Jump to content

Spain--April 2018


Ghost of LL

Recommended Posts

13 minutes ago, Mo Horn said:

Buy Alhambra tickets online and pick an admission time, then pick up your tickets the day before at the office in town. 

We did that and still got there early Bc we picked the earliest time. Still a lot of people 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Js1 said:

We did that and still got there early Bc we picked the earliest time. Still a lot of people 

Gotcha. We picked late morning. Got there early and wandered around the grounds while we waited for our entry time.  Line wasn't too bad, but it was last November so crowds might have been smaller.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lots of ambitious plans here to include San Sabastian. We go to Spain every year and each trip we end up cutting it out because we want to spend much more time there than it would allow and it’s pretty hard to get to.

Mad-BCN is made very easy with the high speed train (2.5ish hours) so keep that in mind.

I love the southern part of Spain which hasn’t been discussed much. Sevilla is one of my favorite cities and Granada Is a place that will make you feel like you are in a completely different country.

My best advice...you really can’t go wrong in Spain. Just treat your trip and planning that you will go back and hit up geographic areas to cut down on travel


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Buy Alhambra tickets online and pick an admission time, then pick up your tickets the day before at the office in town. 
This. We did the print at home option for ours, walked right up and skipped the line.

Granada is the shit. Definitely worth a couple days on an Andalusia trip.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

This. We did the print at home option for ours, walked right up and skipped the line.

Granada is the shit. Definitely worth a couple days on an Andalusia trip.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 

We loved it. And in Granada you absolutely get a free tapa when you prefer a drink. Other places in Spain are doing away with that. Spain is my favorite country. We plan on moving there for at least a year when we retire. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
12 hours ago, ramirezut said:

Anyone know if the water is relatively warm in San Sebastian/Bilboa in late May?

We've heard so many good things we're planning on cutting 2 days in Barcelona short just to check it out. 

It looks like the average water temps in late May might get into the upper 60s, but that is pretty damned chilly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/9/2018 at 11:11 PM, ramirezut said:

Anyone know if the water is relatively warm in San Sebastian/Bilboa in late May?

We've heard so many good things we're planning on cutting 2 days in Barcelona short just to check it out. 

We were in far SW Spain around that time and the water was pretty cold. It just hasn't ha that long to warm up from the winter months at that point. We got in for short periods here and there, but what was being in the sun all day and even doing some light hiking in the area. As cold or even slightly colder than the California coast (though I've only been in the pacific in September, not May). I can't imagine the water in San Sebastian wold even be that warm.

Edited by gmr548
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

So, I just booked tickets for a 12 day trip to Spain this April. Arriving in Barcelona from JFK at 4:00 p.m. on April 18, flying out of Lisbon (for points/cost reasons) at 5:00 p.m. on April 29. There are hour flights to Lisbon from basically every nearby city, so the 29th will just be travel day. We otherwise have nothing set in stone, so looking for some general thoughts on itineraries from the Surly brain trust.

Most likely itinerary: Barcelona for 5 nights, Madrid for 3 nights w/ day trip to Toledo, Seville for 3 nights w/ day trip to Cordoba (though might add 4th night to Madrid and cut Cordoba).

Itinerary I really want to do but probably need to be talked out of: Barcelona April 18-22; fly to San Sebastian on the 23 and stay to the 26th; fly from Bilbao on the 26th to Seville (or Madrid) and stay the 26th-28.  Seems like that would probably be too much flying and obviously doesn't make a ton of geographical sense, but it sounds like the best of everything to me. 

Any suggestions on the above or other spots I'm obviously missing? For some context, we're 30 and like to eat, drink, walk around neighborhoods/people watch in big cities, go out to bars at night, and go to some art museums (in that order). We've come to the conclusion we really don't like looking at tourist sites with a bunch of other tourists, even if we should be in awe by the historical context (see, the tour book version of Kyoto, the castle in Prague, etc.), which is why I'm not sold on Granada or Cordoba. We live in NYC and our favorite vacations have been Tokyo, Berlin and Paris. 

Would appreciate any insight. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're flying out of Lisbon without spending anytime in Lisbon? jackiechanmeme

Lisbon is awesome. 

