Espagne, Olé! Ancient to modern, through Andalucia, Toledo and Madrid
Jun 29th, 2015, 04:07 AM
#203
Original Poster
Many thanks, Adelaidean! Hope you get there soon!
WTB-- Thank you! I hope to have time to return to your current post again, now that I've finished writing this report. Glad you enjoyed the descriptions of the museums -- we were bowled over by them!
crosscheck - I hope you're still here! I would be remiss in not thanking you for following my report and posting your comments -- and by the way, I've completed this report in just over a month since our return!
Of course, I'm hoping to edit my photos and post some of them, but that will add some more time to fully complete the report (and an opportunity for me to linger still....).
WTB-- Thank you! I hope to have time to return to your current post again, now that I've finished writing this report. Glad you enjoyed the descriptions of the museums -- we were bowled over by them!
crosscheck - I hope you're still here! I would be remiss in not thanking you for following my report and posting your comments -- and by the way, I've completed this report in just over a month since our return!
Of course, I'm hoping to edit my photos and post some of them, but that will add some more time to fully complete the report (and an opportunity for me to linger still....).
Jun 29th, 2015, 05:40 AM
#204
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Yes, great report and kudos to you for getting through it all! The info you've provided on Toledo and Madrid is very useful for our upcoming trip and thank you for letting relive my memories of Seville, Cordoba and Ronda through you.
Happy travels!
Happy travels!
Jun 29th, 2015, 09:55 AM
#206
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Another Yes for this TR! I especially paid attention in this last installment to your enthusiastic comments on the Prado and the Thyssen-B. Often at the end of a trip our brains are tired from having absorbed many great things and we drift into the vegetative mode. But sometimes not. At the end of a recent trip to Italy, on the final morning before the mid-day flight out from Rome, I did a zoom visit to Bernini's Saint Teresa in Ecstasy, the Palazzo Barberini museum, and San Bernardo alle Terme.
So who knows. If energized, will certainly go for the Prado (I misspelled Velazquez above, btw; a middle "z" not "s") and Thyssen-B. during this last part of our visit. Often one reads the same cliche over and over again that the Thyssen-B. collection has "first rate works by second rate artists and second rate works by first rate artists" but this certainly does not seem to be the case? The collection sounds superb.
Our itinerary for our too-short first time in Spain is tapas-style: 2 nights each in Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, Seville, and Madrid. I know there are many folks on the forum who would opt for only a day trip to Cordoba, a zero trip to Malaga, and many more days in Seville. But we are avoiding day trips and also want to downshift to a quiet mode in a city like Cordoba, which apparently has gentle charms in the evenings and in the back streets, apart from the grandeur of the Mezquita. And Malaga is on the list because it's an ancient city on the Med, a survivor of the civl war's brutality, with remnants of the old centro plus the Moorish structures overlooking the city and the coast. Time will tell if this is "the right" approach, whatever that is, but your impressions have been extremely helpful in thinking through all this (plus a gracias to kimhe as well, of course).
So who knows. If energized, will certainly go for the Prado (I misspelled Velazquez above, btw; a middle "z" not "s") and Thyssen-B. during this last part of our visit. Often one reads the same cliche over and over again that the Thyssen-B. collection has "first rate works by second rate artists and second rate works by first rate artists" but this certainly does not seem to be the case? The collection sounds superb.
Our itinerary for our too-short first time in Spain is tapas-style: 2 nights each in Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, Seville, and Madrid. I know there are many folks on the forum who would opt for only a day trip to Cordoba, a zero trip to Malaga, and many more days in Seville. But we are avoiding day trips and also want to downshift to a quiet mode in a city like Cordoba, which apparently has gentle charms in the evenings and in the back streets, apart from the grandeur of the Mezquita. And Malaga is on the list because it's an ancient city on the Med, a survivor of the civl war's brutality, with remnants of the old centro plus the Moorish structures overlooking the city and the coast. Time will tell if this is "the right" approach, whatever that is, but your impressions have been extremely helpful in thinking through all this (plus a gracias to kimhe as well, of course).
