Loving your report and definitely will try airbnb next time. Now if we had just read your report before our trip to Croatia in October!

Hi Kathie - Can't wait to hear where you decide to go. I know you're considering a safari. My advise is to book it, don't hesitate! But be sure to contact me for a fashion consultation.
annhig, rialto, patty - Thanks for the kind words. Preparing the next installment now. This was our longest vacation (22 days) in the last 15 years, but will try to be concise for the remainder of this report. Hoping to finish before we head for Tulum next week.

KRKA – JUST GO
We received a hot tip from someone on Tripadvisor about how to avoid the insane August crowds (is this becoming a theme?) at the stunning Krka National Park. The poster said it’s open until 8pm, so not to enter the park until 3:00pm at the earliest because there are busloads of people clogging the hiking trails and plunging in the otherworldy swimming hole under the waterfalls, which supposedly have curative powers.

We followed this advice and it worked perfectly logistically. We had the morning to walk around Hvar and eat lunch, then took an early afternoon catamaran. Mario, our man in Split, met us at the boat and whisked us to Krka, about an hour’s journey. We arrived at around 4pm, just as everyone was leaving. Ended up having a peak experience swimming for several hours in the multi-leveled pristine turquoise waterfalls - one of nature’s wonders, which I'm surprised is not more famous. It was not at all crowded, so the TA tip paid off. Warning: strong currents near the falls.

PLITVICE – SORRY, KJA, WE DIDN’T GET THERE
Many feel Krka doesn’t hold a candle to Plitivice, 4 hours away. Yes, we're sorry we didn't experience Plitvice, but the swimming is what nailed the experience for us – would have been truly different if we could only hike and take photos.

A MEAL FIT FOR A CEO
After Krka, Mario took us to the tiny picturesque village of Skradin, which he said has the best food in the country. Ate at Bonaca (where Bill Gates supposedly gets take out for his yacht). Three of us shared a giant sea bass prepared w/ potatoes and vegetables, roasted in yet another special ancient oven. Bill has good taste – the best fish we've ever had.

PIAZZA LUXURY SUITES
It was late when we checked in Piazza Luxury Suites, a brand new boutique hotel right on the main square. Few amenities, but stylish w/ super high ceilings and coffee and chocolate croissants delivered to your room in the morning. Our room on the plaza side had the best view in Split. Our sons’ (cheaper) room across the hall had the worst view, but they didn’t care. There was a lively scene on the plaza and we all decided to go out for a drink. The boys even considered clubbing with college friends who not surprisingly, happened to be passing through (Croatia is popping up on everyone’s radar: we kept getting messages on FB from friends who were on their way or had just been). But we were all exhausted and feel asleep.

SEARCHING FOR THRONES
Split is a very cool place. Scenic mountain/ocean location with a significant Roman palace, outdoor seaside promenade, good food, decent shopping and ferries going to all sorts of intriguing islands. Plus the proverbial yachts and yachters (I met some in a jewelry shop and they invited me aboard, but darn, we needed to catch a plane.)

A friend who went to both Dubrovnik and Split in October said Dubrovnik was like Orlando, but that she could live in Split because it was a 'real' place, with locals everywhere. (She said the only locals she saw in Dubrovnik were the guys serving her pizza.) When you tour Diocletian's Palace (a must-see), pay extra to visit the basement level - very atmospheric and photogenic, used as location for Game of Thrones, which was shooting the day we were there (but in a private residence…the boys are huge fans and happened to be devouring the books, but sadly we missed the exterior palace shoot by a day or so.)

CROATIA FINAL THOUGHTS
Croatia is quite something, delivers on many levels - scenery, culinary, history, service, ease of travel while slightly exotic - but far from undiscovered. The conundrum (like much of Europe) is if you like to swim in warm waters, you’ll have to go during the crowded summer. But if chilly seas are okay with you, off-season could be the ticket. If you’re interested at all, get there before the launch of the first nonstop from the US. Would our sons have been happier traveling with their partying peers? Possibly, but for us, this was an ideal 'older kid' family holiday destination.

