Joanne's Spain trip report
Jul 4th, 2004 | 02:05 PM
#1
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Joanne's Spain trip report
Just back yesterday, still jet lagged, and still without our luggage that has been misplaced en route. oh well - I guess it's the small price to pay...
So here goes: We were in Spain from June 17-July 3, and I found this site so helpful that i would like to post to help people planning their next trip. A bit of background info: We are 2 canadian professionals, late 20s, experienced travellers, but usually of the backpacking type. this was NOT a budget trip, but a middle of the road, good accomodation, good food type of vacation.
Madrid - 3 days. Arrived in Madrid after really awful flights from Ottawa, Canada, to find that our luggage hadn't made it! Do you detect a pattern yet? (Un)fortunately, we have been throught his before, and were aware that our Visa card covered $500 worth of baggage delay insurance, and we could shop for some necessities in Madrid. The good news was that without luggage, we could take the metro easily from the airport. this was incredibly simple. we bought the 10 pack metro booklet, which we found to be good value for the 2 of us. With luggage, I can see that the metro might be slightly difficult, but certainly do-able. We got off the metro at Calle Serrano, but were frustrated with the heat and went to El Corte Ingles for a one stop shop for clothes, socks, hygiene articles, etc. From there we finally went to our hotel: The Villa Real.
Small detour here: We had originally booked at the Hotel Urban, another Derby Hotel which was supposed to open several months ago. their introductory offer of 120 Euros seemed a good deal for a 5 star hotel. A few days before our departure we were contacted by a representative to say the hotel would not be ready for our stay. they were extremely accomodating and even upgraded us to a 2 floor suite! All the previously mentioned things about the Villa Real are true. Best things: Location, service, internet in the lobby, welcome champgne and chocolates. Worst: Poor soundproofing between rooms, questionable understanding of English by some staff. Would absolutely stay there again. Of note: The Hotel Urban is nowhere near ready! We walked by, and it is heavily under construction. So beware if you are planning on staying there It worked out great for us though!
After our whirlwind shopping, we were pooped, so we lay down for a little siesta, enjoyed the large tub and got up again to go eat dinner. We stumbled onto Restaurant Cluny, which was a great find. Quick note: Not eating pork, shellfish, or meat, i am limited by food choices, especially in Spain! However, I was surprised at how accomodating the menus were for my needs. restaurant Cluny was great. Tuna Tataki, Veggie paella were both excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed our first Spanish dinner.
I will post this and continue to reply on this thread shortly! hope this is useful and enjoyable to you!
Joanne
So here goes: We were in Spain from June 17-July 3, and I found this site so helpful that i would like to post to help people planning their next trip. A bit of background info: We are 2 canadian professionals, late 20s, experienced travellers, but usually of the backpacking type. this was NOT a budget trip, but a middle of the road, good accomodation, good food type of vacation.
Madrid - 3 days. Arrived in Madrid after really awful flights from Ottawa, Canada, to find that our luggage hadn't made it! Do you detect a pattern yet? (Un)fortunately, we have been throught his before, and were aware that our Visa card covered $500 worth of baggage delay insurance, and we could shop for some necessities in Madrid. The good news was that without luggage, we could take the metro easily from the airport. this was incredibly simple. we bought the 10 pack metro booklet, which we found to be good value for the 2 of us. With luggage, I can see that the metro might be slightly difficult, but certainly do-able. We got off the metro at Calle Serrano, but were frustrated with the heat and went to El Corte Ingles for a one stop shop for clothes, socks, hygiene articles, etc. From there we finally went to our hotel: The Villa Real.
Small detour here: We had originally booked at the Hotel Urban, another Derby Hotel which was supposed to open several months ago. their introductory offer of 120 Euros seemed a good deal for a 5 star hotel. A few days before our departure we were contacted by a representative to say the hotel would not be ready for our stay. they were extremely accomodating and even upgraded us to a 2 floor suite! All the previously mentioned things about the Villa Real are true. Best things: Location, service, internet in the lobby, welcome champgne and chocolates. Worst: Poor soundproofing between rooms, questionable understanding of English by some staff. Would absolutely stay there again. Of note: The Hotel Urban is nowhere near ready! We walked by, and it is heavily under construction. So beware if you are planning on staying there It worked out great for us though!
