TR - Barcelona, Malaga, Vejer de la Frontera, Sevilla, and Madrid
Jun 4th, 2011, 01:39 PM
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TR - Barcelona, Malaga, Vejer de la Frontera, Sevilla, and Madrid
We've just returned from an incredible three week trip to Spain from May 6-28. This was our first time in Spain, and since I value so much the information and help from everyone who posts on Fodors, I tried to keep a regular journal and will post it below, in pieces.
I've noted some (not all) restaurants here, and prices for some things, but just a note about us that we really aren't foodies. True - we enjoy good food and try to make good choices and take recommendations when possible, but it's not always the focus of every day. As you'll see, we made mostly good choices (and a couple bad, but that's ok - we lived!)
FRIDAY MAY 6 & SATURDAY May 7 2011 - Halifax, NS to Barcelona
Bags are all packed, finally! For the first time we are only bringing carry on luggage. We each have the smallest possible size rollaboard luggage, and Mitch is carrying the camera bag and I have our day pack (a Lug "glider" bag - it is a great day bag and I highly recommend it!).
We went through security no problem (the great thing about online check in and no checked
bags is that you just arrive at the airport and head straight to security) and only had a 1/2 our wait before our flight. We flew Halifax to Montreal, and had a 2.5 hour wait in (this was to be our longest wait in airports!)
The 6.5 hour flight from Montreal to Paris felt longer than it was, and we were delayed for an unknown reason in Montreal. This meant our short connection time in Paris CDG (1 hour) was actually 40 minutes. We were determined to make our flight to Barcelona! After lines at passport control and security we literally ran through the maze to get to our gate...and got in
line which we were shocked at since it was still boarding! We took a breath, then thought to double check the gate, nope we were in the line for a Venice flight, and our gate had been changed! We took another loop around and finally found our gate - waiting somewhat patiently for us!
We arrived in the modern and spacious Barcelona airport, got our bearings and a map from the TI, and called our contact for our 4 nights in Barcelona. We rented an apartment from Class Holiday Spain (Ramblas Romatic 1 bedroom apt).
From what I can tell the apartment is no longer rented out, but it suited us just fine. We took the A1 bus from the airport and arrived at Plaza Catalunya. The apartment was a good size with a full size bathroom (always a plus in Europe!) and the location was perfect for what we wanted to see and do in Barcelona - it was just off Las Ramblas (near the top) on Calle del Tallers. I have to say that I had low expectations of Barcelona - I had heard and read some stuff about theft and security and was quite concerned about safety.
Even our host when we settled into our apartment gave us dire warnings, specifically about the Metro and Las Rampbas in general. After we rested for a couple of hours (we arrived in Barcelona at noon, and by the time we got to our apartment it was 2:30 and we were tired, having been up for over 30 hours) we showered and tried to get on Spain time.
We took a walk down Las Ramblas and thoroughly enjoyed the people watching - it's a BUSY street! We stopped into the Bouqueria Market, and were amazed by the abundance of fruit and meat and fish and people! We picked up some fresh prepared fruit for breakfast tomorrow, and then after we left the market we found a small grocery store where we picked up a few more supplies (toilet paper, water, wine - the essentials
We were getting hungry, and although it was not dinner time (only 6:30) we knew we had to eat and get a bit more of a walk in to get our bearings then head back for a good sleep. We ate at a small spot on Las Ramblas - yes it was totally geared for tourists but the was jam packed and we figured we'd at least get something in our bellies. We both had some pretty good paella and a beer, and we were happy with our choices. We were hesitant to try the tapas, but from what people were ordering they looked pretty good!
We walked around for a bit more, and also found the Hard Rock Cafe where we picked up the requisite shot glass, then headed for bed - a good first day!
SUNDAY May 8 2011 - Barcelona
We both slept well and woke later than we typically do (9:30 am), got showers and ate our yummy fruit (pinepaple, strawberry, melon and coconut) and had some water.
Based on some research we had done at home, we knew we wanted to do one of the walking tours of Barcelona. We felt it would be good to get a feel for the city and learn about it's history as well. We wanted to try runnerbean tours(http://www.runnerbeantours.com/index.php), so based on the info on the website we made our way to Plaza Real, near the fountain, at shortly before 11 am. Our guide's name was Gorka and he had extensive knowledge of the history of Spain abd Barcelona.
Gorka took us east of the Plaza Real, winding through old Barcelona stopping in certain locations to tell us stories of historical significance. The group would pause at locations to take pictures (some locations include the Cathedral, Sta. Maria Cathedral, the old Roman Wall, as well as a stop to watch some Sardana dancing - a Catalan style of dance). The tour finished off near the Picasso museum, and since at this point we were hungry (the tour was over 2 hours long), we went to a nearby Tapas bar and had lunch (fried squid, mini pizzas, spinach cannelloni and tortilla, plus water, 22 euro for both). The F1 race was playing, and the patrons were very interested in the race!
We headed toward the Picasso museum (it opened at 3 pm) and the line was quite long when we got there at 2:45pm. The line moved very quickly though and we spent over an hour looking through the largest Picasso collection in the world! The museum was free since we went Sunday after 3pm.
After the museum we stopped at an internet cafe to touch base at home, then we wantered back to our apaartment for a siesta - we were still a bit tired from jet lag. After siesta we cleaned up and headed to a local restaurant called La Fonda. Reservations weren't accepted but we only had a 20 minute wait. We ordered the 3 course set menu, plus wine. It was a lot of food, and it was also delicous!We arrived at 9:30pm and left after midnight -
and people were still walking in. We had a short walk back to our apartment and went to bed!
MONDAY May 9 - Barcelona
Today we were up at roughly 9am and after getting cleaned up, we headed out for a leisurly coffee and breakfast. We found a cute place on Las Ramblas for cafe con leche and a chocolate croissant - very good!
Having enjoyed the walking tour so much the previous day we thought we would participate in the other Runnerbean tour on Gaudi architecture. She took us to various locations in the city and described the structures designed by Gaudi - our tour concluded at the infamously unfinished Sagrada Familia. We were blown away from the structure on the outside - even in it's unfinished state it is unbelievable. Gaudi estimated 200 years to build it.
Our guide took a lot of time to explain the religous motivations driving the many scultures included in the cathedral. We had 4 stops in total on the tour, and it included two metro stops. (Side note on the Metro, we purchased the T-10 ticket which we found was the best bet, and perfect for us to share as we didn't use the Metro too much)
We were tired after the tour, but didn't want to stop - too much to see in beautiful Barcelona, and we could feel our time ticking away! We grabbed a quick hamburger at the dreaded McDonalds and hopped on the Metro again to make our way to Parc Guell. We got off at Lessaps Metro stop and walked the 20 mins, about half of it uphill and easily found the park. The sculptures were a testament to Gaudi's imagination! There were a lot of crowds, so we made our way to the top and enjoyed some peace and quiet and magnificent views. The weather was perfect for visiting the park - bright and sunny but not too hot.
After our great walk in the park (lots of good expercise)we got back on the metro and headed to our apt and had a little nap, then cleaned up before our evening adventures. Tonight we wanted to find a international phone card, get euro from the bank and take a leisurly walk around old Barcelona, and take some night shots with our camera.
We planned to have dinner at Les Quinze Nits near Placa Real and were able to secure a table before 9:30. The food was different than traditional Spanish fare, and although the restaurant catered to tourists, we enjoyed the food, friendly wait staff and the people watching! 2 bottles of wine, 2 mains, and 2 desserts = 50 euro.
A great end to a fun filled day in Barcelona!
TUESDAY May 10 - Barcelona
Our last (full) day in Barcelona started with a trip to Boqueria market for fresh mango juice then a stop a cafe con leche and croissant. We waked to Barcelona catherdral, as we wanted to take time and visit the cathedral in detail (we stopped on the walking tour, but only had a few minutes). After our visit, which included seeing and counting the
geese (yes there were 13) we decided to take a walk to the Arc de Triomphe. It was a lovely walk in a beautiful neighborhood ( I believe Born area).
After visiting the Arc (took a few pics, but not much else to do there). We walked back to our apt and stopped at a local bakery to pick up some bread and water - had some sandwiches back at our place before heading out on the Metro to go to the Sagrada Familia. There was no line up and we walked right in after buying out tickets.
We didn't do the audio guide, but choose to just wander around and enjoy. It was unlike any catherdral we had been in - light and modern and truly stunning - we cannot wait until we can come back and see it finished! We visited the museum under the cathedral ( I guess I should be calling it a basilica since the Pope deemed it so back in 2010).
After we had our fill of the Sagrada Familia, we headed for the hop-on/hop-off bus. This tour bus seemed more extensive than we had seen in other cities. Three lines, and we spent the next few hours listening to the tour, taking photos, and resting our feet!
Our last dinner was at La Fonda again, we had tuna and salmon, then took a last long walk up Las Ramblas (we wanted to stop for gelato but were too full). We headed
back to pack for our early wake up - 6:50am flight to Malaga!
I've noted some (not all) restaurants here, and prices for some things, but just a note about us that we really aren't foodies. True - we enjoy good food and try to make good choices and take recommendations when possible, but it's not always the focus of every day. As you'll see, we made mostly good choices (and a couple bad, but that's ok - we lived!)
FRIDAY MAY 6 & SATURDAY May 7 2011 - Halifax, NS to Barcelona
Bags are all packed, finally! For the first time we are only bringing carry on luggage. We each have the smallest possible size rollaboard luggage, and Mitch is carrying the camera bag and I have our day pack (a Lug "glider" bag - it is a great day bag and I highly recommend it!).
