Spain Trip Report by SRS
Mar 29th, 2004 | 03:55 AM
#1
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Joined: Apr 2003
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Spain Trip Report by SRS
Hello all! We just got back last night from our two week adventure to Spain (more specifically, Madrid, Sevilla, Arcos, Ronda (with side trips to Grazelema and Zahara), Granada, and Toledo. All in all our trip was absolutely wonderful!
Thanks to all of those who helped us with our planning. I read so many posts before I left and got so much great information here - hopefully, our experiences will assist someone too!
I will write this in sections, mainly because I have to go back to work today. Also this is my first trip report. Previously, I have just written up the hotels that we stayed at, but this time I am trying to do more.
MADRID: Days 1, 2, and 3
What a wonderful, vibrant city! We could have easily spent more time here! (And we did, but that will have to wait until the end as I am doing this in order.) The city is alive, and filled with great streets to stroll, shops to check out, and terrific eateries everywhere.
Madrid seems to get a somewhat bad rap, but we really loved it and look forward to returning!
We stayed at Hotel Plaza Mayor which is located right off of Plaza Mayor and is a nice, good value hotel. Our room number was 503, which had three large windows overllooking another small plaza. We paid 80 euros a night, but I think the official rate is 85 euros - we paid less as we had to wait for our room.
It is a quiet hotel in a great location. If you are looking for a plush place to stay, this is not the place for you. But if you want a great area and a safe clean, hotel, this is a good bet.
We joined the Wellington Society and did the basic walking tour along with Bloody Madrid. Both were a lot of fun, although we liked the basic walking tour better as it was more of a pub crawl. (Our greater enjoyment of the walking tour more no doubt had to do with the fact that we did Bloody Madrid on our first day and we were just plain tired!) Seriously, we would do either again!
Other highlights were the Royal Palace and the Prado. The Prado is a great museum to just wander about and enjoy! We also always enjoy just walking around and this city offered lots of that. We followed the walking tours in Rick Steves guidebook and found that those along with the Wellington Society tours gave us a great basis from which to survey the city.
The food highlight for us here was an Italian restaurant chain called Nostra Pizza, Nostra Pasta. It is just what it sounds like, a pizza and pasta place. We really liked it as the food was good as was the atmosphere. We also enjoyed various bars whose names allude me, but which are just about everywhere.
Our main purchase here was pottery at Casa Talavera - just tons of great pieces!
From Madrid, we took a cab to Atocha train station and picked up the AVE to Sevilla...
Thanks to all of those who helped us with our planning. I read so many posts before I left and got so much great information here - hopefully, our experiences will assist someone too!
I will write this in sections, mainly because I have to go back to work today. Also this is my first trip report. Previously, I have just written up the hotels that we stayed at, but this time I am trying to do more.
MADRID: Days 1, 2, and 3
What a wonderful, vibrant city! We could have easily spent more time here! (And we did, but that will have to wait until the end as I am doing this in order.) The city is alive, and filled with great streets to stroll, shops to check out, and terrific eateries everywhere.
Madrid seems to get a somewhat bad rap, but we really loved it and look forward to returning!
We stayed at Hotel Plaza Mayor which is located right off of Plaza Mayor and is a nice, good value hotel. Our room number was 503, which had three large windows overllooking another small plaza. We paid 80 euros a night, but I think the official rate is 85 euros - we paid less as we had to wait for our room.
It is a quiet hotel in a great location. If you are looking for a plush place to stay, this is not the place for you. But if you want a great area and a safe clean, hotel, this is a good bet.
We joined the Wellington Society and did the basic walking tour along with Bloody Madrid. Both were a lot of fun, although we liked the basic walking tour better as it was more of a pub crawl. (Our greater enjoyment of the walking tour more no doubt had to do with the fact that we did Bloody Madrid on our first day and we were just plain tired!) Seriously, we would do either again!
