Our Spain Adventure -- Cordoba, Seville, Granada and Barcelona! (Part One)
May 8th, 2014, 01:39 PM
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My favorite flamenco show was the one I attended in Cordoba -- it was riveting.
The shows in Seville and Granada, while also very entertaining, didn't have the same impact as the Cordoba show.
The shows in Seville and Granada, while also very entertaining, didn't have the same impact as the Cordoba show.
May 8th, 2014, 02:31 PM
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Judy - what a fabulous report! I am LOVING Spain... it is 12:30 am here right now...and we just finished our 3rd day in Madrid, what a fabulous city! Headed to Granada Saturday.
I do have a question for people... the card I used to buy my tickets to the Alhambra was compromised and I no longer have it... I hope I can get my tickets some how :-?
Re: Safety - I was pretty nervous coming with just my 17 year old dd and myself. We have been out at after midnight and walking - I have not felt unsafe any place so far in Madrid.
I do have a question for people... the card I used to buy my tickets to the Alhambra was compromised and I no longer have it... I hope I can get my tickets some how :-?
Re: Safety - I was pretty nervous coming with just my 17 year old dd and myself. We have been out at after midnight and walking - I have not felt unsafe any place so far in Madrid.
May 9th, 2014, 04:13 PM
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A rainy day in Barcelona is still a FABULOUS day!
We started our day with breakfast in the hotel -- we're not big breakfast types so cafe con leche and some croissants was perfect.
Since it was raining we decided to book our tickets to both Sagrada Familia and Casa Mila for the following day, keeping our fingers crossed that the rain would stop.
Because it was raining so hard -- and I mean, BUCKETS of rain that would not let up -- we kept to mostly indoor activities.
Raincoats on and umbrellas in hand we ventured out into the torrential downpour. We had booked tickets to the Palau de la Musica Catalana (you must purchase tickets ahead of time as it is accessible only via a tour) and meandered our way around puddles from our hotel to the general vicinity of the museum. We arrived way too early, so we made a detour and visited the Santa Catarina market which was just a few blocks away.
Catering more to locals than to tourists, I really enjoyed this market -- the sights and the smells of all the foods displayed was a feast for the senses. We found an eatery towards the back of the market that had two available seats and had a fantastic lunch: snails, cod, trout, delicious white wine and 2 cafes for just EUR13. It was fabulous!
We finished up and walked back to the Palace of Catalan Music with just enough time to enjoy the cafe housed within the museum. We drink A LOT of coffee...especially in Spain, it was just so delicious!
The Palau de la Musica Catalana is a concert hall built in the early 1900's and features one of the most beautiful interiors of any concert hall I've ever seen. I think we took about a thousand pictures of every facet of the place. It was absolutely stunning -- the architecture, the sculptures, the mosaics, and the skylight with its dazzling colors. I can only imagine how brilliant it looks when the sun shines through it. Simply stunning...wish we had the time to attend a concert there, it was truly beautiful.
We left the concert hall and walked across the street (Via Laeitana)...a crepes shop caught our eye! We went in and ordered one crepe for two (they are large) with chocolate and bananas and whipped cream and nuts and caramel....with a splash of port wine. And, of course, more cafe con leche. HEAVENLY!
I think this was our third meal of the day....
Next we walked back into El Born to visit the Picasso Museum. This is when the heavens opened up and it REALLY poured. RAIN like I've never seen before. As we were unable to purchase tickets ahead of time (tablet glitch and no business center at the hotel -- see previous chapter on this topic), we stood in line for what seemed like forever (it really was a long time -- over one hour) we finally got in. I think everyone had the same idea as we did (and I always thought we were so clever).....
I am not necessarily a Picasso fan, but I did enjoy visiting -- none of his great works were on display, but there were some interesting paintings of his early works and of his time in Barcelona. The manor houses that were joined to create the museum itself was really cool and worth the EUR11 admission.
We left the museum and it had (finally) stopped raining. I had read that there was free admission to the Cathedral after 5PM so we went for a visit. The Cathedral is massive -- Gothic in design -- but I found it to be really dark (maybe because there was no sunshine). Nonetheless the chapels were impressive and the cloister was lovely.
There is a square in front of the Cathedral with many little shops and cafes so we sat for a awhile -- ordered some wine -- and enjoyed the people-watching. I love this square, we gravitated to it mostly every day at some point and always sat at one of the outdoor cafes to enjoy the world as it passed by.
As we hadn't purchased any souvenirs in Barcelona, we made our way to the department store Corte Ingles. There are several in the vicinity of Placa Catalunya -- but, the one at the very top of the Placa has, on its ground level, a large department where you can purchase souvenirs (helpful hint from my brother who visited a few months earlier).
