My 1st Trip to Spain - Madrid & Barcelona
 

Let me start this report with a note of appreciation. I know I spent more time researching and planning this trip than the actual time spent in Spain - but that is half the fun. I would like to thank the many fodorites who took the time to answer all my questions.

A little background - My DH suggested I plan a 1 week trip. I decided on Spain and thought I could split the time between Madrid and Barcelona. DH hates to fly so I asked my 23 year old son and almost 17 year old daughter to join me. The catch was that they would have to pay a fair amount of their expenses. I expected my son to say yes as we have travelled together many times in the past. I was less certain of my daughter. Lucky for me they both agreed.

This was the first European trip I did all the planning for. My other trips have either been with my in-laws or as part of an escorted group. I confess this made me nervous as I wanted to get everything just right - of course as you will see no matter how much time I spent planning I still made a few careless mistakes. However we had a terrific time.

Day 1

We flew on Continental out of Newark to Madrid. My major concern was getting some sleep as I usually am quite incapable of getting any sleep on a plane. This time I was determined to change this as the plan was to start sightseeing right away both to adjust to local time and to make the most of the time we had. I even took a sleeping pill, which is something I don't normally do. Of course I barely slept at all!

Day 2

We took the Aerocity shuttle to our hotel. My only complaint about it was that as we were the only passengers I don't think the driver was so anxious to take us. The woman behind the counter had to call twice before he showed up. However the ride itself was quick.

Upon our arrival at the Carlos V Best Western, I was pleased that our room was ready for us as it was only 1pm. I originally picked this hotel as I intended to use points to pay for it. Instead I ended up using my points to pay for my flight. I decided to keep my reservation there because of it's convenient location. It is right next to Sol. This ended on being it's drawback as I could hear people in the streets till the wee hours. We had a front room. Of course my kids slept through everything. Still the convenience was worth it to me.

Our first destination was El Arrozal Restaurante for paella. As the waiter spoke hardly any English this was my daughter's first chance to speak Spanish. She was quite proud of her ability and ended up being a being a great help to us. The paella was very tasty and we all enjoyed it, along with the sangria. I know sangria is so touristy but what the heck.

We next headed to the Royal Palace which should have been a short walk from the restaurant. However I guess we took the long way around - yes we did have a map. The signage was not great and the guards just yelled at us. We ended up seeing the gardens first, which were beautiful. Unfortunately it was very hot by now, in the 90s. By the time we got to the entrance we were somewhat overheated. However I thought the palace was beautiful. It's always amazing to think people live in such surroundings!

After this we took the metro to the bullfight. I agreed to go as my son wanted to. I had ordered the tickets in advance and they were waiting for me when I checked into the hotel. When we got to our seats I was especially glad I paid to sit in the shade as it was still hot. Let me say that my daughter and I didn't really enjoy ourselves but my son did to a point. We didn't stay to the end as even he thought it was so repetitive.

We took the metro back to Sol. Let me say that we found the metro to be efficient and clean. After dropping stuff off at our hotel we headed out for our first tapas. We went to Museo de Jamon and Casa del Abuelo. I had a feast - especially loved the shrimp at Casa del Abuelo. After an additional stop for ice cream we headed back to the hotel.
By now we were truly exhausted but proud that we did so much on our first day.

I will stop here for now. As you can see I tend to write a lot - hope that's ok! To be continued....

Great start -- looking forward to reading more!

Keep it coming!

Yes, paying exrta for "sombra" at a bullfight is well worth it! Or you can go halfway and get sol/sombra!

Oh yes, mas, por favor! I think it is wonderful you had this opportunity to do this trip with your kids.

Oh Hurray good start. I LOVED Casa del Abuelo's shrimp and thought it so funny how the yell out the orders in sucha tiny place..more please!

