School me on Spain please - 1 week visit?

[tadink]

Hi guys -

Never been to Spain but am planning on a week or so this summer - where should we go, what should we do, what should not be missed?

We are in the wine biz in Napa, so vineyards are good. We love good food and walking and little villages....but don't know much about Spain at all. I've heard Barcelona is great, ditto Valencia. Madrid?

Any suggestions on regions, villages, cities that should not be missed? We're exchanging our house in Napa for a villa in Tuscany, might do the same if we can find a spot in Spain.

thanks for the help -

td

[imcarthur]

With only 1 week, you would best concentrate on just one region of Spain. Barcelona & the northeast. Or the popular Bilbao/San Sebastien area in the northwest. The fabulous Rioja wine region is very close to here. In central Spain, Madrid bakes in the summer but it is a museum/art mecca. And my favorite: Andalusia in the south. In is also very hot in July/August but Granada, Sevilla, Cordoba are all worthy. You can find villages everywhere if you are prepared to rent a car & break out of the cities - which I highly recommend.

Ian

[M.D. Holloway]

The Bedroom of Europe Daniel my Brother says its the most beautiful place he's ever seen, he oughta know he's been there enough...God I miss him, I miss him so much...

[imcarthur]

BTW For interesting accommodations check out: Paradors

You can stay in monasteries, castles, palaces etc for the same $s as a good hotel. We have stayed in the Jaen, Granada & Almagro Paradors.

Ian

[Noah930]

I've never been to Barcelona, but I would echo the towns listed by Ian above. Sevilla and Toledo are two of my favorite, but there's also good reason why tours and television shows focus on Madrid, Granada & Cordoba, as well.

[svandamme]

No habla engles
They like beef
"no" is a popular word.

[126coupe]

Keep your wallet in your front pocket, don't let your wife/girlfriend hang her purse on a chair in a restaurant.

[GWN7]

The ladies are insane there, but I kind of like the music.

[Christien]

Been there twice, including this past summer. We dr never been to the north, but we've seen most of Andalusia and spent a week in Barcelona. Barcelona's a nice city, but we didn't love it like we did Seville.

Andalusia is REALLY hot in August (we saw 46C) but it's very dry, so the heat is manageable. A lot of shops are closed for vacation and museum/etc hours are cut back, but nothing that will really impact your stay.

Definitely check out the Paradores. We stayed in the one in Carmona for 2 nights and it was amazing. And that one apparently doesn't even make the top 10. The restaurant there was only ok, though, for dinner. Much better places to eat in town. Though the breakfasts are awesome, included in the price, and delivers to your room free of charge (if you want). Having breakfast in our bathrobes in front of the open balcony looking over the Spanish countryside, with a slight hangover from wine and, well, what couples do on their anniversary is one of our favourite memories of all our trips.

[Christien]

The ladies are insane there, but I kind of like the music.

Yes! If you're in Seville, be sure to find a flamenco bar that serves agua de Sevilla - order a pitcher and enjoy the show - you won't remember it

[tevake]

^^ Some of the Spanish Cities are famed for their pickpockets.

Try the Peasant's omelets lots of artichokes hearts in them. YUM.

The very late dinners take some getting used to. I guess if you really do nap in the afternoon, then eating late and staying up half the night makes sense.

I'm standing by to see what Paco Anton has for you :-) nothing like local knowledge

We are going to be spending a week in the Tuscany area this summer, Any suggestions there? This will be my chance in the trip to do something car related.

Cheers Richard

[StevoRocket]

Keep your wallet in your front pocket, don't let your wife/girlfriend hang her purse on a chair in a restaurant.

Dont put a bag of any kind under your seat or table - keep wallet/phone/keys in pocket at a table NOT on the table! - they use the "cover it with map or paper while they steal it" while asking you questions trick.

Especially true in Barcelona but can happen anywhere with pickpockets.

A friend had 10k worth of camera equipment stolen and another friends woman had a handbag stolen from under the table - never saw a thing.

[Seahawk]

TD, is here a reason you are headed to Spain, business, etc. that would suggest a starting point?

Since I am half Spanish, I have spent a lot of time in country with relatives, but like he U.S., the regions of Spain are as geographically different as the people.

The vibe at the beaches of the Costa de Sol are a bit different than the Andalusian mountains.