The prices here are much more competitive than the rest of the souvenir shops we stopped at.
For example, there is a souvenir shop in front of Parc Guell that has beautiful mozaic mugs, etc.....the same ones at Corte Ingles were about 30% less. We bought everything we saw! We are such tourists, LOL....(luckily I had packed an extra cloth bag in my suitcase for just this purpose).
Walking back from Corte Ingles we stopped at Els Quatre Gats -- made famous because it was a haunt of Picasso -- to have some tapas, but it was in between lunch and dinner time so they weren't serving (at least I didn't think so)...so instead we stopped at Set de Gotic which was right next door and sampled a few tapas there. Favetes (a Catalan specialty), mushrooms, sardine....DELICIOUS! And, instead of cava, we tried the vermouth (red) with a twist of lemon. Oh my!
Fully sated and finally able to shed our rain gear we made our way back to the hotel for a rest.....and made plans for dinner.
Can't remember where we had dinner, but it was in El Born. Our favorite part of town.
I think we ate 5 meals on this day -- and enjoyed every morsel.
We started our day with breakfast in the hotel -- we're not big breakfast types so cafe con leche and some croissants was perfect.
Since it was raining we decided to book our tickets to both Sagrada Familia and Casa Mila for the following day, keeping our fingers crossed that the rain would stop.
Because it was raining so hard -- and I mean, BUCKETS of rain that would not let up -- we kept to mostly indoor activities.
Raincoats on and umbrellas in hand we ventured out into the torrential downpour. We had booked tickets to the Palau de la Musica Catalana (you must purchase tickets ahead of time as it is accessible only via a tour) and meandered our way around puddles from our hotel to the general vicinity of the museum. We arrived way too early, so we made a detour and visited the Santa Catarina market which was just a few blocks away.
Catering more to locals than to tourists, I really enjoyed this market -- the sights and the smells of all the foods displayed was a feast for the senses. We found an eatery towards the back of the market that had two available seats and had a fantastic lunch: snails, cod, trout, delicious white wine and 2 cafes for just EUR13. It was fabulous!
We finished up and walked back to the Palace of Catalan Music with just enough time to enjoy the cafe housed within the museum. We drink A LOT of coffee...especially in Spain, it was just so delicious!
The Palau de la Musica Catalana is a concert hall built in the early 1900's and features one of the most beautiful interiors of any concert hall I've ever seen. I think we took about a thousand pictures of every facet of the place. It was absolutely stunning -- the architecture, the sculptures, the mosaics, and the skylight with its dazzling colors. I can only imagine how brilliant it looks when the sun shines through it. Simply stunning...wish we had the time to attend a concert there, it was truly beautiful.
We left the concert hall and walked across the street (Via Laeitana)...a crepes shop caught our eye! We went in and ordered one crepe for two (they are large) with chocolate and bananas and whipped cream and nuts and caramel....with a splash of port wine. And, of course, more cafe con leche. HEAVENLY!
I think this was our third meal of the day....
Next we walked back into El Born to visit the Picasso Museum. This is when the heavens opened up and it REALLY poured. RAIN like I've never seen before. As we were unable to purchase tickets ahead of time (tablet glitch and no business center at the hotel -- see previous chapter on this topic), we stood in line for what seemed like forever (it really was a long time -- over one hour) we finally got in. I think everyone had the same idea as we did (and I always thought we were so clever).....
I am not necessarily a Picasso fan, but I did enjoy visiting -- none of his great works were on display, but there were some interesting paintings of his early works and of his time in Barcelona. The manor houses that were joined to create the museum itself was really cool and worth the EUR11 admission.
We left the museum and it had (finally) stopped raining. I had read that there was free admission to the Cathedral after 5PM so we went for a visit. The Cathedral is massive -- Gothic in design -- but I found it to be really dark (maybe because there was no sunshine). Nonetheless the chapels were impressive and the cloister was lovely.
There is a square in front of the Cathedral with many little shops and cafes so we sat for a awhile -- ordered some wine -- and enjoyed the people-watching. I love this square, we gravitated to it mostly every day at some point and always sat at one of the outdoor cafes to enjoy the world as it passed by.
As we hadn't purchased any souvenirs in Barcelona, we made our way to the department store Corte Ingles. There are several in the vicinity of Placa Catalunya -- but, the one at the very top of the Placa has, on its ground level, a large department where you can purchase souvenirs (helpful hint from my brother who visited a few months earlier).
The prices here are much more competitive than the rest of the souvenir shops we stopped at.
