Thanks to everyone who gave me help planning my trip- thought i'd pass on what I learned & provide some info that I couldn't find when looking hope some of you find it helpful- it took forever to write! First some general tips then daily report.

• English is not spoken that much in Spain- even in big cities like Barcelona or Madrid and in the hotels- brush up on your high school Spanish
• Restaurants charge for bread- from 1-2 E to 5E a plate and bring the bread whether you like it or not
• If driving you will get lost- nothing is clearly marked and there aren’t many signs- even to big tourist spots, i.e. the Rock of Gibraltar
• There is always traffic- allow extra time, especially in Granada, also don’t drive in Granada- take buses (it’s a good idea to buy a 10 pack of tickets)
• If you are low on cash while driving- the tolls take credit cards- go in the tarjeta line
• Allow yourself enough time in the airport- we arrived 2 hours early and got to gate (after stopping for a snack) at 10:30 for an 11 a.m. flight- it was final boarding call and the flight left 10 minutes early!
• Map directions on mappy.com before you go- as specifically as possible- things are hard to find

10/7- Barcelona
We arrived in Barcelona from the overnight flight from NYC without much sleep and took the Aerbus to Plaza Catalunya. All trains run from there, but we decided to walk to our hotel which ended up being a bit further than we thought. We stayed at the Confortel Auditori which was located near Arc De Triomphe. It was only a 15 minute walk to Plaza Catalunya and there was a metro stop that was very close. I hadn’t heard much about this hotel but we really liked it. The hotel was modern and clean and there was free internet and free minibar for 95 E + tax. We booked through utell.com which I haven’t seen mentioned on these boards. We booked several of our hotels and found if you hit one of their promotional rates- they were the best- though we were booking only 2-3 weeks out). Our room wasn’t ready so we headed out. We did a lot of walking and the jet lag hit us hard later.

First, we took a walk down Las Ramblas- we stopped in La Boquiera and were going to have something to eat at Pinxoto but it was packed so we kept walking (we wished we did for a chance to have a 2nd meal while we were there) and walked on to the Cathedral. It was a beautiful Cathedral- definitely take the elevator to the roof and the cloister is cute with the geese there (always 13 in memory of Eulalia a local girl turned saint) who served as an alarm system for the monks (expect so spend about an hour here).

We left there and walked around the area to the Roman Temple which was interesting to see and went to the Museo Picasso which I enjoyed. There was a long line and I wished we had gone there first but we weren’t running to a museum right after getting off a plane! (Expect to spend about an hour and a half). We were going to go for a boat ride but our timing was off and we didn’t feel like waiting, so we went back to the hotel for a siesta as we were dragging.

The guy at the front desk Julien was terrible and not very helpful (he tried to put us in a room that reeked of smoke and wanted to just spray air freshener in there). When he realized we weren’t budging, a room facing the back of the building was available. It was an inside room which was smaller but very quiet. Just as we had fallen asleep, someone from housekeeping burst in and walked out without a word while I was screaming. Once we woke up, we decided to head off to Montjuic. The cable car to the Castle wasn’t open and we were too exhausted for the uphill trek so we walked around the Olympic Stadium and grounds and watched the sunset. We walked over to watch the fountain show- wait for dark to see the show- only on weekends in off season. We had walked over to Caixaforum which had some exhibits but was not worth seeing.

Then, we were off to dinner. There were a few places I wanted to try but they all had long lines so we walked around the Gothic Quarter. We ended up at Lonja de Tapas, Pla del Palau- the maitre de who pulled us in to the restaurant said he’d have a table outside in just a few minutes. Over an hour later, while starving at the bar and having watched the restaurant inside fill up, we still had no table. Just as we were about to leave, a table opened. This is where we were introduced to the Spanish bread custom. Whether you want it or not, restaurants bring you bread and charge you for it. This place actually served the fancier bruschetta and since we enjoyed it, we asked for more. We had no idea about the charges. When we got the bill, I was absolutely shocked to find a charge 12E for BREAD. We complained and apparently both orders of bread we received were double orders (which we hadn’t asked for). They took off one order but I still thought it was outrageous. We did find this charge in the future- but normally only 1-2 E. The food was pretty good there but after the wait and bread issue, I would not recommend it.