We did a similar trip that was Barcelona -> (train) Madrid -> train (Granada) -> train (Seville) -> bus to just over the Spanish/Portuguese border to Faro and rented a car -> drove to Lagos (beach resort town) -> drove to Lisbon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Js1 said:

You're flying out of Lisbon without spending anytime in Lisbon? jackiechanmeme

Lisbon is awesome. 

We did a similar trip that was Barcelona -> (train) Madrid -> train (Granada) -> train (Seville) -> bus to just over the Spanish/Portuguese border to Faro and rented a car -> drove to Lagos (beach resort town) -> drove to Lisbon

I've actually read your and dry creek's Spain threads on the old site. I originally wanted to spend the last two days in Lisbon, but my wife is really pushing to limit it to three overnight destinations. There are other place (like the Algarve) I want to see in Portugal and it is cheap to fly in and out from NYC, so I figured we could just do a Portugal trip in the near future. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got a weekend to kill (solo) while in Madrid- better to head to Grenada or Portugal? Been to Barcelona many time but want to do something different... Having lived in Europe for several years, a church is a church is a mosque is a church so no intererest in seeing another one...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/27/2018 at 2:55 PM, Hate said:

The Royal Palace is pretty damn cool. 

I made love to a 21 year old girl from Bilbao in the park outside of the Royal Palace in the middle of the night when I was 18. That was a world changing event that took a while to get over. Everything seemed so bland after that. Whenever I am in Madrid, I stop by that spot.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I will be in Madrid, Spain for a few days in April.  Any must sees?

Most importantly, is there a restaurant or two I should not miss?

I have a reservation at Botin Restaurant one evening and I want to eat at one of the Michelin star places as I have never been to one anywhere.  I am thinking La Terraza del Casino as I am a fan of Ferran Adria and I read he is a consultant here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/12/2019 at 7:27 PM, Borachio said:

I will be in Madrid, Spain for a few days in April.  Any must sees?

Most importantly, is there a restaurant or two I should not miss?

I have a reservation at Botin Restaurant one evening and I want to eat at one of the Michelin star places as I have never been to one anywhere.  I am thinking La Terraza del Casino as I am a fan of Ferran Adria and I read he is a consultant here.

Skip Botin.  I mean, seriously--skip it.  If you have to do it for the history or whatever, go for lunch.  Or just take a look from the outside.  But it is intensely forgettable.  

We went to  La Castela (http://restaurantelacastela.com/) the first night, and it may have been our best meal in Spain.  We really should have gone back the second night instead of Botin.  The service was fantastic, and the food was really, really good.

At least for lunch one day you're going to want to hit up Mercado San Miguel, just across the street from the Plaza San Miguel.  You can just roll around hitting up all the food stalls for snacks.  Another day, you can just get a ham sandwich and a beer at one of the innumerable Museo de Jamon around town.  A very few euros sets you up with a damned fine meal.

For dinner another night, you're going to just want to go bouncing from one place to the next down Cava Baja and hitting all the tapas.  Maybe finish with dinner at Posada della Villa at the bottom of that street.

Damn--now I want to go back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/13/2019 at 2:27 AM, Borachio said:

I will be in Madrid, Spain for a few days in April.  Any must sees?

Most importantly, is there a restaurant or two I should not miss?

I have a reservation at Botin Restaurant one evening and I want to eat at one of the Michelin star places as I have never been to one anywhere.  I am thinking La Terraza del Casino as I am a fan of Ferran Adria and I read he is a consultant here.

1 word - 3 syllables:  chuleton

 

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=chuleton&t=ffab&iax=images&ia=images

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By the way--a few more thoughts on Botin.

1) Service: Locals don't go there as their go-to neighborhood place (as is the case with La Castela, which becomes immediately apparent as soon as you walk into the dining room at La Castela).  Botin now is a cross between a tourist place and a place for large groups of locals.  Anybody who has worked in the service knows that those are the two groups that are going to get the worst service.  When they intersect, the service is completely horrid.  

We saw our waiter exactly three times--to take a drink order, to take a food order, and an hour later to brusquely drop off the check.  An expo dropped off the food, and that was about it from a service standpoint.

2) Food: Never has (or should) a roast suckling pig ever tasted so bland.  And that's a real shame, because I was looking forward to the meal.  The skin was crispy, I guess.  But it lacked any seasoning or the tenderness that should indicate a roast suckling pig.  Honestly--I don't know how you make the dish that uninteresting and bland.