For example, there is a souvenir shop in front of Parc Guell that has beautiful mozaic mugs, etc.....the same ones at Corte Ingles were about 30% less. We bought everything we saw! We are such tourists, LOL....(luckily I had packed an extra cloth bag in my suitcase for just this purpose).
Walking back from Corte Ingles we stopped at Els Quatre Gats -- made famous because it was a haunt of Picasso -- to have some tapas, but it was in between lunch and dinner time so they weren't serving (at least I didn't think so)...so instead we stopped at Set de Gotic which was right next door and sampled a few tapas there. Favetes (a Catalan specialty), mushrooms, sardine....DELICIOUS! And, instead of cava, we tried the vermouth (red) with a twist of lemon. Oh my!
Fully sated and finally able to shed our rain gear we made our way back to the hotel for a rest.....and made plans for dinner.
Can't remember where we had dinner, but it was in El Born. Our favorite part of town.
I think we ate 5 meals on this day -- and enjoyed every morsel.
May 10th, 2014, 04:44 AM
#109
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OMG....the coffee is just so GOOD in Spain!
The rain didn't matter one bit -- I loved Barcelona so much that I would have walked it streets and enjoyed its many gifts in the rain, snow, sun.....such a beautiful city and such wonderful memories!
Thanks for your comment -- I've taken so long to get this TR completed, thought everyone had dropped off.
The rain didn't matter one bit -- I loved Barcelona so much that I would have walked it streets and enjoyed its many gifts in the rain, snow, sun.....such a beautiful city and such wonderful memories!
Thanks for your comment -- I've taken so long to get this TR completed, thought everyone had dropped off.
May 10th, 2014, 06:13 AM
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<I loved Barcelona so much>
Then you might have a huge reading experience coming. Carlos Ruiz Zafón's outstanding Gothic Barcelona trilogy (The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game and The Prisoner of Heaven) takes you through the narrow streets and turbulent history of Barcelona from the 1920's until the late 1950's.
"Walk down any street in Zafón's Barcelona and you'll glimpse the shades of the past and the secrets of the present, inscribed alike in the city's material fabric and the lives of its citizens" Michael Kerrigan GUARDIAN
http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/shadowofthewind.html
http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/theangelsgame.html
http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/the...rofheaven.html
"Trailer" to The Prisoner of Heaven: http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/pri...en-extras.html
Carlos Ruiz Zafón's Barcelona: http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/bar...ruizzafon.html
Then you might have a huge reading experience coming. Carlos Ruiz Zafón's outstanding Gothic Barcelona trilogy (The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game and The Prisoner of Heaven) takes you through the narrow streets and turbulent history of Barcelona from the 1920's until the late 1950's.
"Walk down any street in Zafón's Barcelona and you'll glimpse the shades of the past and the secrets of the present, inscribed alike in the city's material fabric and the lives of its citizens" Michael Kerrigan GUARDIAN
http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/shadowofthewind.html
http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/theangelsgame.html
http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/the...rofheaven.html
"Trailer" to The Prisoner of Heaven: http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/pri...en-extras.html
Carlos Ruiz Zafón's Barcelona: http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/bar...ruizzafon.html
May 10th, 2014, 08:59 AM
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I am still reading too, I love this trip report.
We are visiting Seville, Granada and Barcelona in September - first time in Spain. Your trip report has helped me so much with planning,and makes me even more excited to go! Thank you for sharing!
We are visiting Seville, Granada and Barcelona in September - first time in Spain. Your trip report has helped me so much with planning,and makes me even more excited to go! Thank you for sharing!
May 10th, 2014, 09:29 AM
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Judy: I'm checking every day to see your new posts. please continue.
Momddtravel2: If you check back here, how did you pick up your Alhambra tix without the credit card you used to purchase them? I've had the concern about this happening. That the card used to purchase a few months before would no longer be valid when picking them up (due to credit card company replacing cards due to compromises which is happening more often).
Normally, it's not necessary to use the card again when you've purchased in advance but the Alhambra seems to require this to get the actual tix on-site.
Momddtravel2: If you check back here, how did you pick up your Alhambra tix without the credit card you used to purchase them? I've had the concern about this happening. That the card used to purchase a few months before would no longer be valid when picking them up (due to credit card company replacing cards due to compromises which is happening more often).
Normally, it's not necessary to use the card again when you've purchased in advance but the Alhambra seems to require this to get the actual tix on-site.
May 10th, 2014, 09:48 AM
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Our penultimate day in Barcelona was all about Gaudi!
But first....
After looking at my notes and receipts I remembered where we had dinner the previous night.
Walking around in the rain that evening, we tried to find a place to grab dinner -- but because we had already eaten FOUR TIMES that day we weren't finding anything appealing -- and those that looked enticing were crowded by this time by a much younger crowd (I'm in my 50's, DH is 70).....