Other highlights were the Royal Palace and the Prado. The Prado is a great museum to just wander about and enjoy! We also always enjoy just walking around and this city offered lots of that. We followed the walking tours in Rick Steves guidebook and found that those along with the Wellington Society tours gave us a great basis from which to survey the city.
The food highlight for us here was an Italian restaurant chain called Nostra Pizza, Nostra Pasta. It is just what it sounds like, a pizza and pasta place. We really liked it as the food was good as was the atmosphere. We also enjoyed various bars whose names allude me, but which are just about everywhere.
Our main purchase here was pottery at Casa Talavera - just tons of great pieces!
From Madrid, we took a cab to Atocha train station and picked up the AVE to Sevilla...
Mar 30th, 2004 | 07:49 AM
#5
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Joined: Apr 2003
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SEVILLA: Days 4,5, and 6
As stated before, we took the AVE to Sevilla. We were in tourist class, which was perfectly fine (and I don't imagine that we would pay for a better class than that). By the way, we booked our tickets for the AVE before we left and picked them up upon arrival at the RENFE office at the Madrid airport. Worked out very nicely!
We arrived in Sevilla and the weather was unreal - I think it must have been high 70s and perfectly clear and lovely. We took a cab to our hotel which was located in Barrio Santa Cruz. Fortuneately, I had picked up a map in the train station and figured out exactly where our hotel was as our cab driver had a bit of trouble finding the hotel location and was thankful for the map and the assistance!
We stayed at Hotel Amadeus in room 202 which was a superior double. The price was 90 euros. This hotel was my favorite of the trip - a true gem! The room was perfectly lovely with good quality sheets and thick towels - I really hadn't expected it to be as marvelous as it was for the price.
As a side note, we met friends from home at the hotel. They stayed in the Attic which is room 301. I think they paid about 105-115 euros a night. There room was very nice as well! It had a sink in the room as well as one in the bathroom and it had hard wood floors whereas our room had more of a tile-type floor. There room was definetly bigger, but ours was good size too.
Our bathroom, however, was far superior to theirs. It was huge with a full size tub and lots of space - probably three or four times as big as my home bathroom. Their bathroom had no tub, but a shower.
The one really nice feature of the attic was that they had their own mini balony (granted it was enroute to the main roof deck for the whole hotel, but still it was a nice little treat). We ended up using it during a mini-thunderstorm one afternoon as we waited for the storm to pass we drank some beer and relaxed on "their" patio.
My friends were very happy with their room, except that breakfast is served on the roof deck and so they could hear chairs being moved and people walking by, etc.
All in all, either room would be great, but my husband and I would probably go with our room over theirs as it was quieter and the bathroom was better. Not to mention ours cost less.
Now on to Sevilla itself. We LOVED this city! What a wonderful place to wander and explore! Great streets, wonderful food everywhere. Just loved walking around! Definitely want to return and for longer than 3 days!
As we only had three days in which to relax and see the sites, we hired a local guide, Conception Delgado to show us around. Her website is www.sevillawalkingtours.com. We took a two hour walking tour, a 1.5 hour cathedral tour, and a 1 hour alcazar tour with her. I think the cost was about 18-19 euros per person total. She was so amazing, we would have gladly paid at least twice the price! The tours were small, both times there were only 6 of us. She was informative, and a joy to listen to. Definitely the higlight of Sevilla was meeting this fantastic woman!
Other highlights included an evening horse drawn carriage ride, tapas, and beer and wine every chance we got, and two restaurants - Modesto (Cano y Cueto #5) and Casa Robles (Alvarez Quintero 58). Modesto was particularly amazing (thanks Maribel for both). The food was terrific. In fact, it was so good that we went twice, once for dinner and once for tapas.
One evening for fun we went to La Carbonería? (Leviés #18) - it was very cool - kind of like a giant beergarden - lots of fun.
On our last morning before checking out, my husband and I treated ourselves to breafast at the hotel on the roof - quite delicious - freshly squeezed orangejuice, toast, fruit, and chocolate - a great way leave a great city!
