Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Granada is a definate. The Alhambra and the significance of this town on European and American history is profound!
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I know!!!! My great grandparents walked from Avila to the rock of Gibralter to book passage to the US in the early 1900's. Along the way, my great grandfather who was a professional tile maker made custom tiles for the Alhambra. My family says the tiles are still there in several rooms. The money he made from that work is what they used to buy land in Hollister to start their rancheria and orchards - they grew fruit and tomatoes there till the 1980's. I HAVE to go there. I have pictures of his tiles. I want to see and touch them if I can. :>
Originally Posted By LuLu ^^That's uber cool! Lisann, I feel your pain! Like me, you probably feel like you have to do "everything" b/c you'll never get back. Well, once you go, you'll start figuring out ways to get back! Try not to stress over it, b/c however you do it, it will be a fabulous trip! >>I'm trying to decide whether to make Madrid home base and go to each city for the day via train. Or go city to city spending the night in their hotels.<< Here's my suggestions, based on our tour and also the short stint I did in Spain 18 years ago. In the big cities, you're going to pay more for less. The hotels in the smaller towns really help you to get into the culture and history of each place. BUT, avoid scheduling a succession of 1-nighters! We only had two 1-nighters in our whole 21 nights. Those were 2 places that were heavily visited by day tourists and the only way to really enjoy them was to get there in the late afternoon and leave by mid-morning. Rick Steves' guide books do a great job of letting you know about stuff like this. Our tour did follow what he recommends in his book very closely. So you can get the best of both worlds by replicating the parts of his tour that work for you, on your own. Such as, when scheduling your hotels, in general plan to get in late, stay at least 2 nights, and leave early on your last morning there. Then visit a town on your way to your next stay, where you'll also arrive late and stay 2-3 nights. I said this before, but I didn't like our hotel in Madrid and left there a night early, to add a night in Avila. Then we saw El Escorial from Avila. We had a MUCH nicer place in Avila for the same money as the one in Madrid (tho I had done a lot of research, it just was noisy, small, and, well, I really didn't like the city!). I also liked that there was a "down time" day in the middle of the tour, so I'd schedule one if I were doing it on my own. I also recommend one at the end of your trip - a day where you have no requirements, other than to relax and soak it all in before going home.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Thanks LuLu - I think we are very similiar in what we want. I'm thinking more and more of making Avila my homebase because it's an 1.5 or less car or train drive to Segovia or Salamanca from there vs. Madrid. I generally love big cities but I want to be in the small cafes and wander the towns to really be submerged in the culture of the people. Thanks for helping me talk this out. Aye yi yi! I'll be working on a revised itinerary for tiki tiki tiki tiki to review over the weekend. BTW - I have the Rick Steve book on Spain, we did plan to follow some of his tour suggestions. Looks like I'm talking myself into going self-guided huh? LOL!
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki Lisann, your great grandfather´s story is amazing. I would be just as anxious as you to visit La Alhambra and get to see his work in such a beautiful place. You´re very lucky! There´s no need to worry too much, your destinations are very well chosen and you will definitely have a wonderful trip, cut or add a few (destinations). IMO, I wouldn´t add much more since one doesn´t get to really savor what each place has to offer when on a one-town-a-day trip. Sometimes less is better. I think in the 18-odd days you´ll be visiting, 5 or 6 spots are just fine. I´m anxious to see your itinerary update!
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki I must confess that I´m having a great time helping you out. See, when I lived in L.A. I was a travel agent and absolutely loved it. Sad to say I haven´t been able to continue in that line of work out here but I have never stopped reading and investigating on travel ideas, tips, trips, etc. So I must say I´m as happy as a clam! BTW, I have no idea who Rick Steves is but from what I´m reading I think I´m gonna have to get my hands on some copies!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo This sounds so cool Lisa. I love the story of your family. You are making me feel bad as my family are from Scicily and I have never been despite living in Europe. Tiki - don't worry, I am sure we will also enlist your services when we plan our upcoming Spanish trip.