Jun 30th, 2015, 12:30 AM
#209
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EYWandBTV,
<I did a zoom visit to Bernini's Saint Teresa in Ecstasy>
Of course the Spanish Santa Teresa (1515-1582), so important in Spanish mysthicism and identity, close to be the national saint ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgucW15byeE
<I did a zoom visit to Bernini's Saint Teresa in Ecstasy>
Of course the Spanish Santa Teresa (1515-1582), so important in Spanish mysthicism and identity, close to be the national saint ;-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgucW15byeE
Jun 30th, 2015, 02:15 AM
#210
Original Poster
So glad to help, EYWandBTV! You will have an amazing trip, no matter how you manage it.
I hope you don't mind if I add my 2 cents here, even though you have chosen to do the "tapas" approach to the tour. I would reconsider dropping one of the cities as 2 days in each really doesn't give you much, especially in a place like Seville. As you say, I would recommend dropping Malaga -- not that you don't have good reasons for wanting to go there, it's just that Seville, to me, has so much more to offer that you're really sacrificing a lot. I'd consider doing the "racion" approach to Seville and keep Granada and Cordoba for your tapas!
Some might say to only visit Cordoba for 1 night, but I think 2 nights is right for your interests and your trip.
But if you do keep to your plan, I can see you have a lot more energy than we do, if you can do a zoom visit in Rome to 3 places on the day you leave!
I hope you don't mind if I add my 2 cents here, even though you have chosen to do the "tapas" approach to the tour. I would reconsider dropping one of the cities as 2 days in each really doesn't give you much, especially in a place like Seville. As you say, I would recommend dropping Malaga -- not that you don't have good reasons for wanting to go there, it's just that Seville, to me, has so much more to offer that you're really sacrificing a lot. I'd consider doing the "racion" approach to Seville and keep Granada and Cordoba for your tapas!
Some might say to only visit Cordoba for 1 night, but I think 2 nights is right for your interests and your trip.
But if you do keep to your plan, I can see you have a lot more energy than we do, if you can do a zoom visit in Rome to 3 places on the day you leave!
Jun 30th, 2015, 06:29 AM
#213
Let me add that this has been a beauty of a trip report! Thanks so much for putting in the effort. Hope to see some photos some day too.
I've made lots of notes and have done further research due to your comments and thoughts.
Like waiting for Downton Abbey, each segment did not disappoint. And, each added to the excitement of planning for our October trip. We will be covering much of the same territory, though like EYWandBTV we have skipped Seville.
Thanks again.
I've made lots of notes and have done further research due to your comments and thoughts.
Like waiting for Downton Abbey, each segment did not disappoint. And, each added to the excitement of planning for our October trip. We will be covering much of the same territory, though like EYWandBTV we have skipped Seville.
Thanks again.
Jun 30th, 2015, 07:38 AM
#214
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Hi Nelson, we may bump into each other as we explore Andalucia in October. But note that we are not skipping Seville, just squeezing it into a two-night visit. And now Paule, with her excellent TR, is causing me to wonder about juggling once again our itinerary. I don't mean to hijack this thread, but Nelson, what is your itinerary and number of nights in each place?
Jun 30th, 2015, 08:07 AM
#215
EYWandBTV. Thanks for correction on your Seville visit. Rather than hijack this thread, I'll hijack your own Alhambra ticket-timing thread with my itinerary, since we just made a decision on that last night.
Jun 30th, 2015, 08:47 AM
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I didn't chime in before as I was so intent on gathering all the information!! A wonderful trip report, so insightful and informative, and most helpful for our upcoming 5 week trip to Spain next April!! I will go back and "copy and paste" all pertinent information to WORD so I can take it with us. So very fun to read and ponder and to vicariously enjoy your fabulous trip!! However did you remember so many details? You must have recorded everything each night!! I try to keep a journal on each of our trips, but it is nowhere near as detailed, or helpful!! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and observations....it will be an incredible help with my planning.
Jun 30th, 2015, 12:59 PM
#218
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Wonderful report, progol! I see comments continue. Many of the cities you describe we had seen last October in our own travels to Madrid and Andalucia ending in Lisbon. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...l-in-depth.cfm. Most was in Spain. You did such a great job of drawing word pictures in depth. Glad I took the time to read through it all.
