Spain Travel

Hi Cindi,

We returned 2 weeks ago from Europe and spent a little bit of time in
Spain. Not nearly long enough, but we did sample a bit of Barcelona
and Sevilla. We enjoyed everything we did - just not enough time, but
we knew that - we were coming off a cruise in Barcelona and just
couldn't leave without at least a few nights in Spain.

If I were planning a real trip to Spain, I would get books and read
and read . Also ask specific questions here on the newsgroup and do
lots of searches.

The time of the year is important in Spain - it can get very hot and
humid, so choose well. We consider ourselves budget travelers, so we
have to pick and choose hotels, etc carefully.

Do go and see all you can and have a great time, but read and research
and have a plan before you go. There is a great newsgroup (do a search
for Travelspain) that is just about Spain and very helpful .

Have a great trip.

(Norman Perlmutter) wrote in message ...
On Wed, 5 Nov 2003 12:15:14 -0500, "Cindi"
wrote:

Please let me know how Spain was to travel in and any recommendations are
greatly appreciated..so much to do so little time....



Spain is a wonderful country. If you want to see the "traditional"
Spain (Castles, fortresses, bullfights, flamenco), go to Andalucia,
the Southern region. The central regions are fairly similar to
Andalucia culturally, though not as intensely exuberant as Andalucia.
Architectural highlights in Andalucia include the alcazar in Sevilla
and the Alhambra in Granada, In central Spain, I found Toledo to be a
charming city, with incredibly narrow, winding roads and an authentic
fortress - but then again there's a whole lot of cities in Spain like
that. Salamanca, Spain's most famous university city, looks like it
came right out of Harry Potter. Madrid is nice, too, with plenty of
museums, but compared with some of the other cities in Spain I found
it less noteworthy.

Northern Spain is something entirely different. Barcelona is a
fabulous, cosmopolitan city, but hardly Spanish at all - they have a
culture of their own. You will find an entirely different cuisine and
language in Barcelona (and also in the Catalunya region of
Northwestern Spain of which it is the capital). Its architecture is
much more modernistic than that of the rest of Spain. Besides
Barcelona, the Dali museum in Figueres is another highlight of
Catalunya.

Pais Vasco, in Northern Central Spain, also has its own culture,
though not quite as markedly so as Catalunya. San Sebastian has a
beautiful beach and scenery, but not too much in the way of other
stuff to do. I haven't been to Bilbao or any other cities in Pais
Vasco, so I can't comment on them.

Galicia, in the Northwest, is said to be very pretty and green, and
has yet another distinct culture, but I haven't been there, so I can't
comment on it at length.

And then there's the Belearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza),
which I haven't visited either.

You might also consider visiting the autonomous British Commonwealth
member Rock of Gibraltar and Portugal, which share the Iberian
Peninsula with Spain. I didn't make it to Portugal, but I wish I had.
I found Gibraltar to be quirky and fun.

Well, that's all pretty overwhelming, but you asked a vague question.
If you only have a small amount of time, I would recommend one of the
following:
1) Spend it all in Andalucia, getting to know the region
closely or
2) If you want ot get more of a cross-section of Spain, visit
Sevilla, Toledo, and Barcelona.

Hope this all helps.

Norman Perlmutter