After our whirlwind shopping, we were pooped, so we lay down for a little siesta, enjoyed the large tub and got up again to go eat dinner. We stumbled onto Restaurant Cluny, which was a great find. Quick note: Not eating pork, shellfish, or meat, i am limited by food choices, especially in Spain! However, I was surprised at how accomodating the menus were for my needs. restaurant Cluny was great. Tuna Tataki, Veggie paella were both excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed our first Spanish dinner.
I will post this and continue to reply on this thread shortly! hope this is useful and enjoyable to you!
Joanne
Jul 4th, 2004 | 02:32 PM
#2
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Woke for our first full day in Spain and headed out on the walking tour of the major sites. Quickly got sidetracked and ended up just wandering through the old city and enjoying the buildings and many interesting things along the way. We spent part of the afternoon at the Palacio Real, which was interesting but not out of this world to us, and then hit the Reina Sofia museum. This being saturday afternoon, entry was free. I had been really excited to see this museum and we even got the audioguides for 3 euros. I really liked the museum, and tried to focus on Picasso, Miro and Dali works. My husband had a really hard time undestanding why "Dots on a White Canvas" is art!! Still, I far preferred this to many other European museums I have been to. After the museums and all the walking, we took a late afternoon nap and found that our bags had been delivered to the hotel by Air France. yay! We were clothed again! So out to dinner, this time in another part of town, to Restaurant Matritum, recommended by Maribel (good restaurant recommendations throughout the trip, by the way!). A cute, crowded tapas restaurant, we shared a bottle of wine and really good tapas for dinner. I was surprised at how much cheese they use in their menus - I guess from proximity to France? Anyways, the food was really good, price was moderate, and the atmosphere was excellent.
Wandered back to our hotel (we ate out every night at 10-ish, walked home around 1 am, and never felt unsafe) and slept off the last of our jet lag to get ready for our day trip the next day to Toledo.
We got up Sunday morning and had a quick walk through the flea market to catch the 10:30 bus to Toledo. the trip took just 50 minutes and was extremely easy. When we got to Toledo, we walked instead of taking the bus, and immediately were taken in by Toledo's sleepy charm. We had been excited to come to Toledo after reading the book The Last Jew (highly recommended fiction set in Spain around the time of the Spanish Inquisition) and it did not disappoint. We found there was a lot of construction on the major sights, but the best part was wandereing the streets and soaking up the atmosphere. we visited the Synagogue and sefardi museum, which were interesting, but could have outlined some of the history a bit more. Our best experience was stumbling across a bookstore run by a religious Jew whom we spoke to in halting French, Spanish and Hebrew, who told us a bit about the history of Jews in Toledo. He is one of less than 10 jews in the whole area and is supported exclusively by tourists, so if you are in the area, his store is called Beit Yaakov and I have the website if anyone is interested.
Leaving Toledo, the bus returned us to Madrid where we hit the Prado late in the day (again, no fee because it was Sunday!). Like the Uffizi in Florence, i found the museum to be overwhelming, and I already know that most of this type of art is not much to my liking, so we spent only a short time wandering through it and called it a day (I know I will get some attacks for that comment, but to each his own!). Dinner that night was some pizza taken up to our room and shared on the balcony with our bottle of cava. i guess we hadn't slept off that jet lag after all, and needed a quiet night to just relax!
Monday was our last day in madrid and we went to SEgovia for the day. Segovia was nice, and we liked the Alcazar, which was beautiful, but didn't find that we enjoyed it as much as Toledo. i know there is plenty of debate on the subject, but if I were limited to one, I would go back to Toledo! Still, a worthwhile day trip, again by bus. It also took us less long than expected. We went back to Madrid in the afternoon and hung out in Retiro Park before making our way to the airport for our 9 pm flight to Barcelona (26 Euros, purchased online). To get back to the airport, we took the shuttle bus from Plaza de Colon. A bit difficult to find the bus stop - it is hidden underground! But we allowed ourselves plenty of time and arrived without incident. Next stop: Barcelona!