Mrs. LL had the garlic soup with egg.  It was interesting and good for one bite.  But that's really all you needed for that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you GLL for the rundown on Botin. I think I will just go by there for lunch maybe one day if I have time just for the history. I'm kind of a sucker for that,  but not waste a good dinner on it.  

La Castela looks great!  I'm going to replace Botin with them on the itinerary.

Mercado San Miguel is on the list.   I remember going to the big market in Barcelona a few years ago (La Boqueria)and was blown away. 

If you've ever been to Lisbon, feel free to share some places to eat. :)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/14/2019 at 2:12 PM, Borachio said:

Thank you GLL for the rundown on Botin. I think I will just go by there for lunch maybe one day if I have time just for the history. I'm kind of a sucker for that,  but not waste a good dinner on it.  

La Castela looks great!  I'm going to replace Botin with them on the itinerary.

Mercado San Miguel is on the list.   I remember going to the big market in Barcelona a few years ago (La Boqueria)and was blown away. 

If you've ever been to Lisbon, feel free to share some places to eat. :)

 

Mercado San Miguel doesn’t have the same cool vibe as the Mercado in Barcelona...  the one in Madrid has more of a “Galleria” or Whole Foods feel while the one in Barca has more of a local feel.  It’s more of a place to go high-end shopping while the one in Barca is more of a foodie destination...

Went to Bodega de los Secretos on my last visit.  Pretty cool place in a “restored” cellar that had been used by monks to smuggle wine under the old city wall to avoid paying taxes.  Food is good but the location is what makes it really cool.  Have someone on the staff give you a tour of the place after you eat.  It’s a tough place to find as it’s on a side street and just marked by a door and many Madrid locals don’t even know it exists... Walking distance just NM of Atocha station...

Edited by Grimas
Add
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

Bump

Headed to Barcelona and San Sebastián in about 3 weeks. Myself, wife and 4 year old son.

Planned/booked so far:
Park Guell
Sagrada
Camp Nou
Flights to Bilbao

5 nights in Barcelona - Hotel Arts
3 nights in San Sebastián - Hotel Maria Cristina

Would love additional recs on food and things to do in either city. My son is well behaved, good traveler and eats like a 4 year old.

Thanks... will hang up and listen!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you can, get all of your tickets now and avoid the long lines. The wife and I are here in Spain now and did Barcelona a few days ago and we certainly appreciated having our tickets ahead of time. Guell is a bit of a hilly walk, in fact the entire Gracia neighborhood is like that. Think SF if you've been there. If you have time, I'd check out the MNAC. I was told to also check out La Nacional, but we didn't have enough time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man, every time I see this thread bumped I get jealous. Spain is such a fucking dope country.

La Nacional in Barcelona is really cool. Several bars/restaurants under one roof. It is open-air so it's a bit loud, but the food was good (we ate at a seafood restaurant), the building/atmosphere is really unique, and the people watching is good if you're into that sort of thing. Also, Mercado de la Boqueria is the really famous food market just of La Rambla in the Gothic Quarter. It's cool and worth a look, but the one to check out is Mercado De La Santa Catarina not far to the east in the Born neighborhood. Similar market but less of a touristy zoo. They also have a restaurant on-site - we stopped in because the market made us so hungry and totally unexpectedly had our best meal in Spain. Split the pork shoulder and it was to.die.for. We still talk about that meal.

 

Edit: Forgot to add, we actually really enjoyed the museum of Catalan history. Despite it's central location, not crowded at all and a very thorough series of exhibits covering pre-history to the modern era. I don't know if it is four year-old friendly though. Unfortunately I forget the name, but we had a very good seafood paella at one of the restaurants outside of the museum by the marina.

Edited by gmr548
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/19/2019 at 12:04 AM, Bevo Num1 said:

If you can, get all of your tickets now and avoid the long lines. The wife and I are here in Spain now and did Barcelona a few days ago and we certainly appreciated having our tickets ahead of time. Guell is a bit of a hilly walk, in fact the entire Gracia neighborhood is like that. Think SF if you've been there. If you have time, I'd check out the MNAC. I was told to also check out La Nacional, but we didn't have enough time.