We went through security no problem (the great thing about online check in and no checked
bags is that you just arrive at the airport and head straight to security) and only had a 1/2 our wait before our flight. We flew Halifax to Montreal, and had a 2.5 hour wait in (this was to be our longest wait in airports!)
The 6.5 hour flight from Montreal to Paris felt longer than it was, and we were delayed for an unknown reason in Montreal. This meant our short connection time in Paris CDG (1 hour) was actually 40 minutes. We were determined to make our flight to Barcelona! After lines at passport control and security we literally ran through the maze to get to our gate...and got in
line which we were shocked at since it was still boarding! We took a breath, then thought to double check the gate, nope we were in the line for a Venice flight, and our gate had been changed! We took another loop around and finally found our gate - waiting somewhat patiently for us!
We arrived in the modern and spacious Barcelona airport, got our bearings and a map from the TI, and called our contact for our 4 nights in Barcelona. We rented an apartment from Class Holiday Spain (Ramblas Romatic 1 bedroom apt).
From what I can tell the apartment is no longer rented out, but it suited us just fine. We took the A1 bus from the airport and arrived at Plaza Catalunya. The apartment was a good size with a full size bathroom (always a plus in Europe!) and the location was perfect for what we wanted to see and do in Barcelona - it was just off Las Ramblas (near the top) on Calle del Tallers. I have to say that I had low expectations of Barcelona - I had heard and read some stuff about theft and security and was quite concerned about safety.
Even our host when we settled into our apartment gave us dire warnings, specifically about the Metro and Las Rampbas in general. After we rested for a couple of hours (we arrived in Barcelona at noon, and by the time we got to our apartment it was 2:30 and we were tired, having been up for over 30 hours) we showered and tried to get on Spain time.
We took a walk down Las Ramblas and thoroughly enjoyed the people watching - it's a BUSY street! We stopped into the Bouqueria Market, and were amazed by the abundance of fruit and meat and fish and people! We picked up some fresh prepared fruit for breakfast tomorrow, and then after we left the market we found a small grocery store where we picked up a few more supplies (toilet paper, water, wine - the essentials
We were getting hungry, and although it was not dinner time (only 6:30) we knew we had to eat and get a bit more of a walk in to get our bearings then head back for a good sleep. We ate at a small spot on Las Ramblas - yes it was totally geared for tourists but the was jam packed and we figured we'd at least get something in our bellies. We both had some pretty good paella and a beer, and we were happy with our choices. We were hesitant to try the tapas, but from what people were ordering they looked pretty good!
We walked around for a bit more, and also found the Hard Rock Cafe where we picked up the requisite shot glass, then headed for bed - a good first day!
SUNDAY May 8 2011 - Barcelona
We both slept well and woke later than we typically do (9:30 am), got showers and ate our yummy fruit (pinepaple, strawberry, melon and coconut) and had some water.
Based on some research we had done at home, we knew we wanted to do one of the walking tours of Barcelona. We felt it would be good to get a feel for the city and learn about it's history as well. We wanted to try runnerbean tours(http://www.runnerbeantours.com/index.php), so based on the info on the website we made our way to Plaza Real, near the fountain, at shortly before 11 am. Our guide's name was Gorka and he had extensive knowledge of the history of Spain abd Barcelona.
Gorka took us east of the Plaza Real, winding through old Barcelona stopping in certain locations to tell us stories of historical significance. The group would pause at locations to take pictures (some locations include the Cathedral, Sta. Maria Cathedral, the old Roman Wall, as well as a stop to watch some Sardana dancing - a Catalan style of dance). The tour finished off near the Picasso museum, and since at this point we were hungry (the tour was over 2 hours long), we went to a nearby Tapas bar and had lunch (fried squid, mini pizzas, spinach cannelloni and tortilla, plus water, 22 euro for both). The F1 race was playing, and the patrons were very interested in the race!
We headed toward the Picasso museum (it opened at 3 pm) and the line was quite long when we got there at 2:45pm. The line moved very quickly though and we spent over an hour looking through the largest Picasso collection in the world! The museum was free since we went Sunday after 3pm.
After the museum we stopped at an internet cafe to touch base at home, then we wantered back to our apaartment for a siesta - we were still a bit tired from jet lag. After siesta we cleaned up and headed to a local restaurant called La Fonda. Reservations weren't accepted but we only had a 20 minute wait. We ordered the 3 course set menu, plus wine. It was a lot of food, and it was also delicous!We arrived at 9:30pm and left after midnight -
and people were still walking in. We had a short walk back to our apartment and went to bed!
MONDAY May 9 - Barcelona
Today we were up at roughly 9am and after getting cleaned up, we headed out for a leisurly coffee and breakfast. We found a cute place on Las Ramblas for cafe con leche and a chocolate croissant - very good!
Having enjoyed the walking tour so much the previous day we thought we would participate in the other Runnerbean tour on Gaudi architecture. She took us to various locations in the city and described the structures designed by Gaudi - our tour concluded at the infamously unfinished Sagrada Familia. We were blown away from the structure on the outside - even in it's unfinished state it is unbelievable. Gaudi estimated 200 years to build it.
Our guide took a lot of time to explain the religous motivations driving the many scultures included in the cathedral. We had 4 stops in total on the tour, and it included two metro stops. (Side note on the Metro, we purchased the T-10 ticket which we found was the best bet, and perfect for us to share as we didn't use the Metro too much)
We were tired after the tour, but didn't want to stop - too much to see in beautiful Barcelona, and we could feel our time ticking away! We grabbed a quick hamburger at the dreaded McDonalds and hopped on the Metro again to make our way to Parc Guell. We got off at Lessaps Metro stop and walked the 20 mins, about half of it uphill and easily found the park. The sculptures were a testament to Gaudi's imagination! There were a lot of crowds, so we made our way to the top and enjoyed some peace and quiet and magnificent views. The weather was perfect for visiting the park - bright and sunny but not too hot.
After our great walk in the park (lots of good expercise)we got back on the metro and headed to our apt and had a little nap, then cleaned up before our evening adventures. Tonight we wanted to find a international phone card, get euro from the bank and take a leisurly walk around old Barcelona, and take some night shots with our camera.
We planned to have dinner at Les Quinze Nits near Placa Real and were able to secure a table before 9:30. The food was different than traditional Spanish fare, and although the restaurant catered to tourists, we enjoyed the food, friendly wait staff and the people watching! 2 bottles of wine, 2 mains, and 2 desserts = 50 euro.
A great end to a fun filled day in Barcelona!
TUESDAY May 10 - Barcelona
Our last (full) day in Barcelona started with a trip to Boqueria market for fresh mango juice then a stop a cafe con leche and croissant. We waked to Barcelona catherdral, as we wanted to take time and visit the cathedral in detail (we stopped on the walking tour, but only had a few minutes). After our visit, which included seeing and counting the
geese (yes there were 13) we decided to take a walk to the Arc de Triomphe. It was a lovely walk in a beautiful neighborhood ( I believe Born area).
After visiting the Arc (took a few pics, but not much else to do there). We walked back to our apt and stopped at a local bakery to pick up some bread and water - had some sandwiches back at our place before heading out on the Metro to go to the Sagrada Familia. There was no line up and we walked right in after buying out tickets.
We didn't do the audio guide, but choose to just wander around and enjoy. It was unlike any catherdral we had been in - light and modern and truly stunning - we cannot wait until we can come back and see it finished! We visited the museum under the cathedral ( I guess I should be calling it a basilica since the Pope deemed it so back in 2010).
After we had our fill of the Sagrada Familia, we headed for the hop-on/hop-off bus. This tour bus seemed more extensive than we had seen in other cities. Three lines, and we spent the next few hours listening to the tour, taking photos, and resting our feet!
Our last dinner was at La Fonda again, we had tuna and salmon, then took a last long walk up Las Ramblas (we wanted to stop for gelato but were too full). We headed
back to pack for our early wake up - 6:50am flight to Malaga!
Jun 5th, 2011, 12:19 PM
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WEDNESDAY May 11 - Barcelona-Malaga
Point to note, if you have any type of early morning flights, and are staying in apartments opposed to hotels, pick up or bring along a travel alarm clock...We managed to wake up in time for our flight, but our sleep was interupted as we constantly woke up and checked the clock. Other than the early hour, our flight to Malaga went very smoothly.
We arrived at 8:30 am and picked up some local maps (Granada, Malaga, Sevilla, Cordoba) from the TI in the airport. We took the airport bus to the city centre, about 30 mins. and navigated to our hotel easily. Although it was too early for our room, the staff at Don Curro held our bags so we went out to wander around Malaga - first stop cafe con leche!!
We took a good walk around and were excited to get to explore more over the next few days. We checked into our room and were pleasantly surprised by the size and cleanliness of the room, and the location was superb! We had a nap since we had such an early start to the day.
Feeling a bit more refreshed we cleaned up and headed out, without a real plan, but just wanting to explore Malaga. We visited the Catherdral and went inside - it is a beautiful old church, and we took some great pictures. We headed back out, and stopped for a drink at a place near the Roman Theatre. We found an internet cafe and sent a few emails home.
We asked at our hotel for a restaurant recommendation and tried El Trivoli - it was delicious. We had hake and steak , both grilled perfectly. We took one more walk around town
and headed back for the night.
THURSDAY May 12 - Malaga with Granada day trip
With a full day planned we cleaned up and tried out the complimentary breakfast that the hotel provided(buffet style, with eggs, bacon/ham, breads, fruit, yogurt, pastries,
sliced meats, cheese, fresh juice, milk, and coffee) then walked to the bus station.