Wandered back to our hotel (we ate out every night at 10-ish, walked home around 1 am, and never felt unsafe) and slept off the last of our jet lag to get ready for our day trip the next day to Toledo.
We got up Sunday morning and had a quick walk through the flea market to catch the 10:30 bus to Toledo. the trip took just 50 minutes and was extremely easy. When we got to Toledo, we walked instead of taking the bus, and immediately were taken in by Toledo's sleepy charm. We had been excited to come to Toledo after reading the book The Last Jew (highly recommended fiction set in Spain around the time of the Spanish Inquisition) and it did not disappoint. We found there was a lot of construction on the major sights, but the best part was wandereing the streets and soaking up the atmosphere. we visited the Synagogue and sefardi museum, which were interesting, but could have outlined some of the history a bit more. Our best experience was stumbling across a bookstore run by a religious Jew whom we spoke to in halting French, Spanish and Hebrew, who told us a bit about the history of Jews in Toledo. He is one of less than 10 jews in the whole area and is supported exclusively by tourists, so if you are in the area, his store is called Beit Yaakov and I have the website if anyone is interested.
Leaving Toledo, the bus returned us to Madrid where we hit the Prado late in the day (again, no fee because it was Sunday!). Like the Uffizi in Florence, i found the museum to be overwhelming, and I already know that most of this type of art is not much to my liking, so we spent only a short time wandering through it and called it a day (I know I will get some attacks for that comment, but to each his own!). Dinner that night was some pizza taken up to our room and shared on the balcony with our bottle of cava. i guess we hadn't slept off that jet lag after all, and needed a quiet night to just relax!
Monday was our last day in madrid and we went to SEgovia for the day. Segovia was nice, and we liked the Alcazar, which was beautiful, but didn't find that we enjoyed it as much as Toledo. i know there is plenty of debate on the subject, but if I were limited to one, I would go back to Toledo! Still, a worthwhile day trip, again by bus. It also took us less long than expected. We went back to Madrid in the afternoon and hung out in Retiro Park before making our way to the airport for our 9 pm flight to Barcelona (26 Euros, purchased online). To get back to the airport, we took the shuttle bus from Plaza de Colon. A bit difficult to find the bus stop - it is hidden underground! But we allowed ourselves plenty of time and arrived without incident. Next stop: Barcelona!
Jul 5th, 2004 | 07:22 AM
#4
Joined: Dec 2003
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Love your trip report! We also liked Toledo so much more than Segovia. Other than the Alcazar, which is really special, and maybe the aquaduct, we did not find Segovia to have much appeal or charm. On the other hand, we thought Toledo was endlessy appealing, with surprises at every turn around the small winding streets. We also went into the bookshop you mentioned, but unfortunately didn't see the old man you described ... would have been interesting.
Jul 5th, 2004 | 01:41 PM
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Ugh... still no word on our luggage. At least I haven't had to deal with post-trip laundry yet!
Cruiseluv - Rest Cluny is right on calle del Prado, as you are heading from the Villa Real to Plaza Santa Ana. Restaurant Matritum is on Cava Baja, a bit of a walk (20 minutes?) away.
On with the report: Barcelona - 3 days
Got into Barcelona a bit on the late side (10:30). Took the very easy shuttle bus which deposited us at the Placa Catalunya. from there, we were too tired and disoriented, so we took our first cab of the trip (well worth the 4 euros) which deposited us at our hotel: The Banys Orientals. the Banys is an interesting hotel because the price is quite reasonable and it has a lot of style. It is by no means, however, a luxury hotel. Best things: free (cold!) water on each floor, cool decor with clean lines, excellent blackout curtains. worst: only so-so soundproofing from outside, bathroom needs some updating (peeling tiles on the shower floor), no tub (if you care about that type of thing). For 89 euros, I thought it was great.
We checked in and rushed down to get the last seating at the restaurant, Senyor Parellada (sp?). they said they would serve us until midnight, so we ordered the cod in garlic sauce with pine nuts, the seared tuna, and a couple of appetizers. Huge portions, very hurried service (i think because they were trying to rush us a bit). the crema catalan for dessert was very good too.