10/8

After a good night’s sleep, we did a bus tour to Montserrat booked through viator.com (which was a little cheaper than booking there). Unfortunately, this was the worst weather day of our trip and not a beautiful day to be in the mountains. I liked this tour because it basically dropped you at the places and let you do what you wanted with a video about the place on the bus before you got there. We weren’t looking for a guided tour. Also, the ride between places was no longer than an hour or so. The first stop was Torres Winery. We were taken around the winery in a tram – it was a huge operation there. I enjoyed it- but I had hoped we’d have the chance to do a tasting of their wines if we wished- but only had time for a glass. The next stop was Montserrat- it was very cloudy and the higher we got- the less we could see. We took the rack railway up the mountain and arrived to a light rain. We decided to skip the video and took the funicular for the hike to the sacred cave. We wanted to do another hike to the area that supposedly had great views, but the weather wasn’t cooperating. We took the hike to the cave and then went up to the Cathedral and waited in line to see the black virgin. It was a Sunday when the boy choir doesn’t sing. After that, we had time for a lunch and walked around to try to catch some views where the fog was dissipating. Then, the tour took us to the seaside town of Sitges- a really cute place with shops, restaurants and bars. We took a walk along the beach and promenade where crowds were gathering while there was a bikini photo shoot. We had some drinks and great calamari at Chringuito along the water. When we got back to the hotel, I really wanted some ice cream and room service was actually a pizza place that delivered- even just a pint of haagen dazs.

10/9

We started our day with a late breakfast at Pinxoto- absolutely wonderful- it was too late for the tortilla- but we had garbanzos and melt in your mouth mushroom croquettes. Don’t miss it.

Then, we were off on our Gaudi Day. First, La Sagrada Familia (not sure why this church can’t get done when all of the other cathedrals seem to have been completed ), (expect to spend about an hour), then we walked by Casa Balto and the Block of Discord and toured Casa Mila- some of the attic was closed for renovation and the rooftop was great (expect to spend about an hour). We had hoped to go for drinks there on Saturday but were too beat- would have been nice. We were going to go to Parc Guell but were still suffering from the jet lag so decided we didn’t want to do anymore walking. Instead, we went for tapas and sangria at the end of Las Ramblas at a touristy spot that was a bit overpriced. I didn’t like the sangria in Barcelona which disappointed me because I LOVE sangria. I found sugar in there that would not dissolve when you stirred it, but was happier with the sangria in the south. After our break, we went on an hour and a half boat ride on Las Golondiras which was nice to relax but not necessary if you are in a rush. If you do the shorter 30 minute ride- it’s only in the harbor- but ours went out pretty far. Still a bit tired, I found myself dozing off.

Next, we headed back up to Montjuic, as my husband decided he really wanted to go up to Castel Montjuic which had a nice lookout. It was a long walk up the hill without a cable car- going down was much better. After, we went to Barcelonetta and walked a little, and just stopped for some helado because we were still full from the tapas and headed back from the hotel. At this point, I decided to make some changes to the itinerary because we were thoroughly exhausted so early in the trip. We are in our early 30s and very active but Barcelona wiped us out. I had planned a day in Seville and half day in Cordoba before heading to Madrid but I felt it would be too much- so I added a day to Marbella for relaxing and was very glad I did. Luckily, our hotel in Arcos was accommodating in moving the day. The Confortel had free internet which was nice, but there was no time limit and after a child was online playing a boxing game for an hour and fifteen minutes and three of us alternated on another computer- I finally said something and the mother came over and started yelling at me for picking on a child. I would have rather paid a few euros to avoid this – or seen a sign with a 15 minute time limit.