2 years ago I hit Barcelona for about 8+ days and did the Camp Nou (think we got our tickets in advance) & Familia Sagrada (you have to get your tickets in advance).

Was just in Spain in late May/start of June.

My friend, who I will introduce later, said that in Barcelona, that "Goliard" is an awesome, yet reasonably priced, restaurant that has a 26.50 EURO Tasting Menu, but it requires at least 2 people. (I didn't have a second person at the end of my trip, so I didn't go, but she raved.) They have a lunch seating, so you could do it with the kid. She also recommended in Barcelona:
Palau de la música catalana (great facade)
Mercado de la boqueria (touristy but worth seeing)
Basílica de Santa Maria del mar (look inside)
Cervecería vaso de oro - on the way to the beach


This trip I flew into Madrid, rented a vehicle (rented through my airline with the company SIXT in advance), picked up my amiga (American... just a travel buddy this time) on the outskirts of town and then we drove up to Segovia to see the Roman Aqueducts (there are also some on the highway between San Sebastian & Barcelona as well as near Tarragona, just south of Barcelona). There wasn't much to do or see (actually, we didn't know to check out the Cathedral) in Segovia other than the Aqueducts, and then we headed up to the castle we were staying in near Aranda de Duero in the Ribera del Duero wine region.

We happened upon Bodegas Briego as we were getting near the castle and randomly stopped. Usually these places require a reservation (as we found out early the next day), but the guy chatting on his phone outside got off the phone and came in and gave us a tasting.

Stayed in the local castle.

We did a private tour with tasting of 5 wines at Balbás the next day and their wines were really good. Bought a couple of Tempranillo Reservas and a bottle of rosé and their rosé would be my daily drinker in a hot climate if you could get it (especially the same price) in the States.

After Balbás we hit a Basque town named Oñati for a couple of days. Randomly there was a women's cycling tour event finishing there the next day, so we watched the finish. Also, we wandered around the center and were pleased to find wines by the glass for 1.75 to 2.00 EURO. Pleasant wines and great price.

In San Sebastian, I visited Geralds Bar because a friend from my time in Argentina is the co-owner. The dinner will happen too late for your 4 year-old, but they open for lunch at 1pm and their Crème Caramels dessert is like flan's much more awesome older sibling. It was amazing.

Flan.jpg


Also, try the Albariño wines. I found them to be much better than the Verdejo, which I felt was more like a watered down NZ Sauvignon Blanc.


We hit Bilbao, your kid will love the Richard Serra's massive metal installation on the ground floor of the Guggenheim. It's something that a kid would totally get into. (Didn't do anything else there other than see the various exhibits and take photos of the building from the outside.


From San Sebastian we also went to the Spanish beach town on the French border, Hondarribia. There is a cute little (touristy) pedestrian street with lots of pintxos bars. (The old town of San Sebastian is absolutely overflowing with Pintxos Bars.)

For some reason there was a statue of a woodworker on the edge of Hondarribia's old town, near the former wall of the town.

Man-With-Saw.jpg

 

Totally random, but your kid might like it. (There's also a nice beach in town.)

San Sebastian supposedly has 2 or 3 restaurants that have Michelin stars, but I didn't make it to one. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/19/2019 at 3:49 AM, Hollywood said:


Would love additional recs on food and things to do in either city. My son is well behaved, good traveler and eats like a 4 year old.

Thanks... will hang up and listen!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If eater.com has a guide or a list on the city, my experience against a bunch of cities says it's well curated and reliable.  Its also quite difficult to do it wrong in both cities, so the chances of hitting a dud are rare.

 

Random rec - bar Nestor in San seb.  But again it's hard to go wrong

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
20 hours ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Bumping as while I was hoping to do a long tour through Spain, I'll most likely be doing short trips next Spring.

Looking like Holy Week in Seville (arrive Thursday, depart Tuesday) and Memorial Day (arrive Thursday, depart Tuesday) in Madrid.


Oh, so you're one of those?...

Take it to the CR!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
  • 2 months later...
1 hour ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Will be in Madrid April 5-9, Seville April 9-13 (for Easter), and Granada April 13-16.

I know nothing of Spain, so would love some recs.

