Resurrecting Spain Trip
Oct 4th, 2003, 07:28 AM
#21
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My wife and I visited Spain for the first time in February and had a fantastic time. For what it's worth, here is our itinerary:
Barcelona -- We arrived in the city around 9:00 in the morning and began site-seeing immediately. We stayed two nights and flew out around 1:30 PM on our third day, so we had 2 1/2 days there total. Although there were some things we did not have time for, this gave us sufficient time to visit and enjoy the old part of the city, the Ramblas, both cathedrals, various Gaudi homes/museums, the Picasso Museum, and shopping. We particularly enjoyed the late-night cava bars.
Granada -- We were able to find very cheap airfare to Granada from BCN (purchasing a RT ticket was cheaper than one way). We arrived late afternoon, checked into our hotel (the historic and highly-recommended Casa Morisca), and watched the sun set across the way from the Alhambra. We enjoyed the tapas places and bars that evening. The next day, we spent considerable time enjoying the Alhambra and then the other sites in town (including the Cathedral). We then rented a car and drove to Ronda.
Ronda/Andalucia -- We stayed the next two nights at the paradour in Ronda, which was great. Over the next couple days, we explored Ronda and other towns in the area. This is beautiful country and highly recommended. Ronda was a great base.
Sevilla/Cordoba -- We then drove to Sevilla, where we stayed the next two days. We arrived late afternoon, which gave us time to begin exploring the city, grab a great meal, and enjoy spontaneous flamenco late night. The next day, we explored most of the sites and generally enjoyed ourselves walking around the city. After more of the same on our third day, we picked up a car again and left town. On our way out, we stopped at the Roman ruins outside of the city, which were great. We drove first to Cordoba, toured the Mezquita and other sites for about three hours, and began the drive on to Madrid.
Madrid -- One could easily see all of the major highlights of Madrid (the palace/museums) in two days. We reached Madrid with reduced expectations, but we thoroughly enjoyed the city. We also were able to find cheap Real Madrid tickets, which added to our experience. While my wife was working, I did two separate day trips, and I once again rented a car. The first was to Toledo, which is as wonderful as most people describe. Although a car is not needed to visit, it was nice to be able to cross the river and view the town from the hills nearby. The view from the terrace of the paradour across the river is especially great over a glass of wine. My second drive was through the ski area outside of Madrid and to Segovia. Having a car was great here, because there are numerous sites of interest in the area that can be visited. We ultimately spent four nights in Madrid.
Barcelona -- We arrived in the city around 9:00 in the morning and began site-seeing immediately. We stayed two nights and flew out around 1:30 PM on our third day, so we had 2 1/2 days there total. Although there were some things we did not have time for, this gave us sufficient time to visit and enjoy the old part of the city, the Ramblas, both cathedrals, various Gaudi homes/museums, the Picasso Museum, and shopping. We particularly enjoyed the late-night cava bars.
Granada -- We were able to find very cheap airfare to Granada from BCN (purchasing a RT ticket was cheaper than one way). We arrived late afternoon, checked into our hotel (the historic and highly-recommended Casa Morisca), and watched the sun set across the way from the Alhambra. We enjoyed the tapas places and bars that evening. The next day, we spent considerable time enjoying the Alhambra and then the other sites in town (including the Cathedral). We then rented a car and drove to Ronda.
Ronda/Andalucia -- We stayed the next two nights at the paradour in Ronda, which was great. Over the next couple days, we explored Ronda and other towns in the area. This is beautiful country and highly recommended. Ronda was a great base.
Sevilla/Cordoba -- We then drove to Sevilla, where we stayed the next two days. We arrived late afternoon, which gave us time to begin exploring the city, grab a great meal, and enjoy spontaneous flamenco late night. The next day, we explored most of the sites and generally enjoyed ourselves walking around the city. After more of the same on our third day, we picked up a car again and left town. On our way out, we stopped at the Roman ruins outside of the city, which were great. We drove first to Cordoba, toured the Mezquita and other sites for about three hours, and began the drive on to Madrid.
Madrid -- One could easily see all of the major highlights of Madrid (the palace/museums) in two days. We reached Madrid with reduced expectations, but we thoroughly enjoyed the city. We also were able to find cheap Real Madrid tickets, which added to our experience. While my wife was working, I did two separate day trips, and I once again rented a car. The first was to Toledo, which is as wonderful as most people describe. Although a car is not needed to visit, it was nice to be able to cross the river and view the town from the hills nearby. The view from the terrace of the paradour across the river is especially great over a glass of wine. My second drive was through the ski area outside of Madrid and to Segovia. Having a car was great here, because there are numerous sites of interest in the area that can be visited. We ultimately spent four nights in Madrid.
Oct 4th, 2003, 08:14 AM
#23
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Re: Real Madrid tickets
We did not have tickets when we left for Spain, but the concierge at our hotel in Madrid suggested going by the stadium on the afternoon of the match. I do not speak much Spanish, but I was able to purchase two tickets together for slightly more than face value. To be honest, I was not entirely sure where the seats were or whether they were legitimate. To our great surprise, when we entered the stadium, we found that our seats were three rows from the field near midfield. We were able to see Ronaldo, Zidane, and company from only a few yards away, and it was a great experience.
We were probably aided in several ways. We did not work through any sort of ticket broker, and the weather on gameday was terrible. Also, this was a Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund, which might have been easier than a normal league match. [Things may even be harder now that D. Beckham is with Real Madrid.]
The stadium and experience were great. The atmosphere outside before the game was very fun as well, even if one did not have a ticket.
We did not have tickets when we left for Spain, but the concierge at our hotel in Madrid suggested going by the stadium on the afternoon of the match. I do not speak much Spanish, but I was able to purchase two tickets together for slightly more than face value. To be honest, I was not entirely sure where the seats were or whether they were legitimate. To our great surprise, when we entered the stadium, we found that our seats were three rows from the field near midfield. We were able to see Ronaldo, Zidane, and company from only a few yards away, and it was a great experience.
We were probably aided in several ways. We did not work through any sort of ticket broker, and the weather on gameday was terrible. Also, this was a Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund, which might have been easier than a normal league match. [Things may even be harder now that D. Beckham is with Real Madrid.]
The stadium and experience were great. The atmosphere outside before the game was very fun as well, even if one did not have a ticket.
Oct 11th, 2003, 06:26 AM
#24
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You guys are just a godsend. Wes, we're planning a similar trip to yours, most likely in May of '04. I counted 11 total nights for your itinerary, and we may end up with 14. How'd your itinerary work out for you? Did you feel too rushed?
Also, in retrospect would you recommend renting a car the way you did? I'm thinking about something similar for us, rather than spending so much time on trains.
Thanks for any input any of you have.
Scott
Also, in retrospect would you recommend renting a car the way you did? I'm thinking about something similar for us, rather than spending so much time on trains.
Thanks for any input any of you have.
Scott