10/10

We had an early flight to Granada and took a cab to the airport to make sure we got there on time. The cab arrived before its scheduled time by five minutes- but we found the meter running already and there were many additional surcharges- it ended up being about $50. We booked a flight through rumba.com which had the best rates- it was under $100 after all the taxes, etc. We arrived in Granada at about 9 a.m. and took the bus into the city. There was much traffic and it took awhile. We had some problems finding Hotel Dauro- it was a bit down from the bus stop on the other side of the street. It wasn’t our first choice of hotel but as we booked last minute it was fine and centrally located. The hotel was a Best Western. We requested and got room 301 which was a quiet room that faced the back of the building and was a nice corner room. We had tickets for the Allhambra at 6 p.m. and we also signed up for the Allhambra at night so we had some time on our hands.

We went to the Cathedral which was different than those we had seen in Barcelona in the Moorish style (expect to spend about a half hour or so) and then went to the Royal Chapel which had the tombs of Isabelle & Ferdinand. We walked around Alcaiceria which had mostly souvenier shops and decided to go up to Albayzin and had a wonderful lunch outside at El Ladrillo – gazpacho, medio-barco of mixed fried fish (not just the small fish) and a salad and sangria. We walked over to San Nicholas Mirador and decided to come back later. We did get a bit lost there but would peek into houses where families were enjoying a siesta. Then, it was time to head to the Allhambra. We took the bus up the hill (do not walk it) and really enjoyed the audio tour and wandering around the palaces and the gardens. It took about 4 hours total. We headed back to the Mirador for sunset but decided to avoid the mob and go to Juan Bar next door which was nice- we only wished it had a tapas menu.

We were tired and debated skipping the Night Tour but were very glad we did- it was beautiful and quiet- a great way to experience it- though I’d recommend arriving at night- doing the tour and doing the day tour the next day. Our feet were killing us the next day.

10/11
Granada- Gibraltar- Marbella

Do not bring a car into Granada- traffic is awful- it took us a long time to get to our rental car place near the train station and we probably would have been better off walking. We booked a car through Alamo/National- it was behind the station and down the block- a little hard to find. We had the hotel call ahead and let them know we’d be late to pick up our car because we were catching up on sleep, but when we arrived we were told they gave it away. After about a half hour, someone else told us our car was there. As we inspected the car, there was a scratch on there not noted on the sheet but the woman said not to worry about it. As soon as we pulled out, I worried about being charged for it, but luckily it wasn’t a problem when we returned it- though they checked the car thoroughly. (Our last rental car experience in Ireland we found they tried to charge you for everything).

The trip to Gibraltar took about three hours, but once we got off the exit we had some real problems. We were very lost in La Linea and spent about an hour trying to get to the parking garage (try putting October 11 Street into Mappy- maybe that helps). There were really no signs for the Rock or customs. Once we parked, we walked across the border, got our passports stamped Gibraltar (you have to ask them to stamp it), and then took the bus to the cable car. I had read somewhere that you should walk the rock- not to take the minibus tour. What a mistake! We were the only idiots walking and it was about 30 mins to an hour between stops- mostly straight up hill. At the top of the cable car stop- by the restaurant- was where we saw the most apes. They were adorable. We walked over to St. Michael’s Cave, to Apes Den (where there were very few apes) and went through the Great Siege Tunnels- which were interesting. It was about three hours of walking. We had only had a croissant for breakfast and while on the Rock we realized we only had about 7 or 8 euros and needed to pay the garage. We were concerned we wouldn’t find an ATM because we didn’t see any on the way over, so we walked around dehydrated and hungry. My husband really wanted to go to Gibraltar and enjoyed it. I thought it was OK but may have been happier if we had done a minibus tour. FYI- O’Hara’s Battery and the Moorish Castle are closed (which is why I think the minibuses make stops at the other attractions).

We walked into the British town- it was nice to hear English for once- and tried to use the ATM but it would only give money in pounds. We did not want to have to deal with changing it again in Spain so we headed back and took out all our coins to pay the parking and headed out. We thought we would find an ATM nearby but we had no luck. After some traffic and not knowing if we were going in the right direction, we found the highway. Luckily, the tolls took credit card because we didn’t have enough cash! Once we got off the highway, again the directions were useless. After driving around for a bit- by a lucky chance- we stumbled upon a sign which had our hotel name on it and we found the hotel. We stayed at the Meliá Marbella Dinamar – it was a very nice hotel- ask for a sea room. We booked through gtahotels.com for one night and the other directly through the hotel (these had the best rates about $152 a night w/taxes and breakfast). Though our room was over a driveway, you could see/hear the ocean in the distance. After freshening up and having a bottle of wine on our terrace, we had some drinks at the hotel bar (house white wine was really great). Surprisingly, the piano player was awful- the worst paid piano player I’ve ever heard- which was very strange. We walked over to the glitzy harbor and had a nice seafood dinner. After, we went to a great piano bar and had a late night people watching.

