Travel plan idea blog

Spain experience: what went well and what could have been skipped

This traveler had an overall positive experience in Spain but still took the time to write down some of the things he didn't like so much. If anyone here is planning a trip to Spain I would say this vacation experience is a must read:

First some overall impressions/comments on Spain:

Spain has been conquered so many times that it is a little bit confused as to what it's actual heritage is - there is evidence that each of the conquering cultures has influenced the core of Spanish Culture - and this gets glossed over in the telling of Spanish history as the Spanish see it.

Spain is not extremely user friendly - and especially so if you do not speak Spanish.
- The printed and online roadmaps of Spain bear very little resemblance to each other and none of them accurately portray the roads of Spain
- Spain is closed from Sunday at 2pm to Tuesday at 9am
- The Spanish don't eat a real breakfast - they eat tostatos (toast and tomato) and café con leche
- Nothing is really open in Spain before 9am
- Very few people work in Spain from 3pm to 6pm - the whole country is on Siesta - in some areas Siesta starts a 2pm or earlier
- There are very few stop signs in Spain - mostly you come to turnarounds, which means you have to get on a traffic circle and chose an exit. If you are blind like I am, you may have to come back to the
same turnaround more than once, or twice, or three times - the signage all round Spain is confusing and you never get the full story about anything
- the airports in Spain are also very confusing - try not to take a connector flight in Spain if you can help it

The Good News:

- there is great café in Spain! Everywhere you go, café con leche, brewed in fancy machines is available even in the most lowly of places
- tapas is everywhere, and if you find the right places, tapas is free. You generally are in a tourist trap when you have to pay for tapas. The origin of tapas is that it was an order of the King that pubs served their patrons food with their drink to try to limit drunkenness. Pub owners [after the king made this edict] served small upside down tops on the beer mug filled with food tidbits [the filled top was the tapas]. Tapas can be simple like wedges of cheese, or slices of cured ham, or a cooked dish of many different varieties: fish, beef, pork, shrimps, mushrooms, eggs. There are almost an unlimited variety. They are eaten at the pub, at the main comida (meal) during mid day and at night (late at night), and even at home. Btw, It is not uncommon that the last meal of the day is after 9pm
- the Spanish don't like tipping. Don't ask me why, but they generally complain when you give an American size tip (15% or more). A lot of time they will round off your change to the next full Euro. The only exception to this appears to be taxi cabs where a tip is more acceptable
- Iberian Pork - oh my! - there are many grades of Iberian Pork, but the best pork is the "Bellota" which is a black pig historically raised in Spain and fed on acorns. It's pricey but you must try it, both cured and not cured it is truly divine.

I gained fifteen pounds at least in Spain - we ate a lot a lot.

Here is a list of the highlights/places we visited and my brief impressions:

Port of Mazarron - seaport town on the Southeast coast - cute seaside area with great views of the Mediterranean - we found a great bistro there inside one of the new boat dock developments they have - but for the most part there are a lot of Chinese and Pizza restaurants there and not a lot of Spanish eateries - the beaches are not very pretty with dark sand and a lot of rocks.

Port of Cartagena - another seaport town just east of Mazarron - considered a very strategic port - conquered and rebuilt at least five times - with impressive views on the waterfront combined with historic forts and buildings - includes the ruins of a Roman theater, a medieval palace at the highest point with opportunities to view the entire layout of the city - several museums (pass up the tour bus that goes around the city - it's terrible with prerecorded tour that is not very informative - and also pass up the archeology museum inside the city and away from the port) - there is are great plazas for strolling and eating all around - a salvage/diving museum - definitely a good place to bring kids - do not go there on Sunday or Monday - especially Monday - everything closes.

Condita D'Alhambra and Campa del Sol - the best feature of these two places is the Jack Nicholas Golf Course they have just completed - its proximity to Murcia, Cartagena and Mazarron - we played there and it's a great course - the rest of it - yuck! - it's basically a series of condo developments largely catering to a British population - filled with British style pubs and Chinese and Indian restaurants - there is a good Italian style Spanish restaurant and grocery in the Condita D'Alhambra - and the condos are inexpensive to stay in and while ugly - they are clean - but it overall seems to be a non sequitor to the country.

Grenada - go to Grenada to see the Alhambra - it is awesome - plan on spending a whole day there - you must book in advance though and I recommend getting there early - it is just an enormous museum and there are many places to stroll and eat - if you arrive there after five pm the gates close on most of it.

Archena - site of the Roman baths and Termal Spa - another great place to spend the day. There are newly built public baths there on top of and integrated into the old roman ruins - get there early - bring your bathing suit (they don't have a great selection there if you want to buy one) bring a robe, and bring flip flops. They rent towels for a nominal charge and lockers too. They have giant thermal baths, whirlpools, saunas, steam room, heated stones, lemon baths, spray baths, igloos, cold baths, massage baths and treatment rooms. It is linked to several hotels where you can stay and I recommend staying there - if you want to arrange a private massage - facial or treatments you have to book those two days in advance - but they are well worth it - and those are conducted inside the Roman bath ruins - really amazing stuff. The only place to eat there is in one of the hotels - but the hotel restaurant is really quite good.

Cuidad Real (pronounced Thu-da or Su-da Ree-al) - the birth place of Cervantes - charming town with a bunch of monuments and a clock that plays on the hour and gives a Cervantes show - many tributes to Don Quixote and his side kick - surrounded by many quaint farm villages you can drive to and eat for a very authentic Spanish Experience - we were lucky enough to be invited to the farm home of a Spanish family there and treated to an amazing home cooked meal in a charming home. We also toured and ate in an old monastery village outside of Cuidad Real - the monastery has been converted into a hotel called Paradores with a fabulous restaurant in it - pricey but well worth it - the food there is heavenly - the hotel is very comfortable - we didn't stay there - but it is a place I would stay in if I go back - apparently it is a favorite spot of the royals. There is also a charming 16th Century open air theater there in the village square along with shops that sell local cheeses (fabulous local cheeses for tapas) and local specialties.

Toledo (pronounced To-Lay-Doe) - another great place to spend the day - Toledo is a landmark of the EU and is the largest intact Medieval city in all of Europe. You can walk its streets and savor churches, historic sites, views of the countryside, many, many restaurant and shops and it is just charming. We were lucky enough to have a couple that reside in the city guide us around. One of them has lived there all her life the other works for a friend of the King of Spain (Sr Ventura) who has been restoring and converting old buildings in Toledo into restaurants serving traditional fare - we ate in one in the cellars several levels below the street - it was charming and we had royal venison among other treats

Madrid - we were only there for a day - but visited the Prada Museum with an outstanding collection of Goyas - ate at the Westin Palace (oh my!) - and ended our day at the Corral De La Moreria - which is the foremost classical Flamenco parlor in all of Spain. We saw the farewell performance of Blanca del Rey - the reining Ballerina of Spain at the foot of the stage - after her performance she gave an impassioned talk about her love of Flamenco and she acknowledged her husband and a few others in the audience to see her last dance - and then she danced a final loving and passionate duet with Juan Andres Maya who is the male lead dancer there. We had taken the fast train from Cuidad to Madrid and back again - and it was definitely worth the convenience and experience of the train - Madrid has subways that take you all over. We also walked through the Gran Plaza which is like Madrid's Fifth Avenue and that was okay - but of no appeal to this New Yorker.

We were lucky enough to have great weather throughout - and we truly enjoyed it. Ole!

Posted by James Trotta at March 12, 2010 12:27 AM