First full day in Barcelona was a "Gaudi day". we started off by walking along the water to La Rambla, picking up some fruit in the Botequeria market for breakfast. then we walked up the Passeig de Gracia to the Manzana (block) of discord, which shocased several buildings of the modernist movement. Amazing! Since it is the 100th birthday of Gaudi's Casa Battlo, we went in for the somewhat steep price of 16 euros each. this turned out to be the most interesting of all the "tourist sights" we saw there, and was well worth it. i highly recommend it. Afterward we stopped for lunch at Cerveceria catalana, which was great - tapas, and a burger for my meat starved husband. It came with an egg sunny side up on top! Odd, but good, he said. Reenergized, we hit the sagrada familia, although chose not to go inside (I had been before, 8 years ago) so we just walked around it and admired. Then we walked all the way up to Parc Guell (feet were definitely getting sore by now!) and spent the late afternoon walking through the interesting areas. We opted to take the metro home after that! That night we had our best dinner yet at Tenorio, on the Passeig de Gracia. packed, great buzz, cool decor, amazing food! Goat's cheese salad, seared tuna, chicken brochettes, great cheese and pan amb tomaquet (like bruschetta) to start. Mmmmm. A good bottle of wine topped it all off, and the best dessert I think I have ever had: Biscuit banana Split - a melting chocolate cake with bananas and vanilla ice cream - delish! Tired from all our walking, we called it a night, but I wish I would have ordered another dessert!
Cruiseluv - Rest Cluny is right on calle del Prado, as you are heading from the Villa Real to Plaza Santa Ana. Restaurant Matritum is on Cava Baja, a bit of a walk (20 minutes?) away.
On with the report: Barcelona - 3 days
Got into Barcelona a bit on the late side (10:30). Took the very easy shuttle bus which deposited us at the Placa Catalunya. from there, we were too tired and disoriented, so we took our first cab of the trip (well worth the 4 euros) which deposited us at our hotel: The Banys Orientals. the Banys is an interesting hotel because the price is quite reasonable and it has a lot of style. It is by no means, however, a luxury hotel. Best things: free (cold!) water on each floor, cool decor with clean lines, excellent blackout curtains. worst: only so-so soundproofing from outside, bathroom needs some updating (peeling tiles on the shower floor), no tub (if you care about that type of thing). For 89 euros, I thought it was great.
We checked in and rushed down to get the last seating at the restaurant, Senyor Parellada (sp?). they said they would serve us until midnight, so we ordered the cod in garlic sauce with pine nuts, the seared tuna, and a couple of appetizers. Huge portions, very hurried service (i think because they were trying to rush us a bit). the crema catalan for dessert was very good too.
First full day in Barcelona was a "Gaudi day". we started off by walking along the water to La Rambla, picking up some fruit in the Botequeria market for breakfast. then we walked up the Passeig de Gracia to the Manzana (block) of discord, which shocased several buildings of the modernist movement. Amazing! Since it is the 100th birthday of Gaudi's Casa Battlo, we went in for the somewhat steep price of 16 euros each. this turned out to be the most interesting of all the "tourist sights" we saw there, and was well worth it. i highly recommend it. Afterward we stopped for lunch at Cerveceria catalana, which was great - tapas, and a burger for my meat starved husband. It came with an egg sunny side up on top! Odd, but good, he said. Reenergized, we hit the sagrada familia, although chose not to go inside (I had been before, 8 years ago) so we just walked around it and admired. Then we walked all the way up to Parc Guell (feet were definitely getting sore by now!) and spent the late afternoon walking through the interesting areas. We opted to take the metro home after that! That night we had our best dinner yet at Tenorio, on the Passeig de Gracia. packed, great buzz, cool decor, amazing food! Goat's cheese salad, seared tuna, chicken brochettes, great cheese and pan amb tomaquet (like bruschetta) to start. Mmmmm. A good bottle of wine topped it all off, and the best dessert I think I have ever had: Biscuit banana Split - a melting chocolate cake with bananas and vanilla ice cream - delish! Tired from all our walking, we called it a night, but I wish I would have ordered another dessert!
Jul 6th, 2004 | 09:38 PM
#7
Joined: Feb 2003
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Joanne,
Enjoying your trip report...reliving much of our time as well. Thanks so much for posting.