We left our hotel and took a cab to the train station where we started on the real "adventure" driving a rental car! We used autoeurope and were pleased with everything. We then headed off to the hill towns. More to come later....
As stated before, we took the AVE to Sevilla. We were in tourist class, which was perfectly fine (and I don't imagine that we would pay for a better class than that). By the way, we booked our tickets for the AVE before we left and picked them up upon arrival at the RENFE office at the Madrid airport. Worked out very nicely!
We arrived in Sevilla and the weather was unreal - I think it must have been high 70s and perfectly clear and lovely. We took a cab to our hotel which was located in Barrio Santa Cruz. Fortuneately, I had picked up a map in the train station and figured out exactly where our hotel was as our cab driver had a bit of trouble finding the hotel location and was thankful for the map and the assistance!
We stayed at Hotel Amadeus in room 202 which was a superior double. The price was 90 euros. This hotel was my favorite of the trip - a true gem! The room was perfectly lovely with good quality sheets and thick towels - I really hadn't expected it to be as marvelous as it was for the price.
As a side note, we met friends from home at the hotel. They stayed in the Attic which is room 301. I think they paid about 105-115 euros a night. There room was very nice as well! It had a sink in the room as well as one in the bathroom and it had hard wood floors whereas our room had more of a tile-type floor. There room was definetly bigger, but ours was good size too.
Our bathroom, however, was far superior to theirs. It was huge with a full size tub and lots of space - probably three or four times as big as my home bathroom. Their bathroom had no tub, but a shower.
The one really nice feature of the attic was that they had their own mini balony (granted it was enroute to the main roof deck for the whole hotel, but still it was a nice little treat). We ended up using it during a mini-thunderstorm one afternoon as we waited for the storm to pass we drank some beer and relaxed on "their" patio.
My friends were very happy with their room, except that breakfast is served on the roof deck and so they could hear chairs being moved and people walking by, etc.
All in all, either room would be great, but my husband and I would probably go with our room over theirs as it was quieter and the bathroom was better. Not to mention ours cost less.
Now on to Sevilla itself. We LOVED this city! What a wonderful place to wander and explore! Great streets, wonderful food everywhere. Just loved walking around! Definitely want to return and for longer than 3 days!
As we only had three days in which to relax and see the sites, we hired a local guide, Conception Delgado to show us around. Her website is www.sevillawalkingtours.com. We took a two hour walking tour, a 1.5 hour cathedral tour, and a 1 hour alcazar tour with her. I think the cost was about 18-19 euros per person total. She was so amazing, we would have gladly paid at least twice the price! The tours were small, both times there were only 6 of us. She was informative, and a joy to listen to. Definitely the higlight of Sevilla was meeting this fantastic woman!
Other highlights included an evening horse drawn carriage ride, tapas, and beer and wine every chance we got, and two restaurants - Modesto (Cano y Cueto #5) and Casa Robles (Alvarez Quintero 58). Modesto was particularly amazing (thanks Maribel for both). The food was terrific. In fact, it was so good that we went twice, once for dinner and once for tapas.
One evening for fun we went to La Carbonería? (Leviés #18) - it was very cool - kind of like a giant beergarden - lots of fun.
On our last morning before checking out, my husband and I treated ourselves to breafast at the hotel on the roof - quite delicious - freshly squeezed orangejuice, toast, fruit, and chocolate - a great way leave a great city!
We left our hotel and took a cab to the train station where we started on the real "adventure" driving a rental car! We used autoeurope and were pleased with everything. We then headed off to the hill towns. More to come later....
Mar 30th, 2004 | 03:02 PM
#7
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 679
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jtanne,
I totally don't think you need a guide! It is not a huge city and the sites are well written about. I only used two guides during our trip and I don't think I had more or less of an experience with or without them.
I really enjoyed Concepcion and I would hire her again, but she would NOT be necessary to my having an excellant trip!
Bottom line, if you are looking for a good, reasonably priced guide, I highly recommend her. But I would say you can "do it yourself" quite well!!!