10/12

After sleeping in and enjoying a great buffet breakfast, we had a relaxing day sitting by the pool. There were two pools at the hotel, but we found the one by the grass area overrun with bugs so we moved to the one closer to the hotel. We had no problem getting chairs- but you had to get them yourself and you had to seek out towels. I was only disappointed that you had to pay to rent the chairs by the beach. We did take a walk on the beach and had lunch on the beach at La Playa Fantastica- they had a nice tapas plate. The whole fish also looked good. There were many small restaurants for lunch along the beach – you couldn’t go wrong. In the evening, we walked around the shops at Puerto Banus and decided to head into Marbella because someone gave a great recommendation for paella and we hadn’t had any yet. We went to Restaurante Bodega El Burlaero in town by cab (11E each way) and it was great. We ordered an appetizer which we didn’t need but the paella was fantastic. It was so wonderful that we actually took home the doggie bag for our fridge and brought it with us the next day.

10/13

After the nice breakfast, we hit the road for Pueblos Blancos. Of course, we got lost again. We somehow ended up on an extra long windy road up the mountains that my husband loved and I found nauseating. Our first stop was Ronda and of course there was traffic there as well. Again, there really weren’t signs and the maps I was using weren’t great but we eventually found the center of town and a parking lot where the cars were jammed in like sardines. It took about 20 minutes to get into a spot. Once we arrived, we walked around and found a park- Jardines Ciudad de Cuenca which had nice views of the gorge, the New Bridge, and foundations of the old bridge. Then, we crossed the bridge and walked down the 365 stairs at Casa del Rey Moro garden to the gorge, apparently slaves used to haul water up for the people of the town in the 14th century. It was not fun walking up- I can’t even imagine. We walked around and across the old bridge and headed out.

Then, we were off to Zahara. I had read about El Vinculo- an olive mill and really wanted to stop there. Of course, we couldn’t find it and thought we missed it so we went up the mountain to town. We found everything closed for siesta and it appeared that the whole town was at the one or two open restaurants. Spanish way of life is very different- people always seemed to be on siesta! We climbed up the castle which had pretty views of the manmade lake below. Luckily our car had been in the shade all morning, so our leftover paella was still delicious. We walked into a hostel to try to get directions and the manager came running from a café across the street. He seemed unhappy when he realized we didn’t want a room but told us where to go. We found the mill but Juan was not there- just a young girl who didn’t speak English- so we didn’t get to see anything. We bought some olive oil and olives and a bottle of red wine (which we drank later that night on our terrace and was terrible). We were a bit disappointed. We headed out to Grazalema to do the El Bosque Walk. We really wanted to do a little hiking, and I found very little information about trails, etc. unless you wanted to do a guided tour. Somehow, we took a wrong turn and ended up parking right at the trail head. We walked a little bit but found the trail very disappointing (like any state park) so we headed back and we drove off to Arcos de la Frontera.

We had a reservation at El Convento and knew that the roads were a nightmare to drive. Of course we wandered around- none of the streets were on our map and somehow eventually stumbled into their sister hotel to park. We thought there was a shuttle that took you up the hill but there wasn’t so we took our little wheelie bags and wheeled up the hill. If you have a lot/big bags- this would be a pain. My husband was very happy not to be driving. The hotel was basic- but the views on the balcony were great. The staff was very nice- the nicest we encountered in Spain. When we changed our itinerary and asked to change our night in the hotel- they were very accommodating. Even though it meant changing our room to one where you had to walk out the door to the balcony it was nice. The only major downside was the shower- there was a sign that said there was limited hot water but we didn’t make it through one short shower before it ran out. After a long day going through Ronda- Zahara- and Grazalema- it was nice to relax on the balcony and soak in the countryside. The hotel made a reservation for us at their restaurant down the street. The food was great and we were glad to have the reservation because they turned many away. I would highly recommend it. For some reason, white asparagus was very expensive throughout Spain- 12E an order- not sure why- would love to know.