At last we found a place that appeared to be full of locals, at the top of Passeig del Born; there was a table available so we went right in. The name of the restaurant is CASA DELFIN and it's located at Passieg del Born #36.
We shared an appetizer and an entree (fish of the day) and drank white vermouth this time -- I am hooked on vermouth! Dinner, wine, dessert and coffee cost only EUR30 -- I highly recommend this restaurant if you are looking for a great meal and no tourists!
Another thing I want to mention for those of you wavering between hotel v. apartment lodgings:
I used Google maps extensively when figuring out where to stay in all of Spain -- and in particular in Barcelona. I knew I wanted to stay in El Born, so I used that little yellow man to get a street view of apartments in El Born that I was interested in.
What stopped me from renting an apartment in El Born was because the street view made the streets look dark, small...and, frankly, dangerous. So I opted for a hotel on a larger avenue.
However, after spending 4 days in Barcelona and primarily in El Born -- I completely changed my initial opinion about the streets that looks so scary online. They are not scary, they are not dangerous. The narrow streets and and lanes are perfectly safe -- we walked all of them at all hours of the day and night and never once felt threatened or unsafe.
Now, mind you, I was with my DH. It was early April. It was not prime tourist season, DH and I were two of a relatively small number of tourists (at least that I saw) in El Born. So your experience might be different from ours. Next time I go to Barcelona, I will absolutely definitely positively rent an apartment on any street in El Born.
Next up.....Gaudi!
But first....
After looking at my notes and receipts I remembered where we had dinner the previous night.
Walking around in the rain that evening, we tried to find a place to grab dinner -- but because we had already eaten FOUR TIMES that day we weren't finding anything appealing -- and those that looked enticing were crowded by this time by a much younger crowd (I'm in my 50's, DH is 70).....
At last we found a place that appeared to be full of locals, at the top of Passeig del Born; there was a table available so we went right in. The name of the restaurant is CASA DELFIN and it's located at Passieg del Born #36.
We shared an appetizer and an entree (fish of the day) and drank white vermouth this time -- I am hooked on vermouth! Dinner, wine, dessert and coffee cost only EUR30 -- I highly recommend this restaurant if you are looking for a great meal and no tourists!
Another thing I want to mention for those of you wavering between hotel v. apartment lodgings:
I used Google maps extensively when figuring out where to stay in all of Spain -- and in particular in Barcelona. I knew I wanted to stay in El Born, so I used that little yellow man to get a street view of apartments in El Born that I was interested in.
What stopped me from renting an apartment in El Born was because the street view made the streets look dark, small...and, frankly, dangerous. So I opted for a hotel on a larger avenue.
However, after spending 4 days in Barcelona and primarily in El Born -- I completely changed my initial opinion about the streets that looks so scary online. They are not scary, they are not dangerous. The narrow streets and and lanes are perfectly safe -- we walked all of them at all hours of the day and night and never once felt threatened or unsafe.
Now, mind you, I was with my DH. It was early April. It was not prime tourist season, DH and I were two of a relatively small number of tourists (at least that I saw) in El Born. So your experience might be different from ours. Next time I go to Barcelona, I will absolutely definitely positively rent an apartment on any street in El Born.
Next up.....Gaudi!
May 11th, 2014, 04:39 PM
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Great info! I've made all kinds of notes. I'm glad we've rented an apartment. I had felt the same as you after looking on Google street view but went ahead with an apartment (that has lots of really good reviews) anyway.
May 12th, 2014, 01:32 AM
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Elizacat - so as I double checked my receipt in preparation to go Alhambra - I used my debit card - not the card which was replaced. I now recall having to do that as the cc I generally use was declined (suspected fraud I think) ... This happened a bit w our apartment rentals as well. I got the tickets from an ATM no issues (a little confusing)
The research I did said you need to make a photo copy of the cc as well as all your id and receipt . . . I suggest you do this now and pack with you.
I found the ppl at the counter on site very grumpy & unhelpful.
Also, the audio was sold out when we arrived... But there were more inside by the palace entrance.
The other areas were my favorites, just in case the palace timed entranceway sold out for those reading/planning... The gardens & flowers & fountains wowed me...
The research I did said you need to make a photo copy of the cc as well as all your id and receipt . . . I suggest you do this now and pack with you.
I found the ppl at the counter on site very grumpy & unhelpful.
Also, the audio was sold out when we arrived... But there were more inside by the palace entrance.
The other areas were my favorites, just in case the palace timed entranceway sold out for those reading/planning... The gardens & flowers & fountains wowed me...