I totally don't think you need a guide! It is not a huge city and the sites are well written about. I only used two guides during our trip and I don't think I had more or less of an experience with or without them.
I really enjoyed Concepcion and I would hire her again, but she would NOT be necessary to my having an excellant trip!
Bottom line, if you are looking for a good, reasonably priced guide, I highly recommend her. But I would say you can "do it yourself" quite well!!!
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Apr 1st, 2004 | 02:08 PM
#9
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Joined: Apr 2003
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HILL TOWNS - Days 7, 8, and 9
As I already stated, we picked up our rental car in Sevilla. How we managed to get on the proper freeway headed out of the train station I will never know, but we did and on the first try!
After an uneventful drive, we found ourselves at Arcos de la Frontera. We were staying at the Parador and so we head up, up into the old town. We had the first of our many "oh no" moments when we thought our car would not fit through the street. We carefully pulled in our side view mirrors and after (big panics and) encouragement from a local made our way though a very narrow space.
The Parador was lovely! We decided to upgrade to a view balcony which was totally worth the extra 20 euros. We felt like we could see forever. It was a really great hotel with nice fluffy towels and lots of space.
After checking in, we explored the town on foot (including walking a portion of the path that we would have to exit on to convince ourselves we would be able to get the car out). We smiled to ourselves as we watched numerous cars with tourists like ourselves looking terrified as they drove on the one way circuit through and out of town. (However watching them do it made us realize that we too could get our car down and out of the old town.)
Arcos is a great town to explore. We walked all around taking pictures and relaxing. The highlight for us was a bar where we had tapas for dinner. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but if anyone is interested, I will look it up. It was a neat bar tucked into what appeared to be the dungeon/cellars of the castle and it served tasty food and wine!
The next morning, we got up and slowly got our car out of town and headed to Ronda. In route to Ronda, we stopped first at Grazelema, which is a beautiful hill town and then at the tiny, but gorgeous Zahara de la Sierra. Not a lot to write about either, except for the fact they are both a photographer's dream and just a lot of fun to walk around!
We did, however, find ourselves a bit over our heads with the drive. We decided to take the direct route north from Grazelema to Zahara. Various guidebooks described it as challenging, but wonderfully scenic. So we headed off. It was scenic and well paved, but also quite narrow and curvy as we kept driving higher and higher into the mountains. We determined too late that probably this road wasn't the one for us. My husband can drive a manual, but this was his first time in 9 years since we have an automatic at home. Also, in the US we live in a big city, but don't have much experience in cliff-type driving situations. It was a scary ride for us, particularly when we swung around a blind corner and there was a huge tour bus. The driver, who at this point, was on the inside of the mountain wanted us to drive off the cliffier side of the road so he could get by even though he had a good 2 feet on his side remaining. Well, after a few minutes of sweating (and swearing), we got by the bus and shakily arrived in Zahara. In retrospect, we just shouldn't have driven on this road. As I said, it was perfectly fine, but not for us.
After leaving Zahara, and still a little nervous about heading to Ronda, we got in our car. We carefully chose the route we believed would yield the least in hills and the most in major highways. After an uneventful period, we found ourselves in Ronda. We drove straight through town and, quite by accident, happened upon our hotel - the Parador where we would stay for the next two nights.
This is another lovely hotel. Looks very new and modern with a lot of glass and wood. This time we didn't upgrade to the view room - we'd had enough views for the day - but our room still had a lovely view over a park-like area leading up to a look out. If I were ever in Ronda again, we would definitely stay here.
The rest of that evening was spent relaxing as we were very tired from our beautiful but stressful day of driving from Arcos to Grazelema to Ronda.
The following morning we woke up and spent the day exploring. The highlight for us turned out to be a restaurant that we fell in love with. Again the name eludes me as I type at work (I think it was called Relax Cafe), but I would be happy to look it up if anyone is interested. It was a vegetarian restaurant owned by an English woman which served the best vegetarian food I have ever had in my life! Absolutely wonderful. I am getting so hungry just thinking of it. We actually ended up going twice. The first time was for a snack in the early afternoon. We had hummus, Mexican bean dip, and salsa. For dinner, after some yummy tapas, I had fresh, fresh salad with juicy red tomatoes and lettuce along with baked red peppers bursting with a rice and bean mixture. My husband had a bean and soy burger that was outstanding! Everything was just so fresh and so tasty - it was amazing! Just an incredible meal!
