Just Back from 18 days in Spain
May 23rd, 2000, 09:47 AM
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We are going to Spain for a month in June, and will also visit Madrid, Barcelona, Toledo and Costa Brava. Would be happy to hear your impressions. <BR>How was your weather? I'm going to assume it will be very hot when we are there in mid-June into July. You were lucky to be able to go earlier in the season. <BR>Where did you stay in the above places? Any restaurants to recommend?
May 24th, 2000, 09:42 AM
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Maureen, <BR> <BR>In response to your question, there wasn't one place that I didn't like in Spain (the Malaga train station was a little rough though) but that being said....All was good...Madrid has a lot of history there (if your into that sort of stuff). Definitely go to the Prado museum. In Madrid we stayed at the Hyatt Villa Magna...I would highly recommend this place. Service was excellent and friendly, the concierge took care of all our train tickets and excursions we chose. Eat lots of tapas in Madrid, around the Plaza Santa Ana...Toledo is a MUST....Take a day trip from Madrid if you can. Barcelona is MUCH better for shopping than Madrid. We stayed at the Gallery hotel there-good location as well, not far from the Ramblas and smack dab between the Passeig de Gracia (great shopping street) and the Passeig de Catalunya (great cafe's on that street). There's not much to do on the Costa Brava expect beach it. It is lovely. We stayed in Pals which is a very small town, but had a beautiful beach. As for the weather it was chilly in Madrid while we were there. Now, the Costa del Sol was nice, say 70ish...to lay on the beach and soak up the sun....Barcelona was pleasant as well...Spring like weather, except at night a sweater or jacket was definitely needed. I'm sure when you go you'll be hitting the weather at a great time. Needless to say the only place I wore shorts was in the Costa del Sol, everywhere else was Capri pants or jeans...due to the weather. As for the restaurants....I can't really remember them, but rest assured if you like seafood, you will like just about any place on the Iberian peninsula. Have a great time and let me know how it goes....If you have any other questions feel free to ask....
May 24th, 2000, 10:30 AM
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Olga, <BR> <BR>In response to your question, I spent 4 nights in Madrid, would've left it at 3(however, we did do a day trip to Toledo from Madrid which I would highly reccomend)....From there we took the AVE train from Madrid to Seville and immediately picked up a car and drove south to Marbella (Costa Del Sol). I would have liked to spend at least a day in Seville, but it was not possible given our schedule. We spent 3 days in Marbella, I would have liked at least 4 or 5 days on the Costa Del Sol. We then took the overnight train from Malaga(Be careful at that train station) to Barcelona. We spent three nights in Barcelona, I would have liked 4...but three was certainly enough time to walk the Ramblas, see the Olympic Stadium/Port, Montijuic (sp) Shop the Passeig de Gracia and eat on the Passeig de Catalunya. If I had a fourth day I would have liked to taken in the Picasso museum and see more of Antonio Gaudi's works. I saw a few on a tour I went on, but not everything. Then finally we rented a car and drove to the Costa Brava where we spent two nights. That was enough for me. Like I stated in the previous response to Maureen, depending on the town you go to, there really isn't much to do on the Costa Brava but beach it. However, I'm 29 and my idea of "things to do" might be a little different than someone else's. Just something to keep in mind. From the Costa Brava we drove back to Barcelona and flew from there to Madrid where we spent the night and caught our flight back to the states the next day. Hope this help with your itenerary. Drop me a line if you have any more questions.
May 26th, 2000, 11:40 AM
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Sheila, <BR> <BR>In response to your question about good buys......Of course I brought LOTS of olives and olive oil back home with me .....they are cheap and GOOD!!!!! There is also a designer called "Custo of Barcelona" whose shirts are popular, and usually sold at the likes of Neiman's, Nordstrom's etc.....usually upscale department stores....they retail around a hundred dollars or more in the US, I picked mine up for the equivalent of about 30 or 40 bucks in Barcelona.....Check out the shoes or the straw bags.....Some things are a good buy, but some things you think wouldn't be expensive....are expensive. It also depends on where you buy them as well..i.e. a famous shopping street or something a little off the beaten path. Obviously, Majorica pearls are a bargain over there, pretty much anywhere....The major department store- El Corte Ingles has a counter in every store. Also, if you are a fan of Lladro....(the porcelain figurines made in Spain) also a good buy as well...significantly cheaper than in the US. Those are the major things I can think of off the top of my head...Hope this helps you....I thought Spanish leather would be a good buy while there....I was wrong. I found it to be very expensive...
Jun 1st, 2000, 09:29 AM
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Sheila, <BR>Spain also has great ceramics. I recently went to a store in Madrid called Cantaro, on calle Flor Baja, very near the Plaza de Espana. They have a great selection of ceramics from all regions of Spain. They have all kinds of items, from ceramic tile refigerator magnets to huge colorful bowls. They also have a nice selction of antique pieces on the lower level. When I was there the store was epmty and the owner showed me around, explaining about the different styles and uses of the different antique pieces. He was very enthusiastic and seemed to know alot about the subject. It's not really bargains, but I found some great inexpensive trinkets to bring home as gifts, and ended up with an antique water jar from Zamora for myself.
Jun 7th, 2000, 10:58 AM
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Jay, <BR> <BR>In response to your question about small/friendly towns outside of Madrid and Barcelona. I would highly recommend an excursion to Toledo (about 45 min outside of Madrid). It's an old midievil (sp) walled city. It's AMAZING to see. Also, if you can take the AVE train to Seville from Madrid, that's also good to do as well, it takes approx 2hrs and 20 minutes each way, you can do that as a day trip or spend the night in Seville and come back to Madrid on another day. I'd recommend spending at least one night in Seville and go see the Alhambra. As far as Barcelona is concerned, you could take a train to Sitges (nice beaches etc....)or possibly head to Girona from Barcelona as well. Just north of Barcelona is the Costa Brava, and there are some lovely, quaint, little towns there. You'll probably have to rent a car and drive to them, but if you're willing to do so I would recommend Pals and especially Aigublava (sp).....Have a great trip. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Jun 7th, 2000, 11:08 AM
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Ron, <BR> <BR>Regarding hotels on the Costa Brava, we stayed at the Se Punta in Pals, it was O.K. at best, I would have liked to stay in Aiguablava, more to do and prettier I thought. One night we had dinner (it was very good) at the Parador Hotel in Aiguablava (sp) and I have to say that even though I didn't stay there overnight , the vistas were absolutely breathtaking. I imagine it is a 3 1/2 or 4 star hotel, just judging by the decor and interior of it. I also saw Hotel Aiguablava which was across the water from the Parador, I can't comment on the inside of that one, but for my money, the Parador is where it's at. Hope you have a great time. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any further questions.
