I enjoyed your photos, especially of Mandrid,Segovia, Toledo, as I will be visiting there in 2 days.

thanks for "sharing!"

Amy,
Thank you for your wonderful trip report.

A question:
Do you happen to have the address offhand for El Pintor? I have Rick Steves Spain, but can't find it in there.

I loved El Caballo Rojo, and yes, I love garlic, and lots of it!

Thanks again for the great report.

Sure, El Pintor is in Barri Gotic on Carrer St Honorat 7. Easiest reached by walking north from Placa de St. Jaume.

Thanks to others on the "opera house" caption on my photos. I knew that, but I tend to dumb things down so my non-Spanish speaking and non-travel savvy friends know what they're looking (those of you not reading this). But I've changed it to keep y'all happy...

Excellent, amyb! We're planning on Spain next year covering most, if not all, of the same ground as you in the same amount of time. I love your concise trip report--thank you!

Great trip report - nice details but not too long! I'm going to Seville/Cordoba in March (and then maybe back to Madrid next summer) so your info was great. I was considering the Amadeaus - would you suggest not staying there, or just be sure not to get that room? Was it a single or double room? Also, another thread recently talked about a lot of construction in Seville - did you notice it? was it a problem?

I'm flying Iberia (same as you, got flights for about $600) so was glad to hear it wasn't too bad. You are right about the getting bumped, I think it happens on all airlines and it sounds like they were good to deal with though. How were the planes ? old and worn out or modern, seat back screenes, etc? As I said, I'm seriously considering returning to Spain next summer and often book my summer flights in Feburary but was thinking I should wait to see if Iberia is as bad as people say it is before booking a second trip on them, but if you confirm that they are no worse than anyone else (you say you've been over there 20 times so you must have flown a number of airlines) then I might go ahead and book them this winter. Thanks for all your info.

Isabel, I wouldn't stay at the Amadeus again. My room was a double off the lobby -- what they call "Standard". I did go upstairs to the upper floors to use the free internet and saw another guest's room got the same feel...it's just seen better days. But you really can't beat the location...if you find something else close by, I'd take it.

A lot of Seville was torn up, but it didn't really bother me much. I had to cross one torn up street that was on the other side of the cathedral to get to/from the Plaza de Toros and flamenco, and then near the shopping district was torn up. But I've been living with the Big Dig in Boston for the last million years, so it doesn't get to me. ;-)

As for Iberia, there are no seatback screens, but I slept the whole way over, so it didn't matter to me. I also don't eat on night flights, so I can't speak for the food. But they were no different than many other airlines I've flown. I expected a lot worse based on what I'd read here and elsewhere. If I got that fare again, I'd probably fly them, it wasn't as bad as my one Alitalia experience, which swore me off them forever.

But I will admit, I am totally converted to American after being bumped on to them flying home out of London. The 777 was a beautiful, comfortable plane and the crew the best I'd ever had. I will do whatever I can to fly them in the future, seriously!

bookmarking

bookmarking

Terrific and so helpful! I'm booking a madrid barcelona trip for the last week in March. i'll have my 15 year old daughter with me. Madrid is pretty planned as we'll be visiting my sister, Barcelona was added for fun for my daughter. Any suggestions as to what area our B hotel should be in? She's going to want to stroll, cafe, shop, market. Hotel Neri looks good to me but will probably be too quiet for her. Should I be on Ramblas? What end? How about right off Ramblas?

hi, amy, thanks for the great report.

We're heading for madrid for a few days at the end of feb, so i was really glad to see what you liked [and didn't]. As we are not great modern art fans, i think we'll stick to the prado and the thyssen. do you know what time the prado closes on a sat? we arrive about 6pm and I guess that if it's still open it might be a good time to have a look when everyone else has gone home!

Did you find any good tapas or flamenco bars?

Best wishes, ann

Thanks for the address for El Pinto. And again, thanks for the great trip report.

anhig, the Prado opens at 9,00AM and closes at 8,00pm, admision closes at 7,30PM. On sundays it is free entrance, so expect more people. Mondays closed.
Beware: today was opened the great Tintoretto exhibition, a great event that'll attract crowds. There may be lines. Get info in english at http://museoprado.mcu.es/ihome.html

Amy,

I love your report...most of all the concise and organized format. It allows one to read it all and/or skim through it quickly. We should all take note

Photos were great as well!

Loved that comment that none of the hot chocolate in Spain "can top that of Angelina in Paris" Certainly not in price either!

Nice report and great photos.

Tom

annhig, we enjoyed the midnight flamenco show at Casa Patas.

www.casapatas.com

Hey amyb Loved your report!

I liked Barcelona much better than Madrid. But I thought both were very safe. I wandered the streets at 2 am in Madrid trying to find a coffee shop. The Hotel night clerk told me to go outside the door (which He had to unlock)turn left and it's about 10 minutes away, yeah right more like 10 miles, I walked for 35 minutes and I was thinking of turning back when down this alley I heard noise and saw light so I trucked on back there and in the middle of the dark street was a coffee/churro shop. And it was packed. I pushed my way to the counter and stood there for 2 hours drinking coffee and watching the locals. I smoked 10 cigerettes without lighting one (and I don't smoke) but it was one of the best things on the tour.

Madrid seemed dirty and urban. Barcelona was much nicer and the parks and buildings were awesome. I'd love to do Seville and the Canary Islands.

MonB, I loved my hotel in Barcelona. I highly recommend it for location (very quiet neighborhood but I could walk quickly to wherever I needed to be). I can't speak to others, so I'm afraid I can't be much help otherwise.

Ann, I saw flamenco in Seville because I'd read it's the best there, but there was a flamenco bar near my hotel in Madrid, if you look near the Prado section of the city, near the Thyssen museum. I don't recall the name. I also only had tapas in Barcelona and Seville, so no recs there. Sorry!

I visited the Prado once late day (around 6-ish) and I was surprised at how not-crowded it was. Definitely take advantage of the later hours.

Hi AmyB--Thanks so much for such a great trip report. I am planning a solo trip to Madrid/Toledo/Barcelona for my 50th birthday, and was particularly intrigued by your mention of the 10E Click airfare between Barcelona and Seville (which I would also love to see). I am just concerned that although the air time might only be an hour, the security checks, and airport lines would make the flight take the better part of a day. For a 10 day trip, do you think 4 days in Madrid (including a daytrip to Toledo), 3 days in Barcelona and 2 days in Seville is practical? Or better to just divide the time between Mardid and Barcelona????

leleejd - that's essentially the route I did and I felt comfortable with it. The flight between Barcelona and Seville was painless (because this was a domestic flight, I was only there an hour before), and as I mention, the airport at Seville was so easy to navigate and get out of that I was already at my hotel before I'd even be getting my luggage at other larger airports. I don't remember the times exactly, but I left my hotel in Barcelona a little after breakfast and was in Seville walking around by lunch, because I remember I definitely ate lunch there. I say if you have your heart set on seeing all three cities, that it is reasonable to do the route as you are thinking.