My friend is going to Malaysia and the Phillipines for a business trip and wants to bring me back some souvenirs. Let's ignore what I might normally like and just phrase it as "What is some cool stuff that he could bring back?" [more inside]
posted by DisreputableDog around Lake Forest, CA at 12:20 AM - 10 answers

Simple question: Where do we need to eat and sleep in Madrid and Barcelona? We are planning a summer trip to Spain (4 nights in Madrid, 2 nights in Barcelona, 1 night in Girona). The Girona portion of the trip is set -- dinner at El Celler de Can Roca for an extravagant birthday experience. What we need are suggestions for restaurants and hotels in Madrid and Barcelona. (We're also planning day trips to Segovia and Toledo, so you could include lunch spots in those places if you'd like.) A few notes: we are fairly sophisticated dinners, but we also love simple, straightforward food-of-the-people. Our hotel tastes run toward contemporary/modern, but we're not opposed to something classic -- we just want to avoid international chains. Thanks for any/all suggestions!
posted by tmharris65 around Lake Forest, CA at 9:02 AM - 12 answers