We planned about a 20 minute walk, but there was a lot of construction and detours, so we ended up taking longer and although we tried to get our tickets for the 9am bus (there were 2 minutes to spare!) we had to wait until the 10am bus. The bus ride to Granada was 1.5 hours (no stops)
We got off at the bus station and then took another local bus to get to Plaza Nueva, the central part of the old Granada. The bus took about 20 minutes, and in retrospect we would have been better off time wise to take a taxi from the bus station. We had a quick bite at a small place at Plaze Nueva before we started our hike up the road to get to the Alhambra. It was a steep walk and took about 40 minutes at a pretty good pace (we had 2:30 "reservations" for Nasrid Palace). We picked up our previously booked tickets
(booked online a few weeks ago). We used our map to navigate to the best direction to Nasrid Palace, and spent a few lovely hours walking around the Alhambra and the surrounding gardens.
We were very glad we had a chance to see it - it exceeded our expectations!
Although we had originally planned to take some time and see some other areas of Granada, our late start, plus all the time we spent in the Alhambra meant we didn't have time
except to stop for a quick drink after our walk back down to Plaza Nueva before we had to catch our bus back to Malaga. We arrived in Malaga at 7:30pm and walked back to our hotel.
We had dinner at Mariano's, which was very good - it was a beautiful night. We tried a new, inexpensive bottle of wine (La Emperatriz 2007 Crianza Rioja) and it was one of the
best ones of the trip!
FRIDAY May 13 - Malaga
After the day trip yesterday and all the walking, we wanted to take today as a rest day, so we stayed in Malaga and slept in a bit (got up and ready in time for our yummy
breakfast though!).
After we ate, we left our hotel and wandered up past the cathedral to calle Cister - we decided at breakfast to go to the Roman Theatre site abd walk around the fortress and take some pictures - it was just our speed today! We found the entrance (very close to the patio part of the famous El Pimpi tapas bar) and paid 6.90 euro for both of us, which included the Azcaba and the castle). There were a couple of school trips visiting at the same time - they were having a lot of fun visiting this old site! We took a couple hours and walked around the ruins, taking some great pictures.
After we had our fill, we left the ruins and picked up some ice cream, and wandered on the streets and did some window shopping. For lunch we picked up two bocadillos and decide to go back to our room for a seista. We woke up, got cleaned up and had a drink at a tapas bar. Malaga on a Friday is packed with people - great for people watching!
We found a resturant for dinner - Mitch picked the best raspberry cheesecake for dessert ever! We walked around some more, then headed back - we thoroughly enjoyed our rest day!
SATURDAY May 14 - Malaga with Nerja day trip
This morning we woke up and got moving earlier than usual since we suh a relaxing day yesterday. Today we are going to Nerja - 9:15 bus, which cost 3.9 euro each, each way.
The bus ride was nice by the water - there was A LOT of large resort-type hotels and buildings...we wish we could have seen this area before all the influx of tourism and construction.
The bus ride was 1.5 hours, and we easily navigated to the Balcon de Europa - Nerja was small and perfect for a low key day trip. The day was perfect weather-wise - lots of sun!
The beach looked amazing! We stopped for a cafe con leche, then walked around the town, and it's perimeter. We poked into little shops, then had a bocadillo at one of the restaurants near the Balcon de Europa - well priced for what we had.
We decided to get our 2:55pm bus, and made our way back to the bus stop, earlier than what the departure time indicated. Good thing too - the bus came and left 15 mins earlier than planned. It was a quick ride - the driver was in a big hurry!
We got to the Malaga bus station and walked back to our hotel, showered, and headed out for a last night in Malaga. We bar hopped to try some wine and small tapas, then had a great dinner of monkfish and basque-style hake. Sad to leave Malaga - we loved it here!
Point to note, if you have any type of early morning flights, and are staying in apartments opposed to hotels, pick up or bring along a travel alarm clock...We managed to wake up in time for our flight, but our sleep was interupted as we constantly woke up and checked the clock. Other than the early hour, our flight to Malaga went very smoothly.
We arrived at 8:30 am and picked up some local maps (Granada, Malaga, Sevilla, Cordoba) from the TI in the airport. We took the airport bus to the city centre, about 30 mins. and navigated to our hotel easily. Although it was too early for our room, the staff at Don Curro held our bags so we went out to wander around Malaga - first stop cafe con leche!!
We took a good walk around and were excited to get to explore more over the next few days. We checked into our room and were pleasantly surprised by the size and cleanliness of the room, and the location was superb! We had a nap since we had such an early start to the day.
Feeling a bit more refreshed we cleaned up and headed out, without a real plan, but just wanting to explore Malaga. We visited the Catherdral and went inside - it is a beautiful old church, and we took some great pictures. We headed back out, and stopped for a drink at a place near the Roman Theatre. We found an internet cafe and sent a few emails home.
We asked at our hotel for a restaurant recommendation and tried El Trivoli - it was delicious. We had hake and steak , both grilled perfectly. We took one more walk around town
and headed back for the night.
THURSDAY May 12 - Malaga with Granada day trip
With a full day planned we cleaned up and tried out the complimentary breakfast that the hotel provided(buffet style, with eggs, bacon/ham, breads, fruit, yogurt, pastries,
sliced meats, cheese, fresh juice, milk, and coffee) then walked to the bus station.
We planned about a 20 minute walk, but there was a lot of construction and detours, so we ended up taking longer and although we tried to get our tickets for the 9am bus (there were 2 minutes to spare!) we had to wait until the 10am bus. The bus ride to Granada was 1.5 hours (no stops)
We got off at the bus station and then took another local bus to get to Plaza Nueva, the central part of the old Granada. The bus took about 20 minutes, and in retrospect we would have been better off time wise to take a taxi from the bus station. We had a quick bite at a small place at Plaze Nueva before we started our hike up the road to get to the Alhambra. It was a steep walk and took about 40 minutes at a pretty good pace (we had 2:30 "reservations" for Nasrid Palace). We picked up our previously booked tickets
(booked online a few weeks ago). We used our map to navigate to the best direction to Nasrid Palace, and spent a few lovely hours walking around the Alhambra and the surrounding gardens.
We were very glad we had a chance to see it - it exceeded our expectations!
Although we had originally planned to take some time and see some other areas of Granada, our late start, plus all the time we spent in the Alhambra meant we didn't have time
except to stop for a quick drink after our walk back down to Plaza Nueva before we had to catch our bus back to Malaga. We arrived in Malaga at 7:30pm and walked back to our hotel.
We had dinner at Mariano's, which was very good - it was a beautiful night. We tried a new, inexpensive bottle of wine (La Emperatriz 2007 Crianza Rioja) and it was one of the
best ones of the trip!
FRIDAY May 13 - Malaga
After the day trip yesterday and all the walking, we wanted to take today as a rest day, so we stayed in Malaga and slept in a bit (got up and ready in time for our yummy
breakfast though!).
After we ate, we left our hotel and wandered up past the cathedral to calle Cister - we decided at breakfast to go to the Roman Theatre site abd walk around the fortress and take some pictures - it was just our speed today! We found the entrance (very close to the patio part of the famous El Pimpi tapas bar) and paid 6.90 euro for both of us, which included the Azcaba and the castle). There were a couple of school trips visiting at the same time - they were having a lot of fun visiting this old site! We took a couple hours and walked around the ruins, taking some great pictures.
After we had our fill, we left the ruins and picked up some ice cream, and wandered on the streets and did some window shopping. For lunch we picked up two bocadillos and decide to go back to our room for a seista. We woke up, got cleaned up and had a drink at a tapas bar. Malaga on a Friday is packed with people - great for people watching!
We found a resturant for dinner - Mitch picked the best raspberry cheesecake for dessert ever! We walked around some more, then headed back - we thoroughly enjoyed our rest day!
SATURDAY May 14 - Malaga with Nerja day trip
This morning we woke up and got moving earlier than usual since we suh a relaxing day yesterday. Today we are going to Nerja - 9:15 bus, which cost 3.9 euro each, each way.
The bus ride was nice by the water - there was A LOT of large resort-type hotels and buildings...we wish we could have seen this area before all the influx of tourism and construction.
The bus ride was 1.5 hours, and we easily navigated to the Balcon de Europa - Nerja was small and perfect for a low key day trip. The day was perfect weather-wise - lots of sun!
The beach looked amazing! We stopped for a cafe con leche, then walked around the town, and it's perimeter. We poked into little shops, then had a bocadillo at one of the restaurants near the Balcon de Europa - well priced for what we had.
We decided to get our 2:55pm bus, and made our way back to the bus stop, earlier than what the departure time indicated. Good thing too - the bus came and left 15 mins earlier than planned. It was a quick ride - the driver was in a big hurry!
We got to the Malaga bus station and walked back to our hotel, showered, and headed out for a last night in Malaga. We bar hopped to try some wine and small tapas, then had a great dinner of monkfish and basque-style hake. Sad to leave Malaga - we loved it here!
Jun 5th, 2011, 09:08 PM
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Hi Jenn_Mitch, Enjoying your trip report as we are going to Barcelona, Granada and Sevilla in a week. Next Sunday, we will already be in Barcelona. I was wondering if you can put how many days you spent in what location. I think you were in BCN for 3.5 days. After reading your report, I am definitely going to take the Hop on Hop off bus. Not sure about the walking tour as we will have 3 kids in a tow and 2 hour might be more than what they can happily handle. Did you see the magic fountain while in BCN? WE are arriving on Sunday and we have to see it that day itself as it is closed from Monday to Wed. Waiting for next part of your trip report.