SUPER IMPORTANT TIP
If you go, take water shoes. Absolutely essential even if you’ve been to other pebble beaches and did fine without them.

NEXT: THE VEGAN OF SEVILLE

Thoroughly enjoyed your trip so far and am looking forward to the Andalucian adventure!

No apologies are needed, crosscheck -- I knew you had decided against the Plitvice Lakes, and I understood your reasons. Krka is quite wonderful, too, isn't it?

And I'm very glad you enjoyed Split. I sure did!

Not to mention that I had no dog in this race. ;-)

Crosscheck -- looking forward to the Soain report! (Nudge, wink, nudge)

Thanks for the gentle nudge. I had been feeling guilty, so I will get on it. Expect an installment tomorrow.

:)

Paule

ANOTHER BUDGET AIRLINE
In keeping with our cheapo internal flight theme, we flew Air Nostrum, Iberia’s discount cousin, from Split to Madrid. We had one BA award ticket and paid for the other three. Mr. C ended up with a supposed First Class seat, which just meant he was in the front row of the all-economy flight but didn’t qualify for lounge access. So, on the busiest travel day of the summer, we waited for our flight in the jam-packed, unrenovated Split airport, which offers the least interesting duty free selection in Europe. (In general, Croatia has to work on its shopping.) The flight itself was fine though. Left on schedule. Landed on schedule. And most importantly, got us to the hotel in time for our sons’ Skype fantasy draft.

THE WORST HOTEL OF THE TRIP, WITH THE WORST SERVICE IN SPAIN
I hadn’t been to Madrid since I was 26. Now I found myself in a cab with my 20-year old where he would be studying for a semester, making our way down the wide avenues at sunset. He was taken with the grandeur of the city, and I hoped for a somewhat majestic, or at least a cool hotel. Not so.

We had chosen the Vincci Via 66 because it was within walking distance of my son’s apartment in the Malasaña, and in keeping the vistas-to-die-for theme of our trip, offered a spectacular-looking roof deck. I had confirmed two adjoining, non-smoking rooms with decent views. But when we arrived, all that was available were two smoking rooms in different wings, both with claustrophobic views of interior walls. The décor (with lots of mirrors) was 21st Century Brothel. There was a loud, wild, alcohol-infused party on the roof deck. And instead of yummy tapas, we had undercooked chicken from room service. Not the ideal place for the last evening of the family part of our trip. But it didn’t dampen our spirits…in fact, I was secretly pleased that Mr. C agreed it was awful - he’s always on my case for being too tough a critic. And the boys were not annoyed at all. Their 3-hour draft was a success despite mediocre wifi, and that’s all they really cared about.

Ended up walking over to our son’s apartment, which was ideal on every level – in the artsy, charming Conde Duque part of Malasaña. Then it was time to get out of Dodge and refrain from stalking our son as he embarked on his abroad experience. The next morning, after a predictably terrible breakfast, S1 flew back to the US for his job, S2 united with his roommates, and Mr. C and I got on a fast train to Sevilla.

NEXT: PURE, POWERFUL UNPLUGGED FLAMENCO

Good God, you're a wonderful writer.

I have been holding my breath, hoping I had not booked your crummy Madrid hotel. Phew.

As it's my first trip to Spain and I head to Sevilla after Madrid, I'm on the edge of my seat.

(Already bookmarked your Prague sections, as I'm there before Spain.)

Thank you. You represent the best of this site.

Yes crosscheck. Love your writing! We are off to Europe with 4 teens for 6 weeks in the summer. I am getting psyched for the adventure reading yours!

Ah, missed this when it started, just caught up. Looking forward to Ronda, which I liked a lot more than Madrid.

I thought Prague was overcrowded ten years ago, can't imagine it now. That said, I thought it was worthwhile for the Jewish quarter and the Art Nouveau buildings, but it didn't make my go-back-to list.

Since you liked Croatia, plenty of other places to explore in the Balkans next time...