I'm particularly interested in the website for Beit Yaakov. We were in Toledo, but didn't get to this shop (or the synagogue) and I'm very interested in Jewish history in Spain, especially mystical Judiasm (Kaballah), so this really interests me. We're going back in May and I was planning on going to Segovia, Salamanca, & Leon, and don't think we'll have time for Toledo again, but our plans aren't sealed in concrete, so who knows?
I'm very impressed that you walked all the way to Parc Guell! And I thought we were big walkers! You deserved an extra dessert!
Enjoying your trip report...reliving much of our time as well. Thanks so much for posting.
I'm particularly interested in the website for Beit Yaakov. We were in Toledo, but didn't get to this shop (or the synagogue) and I'm very interested in Jewish history in Spain, especially mystical Judiasm (Kaballah), so this really interests me. We're going back in May and I was planning on going to Segovia, Salamanca, & Leon, and don't think we'll have time for Toledo again, but our plans aren't sealed in concrete, so who knows?
I'm very impressed that you walked all the way to Parc Guell! And I thought we were big walkers! You deserved an extra dessert!
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Jul 7th, 2004 | 05:15 PM
#8
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Joined: Feb 2004
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72 hours later, our luggage has arrived! Better late than never, I say!
Artlover - I don't know how much info there is on kabbalah, but here is the website: casadejacob.com.
Back to the report: Barcelona Day 2
Those blackout curtains I mentioned did a great job and we accidentally overslept until noon! I guess all that walking took it's toll. We set out on a walk of the Barri Gotic, which was very interesting, but we just couldn't stay away from the modernist buildings, and so we went to the Palau Guell, the Palau Musica de Catalana, walked to the Arc de Triomph and through the parc de la ciutadella. We found some great fruit in the Boqueria market, which was a nice change. At about 5 we had seen about all we were going to, so we actually went to the beach at la Barcelonetta for a couple of hours vacation from our vacation! A nice change of pace. Dinner that night was a maribel suggestion: Commerc 24, which was, you guessed it, on Carrer del Commerc. This was a very interesting restaurant with gourmet tapas. extremely small portions, but different (the "kinder surprise" was a soft boiled egg with herbs and potato served in it's eggshell). A little overpriced, but definitely an experience.
Our last day in Barcelona was spent on Montjuic. We took the metro and the funicular up the mountain (great deal on just one ticket) and mostly just wandered, visiting the Fundacio Miro and the olympic sites. In the afternoon we had to head back to the airport to catch our flight to Seville. We took the airport shuttle, which again, worked like a charm.
Next stop: Seville!
Artlover - I don't know how much info there is on kabbalah, but here is the website: casadejacob.com.
Back to the report: Barcelona Day 2
Those blackout curtains I mentioned did a great job and we accidentally overslept until noon! I guess all that walking took it's toll. We set out on a walk of the Barri Gotic, which was very interesting, but we just couldn't stay away from the modernist buildings, and so we went to the Palau Guell, the Palau Musica de Catalana, walked to the Arc de Triomph and through the parc de la ciutadella. We found some great fruit in the Boqueria market, which was a nice change. At about 5 we had seen about all we were going to, so we actually went to the beach at la Barcelonetta for a couple of hours vacation from our vacation! A nice change of pace. Dinner that night was a maribel suggestion: Commerc 24, which was, you guessed it, on Carrer del Commerc. This was a very interesting restaurant with gourmet tapas. extremely small portions, but different (the "kinder surprise" was a soft boiled egg with herbs and potato served in it's eggshell). A little overpriced, but definitely an experience.
Our last day in Barcelona was spent on Montjuic. We took the metro and the funicular up the mountain (great deal on just one ticket) and mostly just wandered, visiting the Fundacio Miro and the olympic sites. In the afternoon we had to head back to the airport to catch our flight to Seville. We took the airport shuttle, which again, worked like a charm.
Next stop: Seville!
