I just booked a trip to northern Spain! Anybody here got some advice for me?

It's a bargain priced Smithsonian art and architecture tour. Twelve days in late Oct., early Nov., returning the day before Election day. The tour was rapidly selling out so my friend and I jumped on it! Not fancy but the itinerary sings to me...going to Madrid, Barcelona and the Basque country, crossing the Pyrennees into France.

I've never been to Spain so this will be a real adventure!

I lived for two years in Barcelona, but that was back in the days of Generalissimo Franco, so my memories probably don't match the present circumstances. The Gaudi buildings in Catalunya are not to be missed, but since it's an art and architecture tour you'll undoubtedly be able to check them out.

And do try a Crema Catalana when there. It's a crème brûlée with brio.

I took the Smithsonian art tour to Rome, Tuscany and Umbria in 06 and it was great. Also pretty cheap. There are some very pricey Smithsonian tours but these are real bargains. But you have to like all the art stuff (including lectures which I love but some may not).

We'll be visiting Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Also some fabulous monasteries and cathedrals, one in Montserrat where the "Black Virgin" sculpture is.

Crema Catalana sounds great. It's on my list now!

Barcelona is my favorite city in the world. I'm going to live there someday. Enjoy!

That's why this kind of tour appeals to me. It isn't just for people who want to just be dragged around on a tour bus and go back and eat in the hotel!

continuously operating restaurant in the world, been in the same location for a couple or three hundred years. Specializes in Castilian style roasted meats: suckling pig, suckling lamb, (possibly goat also), roasted chickens, and is loaded with atmosphere.

Worth the effort and cost.

\enjoy the seafood, it is awesome where ever you are.

don't miss the Prado, of course. Do you know if you are going to Granada or Cordoba ? The Alhambra is in Granada and the Mosque in Cordoba is just amazing. We spent an entire day wandering around the Alhambra with just a guide book and a camera. It was divine.

Hope you get to go to Toledo too. You can sit on the hill and look down on the same view painted by El Greco. I loved Toledo, the whole city is a national historic landmark.

This is really a tour of the very north of Spain, including the Bssque country (and Bilboa with its Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim Museum of modern art).

I'd love to go to Granada and Cordoba at a later time! This will be concentrated on Madrid and then upper Spain. In Madrid a lot of time is designated for the Prado and also other museums ("Guernica" for instance is surprisingly not in the Prado).

Because it is the Smithsonian, they have very good guides and lecturers (yep, lecturers). So it is not every tourists ideal, but for me it is heaven on earth. Different strokes as they say...also, for what you get it's a great bargain!

want something like that.

We did 3 weeks in Spain winging a great deal of it.

Hopefully you will get to go another time, and do the Andalusian/coastal area. Or combine it with Portugal. Seville, Granada and Cordoba are enough to keep you busy for several days.

Are you going to get to go to Santander and see the Faux Altamira? We got to see the real one, 25 years ago, in fact EXACTLY 25 years ago we were in Spain. It was our honeymoon. Hope you get to see that, it is amazing.

Anyway, hope you get tons of time in Toledo! We took a 3 hour tour, had so much fun we took a day trip and went back ..it was great.

Hope you get to La Botin though. They used to give you tremendous portions, so you can share a meal to save $$

You know you are going to have to post photos when you return.

I was there two or three days and felt it wasn't enough. Same story with Granada.

...:-)

That University of Denver hooded sweatshirt might be best left at home.

Try to keep maps out of sight. If you need to follow a complicated set of directions, sit down in a bar for ten minutes and write them down.

Look confident. This goes hand in hand with the above point. Look like you know where you are going, even if you don’t.


Safety tips

Be careful where you put your valuables. Internal pockets are better than external ones. If you do need to put things in external pockets, try to keep your hands over them so you can feel where your valuables are.

Use the security provisions provided by your hotel. Do you really need to take your camera out? If not, leave it behind.

Women - keep your handbag under your arm. Thieves have been known to use scissors to cut shoulder straps and make off with the bag.

Be vigilant when sitting in bars and cafes. Don’t leave money in your jacket when you hang it over your chair and keep an eye on your bags when you put them down.

But the best advice - use your common sense. remembering to add into the equation the fact that you look like a tourist and are probably carrying more expensive equipment than you would at home.


Hope I didn't scare you.

I was super careful in Sicily but found Palermo to be a delightful city. No real problems at all, but I do have a special flat wallet I wear inside my jacket, instead of carrying a handbag. I would be nervous in Naples, tho.

Other than some apprehension about Sicily, I was pretty relaxed in places like Rome and Florence. Rome reminded me of NYC (where I have lived), so much so that I call it "New York with Vespas."
I have a couple of friends there and hope to take my granddaughter there next year when she is 13.

I am so untypical as a tourist that I really don'thave expensive equipment. I will be at a disadvantage in Spain because I don't know Spanish. In Italy, I could do fairly well with my Italian in navigating train schedules and street directions.

Looks like I'll need another trip to the bookstore for a Frommer's or a Fodor's on this part of Spain...

hilarious film about idiots abroad.

see the Gaudi cathedral and park. Great cafes, night life.

my favorite city in Spain just to be in.

and recognize that its REAL!

Be sure to eat some Basque food. Can do the same here, in Nevada, and its well worth it.