Jun 6th, 2011, 04:18 AM
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Hi Jenn_Mitch, I'm enjoying your trip report and was interested to see that we're from the same neck of the woods. We went to Spain for the first time in October (2 weeks) and were also in Madrid, Sevilla, Granada and Barcelona; sadly we didn't have time to make it to Malaga or Vejer de Frontera. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of your report!
Jun 8th, 2011, 04:20 AM
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travel0102 - Lucky you leaving in a week for Spain! We spend 4 nights in Barcelona, 4 nights in Malaga, 5 nights in Vejer, 4 nights in Sevilla, and 4 nights in Madrid. We did not see the Magic Fountain while in Barcelona, but depending on the age of your children, the Old BCN walking tour might be of interest to them...the guide is interesting and gives lots of great stories and history.
travelgirl2_99 - Thanks for the comments! You are from NS as well?
travelgirl2_99 - Thanks for the comments! You are from NS as well?
Jun 8th, 2011, 03:44 PM
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>>>this is the third installment, 2 more to go. It's a long trip report - my apologies.
SUNDAY May 15 - Malaga to Vejer de la Frontera, with a side trip to Marbella
We woke early and finished packing and headed for our last breakfast at Don Curro's. We caught the A bus in the middle section of Ave. Alemada Principal to head back to the airport where we picked up our car and then headed to Vejer.
We made a quick detour to Marbella (Hard Rock Cafe shot glass #2). We attempted Marbella without a map, or directions on how to get to the HRC...we navigated to a parking lot very close to the core of Marbella- walked around and got a much-needed cafe con leche. We determined after a few conversations with locals that the HRC was not in the lovely, quaint old part of Marbella, but instead located near Marina Puerto Banus. Since we still could not locate a map, and the TI was closed, we decided the best decision would be to taxi there and back - worked out perfectly!
We left Marbella after only a few hours (wish we could have stayed longer) then headed back on the road to Vejer de la Frontera. We had great driving directions from the person we were renting the apartment from, and enjoyed the drive along the southern most tip of Spain – Tarifa was very windy today too! Vejer is a small town, but was perfect for our needs as a base. We attempted to find a grocery store, but it was Sunday, and even though it was also siesta time, nothing would reopen until Monday morning.
We settled into our apartment (actually, it was a two level house with three bedrooms, three balconies - one right on the roof - and two bathrooms...it was absolutely beautiful, especially for 300 euros for 5 nights!!) We went into town and found a small tapas bar and had water, jamon y queso and tortilla for dinner - yummy! We called it a night early as we wanted to be rested for Cadiz the next day.
MONDAY May 16 - Vejer de la Frontera with Cadiz day trip
We were up early and were at the Supersol when it opened to pick up some supplies for the days we would be in Vejer. After groceries, we got on the road to Cadiz...it was a short drive, about 40 kms and the drive was easy and uneventful. We found a parking garage and left the car there for the day.
We picked up a map at the TI, and decided to do a couple of the walking tours the map suggested - after navigating a few streets and finding the map a little confusing, we realized that the actual streets had lines painted on them that corresponded to the walking tours - well that made it easier!
We walked along and focused on the old buildings and architecture in Cadiz, rather than constantly looking at our map. Considering the city was founded in 1100 BC there was a lot to see.
Once we found the cathedral we decided to take a pause from our walking tour and check it out. It was huge! 5 euro per person to enter. We particularly liked the crypt area - although the entire building was full of amazing art. After the cathedral we completed our walk and decided to start the second walking route, after lunch! We found a small tapas bar and enjoyed potatoes in a garlic and olive oil sauce, and meatballs in sauce. We stuck with water as we still had lots of walking to do!
The walk took us along the old wall of the city - it was a long walk, but we saw a lot more of the city this was, and really enjoyed it. We got to see all of the waterfront, plus a large park too. We attempted to walk out to the San Sebastian castle but the wind was so strong that the water was coming up along the walking path - more than enough to get us and our camera soaked. We settled for lots of pictures, but were disappointed we couldn't get out to see this structure. We made our way back to the cathedral and rewarded ourselves with a cerveza! We finished up with a little more wandering and then decided to head home.
We stopped for gas, then had a quick homemade dinner at the apartment. We got ourselves organized for the next day so we could head out quickly after we woke up.
TUESDAY May 17 - Vejer de la Frontera with Ronda day trip
Today we had a quick breakfast of toast and olive oil and left in the car on our way to the Pileta Cave near Ronda. Our driving route was to take the N-340 south from Vejer to Algeciras...then we got on the A7 at Algeciras and headed to Ronda using the toll highway (AP7) whenever possible. Finally we got to the A 397 and onward to Ronda. The A397 is very twisty and quite narrow...basically driving through mountains! It became apparent that we would not make the 10 am tour of the Pileta Caves so we switched plans and decided to visit Ronda.
We arrived in Ronda easily enough by selecting the correct roundabouts...and entered the town on Ave de Malaga, took a right turn on Calle Sevilla and then two left turns to get to calle Molino, and then directly to Plaza del Socorro to park - we thought this was a great place to park. We walked down to the bullring and picked up an English map of Ronda and continued on. We found ourselves at the new bridge and stopped to take in the break-taking views. After admiring the gorge forever we strolled along. It was early-ish so there were not a lot of tourists yet, but a few tour groups were gearing up, so we were glad we arrived when we did. We went to the museum (at Plaza de Mondragon) - it was a good little visit and glimpse of Ronda and the surrounding caves. The museum is also known as Palacio de Mondragon. We looked in a few stores and picked up a ceramic plate and table runner, the colours were gorgeous!
We decided to drop the items back in the car before continuing, so we also picked up empanadas and had a quick lunch on a bench in the Plaza Socorro. After lunch we walked back to the old town ...we walked back to the museum and walked down the length of the gorge - a great way to get some amazing pictures of the bridge. After that we walked down Santo Domingo to the old bridge - here we met a local older Spanish gentleman who gave us a whole history lesson of Ronda in Spanish! We didn’t understand much of what he said, but we listened intently nonetheless. He was very excited to tell us about Ronda! We eventually parted company and headed across the Arab bridge back into the new town.
We walked back to our car and headed out of Ronda. After a couple wrong turns we headed in the direction of Sevilla in order to get to the Pileta Caves. We stopped for gas just in case, and the girl working in the gas station assured us (in Spanish) that were heading the right direction. After driving for 15 minutes, we saw a small sign for Pileta Caves - a few quick turns later and we were in the parking lot! We had been advised to not leave anything of value in the car, so we gathered our stuff and headed up the 10 minute hike to the cave entrance. The sun had come out in full force and it was beautiful!
When we arrived at the top we were the only ones there and the small hut was shuttered up tight. After 20 minutes or so another name came up the path, and we were relieved - even more so when we found out it was the guide (son of the owner, great grand son of the founder of the caves).
Shortly after several more people showed up. We headed into the cave entrance at 4:15. Here we paid, and a few lanterns were handed out. There were no photos allowed so we purchased a couple postcards as a souvenir of the visit.
Our guide informed us there were about 4-5 thousand bats in the cave. After hearing this I was a little hesitant, but headed in anyway! The guide took us along some dark narrow stairs and stopped many times along the way to point out stalactites and stalagmites, mineral deposit structures that grow approximately 1cm every hundred years, the coloration of which was from iron, calcium, magnesium, and copper. Most amazing were the drawings along the walls, near the fire areas - some were 30,000 years old.
We were stunned that the cave was so amazing, yet was so relatively unknown - there were only 10 people in our little group for the tour. We only saw a couple bats - our guide said they were just the small ones, but I would hate to see what he considered a big bat!
Our cave visit was over way too soon, and we walked back down to our (now very hot) car. We wanted to take small roads back home, so we decided to head back via Sierra Grazelema National Park. It was stunning countryside with tight windy roads - we were tired at this point, but really enjoyed the drive. We got back around 9pm, had a quick light salad for dinner, and the remainder of the empanada from lunch, and then lights out!
WEDNESDAY May 18 - Vejer de la Frontera
Today we planned a recuperation day, so we slept in a bit, did some laundry and then headed into Vejer to explore the town we were calling home for 5 nights. We had a delicious cafe con leche and walked around the town for a couple of hours.
We saw the old town walls and some amazing views - this little white hill town was quite but stunning! We spent the late afternoon and evening resting and reading - enjoying being on vacation!
THURSDAY MAY 19 - Vejer de la Frontera with Arcos de la Frontera day trip
After a great sleep we made breakfast at "home" of eggs and toast; we then got back in the car - heading to Arcos!
Acros was about 75kms away so it only took about 1 hour to get there. We stopped just outside of the town to get a photo of Arcos perched up on the hill, then headed in, finding a great parking lot very quickly (Paseo Andalucia).
We hiked the short 20 min walk up to the old town, and enjoyed the slow pace of the town. Our first stop (after picking up a map) was the Plaza del Cabildo - we walked to the edge of the cliff and took some great photos. Then we went into the Church of Santa Maria - it was beautiful and peaceful. We stopped just past the church for a cafe con leche (we were seriously getting addicted at this point of our trip - they were so good!) and then found a lovely little painting of a flamenco dancer. We continued along calle Maldonado down to the Mirador (i.e. look off) and took more photos. At this point our breakfast was wearing off and we headed back to restaurante Don Fernando for some tapas. After lunch we walked to the church of St. Peter and then wandered back outside through the old part of the town again, We happened to find Las Doce Campanas bakery and looked for the eroded mask placed to scare evil spirits from the house! The mask was pointed out in our guidebook, but we were having trouble finding it. A local woman popped out of her shop and pointed it out for us - she was very helpful. We decided to head out of Arcos, but we really enjoyed our day here.
