I think the main thing was the confusion about the bus to Segovia-- where was the bus actually parked and where was the station? We were scrambling. Getting between towns in Las Alpujarras was unclear but people are so helpful. And of course, the tour only being in Spanish at the Palacio was a shame. F

inally, we did scramble for luggage storage in Grenada. I would say it was our lack of Spanish but even the AirBnB owner was misinformed!

That paella looks very serious. I am still trying to comprehend someone not liking paella, but perhaps that's because of lack of access to the real thing, which is a problem here in the US.

Also, the churros and chocolate photo is amazing. I feel transported.

Thank you for the details! Super helpful! We are headed to Seville, Granada and Madrid at the end of September.

Do you have a neighborhood that you would recommend to stay in? Almost every trip report I read (and every Airbnb review) says the late night partying and noise is excessive.

How about by the Botanical Garden? Perhaps that’s a bit out of the way?

Do not stay in Barrio De las Lettres! But what I didn't realize is that the city center is so walkable and the subway is so easy... that anywhere in the city center is going to be easy to get around. Hopefully, others will weigh in. I will say that I did read my reviews carefully and for Sonder requested a room in the back so if you have double-paned windows and a room in the back and a high floor... with AC, you should be fine . I was speaking to someone last night who stayed near Retiro and really liked it... but he was very happy to have double paned windows.

We loved loved loved staying in the Albayziin in Granada. Our Airbnb was perfect, especially after downloading the taxi app. But we are walkers.

I wish we had done Seville and not Segovia but next time. Madrid is a wonderful city but I could have done one less day in exchange for Seville.

I am still trying to comprehend someone not liking paella, but perhaps that's because of lack of access to the real thing, which is a problem here in the US.

I wanted to try paella, but I don't eat seafood. Then we found vegetarian paella at a place in Madrid, and it was the best meal we had in our 16 days in Spain!

Lrice, we stayed at Mercure Madrid Centro on Lope de Vega (I think). It is a 5 - 10 minute walk to the Prado. The neighborhood was quiet at night when we were there in September 2017. We didn’t have any problems sleeping. I think staying near Retiro and the botanical gardens would be a quiet and convenient neighborhood, too.

I notice that Maribel has not been posting lately. May she is traveling? She is our Spain and Portugal expert. Maybe you could PM her? I think in the past, Maribel has recommended the Salamanca neighborhood. Less touristy and quiet. Perhaps you could check that out as well.

Yes I miss Maribel 😭 She was staying in the Recoletos / Salamanca area I believe. You are right! I found a darling Airbnb by the Botanical Garden off P. del Prado. But I will look in Salamanca!

I think my husband thinks of paella as bland but he is now a convert. At the place we went there was also vegetarian paella and many options without seafood. Ahh as I listen to my neighbors continaul renovation noise, I would welcome the noise of people chatting in cafes until 3:00 in the morning enjoying life!

The classic Valencia paella (the city credited with the birth of paella) is with rabbit and sausage, not seafood. Any paella specialty place will offer non-seafood paella.

Though I have to say that I came from a family that had an aversion to seafood, which I shared. But it wasn't a question of personal taste, it was a question of conditioning. Now I am happy to say that seafood is one of my favorite things, but it did take some willingness to break the conditioning.

Really enjoyed reading this, and had to laugh about your experience with Amercian Airlines.
I had the same experience with United, flying NYC to LA last october. I had booked myself 'premium economy', which turned out to be economy with a bit extra leg room.
When boarding they went through business class first, then all these travel memeberships. As I was in Economy Extra, I was up the front of the plane. My seat was row 12.
When I got to my seat all the overhead storage was taken up. There were only a handful of people around me.. grrrrrrr.
The flight attendants were no help and told me to find some space elsewhere. I had to put my carry on in row 32. Feel sorry for the person who belonged to that seat. but I had no choice.
Then I had to wait until the entire plane was off before I could grab by case
Hoping to do this flight again this year, and there is no way I am going to wait my turn.