We are planning to take a two week trip to Spain during spring break next year. EEK! It’s NEXT year already!! Wow, how the time it does fly. And I thought I’d create a blog post just for it. It’s good to have a rough agenda of at least where you’ll be and to have hotels booked. We will be staying in only three cities this time, Barcelona, Madrid and Málaga, which will allow us a few day trips. This differs from our last two week adventure 5 years ago when we stayed in too many cities. Oh, it was a fabulous trip, but it was a bit too much travelling between cities.
We know the hotels we’d like to stay at in Madrid and Málaga but we haven’t yet chosen our hotel for Barcelona. Perhaps there are other travelers out there that could give a recommendation? Either way, here are two that really interest me. We need a hotel that is close to a metro, not on the Ramblas but a short walk to it would be great. It should be able to accommodate three people. Both of these hotels meet those criteria.
First is Villa Emilia. It’s #23 out of 516 hotels in Barcelona and it gets rave reviews on TripAdvisor. Here is the hotel’s website.
Next is Condes de Barcelona which is #96 out of 516 hotels, also gets rave reviews on TripAdvisor. Hotel Condes de Barcelona’s website.
We will take a flight from Minneapolis and fly through Amsterdam both directions. After our Paris fiasco, we are hesitant to ever fly through Charles De Gaulle again. One day I might write a blog post about it. But I digress.
We’ll get to Barcelona on a Saturday and I’m really hoping we don’t miss the sardana at the catedral on Sunday at noon. Or perhaps we should take a flight out on Thursday so that in case we have jet lag we won’t sleep through the sardana like we did 5 years ago. That’s a possibility.
Here is our rough itinerary as it is right now.
Day 1 (F) – fly to Amsterdam
Day 2 (Sa) – arrive in Barcelona
Day 3 (Su) – Barcelona- try to see the Sardana at noon in front of the catedral; Picasso museum in the afternoon. (Check website for the Picasso museum to see if it’s still free on Sundays and adjust accordingly)
Day 4 (M) – Barcelona-Gaudi day? (Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Casa Batlo, La Pedrera)
Day 5 (Tu) – Barcelona- do leftover Gaudi stuff we didn’t get to yesterday because, really, that’s a lot! We’d also like to reserve at least one restaurant for a fabulous meal. I have a few places bookmarked but nothing picked out as of yet. Any recommendations?
Day 6 (W) – to Madrid
Day 7 (Th) – Madrid – day trip to Segovia(weekly flea market on Th from 8 to 3); make reservations at Meson de Candido? (open 1-4:30) or Restaurante Jose Maria? (TA reviewer said lamb is great)
Day 8 (F) – Madrid
Day 9 (Sa) – Madrid – day trip to Toledo (meet ladyofthecakes!! I hope)
Day 10 (Su) – Madrid – Rastro, Retiro, Reina Sofia is free from 1:30 to 7:00 (El Brillante afterwards)
Day 11 (M) – Madrid
Day 12(Tu) – to Málaga (take early to mid afternoon train)
Day 13 (W) – Málaga
Day 14 (Th) – Málaga – day trip to Cordoba
Day 15 (F) – Málaga
Day 16 (Sa) – Málaga
Day 17 (Su) – fly home
There are some things that I want to get done ahead of time. Plane tickets are obvious, but I also want to book hotels and purchase train tickets. There is a post on TipAdvisor that describes how to purchase Renfe train tickets online. It’s very helpful and I’ll be perusing it once again towards the end of this year to freshen up on how it works. There are updates all the time to this post and it’s a great tool. One other thing I need to make reservations for are some restaurants where we’d like to dine. One for sure is Posada de la Villa, which is a favorite of ours. As you can see above, I would also like to reserve a spot at a restaurant in Segovia.
So many little things go into planning a trip. I will be refining this as it gets closer to our departure and this is what I’ve got today just 13.5 months prior to departure. But who’s counting?? Ha ha. I’d love any comments and suggestions for any piece of this trip. Thanks so much!! I’m going to close with some photos of the places we’ll be visiting next year. NEXT year!!! Yay!
La mezquita, Córdoba:
It will be fun to see the progress of Sagrada Familia, Barcelona:
One of my favorite cities in the world and this is a treasured spot – Plaza Mayor – Madrid:
One of my other favorite cities in the world, Toledo:
And, one last one. Teatro Romano, Málaga:
travels with toby 
(in a small voice) Can I come with you?
Sounds like a marvelous trip. Nice to have something like this to look forward to. Puts a spring in your step. :-) :-)
yes, meet us in Barcelona! whee!! and yes, it is nice to have something to look forward to indeed :-)
I like the sound of your voice today. You sound charged with excitement. <3
always excited when talking (or writing) about Spain!!! WHEE!!! <3
*(~_~)*
I LOVE trip planning — some would say almost more than the trip itself! :-). What a fun year of planning you have ahead of you — what would we do without TripAdvisor (and others’ blogs for wonderful tips and insights on travel and itineraries).
I love planning too, a kindred spirit ;) And I started planning this one about a year ago. Yes, I am anxious!!
Sounds like a plan! I remember (vaguely…) all those places from many moons ago, especial the mosque in Cordoba — with a Catholic church smack dab in the middle! Quite a contrast… Best of luck with your plans!
Thanks! Yes the mezquita is definitely a contrast.
Can you adopt me? I can carry your bags. Looks great. I love the canal picture looking up the hill at the city.
that’s actually the Rio Tajo (Tagus River: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagus )
but yes, I love that photo as well. and sure, come on along! :)
That’s so exciting! It’s awesome that you’ll get to spend some time in Spain again! I’m sure you guys will have a blast :)
that’s what I am planning on ;) thanks!!
I’m so excited for you!!! Have a great time,Tobyo! Looking forward to seeing beautiful photos. :)
thanks Amy!!
YAAAH! Toledo!!!! Which Saturday is this???
3/19/16 oh but wait, weren’t you going to move to Madrid?? Oh well, then we’ll meet you in Madrid instead ;) I hope!!
Ah, 2016!!! I was thinking THIS year. Got confused ;-) But either year/place, we’ll see each other :)
nah, I need another year to save my pennies :) Yay!! Finally will meet the famous lady of the cakes. WHEE!!!
Uhm… I’ll make sure I wear a clean pair of knickers for the occasion. In case we get run over by a bus…
hmmmm…….okay. ????
not sure if you’ll see this but we’ll be in touch anyway I’m sure. I was off one week. the school calendar was just approved and kidlet’s spring break week is one week earlier than I thought. so, we should be in Toledo on 3/12/16. See you then!! ;)
:)
Sounds like a great trip — ¡buen viaje! I’d suggest adding Park Güell to your Gaudi destinations in Barcelona. It’s arguably his masterpiece along with Sagrada Familia.
oh yes, that is also on the list and hopefully we have time to squeeze it in. So much to see, so little time!
When are you coming, this spring or NEXT year, next year, haha? We should meet up!
My fave restaurant in Barcelona is called Govinda, Plaza Madrid, don’t know the number but you can see it. It’s vegetarian.
If all goes well, we’ll be there March 2016. Thanks for the restaurant recommendation. Vegetarian suits two out of three of us but I will check it out! Yes, let’s try to meet up!