Dave

Now that we have the trip planned and the hotels reserved, I need to get names of some restaurants. If you came across something special, excellent, romantic, unusual, etc., I would appreciate hearing about it. <BR><BR>Madrid for 2 Nights<BR>Toledo for 1 Night<BR>Seville for 1 Night<BR>Barcelona for 1 Night<BR><BR>Thank You<BR>Dave<BR>

xxx

Dave, how are you moving between cities? Your trip sounds like all you'll see of Spain will be from a window of a car or train. Waaay too much for a week.

Rachel

I disagree with the previous poster. Your trip plan seems fine, esp. because the distances between the places you are travelling are pretty short. I just came back from Spain and one restaurant we really enjoyed in Barcelona was Botafumeria (sp?). You can find reviews and more information in the Rants and Rave section on Fodors. In Seville, we like Modesto.<BR><BR>Also, I don't know if you like campy sort of fun, but in Seville, we saw these fliers for a tour of the city by "Carmen." She is a woman that recently moved from Belgium and gives tours of the city from the viewpoint of Carmen, as in the opera. Her act is more like street theater and you don't really see the major sights with her but she is very entertaining in a totally fun, campy sort of way. Every so often, she whips out her accordian to act out the dramatic parts of her story.<BR><BR>One suggestion that I have is to take an overnight train from Barcelona to Seville. On our trip, we took an overnight train from Barcelona to Granada. It left Barcelona about 9pm, arrived in Granada at 8 am. If I am not mistaken, there is a very similar train between Barcelona and Seville. We reserved a first class cabin for about $118/person, which is about the cost of a plane ticket. We saved time by travelling overnight. It was very comfortable and safe (our cabin had its own lock, own bathroom and shower, meals were provided in the dining car). All in all, we felt very much like we had stepped back in time to the days of the Orient Express. It is one of our greatest memories because it was so different than anything we had done before.

Maria

Dave,<BR><BR>Your itinerary does seem like way too much travel for a trip less than a week. My suggestion would be to eliminate Toledo and Barcelona and enjoy Madrid and (especially) Sevilla more thoroughly. In any event,in Sevilla we enjoyed a couple of really wonderful meals at La Albahaca and La Hosteria del Laurel. <BR><BR>Maria

ole

I suggest you take a look at the map of Spain.Barcelona is way out of the way for 1 day !

CathyM

I agree 100% with Maria unless you plan on spending the majority of your vacation in transit. I would probably go with 2 nights in Madrid and 3 in Sevilla (still not enough time). You'll get a good feel for a couple of different cities and can come back for more later.

Dave

Thanks for the input.<BR>I'm in Barcelona, because that is where the ship docks. We will be on a cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona. Just had a few days of vacation left to the highlights<BR><BR>1 Night - Bacelona<BR>Will have whole day to see city.<BR><BR>2 Nights - Madrid<BR>Spend mornings touring Madrid- Palace, Prado, etc. & Afternoons see Toledo one day and seeing Segovia the other.<BR><BR>1 Night - Seville<BR>Take Ave to Cordoba for 1/2 day and then to Seville for other 1/2.<BR><BR>1 Night<BR>Madrid - Morning Seville, take AVE back and fill in seeing the Rest of Madrid or shopping.