Before dinner, we walked around town- by the churches- looked at the viewpoints- mainly locals out strolling on a Friday night which was nice- and luckily we picked up some croissants for the morning because we needed to leave early to return our car in Seville and nothing was open early. We ate our breakfast on the balcony at about 7:30 a.m.- when the sun was surprisingly just coming up.

10/14

We drove to Seville and were surprised when we found the train station to drop off the car very easily. Unfortunately, there was no time to see Seville, we’ll have to wait for the next trip. In dropping off the rental car, the only problem we ran into was that when we picked up the car, the gas was only filled to ¾ of a tank. In Granada, they told us to fill it to that amount or if we filled it completely we’d receive a credit. After having to get gas twice at the station because my husband didn’t know how to say fill it and it wasn’t enough the first time, we returned with a full tank. So, in order to get the credit- we had to wait until they could get the Granada office on the phone- which of course took a half an hour- but we did get a credit of about 18E! Gas was outrageously expensive! We didn’t book the train in advance in case of any problems so we had to wait an hour for a train because the one leaving was full- but the AVE was quick and a nice ride. Atocha station in Madrid was beautiful.

Once we got to Madrid, we misjudged how far our hotel was and walked up a giant hill for about 20 minutes till we found it. We stayed at Hi-Tech Petit Palace Posado- it was a little pricey- 110E + taxes thru utell.com- but the best rate we could find to be centrally located. While it was a great location and you could walk anywhere from there easily, the hotel itself wasn't great. The decor was modern and nice, but our room was extremely small. Also, the hotel front desk wasn't especially helpful or nice. When I asked for a wake up call- they didn't seem to understand what it was. Other good points- a great hydroshower and free internet in the basement.

We walked around Plaza Mayor and headed to Centro de Arte Reina Sofia which was free after 2 p.m. on Saturday with only a very short line. My husband is not a big art museum fan so we just did a quick trip around to see Guernica and a few rooms before heading out. We had tickets to see Real Madrid v. Getafe that night and we knew we would need plenty of time to get there. We ordered tickets through madrid-tickets.com and were a bit concerned whether these expensive tickets $457 for two would actually be there or if it was an internet scam. Also, while we were traveling they asked for a copy of the front and back of our credit card (it was a good thing we were using the internet) which we had faxed. However, they didn’t like the copy of it. We weren’t sure if they were going to send the tickets, but when we arrived at the hotel, the tickets were there.

When arrived at the train station, we received two different sets of directions (one from person selling tickets and one from tourist information) that were for completely different train lines and two different statements. Naturally, we were nervous. I had looked online at the stadium website on Madrid information but couldn’t find anything. The game was being played in the town of Getafe in a small stadium. As we were getting on the train, we thought we’d see people with shirts/scarves heading to the stadium, but there wasn’t. We went with the ticket person’s station and hoped for the best- happy that we left two hours early. Once we arrived, just a few people got off at the station and there was no stadium nearby or any signs. We walked for a bit and saw a stadium and were overjoyed, however, it wasn’t the football stadium. We asked someone for directions- that at least got us in the right direction- and finally found the stadium with plenty of time. Our seats were great- very close. A very surprising thing was that they didn’t serve any alcohol in the stadium. I guess that was why there was a mob at the bar across the street before the game. The game was fun- we saw David Beckam who the crowd jeered. We had a great time. We got back into the city easily and had a late dinner at Botin Restaurant which was very good (we didn’t have a reservation so we had to eat downstairs- the upstairs looked nicer).