Jul 11th, 2004 | 03:28 PM
#10
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Seville: 2 nights
We flew from Barcelona to Seville, which I had read such great things about and was really excited to see. We landed at around 10:45, and waited for the airport shuttle. When it didn't show up after about 15 minutes, we wondered if it had stopped running for the night. Quick note to you who are going - the signs for the shuttle are not as well marked as those in other airports we were at - it was right outside the door, but not that obvious. We ended up grabbing a cab, which we immediately regretted when the driver did not turn on the meter. When we asked him to, he made a comment to say that it wasn't working. Uh oh. We knew from Maribel's guide that it would cost 16-20 euros. We got ready to argue with him about the fare, but when he said 18 euros, we just couldn't be bothered. We got dropped off in front of the Casas del Rey de Baeza, by far our most expensive hotel of the trip. It was really cute, with a great feel to it. The concierge greeted us and we went to our room - really nice bathroom, good A/C, very comfy bed. The baskets of oranges everywhere were a great touch, and we helped ourselves to more than a few! For dinner, we went down the street to a restaurant called La Beceritta, a restaurant recommended by the concierge. It was AWFUL. I mean, really bad. I ordered the tubot, which I sent back because it was barely cooked (I like my fish seared, and I am not averse to sushi either, but this was not meant to be raw). My husband's meat also had to be put back on the grill. It was overpriced, and the service was not good. An inauspicious beginning to our stay in Seville.
The next morning, we got ready for some touring, and were hit by the temperature outside. We were very lucky with our weather in Madrid and barcelona, but Seville was HOT! We thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast at the hotel (excellent fresh squeezed orange juice) and then set out to see the Cathedral, the Alcazar and the rest of the city. To be honest, the heat got to us quickly. By mid afternoon, we were back at the hotel at the roof top pool, which was a godsend in that weather! Absolutely worth the cost of the hotel. For dinner, we were commited to find a better restaurant than the night before. We wandered around, checked out a few of maribel's suggestions, but Seville and us just weren't clicking. We ended up grabbing some paella at an outdoor "touristy" restaurant with a nice view of the cathedral. It was definitely not made from scratch, but it took care of our hunger! Walking home at night was an adventure (especially after a bottle of wine). We were actually trying to find a Flamenco club, but got quite lost, and finally ended up back at our hotel. The Casas del rey de Baeza is a bit farther removed than some of the other hotels people stay at. I thought it was totally worth it because of the pool and the breakfast. we found everything in Seville to be expensive. I suppose we should have been prepared, but in some ways, the heat and the cost detracted from our experience. I had expected Seville to be my favorite city in Spain, and while the streets were great for wandering and the sights impressive, Barcelona still holds the number one place in my heart in Spain!
The next morning we picked up our rental car and headed for our week on the Costa del Sol...
We flew from Barcelona to Seville, which I had read such great things about and was really excited to see. We landed at around 10:45, and waited for the airport shuttle. When it didn't show up after about 15 minutes, we wondered if it had stopped running for the night. Quick note to you who are going - the signs for the shuttle are not as well marked as those in other airports we were at - it was right outside the door, but not that obvious. We ended up grabbing a cab, which we immediately regretted when the driver did not turn on the meter. When we asked him to, he made a comment to say that it wasn't working. Uh oh. We knew from Maribel's guide that it would cost 16-20 euros. We got ready to argue with him about the fare, but when he said 18 euros, we just couldn't be bothered. We got dropped off in front of the Casas del Rey de Baeza, by far our most expensive hotel of the trip. It was really cute, with a great feel to it. The concierge greeted us and we went to our room - really nice bathroom, good A/C, very comfy bed. The baskets of oranges everywhere were a great touch, and we helped ourselves to more than a few! For dinner, we went down the street to a restaurant called La Beceritta, a restaurant recommended by the concierge. It was AWFUL. I mean, really bad. I ordered the tubot, which I sent back because it was barely cooked (I like my fish seared, and I am not averse to sushi either, but this was not meant to be raw). My husband's meat also had to be put back on the grill. It was overpriced, and the service was not good. An inauspicious beginning to our stay in Seville.