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki DWB, you can pick my brain whenever you like! I´m always happy to help. Marbella? Verrrry nice. DH and I spent 5 days there in May and we absolutely loved it.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 It would be a lot of fun if our families could some how time and hook up in a city davewasbaloo when I'm over there. I've had a some setbacks this summer that is causing me to delay my trip from Spring 2008 to either Fall 2008 or Spring 2009. I've been caring for my other grandma now who's 80 and much more difficult to deal with than my grandma that passed in November. My sister and I are her only living relatives and it's been challenging. Lots of uncertainty right now and I don't want to leave the country. And my kitty was diagnosed with diabetes around Memorial Day weekend and I've been trying to get that under control, not an easy task. I call her my kitty bank cause her vet care bills are eating through all my Spain money. ;< But what'ya gonna do?! Okay tiki, I'm off to my Tribal picnic, I'll post my 1000 attempt at an itinerary when I get home later this afternoon. Luego hablamos!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo No problemo Lisa. WE are thinking about coming back to California in Spring 2008 and perhaps Spain in the Fall.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Ok, test drive this agenda. My thinking is I want to do all types of transportation based on the best method for the area, desired travel time and being on our own in the countryside to explore. I do not want to criss-cross, so I'm trying to do a big circle. Day 1/Night 1: Fly to Madrid Spain Day 2/Night 2: Arrive @ Madrid airport mid-day. Car or shuttle to Segovia (1 hr/55 mil). Plan to just relax and get good night sleep. Hoping to book a certain hotel right in the city center. Day 3/Night 3: Explore Segovia *** That's 2 nights in Segovia Day 4/Night 4: Spend part of day in Segovia, drive/bus to Avila in afternoon or evening (1 hr/55 mil) Day 5/Night 5: Explore Avila Day 6/Night 6: Explore Avila Leaving these days open, maybe we will drive over to Salamanca, not sure as we have family to visit and places to explore. ***That's 3 nights in Avila Day 7/Night 7: Plan to leave Avila in the morning and hit the El Escorial (1 hr/47 mil)then head to Toledo from there (1.15 hr/77 mil) arriving in the evening. Day 8/Night 8: Explore Toledo *** That's 2 nights in Toledo Day 9/Night 9: Mid-day Bus to Madrid (45 min), then AVE train to Sevilla (2 hr). This will just be a travel and chill out afternoon/evening in Seville. Day 10/Night 10: Explore Sevilla Day 11/Night 11: Explore Sevilla ***That's 3 nights in Sevilla Okay tiki here's where I need help, should we bus or rent a car to drive between Sevilla/Granada/Cordoba? Are there interesting cities and sights to see along these routes? Day 12/Night 12: Either drive (2.5 hr/163 mil) or bus (3 hr) to Granada Day 13/Night 13: Explore Granada/Alhambra *** That's 2 nights in Granada Day 14/Night 14: Explore Granada in the morning, in afternoon bus (3 hr) or drive (2 hr/147 mil)to Cordoba - arrive evening Day 15/Night 15: Explore Cordoba *** That's 2 nights in Cordoba Day 16/Night 16: AVE train (1.5 hr) to Madrid in morning. Day 17/Night 17: Explore Madrid Day 18/Night 18: Explore Madrid *** That's 3 nights in Madrid Day 19: Fly home Fly home. With this agenda based on what I've read and LuLu's recommendations I'm not bouncing, spending 2+ nights in each location. We both love road trips and exploring from the car so I think we'd enjoy that more than bus after bus but please let me know if that's just a wrong choice or not. Also Sevilla - hotels???? Which area? I'm inclined to think Santa Cruz district? ;>
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki It does sound great but I am going to investigate a few things a bit with DH, his work involves constantly being on the road all over AndalucÃa and I´m going to ask him for tips. I promise to get back to you as soon as possible!
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Thank you tiki - no rush. I meant to say AVE between Corboba and Madrid - 2 hrs. Over the weekend, I actually got back confirmation on hotels I really wanted to stay at in Segovia, Toledo and Madrid with good rates so I'm pretty happy about that. I'm still searching in Cordoba, Granada and Sevilla.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Yes, right now I'm planning 4/15 to to May 2nd. The 15th and 2nd are in the air days. After much discussion we decided to really push for next Spring. I'm afraid if I keep pushing it back, I'll never end up going. ;>
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki True, but once you set your dates your trip always just seems to come together and actually begins to be a reality! As I mentioned before, springtime is full of festivals and fairs all over Spain so you will definitely be able to visit more than one. You just might be in Sevilla for Feria de Abril.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I know about the festivals and fairs. LOL! I'm not looking for big and fancy hotels, just a decent interesting place to stay that is central. I've found what is rated as 2 and 3 stars as pretty good with what I've found so far. Anywhere from $75 to $100 euros as you know our US$ sucks right now. LOL! I realize though that Sevilla might cost me a MORE. ;>
Originally Posted By smedley This sounds like great fun Can't help with the itinerary, but it sounds lovely, I'm sure you're going to have a fabulous time... We'd quite like to come visit too if we thought it was possible, but I have some work related stuff I need to sort out before I can make any more holiday plans... Davewasbaloo, please let me know about the California trip, DH and I are definitely considering this for next year too, maybe we could hook up for some of it if we planned similar times??