I did my first AirBnB in Aix-en-Provence last trip. Very nice room, good location, good price, but no interaction with the host ("rented as a hotel room"), and I should have paid more attention to the mention of 4th etage - it was up 78 steps, 15 of them very narrow. Will read more carefully if I use it again. I thought the AirBnB fee was high.

What a great report! I've thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you.

I too am looking forward to your Seville installment.

Fabulous! Thanks for getting back to this crosscheck - I love your reports!

Fabulous report crosscheck! I stole ideas from you for our trip to Buenos Aires a year ago, (including meeting up with Rooster) and am now planning a potential trip to Croatia and region.

I really like the sound of Split. We aren't likely to go during the summer, so I like the idea of a slightly larger place with lots of locals, rather than a place with a lot of restaurants and shops shuttered for the season.

We booked an apartment through Airbnb in Buenos Aires and it was tremendous value and well located. I'm a fan, but you have to read the fine print and scan all of the reviews to catch potential flaws.

latebloomer, Wow, a million thanks for your kind words. So...where are you staying in Madrid?

simpletrip, FOUR teens - Yikes! Can't wait for that trip report.

thursdaysd - So happy you're following along. Yup, the airbnb fees are high. And you do have to read carefully (including between the lines in the reviews) and ask a million questions. But the upside of 78 steps is you're allowed a daily chocolate croissant.

IDtoTX - Thanks, and stay tuned for my Sevilla report, almost ready for publication.

progol - So great to run into you on so many continents!

geenance - You will love Split. But even off season, I would consider a day trip to one of the islands. So glad I could help with BA. Wow, Rooster truly is the quintessential Fodors ambassador. Did I somehow miss your report? Headed over there now to check.

NEXT: PURE, POWERFUL UNPLUGGED FLAMENCO

BRAVO, AVE!
The Ave train is a beautiful feat of engineering. Takes you to Sevilla from Madrid in 2.5 hours of serene comfort. If you’re an organized traveler, you’ll book on the RENFE site. If you’re me, after your screen freezes, you’ll switch to the user-friendly raileurope.com, which charges a mark up, but we would have paid a premium on RENFE as well because we booked a week before our journey. No need for business tickets unless you want a lounge to wait in – the cheapest seats were fine.

HELP ME, RONDA
There was wifi on the train, so I tweaked our itinerary, still figuring out our white village plan. Our plan was 2 nights Sevilla, 2 nights Ronda, 2 nights Granada, with one full day in Córdoba before heading back to Madrid for 5 days. I realize this was controversial Fodorwise because you’re supposed to spend at least 4 nights in Sevilla. But we were were anxious to begin our road trip and were a little worried (turned out unnecessarily) about excessive heat in Sevilla. Plus we’ve stayed in places for weeks on previous trips (including Catalonia), so we figured the travel gods would give us a buy.

Friends with impeccable taste and an accomplished flamenco dancer daughter had suggested we stay at Hotel Corral del Rey in Sevilla, and also that we visit Vejer de la Frontera for our pueblo blanco experience (they think Ronda has a tacky element). We dared to deviate from their hotel advice because the pool area looked better at the extremely wordy Hotel Hospes las Casas del Rey de Baeza. Besides, Ronda was having its annual Feria de Pedro Romano, featuring a parade, carnival and everyone dressing up in Goya-esque costumes. (Culminates in a 1000E per ticket bullfight, which we would give a miss.) Seemed kitschy, but it’s the kind of colorful ethnographic experience we crave. We loved the festivals we had attended in Calalonia, so we went for Ronda over Vejer.

