Maribel - need help with itinerary please
 

First, I want to say how saddened I am by the terrible and tragic bombing in Madrid. My heart goes out to all who have been affected. I almost feel guilty asking about travel advice when so many have died and are suffering, but I also feel like I'm sending a message to terrorists and expressing solidarity with Spain by going there.

Anyway, I do need advice with our itinerary. We now have some extra time & want to add to our trip, but need help on where to go when. Added problem is that our vacation includes May 1 when I know everything will be closed. So here are the outlines: We will be in Madrid until Friday, 4/30. Also have reservations at the Parador in Granada on 5/8. As that is the only date they had available & we want to stay there, don't want to change that. We return to the US from Malaga on 5/11. In between, in addition to Granada we want to spend time in Segovia, Salamanca, Avila & El Escorial, Pedraza de La Sierra, Toledo, Nerja (& visit the surrounding white villages of Frigilana & Competa).
Maribel, you sent me your fabulous files & helped me to organize our itinerary previously and advised to visit Pedraza on the week-end, but we weren't able to schedule it. Now we have added time & can go to Pedraza on Friday 4/30, but will everything be closed on May 1? We don't want to miss Tinin in Sepulveda for roast lamb. Also, in what order should we schedule the visits after that to Segovia, Avila & Salamanca? We want to stay in the Parador in Avila, and also want to overnight in Segovia. And do you think we will have time to add Seville to the southern part of the trip. We are planning on renting a car & driving throughout. Sorry this is so long...appreciate all the help you have given & am coming back for more! Thanks and hope all of your family in Spain are safe and well.

Hi CFW,
First, I'm so glad that this profoundly sad and cowardly terrorist act has not made you change your travel plans and that you've decided to express your solidarity with the nation and enjoy the warm hospitality of the Spanish people.

I'm at work now, watching Television Espanola, very moved by the heroic and determined reaction of all Spaniards to this terrible tragedy. I'll be back with you later in the day, as I want to give your itinerary more concentrated thought and come up with some ideas for you for your extra days. I'll talk to you later.
Maribel

CFW
Let me try to give you some ideas for your trip.
The drive from Madrid to Pedraza takes about 1.5/2 hours and you will not have any problems in May 1st as Pedraza is a touristic little village mainly oppened during weekends and holidays.
Drive direction is road A1, previously called N-I until Km 99 then taking N 110 direction Segovia after 15 km follow the signs to Pedraza.
Lunch in Sepulveda for roast lamb in Tinin is fine but you can go to several other restaurants ,as good as, in the road to Segovia.
La Velilla, Casa Pepe,just 3 minutes from Pedraza.
Sotosalbos , "Porche de las Casillas"
Torrecaballeros, Horno del rey Don Pedro.
Segovia night of the 31st
Next day road to El Escorial N-603 a bit of drive back,
and then the road to Avila trough Robledo de Chavela, San Martin de Valdeiglesias, M-512 and then N-403
all the way to Avila, Sunday night, 1st May.
Monday Salamanca.2nd May Avila-Salamanca will take 1.5 hours.
Tuesday drive to Toledo via Avila.N 501 followed by N 403.3-4 hours.
Tuesday Night Toledo 3 rd May
Wendsday Toledo. 4 th MayApril
Thursday Toledo- Granada.4-5 hours or alternatively Sevilla 6-7 hours.
If Sevilla you should allow at least 3 nights.5-6-7th May
Sevilla-Granada 3-4 hours 8th of May.
I recomend to allow two days for Granada and then towards Nerja.
Granada-Nerja drive will take about 1.5 hours. 8-9 th in Granada and 10th-11th in Nerja.
About you last question about Nerja, you should allow 1.5 hours to Malaga's airport.It is not ideal but after all the rush around Spain I will rather go for an early start in Nerja to catch your plane.

Tks for your solidarity

Car from Madrid

car,
I know you're probably marching right now as I write this, and my solidarity, my thoughts are with you all. I can only watch on tve the enormous and hugely moving manifestación in Madrid on this terribly sad, grey, rainy day. I only wish I could be there with my family, marching again as we marched together in protest against the senseless, tragic death of Miguel Angel Blanco in '97. There have been so many senseless deaths since then, as the almost unbearable heartbreak continues.

Con las víctimas, con la Constitución, por la derrota del terrorismo.
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido.