At this point we were really getting into the Spain vibe, and were totally in love with the country...and still to come was Sevilla and Madrid - oh my!
SUNDAY May 15 - Malaga to Vejer de la Frontera, with a side trip to Marbella
We woke early and finished packing and headed for our last breakfast at Don Curro's. We caught the A bus in the middle section of Ave. Alemada Principal to head back to the airport where we picked up our car and then headed to Vejer.
We made a quick detour to Marbella (Hard Rock Cafe shot glass #2). We attempted Marbella without a map, or directions on how to get to the HRC...we navigated to a parking lot very close to the core of Marbella- walked around and got a much-needed cafe con leche. We determined after a few conversations with locals that the HRC was not in the lovely, quaint old part of Marbella, but instead located near Marina Puerto Banus. Since we still could not locate a map, and the TI was closed, we decided the best decision would be to taxi there and back - worked out perfectly!
We left Marbella after only a few hours (wish we could have stayed longer) then headed back on the road to Vejer de la Frontera. We had great driving directions from the person we were renting the apartment from, and enjoyed the drive along the southern most tip of Spain – Tarifa was very windy today too! Vejer is a small town, but was perfect for our needs as a base. We attempted to find a grocery store, but it was Sunday, and even though it was also siesta time, nothing would reopen until Monday morning.
We settled into our apartment (actually, it was a two level house with three bedrooms, three balconies - one right on the roof - and two bathrooms...it was absolutely beautiful, especially for 300 euros for 5 nights!!) We went into town and found a small tapas bar and had water, jamon y queso and tortilla for dinner - yummy! We called it a night early as we wanted to be rested for Cadiz the next day.
MONDAY May 16 - Vejer de la Frontera with Cadiz day trip
We were up early and were at the Supersol when it opened to pick up some supplies for the days we would be in Vejer. After groceries, we got on the road to Cadiz...it was a short drive, about 40 kms and the drive was easy and uneventful. We found a parking garage and left the car there for the day.
We picked up a map at the TI, and decided to do a couple of the walking tours the map suggested - after navigating a few streets and finding the map a little confusing, we realized that the actual streets had lines painted on them that corresponded to the walking tours - well that made it easier!
We walked along and focused on the old buildings and architecture in Cadiz, rather than constantly looking at our map. Considering the city was founded in 1100 BC there was a lot to see.
Once we found the cathedral we decided to take a pause from our walking tour and check it out. It was huge! 5 euro per person to enter. We particularly liked the crypt area - although the entire building was full of amazing art. After the cathedral we completed our walk and decided to start the second walking route, after lunch! We found a small tapas bar and enjoyed potatoes in a garlic and olive oil sauce, and meatballs in sauce. We stuck with water as we still had lots of walking to do!
The walk took us along the old wall of the city - it was a long walk, but we saw a lot more of the city this was, and really enjoyed it. We got to see all of the waterfront, plus a large park too. We attempted to walk out to the San Sebastian castle but the wind was so strong that the water was coming up along the walking path - more than enough to get us and our camera soaked. We settled for lots of pictures, but were disappointed we couldn't get out to see this structure. We made our way back to the cathedral and rewarded ourselves with a cerveza! We finished up with a little more wandering and then decided to head home.
We stopped for gas, then had a quick homemade dinner at the apartment. We got ourselves organized for the next day so we could head out quickly after we woke up.
TUESDAY May 17 - Vejer de la Frontera with Ronda day trip
Today we had a quick breakfast of toast and olive oil and left in the car on our way to the Pileta Cave near Ronda. Our driving route was to take the N-340 south from Vejer to Algeciras...then we got on the A7 at Algeciras and headed to Ronda using the toll highway (AP7) whenever possible. Finally we got to the A 397 and onward to Ronda. The A397 is very twisty and quite narrow...basically driving through mountains! It became apparent that we would not make the 10 am tour of the Pileta Caves so we switched plans and decided to visit Ronda.
We arrived in Ronda easily enough by selecting the correct roundabouts...and entered the town on Ave de Malaga, took a right turn on Calle Sevilla and then two left turns to get to calle Molino, and then directly to Plaza del Socorro to park - we thought this was a great place to park. We walked down to the bullring and picked up an English map of Ronda and continued on. We found ourselves at the new bridge and stopped to take in the break-taking views. After admiring the gorge forever we strolled along. It was early-ish so there were not a lot of tourists yet, but a few tour groups were gearing up, so we were glad we arrived when we did. We went to the museum (at Plaza de Mondragon) - it was a good little visit and glimpse of Ronda and the surrounding caves. The museum is also known as Palacio de Mondragon. We looked in a few stores and picked up a ceramic plate and table runner, the colours were gorgeous!
We decided to drop the items back in the car before continuing, so we also picked up empanadas and had a quick lunch on a bench in the Plaza Socorro. After lunch we walked back to the old town ...we walked back to the museum and walked down the length of the gorge - a great way to get some amazing pictures of the bridge. After that we walked down Santo Domingo to the old bridge - here we met a local older Spanish gentleman who gave us a whole history lesson of Ronda in Spanish! We didn’t understand much of what he said, but we listened intently nonetheless. He was very excited to tell us about Ronda! We eventually parted company and headed across the Arab bridge back into the new town.
We walked back to our car and headed out of Ronda. After a couple wrong turns we headed in the direction of Sevilla in order to get to the Pileta Caves. We stopped for gas just in case, and the girl working in the gas station assured us (in Spanish) that were heading the right direction. After driving for 15 minutes, we saw a small sign for Pileta Caves - a few quick turns later and we were in the parking lot! We had been advised to not leave anything of value in the car, so we gathered our stuff and headed up the 10 minute hike to the cave entrance. The sun had come out in full force and it was beautiful!
When we arrived at the top we were the only ones there and the small hut was shuttered up tight. After 20 minutes or so another name came up the path, and we were relieved - even more so when we found out it was the guide (son of the owner, great grand son of the founder of the caves).
Shortly after several more people showed up. We headed into the cave entrance at 4:15. Here we paid, and a few lanterns were handed out. There were no photos allowed so we purchased a couple postcards as a souvenir of the visit.
Our guide informed us there were about 4-5 thousand bats in the cave. After hearing this I was a little hesitant, but headed in anyway! The guide took us along some dark narrow stairs and stopped many times along the way to point out stalactites and stalagmites, mineral deposit structures that grow approximately 1cm every hundred years, the coloration of which was from iron, calcium, magnesium, and copper. Most amazing were the drawings along the walls, near the fire areas - some were 30,000 years old.
We were stunned that the cave was so amazing, yet was so relatively unknown - there were only 10 people in our little group for the tour. We only saw a couple bats - our guide said they were just the small ones, but I would hate to see what he considered a big bat!
Our cave visit was over way too soon, and we walked back down to our (now very hot) car. We wanted to take small roads back home, so we decided to head back via Sierra Grazelema National Park. It was stunning countryside with tight windy roads - we were tired at this point, but really enjoyed the drive. We got back around 9pm, had a quick light salad for dinner, and the remainder of the empanada from lunch, and then lights out!
WEDNESDAY May 18 - Vejer de la Frontera
Today we planned a recuperation day, so we slept in a bit, did some laundry and then headed into Vejer to explore the town we were calling home for 5 nights. We had a delicious cafe con leche and walked around the town for a couple of hours.
We saw the old town walls and some amazing views - this little white hill town was quite but stunning! We spent the late afternoon and evening resting and reading - enjoying being on vacation!
THURSDAY MAY 19 - Vejer de la Frontera with Arcos de la Frontera day trip
After a great sleep we made breakfast at "home" of eggs and toast; we then got back in the car - heading to Arcos!
Acros was about 75kms away so it only took about 1 hour to get there. We stopped just outside of the town to get a photo of Arcos perched up on the hill, then headed in, finding a great parking lot very quickly (Paseo Andalucia).
We hiked the short 20 min walk up to the old town, and enjoyed the slow pace of the town. Our first stop (after picking up a map) was the Plaza del Cabildo - we walked to the edge of the cliff and took some great photos. Then we went into the Church of Santa Maria - it was beautiful and peaceful. We stopped just past the church for a cafe con leche (we were seriously getting addicted at this point of our trip - they were so good!) and then found a lovely little painting of a flamenco dancer. We continued along calle Maldonado down to the Mirador (i.e. look off) and took more photos. At this point our breakfast was wearing off and we headed back to restaurante Don Fernando for some tapas. After lunch we walked to the church of St. Peter and then wandered back outside through the old part of the town again, We happened to find Las Doce Campanas bakery and looked for the eroded mask placed to scare evil spirits from the house! The mask was pointed out in our guidebook, but we were having trouble finding it. A local woman popped out of her shop and pointed it out for us - she was very helpful. We decided to head out of Arcos, but we really enjoyed our day here.
At this point we were really getting into the Spain vibe, and were totally in love with the country...and still to come was Sevilla and Madrid - oh my!
Jun 12th, 2011, 08:55 AM
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FRIDAY May 20 Vejer de la Frontera - Sevilla
Today was our travel day to Sevilla - we were on the road by 9 as we had packed the night before. We were quite sad to leave Vejer, but having Sevilla to look forward to made it
it a little easier.