HOT TIMES AT THE HOSPES
Don’t let early September keep you away from Sevilla. No, you will not want to traipse around at 2pm, but mornings and evenings are idyllic, and you will be forced to succumb to the joys of the long siesta - reading, napping, sipping sherry, lounging by the pool. Our hotel, an authentic colonial building full of courtyards and patios, was a 10-15 minute walk north of the Cathedral area, but we enjoyed being in a picturesque spot. The common areas of the inn were heavenly. The beds were the most comfortable of the trip, the paint colors calming and inspirational. But the views, in a word, sucked. We were kindly upgraded to a spacious corner room but from our window we could see only the neighbors’ laundry. Would I recommend this place? Maybe – it was more authentic than the more well-known hotels we stumbled upon and we liked/needed the rooftop pool area. But the 5* hotel across the street (El Palacio de Villapanes) looked more appealing and we never did get to check out the Casa del Corral… so we now have an excuse to return.

DONDE Y COMO
Sevilla is one of the visually most stunning cities in the world with happy, friendly people (in spite of the severe recession), a strong arts and foodie culture, the kind of place where just wandering around is as good as formal sightseeing. Our first reaction was “Why haven’t we been here before?” Then, “Wow - we could live here.” And maybe we will some day. All the guidebooks warn that the layout of Sevilla is extremely confusing and not GPS friendly, that you will need a good map. True that, but what they don’t reveal that the hotel concierges confuse things by deliberately giving you longer routes to keep you on streets with names. We speak fluent Spanish and have a decent sense of direction, so we rarely chose to follow the “safe” hotel directions. Bottom line: If you’re like us and are smug about how you never get lost (or if you have a fear of getting lost), you just need to accept that in Sevilla you will basically be lost the entire time. With this attitude, you will enjoy your wanderings immensely. If you’re Type A about directions, this may not be the city for you.

UNPLUGGED FLAMENCO
We are not fools, so we did abide by our friends’ flamenco rec. They said there was only one place in Sevilla to experience authentic flamenco, the unplugged Casa de la Memoria. This club was so awesome that we were deterred from going to flamenco again on the trip. Our hotel guy warned us that there would be no group dinner, no sangria and no dancing on tables. Instead we experienced an intense hour of art and passion in a gorgeous courtyard setting with some of the most talented dancers and musicians we’ve seen in a small venue. Not to be missed.

NON-CHEESY TAPAS
Mr. C, the unlikely vegan, was a great sport about existing on roasted potatoes, pasta and grocery hummus throughout the first part of the trip. Not that our omnivore boys were gone, he wanted to call the food shots, which was okay with me because I lean toward pescetarianism (or did, until I tasted the pork stew tapas in Ronda – details to come). So I let Mr. C choose our Sevilla dinner spots on yelp. Both evenings meant maze-like journeys through the magically-lit alleyways, then emerging near the Alameda de Hercules, a 15th century outdoor mall, arguably the grooviest area of town.

For the vegans or veggies amongst you, the first night we ate at Alameda Rock and the next at Arte y Sabor (slightly better). At both, I devoured the spinach croquettes – possibly prepared with fake cheese, which sounds disgusting, but I’m dreaming of them still. And let’s not forget patatas bravas (with vegan aioli). Plus free sherry everywhere. In spite of this carbfest, we each ended up losing two pounds on the trip. Our strategy: Because of hotel breakfasts, tapas at 7 and dinner at 10:30, we often settled for protein bars for lunch. And it felt as if we spent every non-siesta moment walking uphill.

SIGHTS
The Alcazar, of course. This is the Moorish fort/palace to see first on your Andalucian trip (with an audio guide, no need for a live one). We went at about 10:30 am without tickets and didn’t have to wait. It will blow you away, but might not be as impressive if you see the Alhambra or Mesquita first. We skipped the Cathedral – line was too long. However, we did not skip the gelato (sorbet for Mr. C), a must-do in Sevilla. In the evenings, we wandered the Macarena, Santa Cruz, the photogenic mushroom area and, thanks to a hint on TA, we happened upon one of our favorite spots in town…Casa Pilato, just a short stroll from our hotel. Had the whole Moorish mini-palace and gardens to ourselves. Spectacular. Our kind of place.

WHAT WE DIDN’T DO
A tapas tour. A bike tour. A gallery tour. The other side of the river. Yes, we could have used another day, but 2.5 full days was not the end of the world.