The next morning, we woke up and got back into the car to head to Granada...
As I already stated, we picked up our rental car in Sevilla. How we managed to get on the proper freeway headed out of the train station I will never know, but we did and on the first try!
After an uneventful drive, we found ourselves at Arcos de la Frontera. We were staying at the Parador and so we head up, up into the old town. We had the first of our many "oh no" moments when we thought our car would not fit through the street. We carefully pulled in our side view mirrors and after (big panics and) encouragement from a local made our way though a very narrow space.
The Parador was lovely! We decided to upgrade to a view balcony which was totally worth the extra 20 euros. We felt like we could see forever. It was a really great hotel with nice fluffy towels and lots of space.
After checking in, we explored the town on foot (including walking a portion of the path that we would have to exit on to convince ourselves we would be able to get the car out). We smiled to ourselves as we watched numerous cars with tourists like ourselves looking terrified as they drove on the one way circuit through and out of town. (However watching them do it made us realize that we too could get our car down and out of the old town.)
Arcos is a great town to explore. We walked all around taking pictures and relaxing. The highlight for us was a bar where we had tapas for dinner. I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but if anyone is interested, I will look it up. It was a neat bar tucked into what appeared to be the dungeon/cellars of the castle and it served tasty food and wine!
The next morning, we got up and slowly got our car out of town and headed to Ronda. In route to Ronda, we stopped first at Grazelema, which is a beautiful hill town and then at the tiny, but gorgeous Zahara de la Sierra. Not a lot to write about either, except for the fact they are both a photographer's dream and just a lot of fun to walk around!
We did, however, find ourselves a bit over our heads with the drive. We decided to take the direct route north from Grazelema to Zahara. Various guidebooks described it as challenging, but wonderfully scenic. So we headed off. It was scenic and well paved, but also quite narrow and curvy as we kept driving higher and higher into the mountains. We determined too late that probably this road wasn't the one for us. My husband can drive a manual, but this was his first time in 9 years since we have an automatic at home. Also, in the US we live in a big city, but don't have much experience in cliff-type driving situations. It was a scary ride for us, particularly when we swung around a blind corner and there was a huge tour bus. The driver, who at this point, was on the inside of the mountain wanted us to drive off the cliffier side of the road so he could get by even though he had a good 2 feet on his side remaining. Well, after a few minutes of sweating (and swearing), we got by the bus and shakily arrived in Zahara. In retrospect, we just shouldn't have driven on this road. As I said, it was perfectly fine, but not for us.
After leaving Zahara, and still a little nervous about heading to Ronda, we got in our car. We carefully chose the route we believed would yield the least in hills and the most in major highways. After an uneventful period, we found ourselves in Ronda. We drove straight through town and, quite by accident, happened upon our hotel - the Parador where we would stay for the next two nights.
This is another lovely hotel. Looks very new and modern with a lot of glass and wood. This time we didn't upgrade to the view room - we'd had enough views for the day - but our room still had a lovely view over a park-like area leading up to a look out. If I were ever in Ronda again, we would definitely stay here.
The rest of that evening was spent relaxing as we were very tired from our beautiful but stressful day of driving from Arcos to Grazelema to Ronda.
The following morning we woke up and spent the day exploring. The highlight for us turned out to be a restaurant that we fell in love with. Again the name eludes me as I type at work (I think it was called Relax Cafe), but I would be happy to look it up if anyone is interested. It was a vegetarian restaurant owned by an English woman which served the best vegetarian food I have ever had in my life! Absolutely wonderful. I am getting so hungry just thinking of it. We actually ended up going twice. The first time was for a snack in the early afternoon. We had hummus, Mexican bean dip, and salsa. For dinner, after some yummy tapas, I had fresh, fresh salad with juicy red tomatoes and lettuce along with baked red peppers bursting with a rice and bean mixture. My husband had a bean and soy burger that was outstanding! Everything was just so fresh and so tasty - it was amazing! Just an incredible meal!