Be aware of the significant difference in eating hours, later and later.

Have a great time!

years ago and headed south.

There is the Prado, but that might be too big for one trip. Like the Met or the Louvre, it's enormous and not meant to just walk in and see it all. There are many small museums in Madrid, and I remember them to be wonderful and perfect for a morning or afternoon. And, Franco bankrupted Spain putting artwork on every corner of Madrid, so besides the huge avenidas and the Paseo del Prado, try to see some of the amazing underpasses. And, there are palaces.

And dancing.

You may not want to see a bullfight on moral grounds, but not seeing one won't stop it from happening. So, you might consider a trip to the corrida just to see for yourself. Brutal? Certainly. But still a fascinating experience.

Another vote for Toledo. It's a daytrip from Madrid and absolutely should not be missed.

And tapas. Pig out on tapas-- you will eat well in Spain. Wine ahould still be pretty cheap, too-- and very good.

Delicious little city. There's a Roman aqueduct there.

Also: Chinchón, also near Madrid. The entirety of the village is around an old plaza de toros. Good place for buying booze. Hic.

I've walked the Camino Frances through there & have spent time in Madrid. :) Let me know & I'll give you some pointers. :)

dg

http://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/tours/crosspyrenees2007/?display=description#pageTitle

Bibao and a couple of other towns I never heard of. I just love going places I never heard of. It's a real adventure for me.

I've walked into & out of Burgos & Pamplona, took a bus to San Sebastian. Burgos is great. Be sure to check out the cathedral! You will be seeing a lot of people in hiking gear & backpacks. These are pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela. :) Most will have started from a small town in France called St. Jean Pied du Port several hundred kilometers away.

In Pamplona, don't believe the statement that Calle Estafeta is the only street the bulls run. They actually start on another street, down a very steep hill near one of the museums. You can follow the route by following the "Encierro" signs. Again, you will see people in hiking gear & backpacks. Pamplona is the first major city on the Camino Frances. :) The old city is very walkable. If you want to walk on part of the Camino Frances, look for yellow arrows along Calle Mayor. You might want to start following them from the Cathedral. You should also stop at the Cathedral of San Lorenzo as that is where the statue of San Fermin (saint of Pamplona) is. Following the arrows along the Calle Mayor will lead you straight there.

San Sebastian is an interesting place. It was very windy & the weather was horrible when I spent a day there in May. But still, a nice place & would be great on a nice, sunny day.

If you're interested in the Camino Frances, or what the hey these pilgrims & arrows look like, check out my blog, www.kellyonthecaminofrances.blogspot.com .

dg

thanks so much. I'm printing out your reply to keep in my folder for the trip.

Smithsonian does a good job. They have knowledgeable people who give a lot of information and background on what it is we are seeing. For an inexpensive tour, I feel this is invaluable information I might not know (altho I research my trips pretty thoroughly).

BTW, I remember mentioning Compestelo in a term paper I did in a graduate course on world art and the image of women. Interesting place. The pilgrimage route is also interesting. A friend of mine did it with a very devout group of Anglicans a few years back...I had had no idea that the pilgrimages were still going on all these centuries since the Middle Ages...

and now the Camino Frances is one of the most popular pilgrimages in the world. It is hard, but truly worth it. You really get to know Spain, the people, the cultures, & the history, much more intimately than if you just drive through it. Oh, and the food. ;) So if you get a chance to walk all or part of it, I recommend it.

dg

If so, that's a fantastic bargain. I might look into it myself.

from JFK to Madrid and then Barcelona/Madrid/JFK was cheaper than anything the tour company could match. Also the airport transfers the tour company charges are more than we would have to pay for taxis so it worked out pretty well. We got the air for $650 r/t per person plus $35 pp flight insurance. Then, the trip insurance pp was $170, which we always buy.

If you are interested they have a few other departures, but none for calendar 08 after the Oct. 23 departure. They didn't have too many slots left when I called so if you are interested, you should contact them sooner, not later. Their toll free number is: 1-800-528-8147.

I can recommend this particular company since I took their "Italian Masterpieces" tour in 06. It was a real steal, too. We went to Rome, Florence, Montecatini, Lucca, Assisi, Perugia and Orvieto. And it was a nice group of people.

Let me know how you make out and if you'll be going on the one I am going on! How cool would that be, our own little DU contingent!

La Pedrera (one of Gaudi's apartment buildings)

Go to the roof at night. Simply stunning. Do it.

A flight delay could cause you to miss the election.

thanks for the suggestion...

Main advice: take a raincoat, the north of Spain and the Basque Country are known as green Spain for a reason! You'll also need an umbrella but they are cheap there and sold everywhere so buy one when you get to Bilbao, most shops have an umbrella stand at the door because they don't like people dripping water around the shop. Don't worry it won't be stolen because almost no one goes out without one.

Feel free to PM me if you want to know anything in particular I've been to most of the places you will be going to.

to Toledo. You will be glad you did. Also if you're in the Madrid area, check out Segovia and El Escorial. Madrid has so much too, the Palace, the Prado, it's endless. But most of all, Toledo. It's wonderful in so many ways; the whole city is a world heritage site with that cathedral, the art museums, etc.

BTW, I'm jealous.

Watch this video.