The next morning, we got ready for some touring, and were hit by the temperature outside. We were very lucky with our weather in Madrid and barcelona, but Seville was HOT! We thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast at the hotel (excellent fresh squeezed orange juice) and then set out to see the Cathedral, the Alcazar and the rest of the city. To be honest, the heat got to us quickly. By mid afternoon, we were back at the hotel at the roof top pool, which was a godsend in that weather! Absolutely worth the cost of the hotel. For dinner, we were commited to find a better restaurant than the night before. We wandered around, checked out a few of maribel's suggestions, but Seville and us just weren't clicking. We ended up grabbing some paella at an outdoor "touristy" restaurant with a nice view of the cathedral. It was definitely not made from scratch, but it took care of our hunger! Walking home at night was an adventure (especially after a bottle of wine). We were actually trying to find a Flamenco club, but got quite lost, and finally ended up back at our hotel. The Casas del rey de Baeza is a bit farther removed than some of the other hotels people stay at. I thought it was totally worth it because of the pool and the breakfast. we found everything in Seville to be expensive. I suppose we should have been prepared, but in some ways, the heat and the cost detracted from our experience. I had expected Seville to be my favorite city in Spain, and while the streets were great for wandering and the sights impressive, Barcelona still holds the number one place in my heart in Spain!
The next morning we picked up our rental car and headed for our week on the Costa del Sol...
Jul 15th, 2004 | 02:54 PM
#12
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Joined: Feb 2004
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Mijas: 7 nights
First thing in the morning, we grabbed our breakfast and took a cab to the Santa Justa train station. We got dropped off at the Europcar lot to pick up our car, but a note to you who are going: You have to go INSIDE the station to get your keys - there is no service booth in the lot itself. We easily got through the paperwork and were on our way! We got off to a bumpy start when we headed into Seville in the wrong direction. The map Europcar gives is TERRIBLE. We did get onto the highway, and about 2 hours later, found ourselves in Ronda. We spent a good few hours in Ronda and really enjoyed it. We did start the hike down into the gorge but it was very hot and we headed back up after getting 3/4 way down. The view seemed nicer form the bridge than from down there. Again, pretty hot and sweaty! Back in the car, we chose to take the scenic route onto the coast instead of the big highway to Marbella. This was a good choice, but expect a bumpy ride - there is a lot of construction. you also need nerves of steel because the highways are really a lane and a half not 2 full lanes that we expect in North America. Passing is nearly impossible, and oncoming traffic would make my heart speed up! We did go through some beautiful national parks and cute little towns. It was a long drive, however, at least 3 hours (I think the main highway is about an hour shorter). A stressful 3 hours later, we finally saw ocean. Finding our hotel was another matter - we were staying at the Heritage Matchroom Coutry Club in Mijas. Now, there is a Mijas, MIjas-Costa, and Mijas-Golf. Until we caught on to where we were going, there was a lot of stopping and asking for directions! We finally arrived at the hotel (this is an RCI timeshare resort) late in the day. The "resort" was only OK, though the pool was nice. The best thing: washing machine in the unit! Much needed! It also had a kitchenette, and we stocked up on food, drinks and snacks for the week.
I won't go through day by day of our week on the coast, though I can give more details if anyone is interested. We spent a few half days in Fuengirola (crowded, a bit dated, OK beach), Puerto Banus (yacht town, lots of good but expensive restaurants, good but expensive shopping - difficult parking), Nerja (saw the cave, also went scuba diving with ScubaNerja - can give details on the dive if anyone is interested). We spent a whole day in Granada (drive there was 2 hours each way) which we really liked. We ate lunch at the Parador with a view of the Generalife gardens. The food was average, the experience worth it. We also ate at Pravda in Puerto Banus which was amazing. Overall, our week on the coast was relaxing. We didn't mind the driving in our little fiat punto, but I did start to get a teeny bit stir crazy after a while.
Two and a half weeks was a good amount of time for what we saw, and I liked the activity and sightseeing better than the lounging - but that is just me! Spain was a great trip, and I would go back to Barcelona anytime. The rest of Spain I hear is beautiful, but there are so many places in the world stilll to see that it is not the next thing on my list. I am happy to answer any questions you may have, and thanks for reading!