The next morning, we woke up and got back into the car to head to Granada...
Apr 3rd, 2004 | 05:03 PM
#13
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,204
Likes: 0
Thanks, Sally, for the wonderful trip report. I can especially relate to your anxiety about the drive. DH has not problems with the roads and such, but I suffer from vertigo (plus anxiety about him driving an Opel as if it were a Porche), so I really relate. Also, appreciate the info re. Hotel Amedeus in Seville...am thinking of going with it next time.
If you keep writing, I'll keep reading!
If you keep writing, I'll keep reading!
Apr 3rd, 2004 | 05:21 PM
#14
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 250
Likes: 0
Thank you for taking the time to post the trip report. We leave in less than two months!
We're spending three days in Ronda and I'm a vegetarian, so I was pleased to hear about your great vegetarian dining experience!
Looking forward to the rest of the report...
oopsy
We're spending three days in Ronda and I'm a vegetarian, so I was pleased to hear about your great vegetarian dining experience!
Looking forward to the rest of the report...
oopsy
Apr 20th, 2004 | 08:17 AM
#15
Original Poster
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 679
Likes: 0
Sorry for the delay in writing my trip report. Thank you to those who offered encouragement!
I was starting to bore myself with my writing and so I stopped. But I feel poorly having a half-written report and I am experiencing some downtime at the office, so onward and upward. I will finish it. It is shorter than I had hoped, but I am just not as good at the blow by blow as some are....
GRANADA (DAYS 10, 11):
We left Ronda and drove to Granada. Uneventful drive, until we got really close. Then things got exciting.
We were staying at the Parador and so we needed to get up to the Alhambra grounds. Somehow we misread the signs and detour though city center. However, we were following the Alhambra signs, so our missteps made little sense. At any rate after circling the city center, we followed signs back onto the freeway and suddenly we were there. We drove up a long hill toward the top (and began having flashbacks to earlier parts of our trip), but it all worked out.
We were where we should be or so we thought. We had a bit of trouble determining how to actually get to the Alhambra itself, but after circling several parking lots (and paying needlessly for parking in them), we arrived at the Parador.
We dropped our car in the lot and headed in. The hotel itself was just beautiful. It was our big splurge of the two week stay and we thought worth the money. Our room was in the older section and overlooked the Generalife.
After getting settled in our room, we headed downtown as I had made made appointments for us at the Hammam - Arab Baths! The website is http://www.hammamspain.com/granada/index.html. I made reservations there in advance and a soak and massage cost 20 euros a person. This was a lot of fun! The baths have tiles all over them and there is soothing music. The changing room is for everyone, but there were stalls with curtains for privacy and they have lockers that cost about a euro if you want to lock stuff up. After changing, you head into a room with two showers, then into the cold room (where they had a big square tub with very cold water - we skipped this as everyone else there when we were did). After that is the hot room. There is a large pool that you sit and soak in. It is all steamy and hot and just lovely! Very relaxing! The massage therapists then call your number (which you get when you check in) and you get about a 15 minute massage. The experience was a really good one. I am very glad we did it and next time we are in Spain, I will try it again. I think they have them in Madrid and are building some in Sevilla and Cordoba.
After a bit more sightseeing, we headed back to the Parador where we had a delicious meal in the dining room. Again pricey, but worth it!
The next day, we woke up and walked all over the Alhambra itself. It is a spectacular palace! Everything is so beautiful and so lovingly designed, it just makes you wish you could have seen it when it was in use and full of activity. Honestly, I would go to Granada just for this site alone, although there is much more to the city that it! We ended up getting the audio guides which worked out well for us. We got a good description of each room without having to read it out of our guidebook. The Generalife gardens are also lovely!