We drove about 150 kms to Sevilla and dropped our rental car at the airport without incident. We then hopped on the bus to get to the train station - we wanted to pick up our train
tickets for our day trip to Cordoba, plus our trip to Madrid. To make sure we got the tickets we wanted, and since we had very limited Spanish we wrote exactly what we wanted
in Spanish using our phrasebook - we brought it to the ticket agent and got our tickets without any problems. We left the train station via taxi and met up with our host to get our apartment keys. He spoke excellent english and we were very pleased with the apartment!We rented through Las Casa Sevilla.
We dropped off our bags and were eager to check out Sevilla! After walking just a couple blocks (our apartment was located in the Santa Cruz area) we knew we were going to love it here! We started on a walk of the Santa Cruz, but first got a much needed cafe con leche. Then we got lost - in a good way - in the meandering streets. After the walk, during which we also stumbled across a place to reserve our 2 tickets for the late night snow of Los Gallos flamenco. We stopped for a bite - chicken salad with avacado, and lots of Sangria!
It was our first sangria of the trip and very tasty!
We headed back to our apartment for a short rest and to get cleaned up. We ate dinner at Corral del Agua - which was quite good. A bit more expensive than we thought
it was worth, but the ambiance was really lovely. We finished the evening with a nice walk and some ice cream! We stopped to take lots of pictures of the cathedral and the bell tower.
It was 11pm and it seemed Sevilla was just getting started!
SATURDAY May 21 - Sevilla
We have by now gotten into vacation mode, and that coupled with the fact that most places in Spain don't get going until 10 meant we were enjoying sleeping in more than we typically do on trips. We were up and out the door by 9:30 this morning, and stopped at a local churro place for a traditional breakfast of churros and hot chocolate - they were a lot less sweet than what I was expecting (that is a good thing) and were a fun treat.
We wanted to go to the Alcazar this morning, so paid our entry fee (7 euro each) and spent a few hours walking around and taking pictures. Like pretty much every day so far, the weather was fantastic! We took some great photos of a peacock strolling around - he must have been looking for his mate! The Alcazar was really great, and we felt it was a must see for anyone going to Sevilla. Once we browsed the ceramic displays we wandered through the beautiful gardens for a while before exiting, We stopped for lunch on Mateos Gago (club sandwich and gazpacho)The cathedral was in our sight while we had lunch so that's where we headed next. We got in line for the Cathedral entrance, however we noticed on a small sign that the Cathedral was going to close just after we would have bought our tickets, so we decieded to pass on the cathedral for today and take a long walk around Sevilla instead. It was a hot afternoon, so after a couple hours (we saw lots of Sevilla) we stopped at a place near our apartment for a drink, then had a short break.
We knew we would have a late night tonight so wanted to get a little rest in. We had dinner reservations for 9pm at San Marco (a spanish/italian resturant). Our meal and the service was excellent - we were happy with our choice, but felt bad that we had to rush our dinner - but Los Gallos was waiting for us!
We made our way easily to Los Gallos, and got seated.
We got a glass of red wine, and sat back. The entire show totally kept our attention, between the guitar and the singing, and the dancing we were hooked! It was our first flamenco experience, and while I understand that true flamenco dance is actually spontaneous, based on listening to the guitars and singing, we enjoyed the performance, and felt that the artists were spectatcular.
SUNDAY May 22 - Sevilla
We tried another churros and chocolate breakfast this morning, and then walked down to the bullring to go to the bullfight museum. We took the bilingual tour and enjoyed it very much - it provided a lot of history and the cultutal significance of bullfighting in Spain. Still not something we wanted to witness for ourselves, but we liked the tour and the history.
After the museum we stopped for a quick lunch as our churros and chocolate was quickly wearing off. While it was a fun treat, not something we could eat regularly for breakfast.
After lunch we headed to the cathedral. It took about 20 mins in the line up - but the amazing cathedral was worth it. We following the tour outliined in our guidebook
and really enjoyed the visit. After we finished touring the Catheddral we walked up to the top of the Giralda Bell tower, and while it was packed with tourists, the views of Sevilla were great!
We walked back down the tower and exited the cathedral - overall the tour took about two hours - it was amazing to see.
Our cathedral ticket also covered the entry for the church of Salvador (Iglesia del Salvador) so we walked over to it nd went in. Although much smaller, it was still a great visit and we stayed and looked around for about an hour.
We were ready for a break at this point, so we went back to our apartment for a rest, before dinner. We wanted to give San Marco another try, without rushing this time, and our meal again was fanatastic! We were so full after dinner (sirloin and duck liver, prawns and courgettes with papardelle) that we had no room for dessert.
MONDAY May 23 - Sevilla with Cordoba day trip
We wanted an early start to the day so we grabbed a taxi near the cathedral, and had breakfast at the train station - we split an egg baguette and had cafe con leche - it was good and filling.
We had a short ride to Cordoba (we loved the train!) and took a taxi to the mezquita. We bought our tickets and headed inside. This mosque turned cathedral was stunning - and worth our visit to Cordoba, There were a lot of tour groups going through, but we managed to find pockets of quiet with few tourists, so took our time to enjoy this place.
Once we left the Mezquita we decided to do our own walk of the old city. We started by crossing the Guadalquivir river on the Roman bridge, then headed back over. The Alcazar was closed today so we wandered up through the Jewish quarter taking photos and poking into little shops. We found a good little tapas bar north of the Mezquita and stopped for lunch. After eating we wandered a bit more and has some gelato in the shade of the Mezquita.
Since the Alcazar was closed we decided to walk back to the train station having seen most of the tourist area of Cordoba. We just had a bit of time to wait at the train station, then we were headed back to Sevilla!
We realized how much we love train travel in europe - so clean and efficient! We caught a taxi from Santa Justa - the walk to the train station was still throbbing in our feet! We got back to our apt and rested for a bit.
We decided to just stop at a local tapas bar, one that always seemed busy when we walked by, so we ordered a few things (albondigas, cheese, mussels, chicken, and egg) We had a great meal and wine for $28 euro. We finished our last
night in Sevila by walking around the cathedral at midnight, and taking in the cathedral without all the tourists around - it was spectacular! We can see ourselves coming back to Sevilla!
Today was our travel day to Sevilla - we were on the road by 9 as we had packed the night before. We were quite sad to leave Vejer, but having Sevilla to look forward to made it
it a little easier.
We drove about 150 kms to Sevilla and dropped our rental car at the airport without incident. We then hopped on the bus to get to the train station - we wanted to pick up our train
tickets for our day trip to Cordoba, plus our trip to Madrid. To make sure we got the tickets we wanted, and since we had very limited Spanish we wrote exactly what we wanted
in Spanish using our phrasebook - we brought it to the ticket agent and got our tickets without any problems. We left the train station via taxi and met up with our host to get our apartment keys. He spoke excellent english and we were very pleased with the apartment!We rented through Las Casa Sevilla.
We dropped off our bags and were eager to check out Sevilla! After walking just a couple blocks (our apartment was located in the Santa Cruz area) we knew we were going to love it here! We started on a walk of the Santa Cruz, but first got a much needed cafe con leche. Then we got lost - in a good way - in the meandering streets. After the walk, during which we also stumbled across a place to reserve our 2 tickets for the late night snow of Los Gallos flamenco. We stopped for a bite - chicken salad with avacado, and lots of Sangria!
It was our first sangria of the trip and very tasty!
We headed back to our apartment for a short rest and to get cleaned up. We ate dinner at Corral del Agua - which was quite good. A bit more expensive than we thought
it was worth, but the ambiance was really lovely. We finished the evening with a nice walk and some ice cream! We stopped to take lots of pictures of the cathedral and the bell tower.
It was 11pm and it seemed Sevilla was just getting started!
SATURDAY May 21 - Sevilla
We have by now gotten into vacation mode, and that coupled with the fact that most places in Spain don't get going until 10 meant we were enjoying sleeping in more than we typically do on trips. We were up and out the door by 9:30 this morning, and stopped at a local churro place for a traditional breakfast of churros and hot chocolate - they were a lot less sweet than what I was expecting (that is a good thing) and were a fun treat.
We wanted to go to the Alcazar this morning, so paid our entry fee (7 euro each) and spent a few hours walking around and taking pictures. Like pretty much every day so far, the weather was fantastic! We took some great photos of a peacock strolling around - he must have been looking for his mate! The Alcazar was really great, and we felt it was a must see for anyone going to Sevilla. Once we browsed the ceramic displays we wandered through the beautiful gardens for a while before exiting, We stopped for lunch on Mateos Gago (club sandwich and gazpacho)The cathedral was in our sight while we had lunch so that's where we headed next. We got in line for the Cathedral entrance, however we noticed on a small sign that the Cathedral was going to close just after we would have bought our tickets, so we decieded to pass on the cathedral for today and take a long walk around Sevilla instead. It was a hot afternoon, so after a couple hours (we saw lots of Sevilla) we stopped at a place near our apartment for a drink, then had a short break.
We knew we would have a late night tonight so wanted to get a little rest in. We had dinner reservations for 9pm at San Marco (a spanish/italian resturant). Our meal and the service was excellent - we were happy with our choice, but felt bad that we had to rush our dinner - but Los Gallos was waiting for us!
We made our way easily to Los Gallos, and got seated.
We got a glass of red wine, and sat back. The entire show totally kept our attention, between the guitar and the singing, and the dancing we were hooked! It was our first flamenco experience, and while I understand that true flamenco dance is actually spontaneous, based on listening to the guitars and singing, we enjoyed the performance, and felt that the artists were spectatcular.
