Review of my Spain Trip! WITH PICS

So, I left Friday April 11th on a Delta flight from JFK. The plane was delayed on the runway for two hours which was annoying, but I actually fell asleep before the plane even took off and woke up about an hour before we were landing! It was terrific! I had no one sitting next to me and was able to stretch out a little! We did make up air time and arrived at our original time!

I arrived in Madrid and my husband was waiting for me! We took a cab to our hotel which was far away from the city center... The cab driver ripped us off- what can ya do?

So we get to our hotel (Husa Mirador Suites)- they are doing renovations and boy did they need it! I HATED the hotel! It was trying to be trendy but completely failing at it, the room was dirty- no comforter on the bed, just sheets, and HAIRS in one of the beds (there were two doubles) GROSS! The bathroom was nicer and larger and cleaner....

We took a train to the city center and did lots of touristy things, it was a fun day...but we headed to sleep early since I was exhausted.

The next morning we took a Renfe train to Valencia. We stayed at The Westin Valencia! The hotel was beautiful! A HUGE room! An amazing bathroom! Full of wonderful amenities! A terrific pool and sauna! I loved it there! We shopped around, went to the beach- walked for a few hours- enjoyed-relaxed-ate paella- It was a beauiful two days in Valencia! We loved this Pinxo (sp?) restaurant- I called it pinxo palace but I am pretty sure the real name was Sagradi. The had so many different types of pinxos and I just loved the concept of eating like that...It was different, fun and the food and service was great!
Very romantic and I would highly recommend staying there!

Our next stop was Barcelona- we took a Renfe train and arrived in Barcelona. We stayed at the Eurostars Gaudi two blocks away from the Sagrada Familia. The hotel was cleaner than the first one in Madrid, but not clean enough for my standards. The room was a large closet basically. I KNOW that rooms in Europe are smaller than in the US but this was ridiculous! The bathroom was very nice though...

I loved Barcelona! Again, we did all of the touristy things you are supposed to do. We loved eating at Taller de Tapas- we actually ate there twice! Their grilled squid was seriously the best I have ever eaten. Their Sangria was delicious!
We enjoyed the Boqueria off of the Ramblas and we were able to eat a wonderful lunch there as well. I drank some Cava and enjoyed some crispy artichokes, grilled squid and prawns! YUM!

We did a dinner and flamenco show which we really loved! The food they served was really great, it was all you can drink-alcohol/soda/water...the show was really fun too!

We did a hop on hop off bus tour one day and that was fun- took us to many of the good stops- it was a good deal and we saw everything we wanted to see. I enjoyed shopping at Pueblo Espanol. I don't really understand why they charge people to "get in" there when it is basically eating and shopping, but I did enjoy it there and I was able to buy a beautiful tapestry. The lunch there was just okay- but we were hungry so we just wanted to eat. We knew it would be "tourist" and probably not that good- it was fine for what it was.

Our last destination was Madrid again- we took the renfe train and again, it was fine...Our hotel this time was the Gran Hotel Velasquez. It was in the city center- it was a nice hotel. Larger rooms- really nice bathroom- very clean! Staff was rude, but no big deal...I would recommend staying there.

We did more touristy things- it was raining our last two days, so that was no fun, but we dealt with it and enjoyed ourselves. I really enjoyed the Prado Museum. They had a special Goya exhibit which was nice to see.

Our last dinner in Madrid was at Ginger- We just happened to come across it- saw the menu, it looked good, so we decided to eat there. The wine was phenominal! I could not find it in a store there our last day, but I hope I can find it in the States. The restaurant was very pretty and romantic- the prices were excellent and the food was delicious! I highly recommend eating there!

we loved Retiro Park and we loved Park Guell....so pretty. and at Park Guell, all of the Gaudi architecture was so beatiful.

We ate some chocolate con churros! YUM! Their hot chocolate was so good!

I had a great time in Spain and I hope that we can go back and see other parts of the country!

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Message edited 4/21/2008 8:45:27 PM.

Re: Review of my Spain Trip!

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Re: Review of my Spain Trip! WITH PICS

I'm so jealous! I can not wait for the day I make it to Spain.
Sounds like you had a great time!

Would love to see more pictures.

Re: Review of my Spain Trip! WITH PICS

looks amazing

Re: Review of my Spain Trip! WITH PICS

How pretty! Thanks for the review.

Re: Review of my Spain Trip! WITH PICS

WOW thanks for the review! looks beautiful

Re: Review of my Spain Trip! WITH PICS

Great review!!

It looks beautiful there!!

Re: Review of my Spain Trip! WITH PICS

More pics...

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Re: Review of my Spain Trip! WITH PICS

taller de tapas rocks
that whole street was swesome
did you do the picasso museum?

glad you had fun! spain is my fave place