Again that evening, we ate at the Parador, which again was a tasty meal.
The next morning after a hearty breakfast, we got back in our car and headed to Toledo.
I was starting to bore myself with my writing and so I stopped. But I feel poorly having a half-written report and I am experiencing some downtime at the office, so onward and upward. I will finish it. It is shorter than I had hoped, but I am just not as good at the blow by blow as some are....
GRANADA (DAYS 10, 11):
We left Ronda and drove to Granada. Uneventful drive, until we got really close. Then things got exciting.
We were staying at the Parador and so we needed to get up to the Alhambra grounds. Somehow we misread the signs and detour though city center. However, we were following the Alhambra signs, so our missteps made little sense. At any rate after circling the city center, we followed signs back onto the freeway and suddenly we were there. We drove up a long hill toward the top (and began having flashbacks to earlier parts of our trip), but it all worked out.
We were where we should be or so we thought. We had a bit of trouble determining how to actually get to the Alhambra itself, but after circling several parking lots (and paying needlessly for parking in them), we arrived at the Parador.
We dropped our car in the lot and headed in. The hotel itself was just beautiful. It was our big splurge of the two week stay and we thought worth the money. Our room was in the older section and overlooked the Generalife.
After getting settled in our room, we headed downtown as I had made made appointments for us at the Hammam - Arab Baths! The website is http://www.hammamspain.com/granada/index.html. I made reservations there in advance and a soak and massage cost 20 euros a person. This was a lot of fun! The baths have tiles all over them and there is soothing music. The changing room is for everyone, but there were stalls with curtains for privacy and they have lockers that cost about a euro if you want to lock stuff up. After changing, you head into a room with two showers, then into the cold room (where they had a big square tub with very cold water - we skipped this as everyone else there when we were did). After that is the hot room. There is a large pool that you sit and soak in. It is all steamy and hot and just lovely! Very relaxing! The massage therapists then call your number (which you get when you check in) and you get about a 15 minute massage. The experience was a really good one. I am very glad we did it and next time we are in Spain, I will try it again. I think they have them in Madrid and are building some in Sevilla and Cordoba.
After a bit more sightseeing, we headed back to the Parador where we had a delicious meal in the dining room. Again pricey, but worth it!
The next day, we woke up and walked all over the Alhambra itself. It is a spectacular palace! Everything is so beautiful and so lovingly designed, it just makes you wish you could have seen it when it was in use and full of activity. Honestly, I would go to Granada just for this site alone, although there is much more to the city that it! We ended up getting the audio guides which worked out well for us. We got a good description of each room without having to read it out of our guidebook. The Generalife gardens are also lovely!
Again that evening, we ate at the Parador, which again was a tasty meal.
The next morning after a hearty breakfast, we got back in our car and headed to Toledo.
Apr 20th, 2004 | 08:18 AM
#16
Original Poster
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 679
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TOLEDO (DAYS 12, 13):
We loved this town! I wished that we had planned to spend more time here as I could tell it was a real gem! We stayed at Hostal del Cardenal in the suite room - Room 210. The hotel itself has a lot of charm - I believe it was a Cardenal's palace (which would explain the name). We arrived in the middle of the afternoon and had decided to return our car, so after locating the Hertz office, dropping the car in parking lot, we explored on foot. We found a couple of places for tapas and enjoyed a nice dinner. The next day we explored more on foot and went to the Cathedral which was amazing. Unfortunately, it rained almost the whole time we were in Toledo, so we didn't do as much as we'd hoped, but we really enjoyed our time there and next time we go to Madrid, we will surely make we spend more time here.
MADRID (Day 14):
After getting up bright and early in Toledo, we had a cab drive us to Madrid. We stayed at the Hotel Liabeny. A fine place, but not our favorite as it was a bit smoky and impersonal. That said, I would stay there again. For our final day (which was rainy and cold), we went to the Reina Sofia museum and then back to the Prado. We spent most of the day wandering and enjoying ourselves as we didn't have any set agenda. For dinner, we went to a fantastic little wine bar and ate great tapas and a wonderful bottle of wine.