First thing in the morning, we grabbed our breakfast and took a cab to the Santa Justa train station. We got dropped off at the Europcar lot to pick up our car, but a note to you who are going: You have to go INSIDE the station to get your keys - there is no service booth in the lot itself. We easily got through the paperwork and were on our way! We got off to a bumpy start when we headed into Seville in the wrong direction. The map Europcar gives is TERRIBLE. We did get onto the highway, and about 2 hours later, found ourselves in Ronda. We spent a good few hours in Ronda and really enjoyed it. We did start the hike down into the gorge but it was very hot and we headed back up after getting 3/4 way down. The view seemed nicer form the bridge than from down there. Again, pretty hot and sweaty! Back in the car, we chose to take the scenic route onto the coast instead of the big highway to Marbella. This was a good choice, but expect a bumpy ride - there is a lot of construction. you also need nerves of steel because the highways are really a lane and a half not 2 full lanes that we expect in North America. Passing is nearly impossible, and oncoming traffic would make my heart speed up! We did go through some beautiful national parks and cute little towns. It was a long drive, however, at least 3 hours (I think the main highway is about an hour shorter). A stressful 3 hours later, we finally saw ocean. Finding our hotel was another matter - we were staying at the Heritage Matchroom Coutry Club in Mijas. Now, there is a Mijas, MIjas-Costa, and Mijas-Golf. Until we caught on to where we were going, there was a lot of stopping and asking for directions! We finally arrived at the hotel (this is an RCI timeshare resort) late in the day. The "resort" was only OK, though the pool was nice. The best thing: washing machine in the unit! Much needed! It also had a kitchenette, and we stocked up on food, drinks and snacks for the week.
I won't go through day by day of our week on the coast, though I can give more details if anyone is interested. We spent a few half days in Fuengirola (crowded, a bit dated, OK beach), Puerto Banus (yacht town, lots of good but expensive restaurants, good but expensive shopping - difficult parking), Nerja (saw the cave, also went scuba diving with ScubaNerja - can give details on the dive if anyone is interested). We spent a whole day in Granada (drive there was 2 hours each way) which we really liked. We ate lunch at the Parador with a view of the Generalife gardens. The food was average, the experience worth it. We also ate at Pravda in Puerto Banus which was amazing. Overall, our week on the coast was relaxing. We didn't mind the driving in our little fiat punto, but I did start to get a teeny bit stir crazy after a while.
Two and a half weeks was a good amount of time for what we saw, and I liked the activity and sightseeing better than the lounging - but that is just me! Spain was a great trip, and I would go back to Barcelona anytime. The rest of Spain I hear is beautiful, but there are so many places in the world stilll to see that it is not the next thing on my list. I am happy to answer any questions you may have, and thanks for reading!
Jul 18th, 2004 | 02:19 PM
#15
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
We are traveling to Spain for the first time (from Canada too) in January and really appreciate your fantastic report - thank you.
Can you, or anyone else, tell me the best place (online or otherwise) to get airfares throughout Spain, the islands and maybe Portugal?
Thanks again. This info really helps those of us going for the first time.
Can you, or anyone else, tell me the best place (online or otherwise) to get airfares throughout Spain, the islands and maybe Portugal?
Thanks again. This info really helps those of us going for the first time.
Jul 27th, 2004 | 05:04 PM
#16
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
joanne, your trip report is fabulous. we have planned a very similar itinerary, including a reservation at the hotel urban -- yikes! any hope it might be ready by the end of september??? oh well, if worse comes to worst, an upgrade to the villa real doesn't sound too bad.
we are also looking forward to a day trip to toledo and i would very much appreciate the website for the beit yaakov bookstore. my email is: [email protected] or you can post it on this board -- i'll keep checking for it. any other info/websites you accumulated on toledo would also be appreciated.
thanks so much,
dede
we are also looking forward to a day trip to toledo and i would very much appreciate the website for the beit yaakov bookstore. my email is: [email protected] or you can post it on this board -- i'll keep checking for it. any other info/websites you accumulated on toledo would also be appreciated.
thanks so much,
dede
Apr 4th, 2005 | 05:14 AM
#17
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
Hi there, great trip report. I am taking the family to Spain this summer. We too do not eat meat, shellfish, etc. Would like more information on how you managed , recommended restaurants , etc. Would you be willing to email me this info?
Thanks
Harrymorton
