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Trip Report Barcelona & Andalucia Trip Report - GREAT (but some bad luck)

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First of all, a big thank you to all who helped me plan this trip. Your advice and recommendations were indispensable and the trips reports I read helped shape my trip.

I wanted to go somewhere special for my 50th birthday. The original plan was Barcelona and Morocco but that got complicated and decided Barcelona and Andalucia which some friends raved about. And they were right. My husband is my travelling partner and we travel well together except for the fact that he is not a fan of museums. He loves architecture, music, food, history, but not museums. I, on the other hand like museums. Actually love. I love museums.

OUR ITINERARY:
Seville – three nights
Ronda – two nights
Granada – two nights
Barcelona – three nights

I was able to get business class tickets outbound on Continental. The only problem is we would have to fly out of Newark which is a long drive from the east end of Long Island (NY). We ended up driving to the airport (uneventful) and parking in long term parking ($190). Our flight to Barcelona was delayed three hours due to technical problems (rivets) and thought for sure we would miss our connecting flight. However we made up some time in the air and made the connecting flight to Seville with no problem.

SEVILLE
We stayed at Hotel Las Casas de la Juderia. I heard so many great things about this hotel but when checking their rates online, it was more than I wanted to spend. I decided to email and see if there were any deals to be found. Well, there was…..if I pay in full upfront, the rate would be 160 euros plus breakfast. Since breakfast is usually 19 Euros, I thought this was a good deal… and it was, breakfast was yummy. A huge buffet, eggs to yogurt and good coffee. The room (#2) was very comfortable, nice size and clean. The Hotel is in a great location, is quiet and clean. But the best part was walking to the room – what a beautiful hotel and pretty patios and courtyard

By the time we arrived at the hotel it was after 3 and we were exhausted. We did head out for a walk and had an early dinner. Actually we “tapas hopped” to a few tapas places – that was fun and the tapas yummy. I wish we had done more of that. We went to bed pretty early.

We both had trouble sleeping and it took us a few days before we were feeling like ourselves again. This was never a problem a few years ago….ahhh the aging process. Anyway, the following day we headed to Plaza del Duc where there is a flea market every Saturday. However we were disappointed since it was very small and didn’t have much to offer – scarves, bags, belts. Didn’t mind since it was a beautiful day and a nice walk. So on to the bull ring where we took the guided tour. Interesting although the guide was hard to understand at times. Walked along the river and over the bridge to the Triana area, stopped in at the food market . It was about lunch time so we had lunch at an outdoor café El Faro de Triana. The weather was so nice, you had to eat outside. No English menu but we like what the man was eating at the table next to ours …Frito misto – boy was that good. A nice selection of fish lightly fried. A sprinkle of lemon is all you need. And beer . The rest of the afternoon was spent walking, walking, walking. Seville is a great walking city, incredible architecture, pretty squares, lots of shoppig (ohhhh the boots!) We passed the Alacazar and walked through the gardens and then back to the hotel to rest for an hour before dinner.
We decided to do a bit more walking before dinner in the Santa Cruz area and ended up at Modesto for dinner, recommended by Maribelle and Fodors guidebooks. Outdoor seating. Good choice. Tuna with marinated peppers, sliced octopus with potatoes – I was never an octopus fan but it was delicious. Octopus was very tender and the potatoes were cooked perfectly – a great combination. And that was just the appetizers. For entrees I had grilled prawns and DH had sea bream. And a nice bottle of cava. I recommend this place and get the octopus!!!!

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