maribel's files & how to make the best of andalucía based in granada
 

any suggestions as how to make the best of andalucía. i will be based in granada for 15 days visiting my daughter. she works during the day, so i have plenty of time on my hands and love to explore...

In all fairness to Maribel and the DELUGE of requests she gets on this forum and her incredible patience and graciousness in responding to the many requests.....

maybe it would be reasonable for all of the folks who are putting together their itineraries and trips to spend no less than 1 hour (2 or 3 is better) searching this forum using the search function and just type in "Granada" or "Andalucia" or "Sevilla" or whatever and just reading through the dozens of responses that Maribel and many others have already made to these same requests. There are dozens of responses to the "Seville Hotels??" question. Same for things to do in Granada, or Ronda or itineraries in Southern Spain or Northern Spain or whatever.

THEN, and only then, after you have done a little bit of your own research should you start asking more specific questions that Maribel and many others are happy to answer for you.

Again, the enthusiasm and interest so many travellers, and most especially Maribel, have for sharing their knowledge is commendable. But I am really afraid that all of these posts addressed specifically to Maribel will have the effect of "killing the golden goose"!!

I really do not want to seem rude in any way here and I am happy to help others but so many requests seem like people have not even picked up a single map of Spain or read the most basic travel guide. This forum is so easy to search and browse and print the threads that you need or even take good old fashioned notes for yourself!!

Maria

I think, with that amount of time, you have a chance to make a wonderful vacation on a deeper level than most of the day-trippers to Granada. I would start with the information on
www.andalucia.com/cities/granada.htm
and www.granadainfo.com
They will be able to direct you to some of the post-Alhambra sites. The new Science museum and the sites related to Garcia Lorca http://granadainfo.com/lorca/
are certainly of interest. You may want to prepare by reading some of his work, and Irving's "Tales of the Alhambra." No matter what your grasp of Spanish is, take some classes to improve your conversational ability. It will greatly add to your enjoyment of the trip. You could probably arrange to do this as part of your visit, and make some pleasant acquaintances that way. Of course, on the weekends you must take off for either Seville, the beaches or the mountains!

Suggest you check out some of these websites: spainalive.com, red2000.com, okspain.org, aboutspain.net, spanish-living.com, to name put a few. Also, try a name search on google, plus there are lots of wonderful guidebooks (including Fodor's--I pick up a copy just out of gratitude for this website, plus there's more great information in it) at bookstores and libraries.

Your daughter and her friends will probably have lots of good suggestions too. Have a great trip.

dear maria: thank you for your advice, but i wanted to share with you, that precisely at this point know i'm on the THEN part of my research, as from past experiences i've always gathered much more interesting info from fellow travelers than the usual guides, eventhough they are great as a base. and as i shared my asian files the same way marible has shared hers, to me it's normal procedure... but thanks anyway... love j

dear patg: thank you soooo much, great ideas. i will check those web pages you recommend. with the spanish speaking part i'm good as i'm venezuelan, si it's my native tongue, butthanks for the suggestion anyways... love j

art lover... thanks for the web sites... will check them all. didn't you write maribel for her files, do you have them by chance? love la vici