CFW,
There's not much that I can add to the itinerary that Car has so generously mapped out for you.
Because the Monastery of El Escorial will be closed on Sat., May 1, due to the holiday, and Mon., May 3 (always closed Mondays), you might want to visit El Escorial on the way from Madrid to Segovia, and do Segovia first, on Friday, April 30. Then Sat. May 1, move from Segovia on up to Pedraza, where all shops, restaurants and the castle will be open and the town filled with weekenders. As car says, besides Zute el Mayor, Tinín, in Sepúlveda, there are many fine roast lamb taverns in the Segovia-Sepúlveda-Arévalo triangle. You might enjoy just as much the recs. car gave you in Las Velillas, Sotosalbos, Torrecaballeros or the Yantar right on the square in beautiful Pedraza or La Olma on the Plaza del Ganado. All of these places will be very lively, filled with madrileños up for the wkd. roast lamb ritual. Depends on where you land btwn 2-3:30 p.m. Then from Pedraza, backtrack through Segovia to Avila on Sun., May 2. Then spend Sun., 5/2 in Avila at the Parador, move on to Salamanca on Mon. 5/3, staying at the NH Palacio de Castellanos or the Hotel Rector. I suggest you consider staying in Salamanca for 2 nights, 5/3-5/4, to rest a bit from your 3 consecutive one nighters. Then on the Wed, May 5, make your way from Salamanca to Toledo, as car suggests.
If you want to include Seville, as Car says, it's a long drive down from Toledo, and Seville really needs 3 days.

Alternatively, if you want two nights in Toledo until May 7, you could leave Seville for your next Spain trip, and drive from Toledo on Fri., 5/7 to the Parador of Ubeda or Jaen before hitting Granada on Sat.May 8.
I agree with car that you might want 2 nights in Granada, but at this late date, that second night at the Parador will probably not be available. You could move to the Alhambra Palace also on the Alhambra hill, or just move down to Nerja on Sun. May 9, staying there for 2 very restful nights before your departure from Málaga on 5/11. The distance from Nerja to the airport is 71
km.

Por la paz.
Maribel

Car & Maribel, Thank you both so much! I know it's a generalization, but the warmth and generosity of the Spanish people is really special. The demonstrations in Madrid have been so moving. I can't wait to be there. Our original plan was to drive from Toledo to Granda, staying overnight at the Parador in Jaen, and visiting Ubeda and Baeza along the way, but now that we have extra time, perhaps we should do as Car suggests and instead spend 3 nights in Seville before Granada. We could drive back to Madrid from Toledo and take the AVE to Seville, if the trains are running. Then rent a car again & drive from Seville to Granada for the end of the trip. Hard to decide what to do. We generally like small charming towns with lots of character -- or cities like Barcelona and Paris with stunning architecture, fabulous restaurants, and endless things to do & see. Tell me about Sevilla. Also, I like the idea of being in Pedraza on
May 1, but don't want to rush through Segovia. Maybe we can do El Escorial & Avila on Friday, drive from Avila through Segovia to Pedraza on Sat. Then either two nights in segovia and one night in Salamanca, or one night in Segovia and two nights in Salamanca. Which of the two S's do you think we should spend more time in? Thanks again for your help.

Maribel, I did not know you were from Spain so let me say how sorry I am for the tragic events, the senseless deaths. I'm a big fan of your posts.

Maribel, I've gone over the itinerary and the time we have and decided definitely to save Seville for another trip. We'll use the extra time to have a more leisurely pace in either Segovia or Salamanca and stick with our original plan to drive from Toledo to Granada with overnight in Jaen & visits to surrounding towns. Now, should we spend two nights in Segovia or two nights in salamanca? Your advice is always right on!

Hi CDF,
Of the two Castilian S towns, I would spend 2 nights in Salamanca, particularly after doing Avila-Pedraza-Segovia as one nighters.

If you find you've finished your Salamanca sightseeing after the 1st day, then take a drive the next day down to highly picturesque La Alberca de Salamanca, in the Sierra de Francia and the Batuecas. If you like small towns, La Alberca is one of Spain's most charming villages, and the drive down is very pretty. There are very nice views from atop the monastery at the Peña de Francia.