10/15

We started the day with churros con chocolate at Bar Majaderitos which was good- you dip the churros into a chocolate puddinglike substance. Then we went to the Royal Palacio- which we really enjoyed (takes about an hour- hour and a half to go through). Then, we grabbed another Bocadillo del jamon from Museo de Jamon and went over to Museo del Prado. We got the audio tour which was helpful but as mentioned earlier- my husband is not a huge art museum fan and after an hour or so- his eyes were glazing over and we left. We did our own little walking tour from Museo del Prado- to the fountains and walked from Plaza Mayor to Puerta del Sol. We were hungry now and had some of our favorite tapas of the trip at - Casa Toni- Calle Cruz 14- gazpacho, chapinones (sautéed mushrooms) and berenjena (deep fried eggplant) that was amazing. Some other Americans there were eating the calamari that they said was wonderful as well (their 2nd time there that vacation). We moved on to Casa del Abuelo, Calle Victoria 12, and had gambas al ajillo (shrimp in garlic) which were very good but what you would probably find anywhere. We walked around for a bit trying to find Taberneros- santiago 4- which I think was a Maribel recommendation but we found another restaurant at that address and had some drinks- watching the people at the next table let their dog wander the cobblestone street and then have to run after it- as it tried to attack other dogs. Surprisingly, this happened more than once. It was a nice night and a relaxing end to our trip.

10/16

Flight from Madrid to JFK- after taking several different subways to get to the airport- our hotel was not located well for the line to get us to the airport (probably better off with a cab) we were there 2 hours early. The lines in the airport were very long. Something we hadn’t seen before- there was a long line to get your bag completely wrapped up in a cellophane packaging material. We made it past security with about 45- 50 minutes to spare so we stopped for something to eat- even my pizza had specks of ham on it. Spaniards really love their jamon! When we walked over to the gate- I thought I saw a sign that said final boarding. My husband thought this was impossible. We got on the plane- it was full- we were one of the last to arrive. The plane left the gate over 10 minutes early which was a little scary if you were late, but we arrived almost an hour early, that was nice.

All in all, great vacation, wonderful food, beautiful places, can’t wait to get back.

Hi Julie

Thanks for the report. Some great tips here. Yes we too found that English isn't spoken much. I know we are in their home country and we should make an attempt at the mother tongue. It's just that in other countries we travelled, both parties would make attempts at communicating. In Spain for eg often the menu didn't have an English translation. We found this unusual. In the end we bought a pocket translation book which solved a lot of problems! Despite the language "problem" we loved Spain. It's certainly my favourite, particularly Madrid and Granada.

I agree with the language- especially in restaurants. I saw an asian man had a book that had pictures with the spanish word below and he ordered very easily. Not sure if you can get something like that here- but i thought it was great. We really enjoyed granada too- i didn't really understand the fuss before we went- but it was one of my favorite places i've ever been. Thanks for reading through it!

This language thing amazes me, as here in the south of Spain most of the people speaks english, though with terrible pronunciation many times, I admit.
The bread issue is something that displeases us spaniards as well. We eat with bread and usually comes with oil, olives or something else, and it is considered "service". In exchange, we do not have to give those irrational tips as in the US, where I once had to pay a mandatory 17% tip.
Taxis: they have a price list sticker in the window, I'll just let you know that you have to pay a plus if you pick it at the airport or train station (if you go airport to the train station, you have to pay BOTH); and you have to pay a fixed ammount per each piece of luggage in the trunk. If you consider you are being overcharged, ask for a bill with all the data of driver and car, to make a further complaint. We spaniards are tired of abuses, believe me.
I am not sure which road you took from Marbella to Ronda. The obvious one has a lot of bends, and it is the GOOD one; I expect you did not take other.

Wow, sounds like a great trip. I am planning on doing a similar trip next year, and you have provided some great information. Thanks for taking the time to do the report!

Best,
Chels

Hey guys,
I spent 1 year in Spain between Granada, Seville and Barcelona. The place I liked most is far and away Granada. It seemed to me walking through time in the Albayzin the moorish neighborhood. Despite its difference, Barcelona was great as well...The Picasso Museum definitely worths a visit. When I stay abroad I always use useful online guide that gives tips for your trip. Recently I saw http://www.nozio.com/en/europe/spain.../Barcelona.htm ths Barcelona Guide which was very useful.