only decided on this trip a few weeks before we went, and left parts of it completely unplanned for when we got there. I think it’s important to keep things fluid and see how we feel, which usually works to our advantage. We have a few must-visit destinations on our bucket list, but we really don’t know which ones [we’ll go to] next. I really want to go to Morocco, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, so any of those could be next. When you travel, you’re always pleasantly surprised by how rich and incredible the world is- I definitely have the itch now and can’t wait for my next trip.