VOLVO OF OUR DREAMS
Around noon on Day 3 we headed over the Sevilla rail station where we picked up our S40 Volvo at Atesa, booked through autoeurope.com. We both loved this small manual hatchback, and even thought about buying one, but found out they’re not imported. Fired up our GPS (which turned out to be psycho) and hit the Andalucian highway.

NEXT: SO GORGE-OUS

Crosscheck, I'm grinning again. You just get better and better. I'm thoroughly engrossed and taking copious notes.

In answer to your question re my Madrid Hotel, I chose what appears to be a very cool boutique hotel with a not-so-cool, slightly creepy name -- the Only You Hotel & Lounge.

Catching up with the Crosschecks. I'm glad you are continuing the report. We were in Spain for a year (mostly Andalucia) when I was a tiny girl. I need to return soon.

Terrific, crosscheck! Love your descriptions and just the right amount of detail! I'm getting very excited now for our May trip -- it turns out that we'll be in Ronda for a new festival called the Ronda romantica, so should be a hoot!

Oh, and the food -- you've got my taste buds eager for this trip, too!

Looking forward to reading about Ronda!

great to see you back, crosscheck; we went to Seville a few years ago and i can't remember when I last got more lost in as short a time.

but it's fun finding your way again.

keep it coming!

Bookmarking for Seville recommendations

Thanks, tedgale. Expect a Ronda report today or tomorrow.

Cross heck,
Patiently waiting for the Ronda Report and it seems a little nudge is in order! I love your descriptions and am eager to hear about your stay.

By the way, in reading an earlier post, I noticed you lived on Thompson Street in NYC. We mayve passed each other on the street -- I lived on Sullivan Street for a long time (tho that was several decades ago).

Funny, that must've been a Freudian autocorrect! That should've read "crosscheck"!

Cross Heck is what I deserve for tardiness. Thanks for the reminder - I'm on it. And yes, I did live on 222 Thompson (between Bleecker and 3rd, right in the thick of things), also many decades ago. Sullivan was a nicer block, more residential. Coolest neighborhood ever - I love that we might have been neighbors!

My place was a studio with a loft bed on the 6th floor of a walkup, which I shared with a roommate and random guests who wouldn't leave. There was no proper bathroom, only a WC closet and a bathtub in the kitchen, so I joined the Apple Health Club across the street to use their shower. One day the manager asked if they could photograph me in an aerobics class. I told him that I only showered there - I never went to classes or worked out at the gym, but was in great shape because I went up and down six flights of stairs several times a day. Apple didn't care about the false advertising and I ended up in their brochure wearing my leg warmers.

crosscheck,
Too funny! I also went to Apple Health club, so perhaps we were very intimate neighbors!

I lived on Sullivan Street between Houston and Prince, in those days, it was a very young SoHo and my place was definitely old-style tenement. I had one of those shower-in-the-kitchen and closet toilet setups, too. My shower was a few feet off the floor and just opposite my stove, so each morning, I'd boil up my water for coffee, and before I stepped out of the shower, I'd pour it through the coffee filter. By the time I'd be dried, my coffee was ready!

It was also smack in the middle of the Italian street festival, the feast of St. Anthony. I was on the second floor, and my fire escape overlooked the sausage and wine stand! Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep during the 10 days in June it took place. But one of the best parties I had in those days was during the feast -- if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

And of course, the street was used in the filming of Godfather 2, and didn't need a whole lot of dressing up to fit the time!

Okay, I'm done with recalling my memories...back to Europe now.

Paule

I think I might have been to your party! Finishing up my Ronda report. Expect it today.

Sorry for the delay – Promise to finish this before our trip to Asia in March.

SIESTA: THEY’RE NOT KIDDING
For those of you who are hesitating renting a car, just do it. The roads are excellent, with an abundance of clean rest areas that sell local olive oil. Yes, the Spanish rail system is awesome, but this trip would have lacked a dimension if we had stuck to trains. There are challenges navigating through the comically narrow alleyways in the cities, but that’s part of the fun.

