Looking for advice on my Spain Itinerary
 

I am two weeks away from an 11-day trip through Spain with my fiancée and we are looking for some general suggestions and in particular dining suggestions. Dining-wise, we are looking for a mix of high-end places and more rustic/traditional places.

We are flying into Malaga in the morning and that night we will stay in Granada. We do not know if we will drive or take the bus yet but if we do drive and are there any “to-die-for” places to stop along the way? We will be in Granada for two nights and two full days. From Granada we are going to Ronda for one day and one night and then to Seville for two full days and nights. In Seville, we have a reservation at the restaurant at the El Bulli hotel. Anybody been? If somebody has any suggestions for how we should get from Granada to Ronda and then to Seville, please let me know. We don’t have a hotel yet for Seville or Ronda. For Ronda we were debating between El Juncal and the Parador there.

After Seville we will be in Madrid visiting a friend, so most of our dining will be taken care of but I’m always open for additional suggestions. After Madrid, we will spend the rest of our time in the San Sebastian area. We are staying the first night in the Parador in Hondarribia, has anybody stayed there or visited this town? After that, we are staying 3 nights in San Sebastian. We have reservation at Arzak one night. I know some people prefer Arkelere, so should I go to both places or is there one that is better? What are the costs like? I know that San Sebastian is a food-focused town so we don’t want to limit ourselves to just high-end places. I’ve heard of the tapas crawls and the dining clubs, can anybody shed some light on these?

In addition to dinners, we are looking for advice on great lunch spots and particular dishes/pintxos that we should not miss.

Thanks in advance.

At what time you arrive in Malaga? I usually drive to Granada, but know not a remarkable place to dine along the way.
From Granada to Ronda and then Seville, the best option is a car. I've read posts that is easy to pick up rental in Granada. In Ronda, the Juncal I think it is outside town, whilst the Parador is right in the center, with parking.
I've written much on rests in Granada, etc, so click on my name to access to those posts.

I suggest these good restaurants in Madrid:
* Viridiana at calle Juan de Mena, 14.
* El Bodegón at calle Pinar, 15
* Botín at calle Cuchilleros, 17 (traditional)
In San Sebastian I like Rekondo because its traditional basque cuisine:
* Rekondo at Paseo Igeldo, 57 (chipirones en su tinta, txangurro...)
See this site:
www.todopintxos.com

Rick Steves has an article on his website that explains the "tapas crawl": http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/desti...pain/tapas.htm

There's definitely an art to it in San Sebastian, and it helps if you speak some Spanish. And it's an amazing experience! The food is unbelievable. The old part of the city is full of tapas bars and people walking around enjoying them. You'll have a blast.

http://marshlands.blogstream.com/

Try the above site for a good description of San Sebastian and the role of food. Pintxos in the old part are great but there are some very cool restaurants and pintxos bars in the newer part of town as well. Be sure to try red and Black just around the corner from the Londres Hotel.