trip report:spain
Oct 4th, 2008, 12:56 PM
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trip report:spain
My husband and 13 year old daughter and I just returned from 9 days in Spain....wonderful. We arrived at Madrid airport around 11:30am and took the metro to Atocha Renfe, arriving there at 12:45. I must say, the Madrid metro was one of the easiest and most well run metros I've ever used. The 10 trip bono touristico was a deal ( 10 trips for the price of 6). We had lunch next to the tropical gardens before taking the 3pm AVE to Sevilla. Thank you to Maribel for the excellent Renfe discount instructions...I booked ahead and got 40% off. We rented an apartment for 3 nights about a 10 minute walk from the cathedral. I was a little hesitant since the recommendation was to stay in the Barrio Santa Cruz, but we were very happy with our choice. It was an authentic Sevillan neighborhood...full every morning and evening with the locals at the cafe outside our door. Beautiful roomy and clean apartment for a great price. ( called apartamento san andres) We prepared some of our own food ( grocery 3 minutes away) ...had some of the best olives, cheese and melons ever. These meals we all agreed were the best we had in Spain. After three nights, we rented a car from the airport and headed to Nerja for 2 nights at the beach. The Hotel Paraiso del Mar was lovely....our rooftop balcony overlooking the ocean was perfect. The caves were worth a visit too. Then drove to granada, dropped off the car at the train station and taxi'd to Puerta de las Granadas Hotel....great location, incredibly nice and helpful staff, and nice ( albeit small) room. They got our Alhambra vouchers for us...we went up to collect them the night before our visit......this made the morning of our visit much less stressful. We simply arrived ready to enjoy ( no lines etc) it had been 25 years since I had seen the place and it was still as magical. The walk through the Albaycin up to the San Nicolas square was also amazing....sunset over the Alhambra! After our morning visit we headed to the bus station and caught the next available to Madrid....arriving 4 1/2 hours later. Stayed at Hostal Acapulco near Playa del Sol.....great choice. Roomy, clean and quiet for a great price. Wished we'd discovered the pastries at La Marroquina sooner. Also recommend a vegetarian restaurant buffet on Huertas, called Vida por Vida? Got tickets to see Atletico v. Marseille....quite the view of local life. Also saw a game in sevilla....I recommend it if you are remotely interested in Soccer. Finally the metro to Barajas ( 45 minutes from hotel to gate arrival)....and now we are home. Thanks for all the info...it helped.