We did this section of the journey without a guidebook. I ordered one but forgot to pack it. Had one in my Kindle, but that never seemed to be handy when I needed it and when I did have it, it just made me angry (rant about Rick Steves to come). So when the car rental guy mentioned that Grasilena was a must-see on the way to Ronda, we heeded his advice.

Maybe a guidebook would have warned us that the entire village, perched picturesquely (and precariously) on a cliff, would be closed for siesta. Our first white village was straight out of central casting, but all the cool shops were boarded up and the one open restaurant had a long wait. We ended up at a cafe, where we snapped some pics and had espressos to go with our power bars.

HELP ME, RONDA
The town (actually a city) was all decked out for its annual festival, the ‘Feria Goyesca de Pedro Romero,’ also known by either half of its name - Feria Goyesca or Pedro Romero. The 4-day feria begins with an over-the-top parade that must be seen to be believed (trust me), and culminates with the hardest-to-get bullfighting ticket in the world, probably because matadors and patrons alike dress up in lavish costumes similar to those in Goya’s paintings. I have avoided seeing a bullfight despite a prolonged residence in Mexico and many travels to Spain, but after being in Ronda during the feria, I would be somewhat interested in adding this kitschy experience to my bucket list..if only they didn’t torture and kill a bull.

Arrived in Ronda at around 3pm, with the parade scheduled for 5:00 (or so we thought – strangely little about the festival was online and we had to rely on hotel people for info). Pretty much every through street was closed. On top of that our GPS had a breakdown and decided to test if we really were insane enough to follow its ridiculous directions:

“Turn right. Turn left. U turn. Go up the hill. Go down the hill and crash through the barrier. Now drive off the cliff.”

We wisely only listened to Mr. Psycho about half of the time, and it took us 20 minutes to find our guest house, Enfrente Arte, a surreal idiosyncratic inn in a residential neighborhood, highly recommended in the guidebooks. We had agonized about whether to stay there or at the pricier Montelirio, a traditional old world hotel in the day tripper area, perched on the famous gorge, with the best view in Ronda. We ended up choosing Enfrente because of Mr. C's acrophobia (see my Angkor Wat trip report).

FOR THOSE CONSIDERING ENFRENTE ARTE
Fun, but not for everyone. More than a hotel, it’s an altered state of mind...like time traveling back to the 70s and moving into Dali’s brain. Has a cult following among alt Swedes/Belgians and there's lots of interaction with fellow guests because of the 24/7 free drinks (this perk has a flip side – means you’ll be interacting with raucous drinkers.)

We had the 'deluxe' room where Madonna stayed - four poster bed, Hemingway memorabilia, mosaic toilet bench (a hit on Instagram), terrace with valley view, front window with iconic Pueblo Blanco street view. Endless patios and nooks, fish pedicure pond (though somewhat murky, so we passed), all decorated with the recycled and the unexpected – a Fiat, stone camels, glowing octopi, hanging trombones. Famous breakfasts are cooked to order, with dishes stacked up in the Fiat trunk.

Cons: A steep 10-15 minute uphill walk to old town. This is somewhat of an advantage because it guarantees serious exercise, but we would have preferred being closer to the action. Also, the mattress was too firm (an issue throughout Andalucia...and we do like firm beds).

BOTTOM LINE: Mr. C loved EA (and he spends a lot of time in 5* hotels for work). But I wished we had stayed in a junior suite with that once-in-a-lifetime view at the more sophisticated Montelirio. We had drinks and tapas there one night and Mr. C was not as gorge-averse as we thought.

THE PARADE
A trip highlight. We almost skipped Ronda altogether because friends had insisted that we would like the trendy white village of Vejer de la Frontera more. But Ronda delivered - the logistics were seamless and the intensely colorful parade was a killer cultural event and photo op. The Goya costumes were only part of the fun. There were giant pig mascots, all sorts of accomplished dancers of all ages and a multicultural display represented a diverse array of local ethnic groups.