Can't wait to hear more since I'm going to Barcelon and Madrid in Sept

I was shocked when you said you went to a bullfight!
It´s the worst thing to go and see in Spain, maybe you don´t realise, but it´s a torture to the bull and the bull is weak compared with the bullfighter, because before the bullfight, the bull is not given any food or water for a long time, they cut the ends of his horns, they put a kind of vaseline on his eyes, so he can´t see much and also the poor horses on which some of the men ride, they can´t see anything, as their eyes are covered and they cover their ears also so they can´t hear any noises, screams etc. because horses are very sensitive to noises. Also you might not know, but a lot of spaniards are against bullfighting and there is a lot of PUBLIC money going into it, even from the European Union Goverment. In Catalunya the local Parliament are debating about bullfighting and it might be prohibited in this autonomous region quite soon! If it does, in July 2010, it will be big news!! Well, I recomend anyone else travelling to Spain, Catalunya , please don´t go to a bullfight! I have seen some tourists going to see a bullfight and come out crying....

adamaccia,

People know this. They do realize. They know it's cruel. How could they not? They don't care.

But you are right to object and I do hope you can persuade others to stay away and join in ending this.

.

adamaccia,

here's one person you don't have to convince, the thought if it is so anti my belief that I wouldn't think of going. As far as I'm concerned it's like cock fighting or dog fighting. I do hope the govt does make it illegal.

lincasanova - before I went I saw the 7pm start and wondered why you still needed to be concerned about the sun. I sure did find out

cmcfong - when I was planning this trip I kept reminding myself it could be the last time I get to travel with both my kids. My son at 23 shares my love of travel and enjoys going with me. My daughter is the typical teen who can't wait to go out in the world on her own. Maybe next year she'll want to do something with her friends.

amsdon - as I said we loved the shrimp there although my kids hate to peel them - and especially didn't like seeing the heads on them. I had ordered the shrimp in the garlicky sauce. After this meal they only ordered peeled shrimp.

Will continue my report later on.

How amusing to read jerseysusan, saying that she didn´t like seeing the heads of the shrimps on her plate, and she hasn´t mentioned anything of the awful sight of a bloody bull sufering and dying from painful wounds.....maybe because she was in the shade, she didn´t see ahything!
What did you think of the bullfight? And your 23year old son and teen daughter?

Thanks for the report, I remember opening our window in Madrid marveling at the lovely view of the plaza below--- only to be wondering later when will the people go home! After that adventure I added earplugs to my travel kit just in case.

During our first rip to Spain many years ago we went to a bullfight too. We didn't stay for the whole thing either and at the time thought we were seeing a cultural relic that would soon disappear. It is sad that it has not and I am glad that it might be soon.

That said I understand the "I am in Spain I will go to a bullfight". I had some notion of what it was, but...

adammacia - as I stated we didn't enjoy it

Day 3

Although I didn't get the best night of sleep, still it was more than I got on the plan. We headed out ready for new adventures. My son usually gets his bearings very quickly in new surroundings, as I do to a lesser extent. With that said we found out way around much better than the previous day.

Fist stop was breakfast at Valor which was a few blocks from our hotel. We had all been looking foward to churros and thick hot chocolate and were not disappointed. What a decadent thing to eat for breakfast!

El Cortes Ingles was our next stop. I had promised my daughter she could do a lot of shopping on this trip. As expected we enjoyed this department store. My daughter loved looking at the shoes and bought a pair of sandles.

After checking out a few clothing stores we headed towards the Mercado de San Miguel which is near Plaza Mayor. Looking through is was great fun. I loved all the food displays.
We tried some of the tapas, the cheese ones and the
croquettes were hits.

We took a walk through Old Madrid. What fun to wander through the winding streets. I almost took a guided walk through the area but decided it would be more fun to stop at will.

We had a delicious lunch at Cafe Revuelta. The cod fish was excellent.

The Prado Museum was our next destination. I had made reservations online fearing a long line by 1pm. However I don't think it was necessary. Having done a lot of research beforehand I knew what I wanted to see - thanks to a poster on this board I printed out info from the museum's website.
The museum was wonderful. I made good use of the audioguide.

More shopping followed our museum visit. My daughter is not a museum lover and this was the compromise we decided on beforehand. Everyone was to spend time during the day doing something they wanted.

Our evening was spent in Casa Patas. We had dinner there which was something I debated about doing. I first thought we should have tapas elsewhere, but we decided to eat in their restaurant. This was where I had my first glass of Cava which is something I wanted to try - very good. We all enjoyed our meal. I had very good codfish.