SUNDAY May 22 - Sevilla
We tried another churros and chocolate breakfast this morning, and then walked down to the bullring to go to the bullfight museum. We took the bilingual tour and enjoyed it very much - it provided a lot of history and the cultutal significance of bullfighting in Spain. Still not something we wanted to witness for ourselves, but we liked the tour and the history.
After the museum we stopped for a quick lunch as our churros and chocolate was quickly wearing off. While it was a fun treat, not something we could eat regularly for breakfast.
After lunch we headed to the cathedral. It took about 20 mins in the line up - but the amazing cathedral was worth it. We following the tour outliined in our guidebook
and really enjoyed the visit. After we finished touring the Catheddral we walked up to the top of the Giralda Bell tower, and while it was packed with tourists, the views of Sevilla were great!
We walked back down the tower and exited the cathedral - overall the tour took about two hours - it was amazing to see.
Our cathedral ticket also covered the entry for the church of Salvador (Iglesia del Salvador) so we walked over to it nd went in. Although much smaller, it was still a great visit and we stayed and looked around for about an hour.
We were ready for a break at this point, so we went back to our apartment for a rest, before dinner. We wanted to give San Marco another try, without rushing this time, and our meal again was fanatastic! We were so full after dinner (sirloin and duck liver, prawns and courgettes with papardelle) that we had no room for dessert.
MONDAY May 23 - Sevilla with Cordoba day trip
We wanted an early start to the day so we grabbed a taxi near the cathedral, and had breakfast at the train station - we split an egg baguette and had cafe con leche - it was good and filling.
We had a short ride to Cordoba (we loved the train!) and took a taxi to the mezquita. We bought our tickets and headed inside. This mosque turned cathedral was stunning - and worth our visit to Cordoba, There were a lot of tour groups going through, but we managed to find pockets of quiet with few tourists, so took our time to enjoy this place.
Once we left the Mezquita we decided to do our own walk of the old city. We started by crossing the Guadalquivir river on the Roman bridge, then headed back over. The Alcazar was closed today so we wandered up through the Jewish quarter taking photos and poking into little shops. We found a good little tapas bar north of the Mezquita and stopped for lunch. After eating we wandered a bit more and has some gelato in the shade of the Mezquita.
Since the Alcazar was closed we decided to walk back to the train station having seen most of the tourist area of Cordoba. We just had a bit of time to wait at the train station, then we were headed back to Sevilla!
We realized how much we love train travel in europe - so clean and efficient! We caught a taxi from Santa Justa - the walk to the train station was still throbbing in our feet! We got back to our apt and rested for a bit.
We decided to just stop at a local tapas bar, one that always seemed busy when we walked by, so we ordered a few things (albondigas, cheese, mussels, chicken, and egg) We had a great meal and wine for $28 euro. We finished our last
night in Sevila by walking around the cathedral at midnight, and taking in the cathedral without all the tourists around - it was spectacular! We can see ourselves coming back to Sevilla!
Jun 12th, 2011, 11:16 AM
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jubilada - We rented our Vejer accomodations throught Linda Cooper at http://www.casacooper.com/.
The "apartment" we stayed in was Casa Luz, and was fantastic. Linda was a lovely host, and provided us with excellent advice and recommendations.
The "apartment" we stayed in was Casa Luz, and was fantastic. Linda was a lovely host, and provided us with excellent advice and recommendations.
Jun 14th, 2011, 03:31 PM
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This is the last installment of our (very!) long trip report!
TUESDAY May 24 - Sevilla - Madrid
Today was a sad day - we both loved Sevilla so much that we didn't want to leave! However, Madrid was calling our name, so we finished packing up our stuff and headed out of the apartment.
We wanted a good breakfast for our travel day so we headed to a cafe by the cathedral to order breakfast. We had egg and cheese omlettes and cafe con leche...eating beside the
cathedral was a special treat and seemed like the right thing to do for our last morning in Sevilla.
After breakfast we grabbed a taxi to the train station to board the AVE for Madrid. Getting to Madrid doesn't take too long at 250 km per hour...a little over two hours later
and we were there. Before we left the train station we purchased our tickets for a daytrip to Toledo. It was time to head to our apartment so we got on the Metro and headed to Puerto del Sol.
We located our apartment without incident (we used SpainSelect) and our host met us and gave us a map and some restaurant recommendations. The apartment was bright and spacious, and less than 1 min from Sol Metro stop - very conveninent! At this point it was about 5pm and we were hungry, so we walked to the grocery store (El Cortes Ingles...what a great department store - and the basement had a huge grocery section, plus a special gourment section...I wish I could have packed the whole thing up in my suitcase)
We had a quick supper, and then headed out for a walk around Madrid. We started at Puerta del Sol, where there was a large, peaceful politcial protest going on...We then walked up calle de Postas and found Plaza Mayor, apparently the location of numerous horrendous tragedies in the past. It looked lovely this sunny evening however.
We saw a large unique painting of a flamenco dancer and fell in love with it! The artist however was away, so we had to wait to purchase it. We asked his neighbour to tell him that
we would be back within the hour. We felt it would be a good time to get on the metro to pick up our thrid and final Hard Rock Cafe shot glass. We made a super quick trip there and back, and when we retured the artist was back too. He prepared our painting in a cardboard tube for easy transport, and we got a photo of him as a momento!
It was a pretty busy day, and at this point in our trip we were getting more tired, so we headed to bed.
WEDNESDAY May 25 - Madrid with Toledo day trip
After the excitement of arriving in Madrid we fell into bed at 11pm and woke early to catch our train to Toledo. We had a quick breakfast (croissant, yogurt and milk), and left at 8:30, with plenty of time for our 9:20 train.
We got to Toledo by 10am (the train was packed with day trippers like us ready to see Toledo). We grabbed a taxi and headed to the main square in Toledo, where we picked up a map, and made our way to the cathedral. We got sidetracked a bit by a local giving us directions to a sword-making
shop, explaining that the cathedral was open all day, but this shop closed at 1pm. We also thought he might have been directing us to check out a convent; we took a stroll past both and the convent was closed and the sword-making shop didn't hold much appeal.
We walked back to the cathedral and after getting our tickets we followed the tour provided by the brochure hand out when you buy your ticket. We found ourselves amazed by the vastness of the cathedral and the beauty of all the art. Our favorite was El transparente - it filled the altar area with lovely light. After a good amount of time in the cathedral, we went for a bite to eat. It wasn't the best place - called Cafe + te, but it was a warm/toasted ham and cheese sandwich and water, which filled us up.
After lunch we visited the Santa Cruz museum - free admission. We wanted to try the hop on hop off bus as well as we wanted some pictures of Toledo from the outside.
After a bit a of a confusing time finding out where the bus stop was, we found it and waited a short bit for the bus. The trip around the perimeter of Toledo was picture perfect - we wished we had more time to walk around it (there
was a walking trail) and enjoy the views of the town and the Tajo river. Unfortunately after the bus ride we had to grab a taxi and head back to the train station. We walked toward an area our apartment host had recommended for dinner,
and had a great meal at taberna del Capitain Alatriste (suckling pig and grilled salmon, pears in wine and ice cream for dessert.)
THURSDAY May 26 - Madrid
We slept in today a bit - we really were needing it. Another sunny, HOT day in Madrid...we walked to the Royal Palace, bought our tickets and headed in. We found the palace well laid out, and followed the tour in our guidebook, combined with the leaflet from the palace.
After time well spent in the palace, we picked up a few more supplies in the store, and had a quick break at our apartment. We wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening at the Prado, so we walked there, picked up our tickets, and spend a few hours looking at the amamzing art - it's a big museum and we needed the time to give it our full attention. We walked back to our apaprtment on a different route and stopped at a nearby cafe for some sangria then headed home for an early dinner and then headed to bed.
FRIDAY May 27 - Madrid
Our last full day in Madrid and Spain! We got up early after a good sleep and picked up a small egg sandwich and cafe con leche at a nearby cafe. Today we planned an easy day because tomorrow we had to fly such a far distance home.
We walked to the Prado area and boarded the hop on hop off tourist bus - just our speed after three full weeks in Spain! We sat on the top deck and enjoyed the sun...The first route was through historic Madrid. We got off at the end and decided to eat lunch before doing the second route.
Towards the end of the second route it rained a bit, we hopped off at the Seville Metro stop and then wanted to squeeze one more visit in. We walked to the cathedral near the Royal Palace and truly enjoyed this cathedral - it was small and the design and stained glass was different from what we had seen before - we really liked it. During our visit it decided to start raining hard outside, but we still enjoyed walking back to our apartment - a little rain couldn't spoil our fondness for Madrid!
It was the only real rain we had during our entire trip, and
we were tired and relaxed and really loving Spain at this point. We had a quick and unmemorable meal near Plaza Mayor (we recommend not eating at the square, mediocre food which is overpriced), we shared a salad and some croquettes with water and paid 24 euro...hmmmm.
SATURDAY May 28 - Madrid - Halifax
After a fairly restful sleep (I find it is always hard to sleep well right before a long trip) we woke, showered, and had a last breakfast at our apartment. We closed up the apartment and made our way to the airport via the Metro.
All the streets were quiet and the sun was shining. We transfered twice on the Metro and got off at the aeropuerto T1-T2-T3 stop, after paying the 1 euro each supplement. If staying near the Puerta del Sol area, I recommend the Metro getting to and from the airport. It was super quick, safe as long as you are aware and careful, and very inexpensive. We found the Air France check in and the staff was very helpful cehckcing us in and getting us good seats.