Where are you starting, where do you want to start?

[Jim Bremner]

Needs pics of the Spanish ladies!

[tadink]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

TD, is here a reason you are headed to Spain, business, etc. that would suggest a starting point?

Since I am half Spanish, I have spent a lot of time in country with relatives, but like he U.S., the regions of Spain are as geographically different as the people.

The vibe at the beaches of the Costa de Sol are a bit different than the Andalusian mountains.

Where are you starting, where do you want to start?

Thanks Seahawk -

no knowledge of Spain at all - we'll be in Tuscany for a couple of weeks and wanted to learn a bit about Spain as well - so no reason to be anywhere other than to learn and explore, and maybe score some interesting furniture / artifacts for the Napa house.

We're more 'country' than 'city' but want to see some of the interesting sites / architecture. If we're driving in from Italy I suppose staying in the north would be better....??

thanks

td

[imcarthur]

From the north, you can visit Figueres (weird Dali Museum), Empuries for ruins, the seriously cool stone village of Peratallada near La Brisbal, the beaches of the Costa del Sol, Girona with its painted houses on the river, Barcelona . . .



Note the wagon ruts in the stone.

Ian

[wdfifteen]

Spain is a fabulous place. There are Roman, Moorish, and Christian historical sites all over Andalusia. Seville is one of my favorite cities. There hs a huge Christian Gothic cathedral, Roman ruins, and Reales Alcazares - a huge Moorish era palace/garden - all in walking distance of downtown. Tapas bars on the street are open past midnight and the hotel Dona Maria has a fantastic bar on the roof. The Cathedral of St. Mary of the See is across the alley and this magnificent building is so close it's almost like you could reach over and touch it - five stories up.

[masraum]

My parents were stationed in Rota Spain (coastal Andalucia) while I was in college so I got to spend 2 summers there. My experience is limited to that area, but I can tell you that I highly recommend Spain. It's a beautiful country. I worked in the officer's club on base in the kitchen while I was there. Most of the guys (Spanish nationals) that I worked with in the kitchen spoke great English, but if they couldn't say another word in English, the one thing that they could say was "take it easy". That definitely seems to be the motto/way of life for that part of the world. In the town, off base, if you went out at 11am, almost everything was closed for siesta for the next 4 hours. We went out to a restaurant one night and got there at about 9:45. They let us sit down even though they weren't open yet (didn't open until 10pm).

The nearest big towns were Jerez and Cadiz or for a really big town, Seville. Jerez is where Sherry comes from.

Make sure you try the sangria. It's different at every restaurant and potentially different at a single restaurant each day.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Seville is one of my favorite cities. There hs a huge Christian Gothic cathedral, Roman ruins, and Reales Alcazares - a huge Moorish era palace/garden - all in walking distance of downtown. Tapas bars on the street are open past midnight and the hotel Dona Maria has a fantastic bar on the roof. The Cathedral of St. Mary of the See is across the alley and this magnificent building is so close it's almost like you could reach over and touch it - five stories up.

+1. It didn't hurt that it seemed (to me) like half the women were beautiful.

[Paco Anton]

Tadink.

If coming from Italy I'd suggest visiting Catalonia (the region where Barcelona is). Places to visit there would be:

- Northern Catalonia (near the French border): Small fishing villages such as Cadaques or Rodes. Also Figueres is nearby. Here is where many famous painters like Dali or Picasso used to live. The fishing villages have been transformed into tourist towns, but you will enjoy them.

- Barcelona. Not to be missed. spend 2-3 days seeing its amazing modernist architecture and visiting the old town

- Penedes wineries. Near barcelona there are some very nice wineries, mostly white wines and cava (Spanish version of champagne). Check out around Sant Sadurni d'Anoia

From there you can visit some other places but you will need to travel 200-300 miles (Valencia, Zaragoza or the great Rioja wineries near Logroño. A visit to madrid would be great (only 2,5 hours by high speed train from Barcelona). Seville is amazing but too far south. Also the Basque Country (Bilbao and San Sebastian) is great but you need to travel far west.

Safety is not an issue besides pickpocketing in large cities and some tourist scams. You are as safe as I would be in NYC.

If you can narrow your areas of choice I can provide more tips.

What car do you want to sell?