You did see and do more than we did in a group though we did have some days out of Torremolinos going to Marbella, Mijas. And out of Lisbon going to Cascais and Sintra. Only the one flamenco performance for us in Sevilla! Isn't it amazing what kimhe and others share? Well, we did visit a bull raising ranch and horse farm!
I read your report realizing our journey may have been our final overseas one due to age. You can imagine me dragging up cobblestone streets far behind the others.
You did see and do more than we did in a group though we did have some days out of Torremolinos going to Marbella, Mijas. And out of Lisbon going to Cascais and Sintra. Only the one flamenco performance for us in Sevilla! Isn't it amazing what kimhe and others share? Well, we did visit a bull raising ranch and horse farm!
I read your report realizing our journey may have been our final overseas one due to age. You can imagine me dragging up cobblestone streets far behind the others.
Jun 30th, 2015, 03:58 PM
#219
Original Poster
Many, many thanks to all of you for your wonderful comments! I'm more than a little pleased that so many of you find it helpful. I gain so much from other folks' reports, that I feel good that I can return the favor.
Ozarksbill, I thoroughly enjoyed your report -- I especially remember reading your comments about the Toledo Cathedral and was inspired by your description. And we are certainly thinking of Portugal in the not-too-distant future, so I'll be turning to your report again. I do hope that you find a way to travel again, though.
dodi66, Glad that you're getting so much from this -- I'll be happy to answer any questions when you start your own planning. As far as my travel writing -- I try to write every day; sometimes, it's detailed and sometimes, it's just a list of what we do. But I also refresh my memory by looking at our photos, which jogs my memory in a much more immediate way. Between the words and pictures (and a bit of research at home), I can recall a lot.
Nelson & EYWandBTV, I look forward to following your trips! Personally, I'm glad,
EYWandBTV, that you're reconsidering your allocation of days to Seville, but as I said, you will have a wonderful trip no matter what you see.
Nelson, thank you again, for your wonderful words (I've never been compared to Downton Abbey before!) and I'm glad you found it helpful. Though perhaps now you'll think about Seville, too?
Truly, I do know it's hard to make choices, and we all make decisions based on our interests and priorities.
Ozarksbill, I thoroughly enjoyed your report -- I especially remember reading your comments about the Toledo Cathedral and was inspired by your description. And we are certainly thinking of Portugal in the not-too-distant future, so I'll be turning to your report again. I do hope that you find a way to travel again, though.
dodi66, Glad that you're getting so much from this -- I'll be happy to answer any questions when you start your own planning. As far as my travel writing -- I try to write every day; sometimes, it's detailed and sometimes, it's just a list of what we do. But I also refresh my memory by looking at our photos, which jogs my memory in a much more immediate way. Between the words and pictures (and a bit of research at home), I can recall a lot.
Nelson & EYWandBTV, I look forward to following your trips! Personally, I'm glad,
EYWandBTV, that you're reconsidering your allocation of days to Seville, but as I said, you will have a wonderful trip no matter what you see.
Nelson, thank you again, for your wonderful words (I've never been compared to Downton Abbey before!) and I'm glad you found it helpful. Though perhaps now you'll think about Seville, too?
Truly, I do know it's hard to make choices, and we all make decisions based on our interests and priorities.
Jul 1st, 2015, 09:48 AM
#220
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progol, one thing I wanted to include in this Spain trip was a Prado visit and especially the Goyas. You had same interests including Velazquez and Bosch masterpieces. Remembering years ago being stunned by the Goyas at the Prado I once again pondered his startling portrayals of depravity amidst pictures of gaity. A travel friend was puzzled by my seeking out the Black Paintings.
I reread a recent bio upon our return: Goya, by Robert Hughes. And then a major exhibit in fall at the Museum of Fine Arts we were looing forward to seeing. This included many well know and also many lesser known Goya works. And I studied the prints, some so very strange, and the MFA owns many. Marvelous museum catalogue.
I reread a recent bio upon our return: Goya, by Robert Hughes. And then a major exhibit in fall at the Museum of Fine Arts we were looing forward to seeing. This included many well know and also many lesser known Goya works. And I studied the prints, some so very strange, and the MFA owns many. Marvelous museum catalogue.