There are several recommendations in a variety of threads here. What specifically are you looking for? Feel free to PM me if you want. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/29/2019 at 11:38 AM, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Will be in Madrid April 5-9, Seville April 9-13 (for Easter), and Granada April 13-16.

I know nothing of Spain, so would love some recs.

We spent most of our time in Barcelona and the surrounding area (and did most of our high end eating in Barcelona), but below are a few points from our time in Madrid and Sevilla for your consideration. Obviously Sevilla during Easter provides its own itinerary. 

Madrid:

  • Food:
    • Lakasa (very nice lunch, atmosphere was very buttoned up)
    • La Tasqueria (lunch, very good)
    • La Castela (reservation for dinner, not Tapas in bar. Think I took this from a Shaggy/Surly suggestion)
    • Casa Salvador for lunch (cool bull fighting pics, I think Bourdain ate here) 
    • Bodega de la Ardosa (very busy Tapas bar)
    • Casa Julio (very relaxed Tapas bar)
    • 1862 Dry Bar - good cocktails
  • Stuff:
    • Retiro Park/Prado/Reina Sofia
    • Real Madrid game
    • Other typical guidebook stuff (we though Palace was very boring). We mostly just bar/tapas hopped.

Sevilla:

  • Stuff:
    • Bullfight. Gruesome but glad I went. Wife skipped. 
    • Casa de la Memoria Flamenco. Very small Flamenco (four performers). Enjoyed this much more than I expected.
    • Walk along the water
    • Cathedral and Alcazar could be done on same day unless you really like to take your time. I think you could also squeeze in Plaza de Espana on the same day if you are pressed for time. 
  • Food:
    • Eslava - I liked this place quite a bit for lunch. Hybrid Tapas bar/sit down restaurant. We ordered Tapas at the bar while we waited for an outside table.
    • Az-Zait for dinner
    • Other than those, I did a really bad job of writing down places we went in Sevilla. Towards the end I was just pulling up the Michelin guide and walking to places that looked good. Never had a bad meal.  Random bar/tapas hopping was the highlight.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Madrid May 13-15, Barcelona May 15-18, Valencia May 18-20, Mallorca May 20-23, Seville May 23-26 then overnight in Madrid and head home on the 27th.  Can't wait.

We're flying Madrid to Barcelona, Valencia to Mallorca and Mallorca to Seville.  I think we're going to rent a car and drive down the coast from Barcelona to Valencia.  My wife is fluent in Spanish so we're good there.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Ok, so fuck Coronavirus.  Tired of it.  Trying to replan the trip we had to cancel in April due to this shitshow.  What was original a 2 week trip is now turning into a 3.5-4 week trip since I have a shit load of vacation that I am going to carryover to next year because COVID.

We are hopeful that Easter 2021 will be a go, so this is all still up in the air.  But the current thinking is as follows:

5 nights Madrid

4-5 nights Seville during Easter (Wednesday or Thursday before Good Friday through Easter Monday/Tuesday)

Then looking to do some combo of:

Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz, Malaga and maybe some other small places.  Any recommendations on some really cool smaller places to visit for a night or two in Andalusia?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

Ok, so fuck Coronavirus.  Tired of it.  Trying to replan the trip we had to cancel in April due to this shitshow.  What was original a 2 week trip is now turning into a 3.5-4 week trip since I have a shit load of vacation that I am going to carryover to next year because COVID.

We are hopeful that Easter 2021 will be a go, so this is all still up in the air.  But the current thinking is as follows:

5 nights Madrid

4-5 nights Seville during Easter (Wednesday or Thursday before Good Friday through Easter Monday/Tuesday)

Then looking to do some combo of:

Granada, Cordoba, Cadiz, Malaga and maybe some other small places.  Any recommendations on some really cool smaller places to visit for a night or two in Andalusia?

 

Definitely Granada for the Alhambra, and other attractions. We spent a couple of days and wish we'd had a couple more. It would be my number one choice after your top two. Cadiz is a nice place with typical Spanish charm. Fun to walk around but I don't know if there are any big attractions. I went to Malaga, but didn't have time to explore, but my impression was that it wasn't anything special. But I will defer to anyone who has spent more time there. I have only driven through Cordoba and I regret not spending more time there. I want to see the mosque and other sites. It would be where I would recommend after Granada. Definitely on my list the next time I'm in Spain. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...