I thought, too, abut your doing El Escorial-Avila on Friday, April 30, from Madrid. But if you decide to switch the order of cities, I would just be at the rental car counter ASAP and try to get the earliest start possible. The Monastery opens at 10, and the bus tours start arriving btwn 10:30-11.
And be sure to take the pretty back door drive from El Escorial to Avila.

Then you could do Sat. May 1 to Pedraza, then Sun., May 2 back to Segovia, then on the 3rd to Salamanca for 2 nights, 5/3-5/4.

The most natural order of touring would be Madrid-El Escorial-Segovia-Pedraza-Avila-Salamanca, but you could do the first 4 stops another way....however you can work it to spend the most time in Segovia before moving up to Salamanca.

hi cigalechanta,
Thank you very much for your compliment. I also enjoy all your posts on France and am collecting your many notes on Provence for a summer '05 trip.

Although I love Spain as if it were my native country, I'm not a Spaniard. I simply was blessed to have married a Spaniard from La Mancha, who was brought up in Madrid, and whose 6 brothers and sisters live in the city. They, their spouses and children are the Spanish family to which I often refer.
I grieve as everyone else does for the nation, for the victims' families at this profoundly sad time and hope to show my solidarity with them in whatever small way that I can when in Madrid next week.
I'm so glad that so many have decided to go on with their Spain travel plans. When a horrible tragedy of this magnitude occurs, the outpour of support and solidarity of the world are so important.

Hi Maribel, sorry for inconveniencing you at this time for a trivial matter - I realize greater things are weighing on everyone in Spain at this time.

At the same time, I have a once-in-a-lifetime trip planned for Spain and have been meaning to ask you for your wonderful guides. I will be visiting Barcelona, Seville, Toledo, Madrid, Granada, and Marbella. However, I would still love any advice you have for experiences "off the beaten path" instead of the generic "visit this museum, that monument, etc..." type of vacation.

if possible, could you mail me your guides? I would truly appreciate your help. email is at: [email protected]. thanks so much.

Maribel, In contrast to Cigalechanta I thought you and your husband were both from Spain. I know you mentioned you had lived in Madrid, and in your post about La Mancha (which was great -- we're going to be in that area and hope to "taste" some of the Quijote villages)you mentioned both the town of your husband's family and your family. You are so knowledgeable about every nook and cranny of Spain and your love for everything Spanish is infectious! I think you mentioned that you will be going to Spain this month and would let me know about Talavera de la Reina - I have an interest in ceramics from the region. Please, please do a trip report! Thanks from all of your many fans.

Maribel, Sorry to keep posting, but I have some more questions. First, You've recommended to get to El Escorial when it opens at 10:00 a.m. before the tour buses get there. But do you think we might also miss the tour buses if we went at the end of the day, about an hour or so before closing? We did that in Florence (at the advice of a museum guard) to avoid the crowds at Michaelangelo's David. That might work out better with our schedule. Second, we have an 8:30 a.m. flight from Malaga back to the U.S. & are staying at the Parador in Nerja the night before. We're thinking we'll have to leave the Parador by 5:00 a.m. to return the rental car & catch the plane. Is that enough time? Are we crazy to do that, or should we stay closer to the airport? On another post you had suggested the Malaga Golf Parador. We were hoping to have as much time as possible in Frigiliana & Competa that last day. And maybe we can & then drive to the Parador in Malaga in the evening. What do you recommend? Thanks as always, Carole

I sent Maribel's files for Madrid, Sevilla and Barcelona to sis313.
_Sharon

Is it possible to get a copy of those famous files from Maribel? They would be greatly appreciated as we are planning on a last minute trip to Spain.
thanks so much.....

Is it also possible to get copies of these files (Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, etc.)? email address= [email protected] Thanks so much in advance!! I was in Barcelona two weeks ago for only two days and wish I would have had them then. I am going back to Spain for the second time at the end of the month and will post another thread for advice/recommendations on my itineray b/c the more I read, the more I want to change it!!

EPC - We need an email address to send the files.

Maribel's files may be downloaded from her website now... http://www.maribelsguides.com
- Sharon

Sharon thank you so much for forwarding the web page with Maribel's files. We head for Barcelona in June and I have been interested in somehow getting the famous files!

I also loved your postings on Barcelona and can't wait to experience it myself. Thanks so much!

We will also be on Mallorca for a week first but can find very little information on Fodors. I have our itinerary all worked out and places to stay but would love any fodorite input.

Thanks to any one in advance.