The Guggenheim, La Rioja, Bilbao, and tapas – what more could a girl ask for??

I’m in the Admiral Lounge at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport as I type this entry – about to jump on an Iberia flight to Madrid. And I have to say I’m about as excited as a kid in a candy store, having never before stepped foot on continental Europe.

This will be an odyssey of architecture, tasting the fine reds – and the few whites – of northern Spain’s La Rioja region, indulging in a little Basque cuisine and a lot of tapas.

First up is a layover in Madrid - not long enough to venture out of the airport but certainly enough time to get a jet-lag-erasing massage. A glass of wine on the plane, and the flat-out luxury - literally - of Iberia’s business class - should help the whole jet lag thing.

 Bilbao is home to the Guggenheim, and I’m particularly excited to see in person so many of those treasures I studied in my college art history classes. My friends and I will partake of some traditional Basque cuisine our first night, then hit the road the next morning for a few days at Marques

The Frank Gehry-designed Marques de Riscal

de Riscal in Elciego, staying at the on-vineyard Starwood resort that Frank O. Gehry designed - such a treat.