We had a long wait (2 hours) before our flight, but that was OK - duty fre shopping is always fun to waste a bit of time Our flight ended up being delayed half an hour as it was late coming from Paris, so this meant a very rushed journey through the Paris - CDG airport, passport control and security. We made it to our gate just as it was boarding, however there was an hour delay due to some luggage issues. This delay meant we would miss our Montreal to Halifax flight, but there was nothing we could do. When we landed in MTL we found we were put on a flight going to Toronto, where we would then catch a midnight flight to Halifax. It would mean getting in 5 hours later than we planned,and also mean travelling for over 24 hours straight, so we were tired, but happy to be on the final stretch home.
Although all four of our flights were delayed, we finally made it to foggy Halifax! It was bittersweet to be home - we had an amazing three weeks in Spain and had so many unbelievable memories, but it was nice to be home. Until the next trip!
TUESDAY May 24 - Sevilla - Madrid
Today was a sad day - we both loved Sevilla so much that we didn't want to leave! However, Madrid was calling our name, so we finished packing up our stuff and headed out of the apartment.
We wanted a good breakfast for our travel day so we headed to a cafe by the cathedral to order breakfast. We had egg and cheese omlettes and cafe con leche...eating beside the
cathedral was a special treat and seemed like the right thing to do for our last morning in Sevilla.
After breakfast we grabbed a taxi to the train station to board the AVE for Madrid. Getting to Madrid doesn't take too long at 250 km per hour...a little over two hours later
and we were there. Before we left the train station we purchased our tickets for a daytrip to Toledo. It was time to head to our apartment so we got on the Metro and headed to Puerto del Sol.
We located our apartment without incident (we used SpainSelect) and our host met us and gave us a map and some restaurant recommendations. The apartment was bright and spacious, and less than 1 min from Sol Metro stop - very conveninent! At this point it was about 5pm and we were hungry, so we walked to the grocery store (El Cortes Ingles...what a great department store - and the basement had a huge grocery section, plus a special gourment section...I wish I could have packed the whole thing up in my suitcase)
We had a quick supper, and then headed out for a walk around Madrid. We started at Puerta del Sol, where there was a large, peaceful politcial protest going on...We then walked up calle de Postas and found Plaza Mayor, apparently the location of numerous horrendous tragedies in the past. It looked lovely this sunny evening however.
We saw a large unique painting of a flamenco dancer and fell in love with it! The artist however was away, so we had to wait to purchase it. We asked his neighbour to tell him that
we would be back within the hour. We felt it would be a good time to get on the metro to pick up our thrid and final Hard Rock Cafe shot glass. We made a super quick trip there and back, and when we retured the artist was back too. He prepared our painting in a cardboard tube for easy transport, and we got a photo of him as a momento!
It was a pretty busy day, and at this point in our trip we were getting more tired, so we headed to bed.
WEDNESDAY May 25 - Madrid with Toledo day trip
After the excitement of arriving in Madrid we fell into bed at 11pm and woke early to catch our train to Toledo. We had a quick breakfast (croissant, yogurt and milk), and left at 8:30, with plenty of time for our 9:20 train.
We got to Toledo by 10am (the train was packed with day trippers like us ready to see Toledo). We grabbed a taxi and headed to the main square in Toledo, where we picked up a map, and made our way to the cathedral. We got sidetracked a bit by a local giving us directions to a sword-making
shop, explaining that the cathedral was open all day, but this shop closed at 1pm. We also thought he might have been directing us to check out a convent; we took a stroll past both and the convent was closed and the sword-making shop didn't hold much appeal.
We walked back to the cathedral and after getting our tickets we followed the tour provided by the brochure hand out when you buy your ticket. We found ourselves amazed by the vastness of the cathedral and the beauty of all the art. Our favorite was El transparente - it filled the altar area with lovely light. After a good amount of time in the cathedral, we went for a bite to eat. It wasn't the best place - called Cafe + te, but it was a warm/toasted ham and cheese sandwich and water, which filled us up.
After lunch we visited the Santa Cruz museum - free admission. We wanted to try the hop on hop off bus as well as we wanted some pictures of Toledo from the outside.
After a bit a of a confusing time finding out where the bus stop was, we found it and waited a short bit for the bus. The trip around the perimeter of Toledo was picture perfect - we wished we had more time to walk around it (there
was a walking trail) and enjoy the views of the town and the Tajo river. Unfortunately after the bus ride we had to grab a taxi and head back to the train station. We walked toward an area our apartment host had recommended for dinner,
and had a great meal at taberna del Capitain Alatriste (suckling pig and grilled salmon, pears in wine and ice cream for dessert.)
THURSDAY May 26 - Madrid
We slept in today a bit - we really were needing it. Another sunny, HOT day in Madrid...we walked to the Royal Palace, bought our tickets and headed in. We found the palace well laid out, and followed the tour in our guidebook, combined with the leaflet from the palace.
After time well spent in the palace, we picked up a few more supplies in the store, and had a quick break at our apartment. We wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening at the Prado, so we walked there, picked up our tickets, and spend a few hours looking at the amamzing art - it's a big museum and we needed the time to give it our full attention. We walked back to our apaprtment on a different route and stopped at a nearby cafe for some sangria then headed home for an early dinner and then headed to bed.
FRIDAY May 27 - Madrid
Our last full day in Madrid and Spain! We got up early after a good sleep and picked up a small egg sandwich and cafe con leche at a nearby cafe. Today we planned an easy day because tomorrow we had to fly such a far distance home.
We walked to the Prado area and boarded the hop on hop off tourist bus - just our speed after three full weeks in Spain! We sat on the top deck and enjoyed the sun...The first route was through historic Madrid. We got off at the end and decided to eat lunch before doing the second route.
Towards the end of the second route it rained a bit, we hopped off at the Seville Metro stop and then wanted to squeeze one more visit in. We walked to the cathedral near the Royal Palace and truly enjoyed this cathedral - it was small and the design and stained glass was different from what we had seen before - we really liked it. During our visit it decided to start raining hard outside, but we still enjoyed walking back to our apartment - a little rain couldn't spoil our fondness for Madrid!
It was the only real rain we had during our entire trip, and
we were tired and relaxed and really loving Spain at this point. We had a quick and unmemorable meal near Plaza Mayor (we recommend not eating at the square, mediocre food which is overpriced), we shared a salad and some croquettes with water and paid 24 euro...hmmmm.
SATURDAY May 28 - Madrid - Halifax
After a fairly restful sleep (I find it is always hard to sleep well right before a long trip) we woke, showered, and had a last breakfast at our apartment. We closed up the apartment and made our way to the airport via the Metro.
All the streets were quiet and the sun was shining. We transfered twice on the Metro and got off at the aeropuerto T1-T2-T3 stop, after paying the 1 euro each supplement. If staying near the Puerta del Sol area, I recommend the Metro getting to and from the airport. It was super quick, safe as long as you are aware and careful, and very inexpensive. We found the Air France check in and the staff was very helpful cehckcing us in and getting us good seats.
We had a long wait (2 hours) before our flight, but that was OK - duty fre shopping is always fun to waste a bit of time
Our flight ended up being delayed half an hour as it was late coming from Paris, so this meant a very rushed journey through the Paris - CDG airport, passport control and security. We made it to our gate just as it was boarding, however there was an hour delay due to some luggage issues. This delay meant we would miss our Montreal to Halifax flight, but there was nothing we could do. When we landed in MTL we found we were put on a flight going to Toronto, where we would then catch a midnight flight to Halifax. It would mean getting in 5 hours later than we planned,and also mean travelling for over 24 hours straight, so we were tired, but happy to be on the final stretch home. Although all four of our flights were delayed, we finally made it to foggy Halifax! It was bittersweet to be home - we had an amazing three weeks in Spain and had so many unbelievable memories, but it was nice to be home. Until the next trip!
Jul 16th, 2011, 09:00 AM
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Your report is an excellent example of how rewarding a trip can be when you're not jumping from one place to another constantly changing hotels and basically being exhausted. Your itinerary was great and you gave yourself time to get to know each area you visited. Loved you report and so happy you enjoyed Spain.
When are you coming back
When are you coming back
Jul 30th, 2011, 09:40 PM
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Jenn, do you recall how much the train from Sevilla to Madrid cost? My daughter is going to do a semester abroad next spring in Spain and is choosing between Sevilla and Salamanca. She was worried that Sevilla might be too far from Madrid for weekend excursions, but the two hour train trip makes it an easy connection!
Jul 31st, 2011, 03:18 AM
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italynovice,
The tickets to the excellent high speed 2 1/2 hours AVE train between Sevilla and Madrid are much more affordable if bought in advance through the RENFE website: http://www.renfe.com/
The Sevilla - Madrid tickets would sell from some 30€. If bought at the train station the price would normally be more than the double.
This site gives extensive info about Sevilla:
http://www.exploreseville.com/
The tickets to the excellent high speed 2 1/2 hours AVE train between Sevilla and Madrid are much more affordable if bought in advance through the RENFE website: http://www.renfe.com/
The Sevilla - Madrid tickets would sell from some 30€. If bought at the train station the price would normally be more than the double.
This site gives extensive info about Sevilla:
http://www.exploreseville.com/
Aug 20th, 2011, 10:01 AM
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italynovice - kimhe is correct. We purchased our Sevilla-Madrid tickets at the station when we arrived in Sevilla at the train station, and cost was a little more than 60 euro each. If it's possible to purchase them in advance they are much less expensive!