The next morning we got up and headed back to the USA.
If you have any questions, please ask them. Thank you again to everyone who helped us with our planning!
Sally
We loved this town! I wished that we had planned to spend more time here as I could tell it was a real gem! We stayed at Hostal del Cardenal in the suite room - Room 210. The hotel itself has a lot of charm - I believe it was a Cardenal's palace (which would explain the name). We arrived in the middle of the afternoon and had decided to return our car, so after locating the Hertz office, dropping the car in parking lot, we explored on foot. We found a couple of places for tapas and enjoyed a nice dinner. The next day we explored more on foot and went to the Cathedral which was amazing. Unfortunately, it rained almost the whole time we were in Toledo, so we didn't do as much as we'd hoped, but we really enjoyed our time there and next time we go to Madrid, we will surely make we spend more time here.
MADRID (Day 14):
After getting up bright and early in Toledo, we had a cab drive us to Madrid. We stayed at the Hotel Liabeny. A fine place, but not our favorite as it was a bit smoky and impersonal. That said, I would stay there again. For our final day (which was rainy and cold), we went to the Reina Sofia museum and then back to the Prado. We spent most of the day wandering and enjoying ourselves as we didn't have any set agenda. For dinner, we went to a fantastic little wine bar and ate great tapas and a wonderful bottle of wine.
The next morning we got up and headed back to the USA.
If you have any questions, please ask them. Thank you again to everyone who helped us with our planning!
Sally
Apr 20th, 2004 | 11:49 AM
#18
Original Poster
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 679
Likes: 0
Travelegs, I think the ride was about 40-45 minutes. I can't remember the exact cost, but I want to say we agreed on 80 euros. We were going to take the bus, but it was pouring rain and so we decided to ask the cab driver that came to take us from our hotel to the bus station if he would drive us and how much. For us, that day, it just seemed worth it. I think the bus is under 5 euro each way.
Apr 20th, 2004 | 07:09 PM
#19
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
Sally,
I've asked on another thread how I could get a few more days out of our trip to Madrid, Barcelona & Bilbao.
We have planned 5 nights in Madrid, thinking that one of those days we would go to Toledo or Segovia. Do you think it would make sense to go to Telado for a night or two & then spend just 4 nights in Madrid before we go home? Or stay in Madrid 5-6 nights & go to Toledo for the day?
As of now we have:
Barcelona- 5 nights, we could do 4
Bilbao-2-3
Toledo ??
Madrid-4-5 nights
Just trying to get the number of nights right before I get my air tickets.
I've asked on another thread how I could get a few more days out of our trip to Madrid, Barcelona & Bilbao.
We have planned 5 nights in Madrid, thinking that one of those days we would go to Toledo or Segovia. Do you think it would make sense to go to Telado for a night or two & then spend just 4 nights in Madrid before we go home? Or stay in Madrid 5-6 nights & go to Toledo for the day?
As of now we have:
Barcelona- 5 nights, we could do 4
Bilbao-2-3
Toledo ??
Madrid-4-5 nights
Just trying to get the number of nights right before I get my air tickets.
Apr 21st, 2004 | 03:51 AM
#20
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,785
Likes: 0
Hi Travelegs,
Just my opinion, but I think 4 nights in Madrid is plenty. I loved the city, but I stayed there for 4 nights and day-tripped to both Segovia and Toledo, and felt that the time I spent in Madrid was sufficient.
I did meet people during my travels who actually stayed overnight in Toledo and they thought it was worth doing so, so that could be a good option.
Have a great trip!
Karen
Just my opinion, but I think 4 nights in Madrid is plenty. I loved the city, but I stayed there for 4 nights and day-tripped to both Segovia and Toledo, and felt that the time I spent in Madrid was sufficient.
I did meet people during my travels who actually stayed overnight in Toledo and they thought it was worth doing so, so that could be a good option.
Have a great trip!
Karen