I was excited to see my first flamenco show. We saw Belen Lopez who was wonderful, the whole show was. We loved the musicians, the singers and the male dancer who performed with her. What a memorable evening!

more to follow...

We saw Belen Lopez in April - what energy and passion!

jerseysusan,

thanks for the report, looking forward to more! Regarding the Aerocity shuttle, did you book it before hand? if so, did you need to provide CC info beforehand? Thanks.

adamaccia, Pls stop berating the OP, we already got your point. This is not the Lounge.

cruuiseluv - I did book the Aerocity shuttle in advance and was required to provide credit card info to hold the reservation. However you must pay the driver in cash upon arrival at your destination.

Regarding aerocity- I've used them on several of my trips from the airport to Atocha. I've never had to book ahead - just showed up at the stand in the airport and within 15 minutes a van was picking me up.

Cathy,

Were you able to do that with the regular shared service? Thanks

Day 4

To add to my sleeping woes I was awoken about 6am by a crying baby in the room next door. My son didn't believe me but by daughter said she heard it too.

We had breakfast in Valor again. This time I tried the cold chocolate milk and of course ordered churros again. My kids split a white chocolate fondue which was served with lots of fruit. Fondue was a first time breakfast in my family, but it was sure good!

We walked over to Plaza Mayor for the Sunday morning stamp and coin show which was something my son was interested in. All the old paper money was interesting as was the elderly gentlemen pouring over the merchandise. Apparently one man was more interested in my daughter. As he walked past her he slyly patted her bottom without making any eye contact and just kept walking!

Our next destination was the Raestro flea market. This was something I decided to do to please my daughter as it was another shopping opportunity. The three of us really enjoyed it. The merchandise was fun to look at and although there were plenty of tourists it was fun to mingle with the locals.
I had read plenty of warnings about pickpocketers here but I didn't see any attempts. Still as a former NYC residents we were careful.

Lunch was at Botin which is suppose to be the oldest restaurant in Europe. It was certainly atmospheric. We said in the basement which is the former wine celler. I had an excellent Andalucian gazpacho and the house specialty which is roast suckling pig, also very good. My daughter wasn't so sure she would like the food there but enjoyed the roast chicken. It is tricky to travel with a somewhat picky eater!
For dessert we celebrated my daughter's birthday which is actually in the beginning of July but she thought this would be a great spot for an early rendition of happy birthday. The waiter brought her a delicious slice of creme cake. I had yummy cream puffs and my son got something with pineapple.

After lunch I realized I made a huge and preventable error in planning. I thought we would go to the Reina Sofia and then Retiro Park. Unfortunately the museum is closed by 230 on Sunday afternoons. This shows that no matter how much planning you do you always need to recheck your itinerary. My mistake was a result of flipping the Prado and Reina Sofia in my itinerary and I obviously didn't recheck the times.

Instead of dwelling on my error we did some more shopping. We headed to El Corte Ingles and my daughter picked out several bathing suits to try on. My son and I waited outside the fitting room. I noticed a young woman heading into the fitting room and her male companion went with her. This surprised me. When I saw man after man go into the fitting room with the women trying on clothes I realized this is obviously the norm in Madrid! I found a pair of shoes to buy and also bought some of the food items on my list to bring home.

We hung out for a while in the Mercado de San Miguel and people watched at a table outside. Eventually I realized there were a lot of people lining the streets as if waiting for something to start. It ended up being a procession commemorating a special religious day, I'm not sure which one.
This was quite interesting to watch.

Dinner was at El Arrozal again as my daughter loved the paella. As she was not so thrilled with some of our other meals I happily agreed. We had another very good meal there.

After walking around a little more we went to Chocalateria San Gines for dessert. Bad bad me having churros twice in one day! We actually enjoyed them more than the ones we had in Valor.

When we finished our treat we headed back to the hotel to pack. We were scheduled to continue on to Barcelona in the early morning. More about that next time...

jerseysusan, enjoying your trip report. Looking forward to the Barcelona segment.