We wandered over to the pedestrian mall just minutes before the parade started and were invited to sit at an outdoor table with some expats at a primo spot at Toro Tapas. There, after following Mr. C’s diet for a few days (and not eating meat in general), I went on an anti-vegan pork binge. Our new parade-mates included an Australian couple whose daughter coincidentally attends the same midsize college as our son and we later joined them for a very yummy paella dinner at the highly-rated Puerta Grande, which lived up to the hype.

RANDOM RONDA
Hiking: We intended to hike the day after the parade, but by the time we got it together it was too hot to hike, unless you go first thing in the morning.

Walking: Wandered through old town. Gentrified, but there’s some fab architecture, decent places to eat and a few interesting shops.

Bullring: Sí, por favor. Iconic.

Laziness: Spent time at the pool, where there weren’t enough lounge chairs.

Live Music: One of the Belgian expats who worked at EA had highly recommended that see a hot band perform at a club in town. This was the first of our many Gypsy Kings soundalike experiences.

Sunset: Had tapas and a sherry tasting right on the gorge at the Montelirio. This is a must do, quintessential Ronda.

Carnival: Another rec from the helpful Belgian. Hopped on a shuttle bus at the Parador (which I would avoid – too businessy) to the carnival, a fairly generic setup with rides and arcade games but just fantastic for photos. We were among the few non-locals. At 11pm the fairgrounds were transitioning from a good clean fun family event to a drunken blow out. Our hotel guy had left our name at one of the VIP tents, where an Andalucian version of Oktoberfest was about to happen. We waited around until after midnight but left before the real action started (per several hungover guests the morning after). Maybe next time, if we get it together to return for the procession before the bullfight.

SO, SHOULD YOU GO TO RONDA?
For a day trip, I honestly wouldn’t bother unless you want your Instagram followers to ooh and aah at the famous gorge. For an overnight, don’t think twice if you’re a hiker or can be there for a festival. For two nights, you’ll be rewarded with some relaxation time, and if you get off the beaten track you’ll get the appeal to Hemingway and others in a less touristy time.

NEXT: THE ALHAMBRA AND THE ANNOYING RICK STEVES

Oh, this is fabulous crosscheck! All is forgiven!

I went back and forth beween Montelirio and Enfrente Arte, and have kept my reservation at Montelirio (room with a view!), thanks to your recommendation. I had a panic over parking when I discovered that we were, in fact, going to be there during a 3 day festival, and wasn't sure if it would be possible to park.

It turns out that we'll be there during the Ronda Romantica, a celebration of the "romantic era" of "travelers, horsemen and bandits". This is a relatively new event and there is almost nothing in English about it -- so reading about your stay during a festival has gotten me even more thrilled to know we'll experience one.

And point well taken about the siesta! I'll keep it in mind when we do our traveling!

Paule

PS - I hope you had a good time at my party!

CC:

I'm contemplating booking a tour (private or small group) of the Alhambra (not with Rick Steves - but possibly a company I gather he recommends).

Before I do... do tell... what's he done this time?

oh, can't wait for more.

Never ben to Ronda - it's now on the must do list, not so the Enfrente Arte. We'll be opting for the view of the gorge - thanks for the tip.

Crosscheck, makes me very sad that your experience in Madrid has been so negative.

latebloomer, A friend just emailed for Spain tips and I was reminded that a) I never finished this report and b) Rick Steves is a dweeb. I'm a bit jetlagged because I just returned home from China, Korea & Japan, but will get on it this evening when I get my second wind.

annhig, thanks - more tips to come

Revulgo, Haha - Guilty as charged. Will happily share tales of Madrid as soon as I finish a pot of green tea.

Oh good, I didn't want to nag as I knew you were off on another trip....BUT my trip is less than a month away so I'm pleased you are ready to finish this. And truly looking forward to your rant on Rick Steves!

Paule

Must be a large pot of tea, CC!
:)
Paule

Haha - I ended up with a pesky real life deadline. But the Granada post should be good to go this afternoon, complete with cringeworthy Rick Steves quotes.

Can't wait to read it, CC!