Oh, I just realized I don't know how many in your party - is it just you and your daughter? It is just that the accommodation we stay at is usually for two with the option of a third temp bed.
If there are 4 or more of you of course our accommodation would not suit :ok:

I always assumed that most ice cream/gelato products are gluten free. I guess with all the food processing in this world, it is hard to know. We made everything from scratch when we owned a restaurant, so it was easy to pronounce what was gluten free and what was not. I wonder how many restaurants really know what they are serving. We are not gluten intolerant but still generally shop local markets and cook at home when traveling, so we always rent an apartment. Airbnb is our first choice, then HomeAway, then booking.com.

janisj thanks for the Bed Bath & Beyond idea. I will look there first. I'm in Canada so sometimes stock is different.

steve_Australia we are a party of 3 (myself, husband and daughter). Now that I'm feeling good about the gluten free options I can start planning our itinerary. I believe Barcelona and Madrid are definite must see places. I'm thinking right now that we could do some day trips from these locations. I need to do more research first though. If you don't mind I might throw some questions your way. Off the top how did you travel from sight to sight - train, car, taxi, bus?

whitehall I know it's an easy assumption. Trust me I had to educate myself as well as there are so many products that you would never imagined contained gluten.

Do you have any advice on neighborhoods to stay in Barcelona and Madrid?

Melaly - that's easy! Train, train and train - especially in Spain. They are fast and also inexpensive by comparison to Thalys, Eurorail and the like. Go here to book them yourself:

Renfe

Also, as mentioned many times in many threads - if you want to know anything and EVERYTHING about train travel in Europe, go here:

https://www.seat61.com/ an absolute amazing resource.

In Barcelona we stayed here: http://www.vrbo.com/445397
We were picked up at the airport by the owner and shown around. Fantastic location - not far from La Sagrada Familia and Hop on Hop off Bus main stop.
From memory, this is the only accommodation where we had two bedrooms and two bathrooms - as well as the usual fully-functional kitchen, secure lift etc
It is also close to a supermarket and laundry facilities.

In Madrid we stayed here: http://www.apartamentoshuertas.com/
Again, an absolute perfect location. Like a lot of places in Europe, when you first arrive you are a little dubious. For me anyway, I think it is because we are used to everything so new (Australia hasn't been around that long by comparison, ha ha).
But once you are up the lift and settled, it is wonderful. The kitchen was modern, the bedroom (they have two-bedroom accom. as well) and bathroom was clean and modern. Best of all - location, location, location.

We normally stay in apartments that allow us to walk most places and this is no exception. Close to The Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol; large supermarkets etc etc. The accommodation itself is on a street that is quiet and peaceful during the morning hours, then magically converts to many bars and bistros. A few chairs, some tables, a couple of waiters and Hey Presto, family-friendly eats and drinks.

Oh, BTW another GF tidbit. Check out "Maestro Churrero" - a two minute walk from the apartment and they have GF Churros as an option. But be warned, the serving size is large and the chocolate dipping sauce requires a very sweet tooth.

In San Sebastian we stayed at http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/miraconcha-suites.en-gb.html
This was only a 1 bedroom apartment but pretty sure they have 2 bedroom choices as well. Once again, perfect location. Just a 1 minute walk to La Concha beach. About a 15-minute easy walk to Old Town - the main area for viewing the famous La Concha Promenade and sampling those wonderful Pintxos and many, many cafes and restaurants. It is also where you can take a walk up to Mount Urgull - which provides panoramic views over La Concha beach and San Sebastian itself. We were told that there are many, many steps to make the ascension, but we found a roadway that was far easier. It is a low-gradient roadway that winds all the way to the top.

BTW, if you you do go to San Sebastian (we went directly from Barcelona by train, then took a train back to Madrid on our trip), in the Basque language it is called "Donostia" for when you are booking the train.

Any other info, please ask.

In Barcelona, we generally rent apartments and either stay in the Gothic quarter or the Example neighborhood. We have had best luck with a company called Habitat Apartments and have used them multiple times. They are very professional.

Hi steve_Australia are you sure this is the link to the apartment in Barcelona? It takes me to Maui properties. Definitely a favourite spot for us but not now.

Can't wait to check out the churro's - large and sweet is definitely music to my ears!

Hmmm, what a shame. I hadn't realised that VRBO re-use ID numbers. It seems that the people we dealt with no longer rent the property we stayed at. The address of the property is "Carrer Indústria 227, 2nd floor, 2nd door, Barcelona, Spain". On checking that address on Google Maps you can see that it is very close to La Sagrada Famillia, but also - as whitehall mentions above - it is very close to the EIXAMPLE area.
Sorry for the bum steer, things have changed since 2016 :unsure:

No problem steve_Australia.
This does give me an idea of neighborhood to stay.