SPAIN
Unbelievably beautiful. A must.
1: TRAIN
Casa Batlló
Dalí Theatre-Museum
Maria Luisa Park in Sevilla
3: AIRBNB
Be sure to get ALL photos. Of the hallway, building and apartment #dontbefooled
For Barelona, I would recommend staying in or near Plaça de Tetuan. Madrid, near Metro Tirso de Molina. Sevilla, near the Cathedral (Hotel Murillo is a great one).
Miracle, you might land with the most amazing hosts who are also locals and be shown a night you will never forget. Very unexpected, a wonderful dinner with lovely conversation followed but the most interesting history tour of Madrid #getlucky
My (new) family in Madrid ;)
Madrid, Home to Penelope Cruz
4. KNOW THE LANGUAGE ha
#mistake but every local was still extremely kind
Barcelona
5. TAKE THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
In Madrid, skip Calle Major and walk along all the back roads. They are colorful, unique and so interesting. Barcelona, rent a bike to visit every narrow, historic road and be sure to check out the markets. I saw food I have never seen in my life before. Seville, be so sure to walk all around the center city but rent a bike and be sure to also check out the edges of Seville.
Mistake, I wish I had more than a few days in each city. Once you see the museums and must see sites, you want to always have time to live like a local #maketime
Alcazar, Seville
Unbelievably beautiful. A must.
Top 5 best tips I wish I knew:
Toledo, great and easy day trip from Madrid
Take the Renfe AVE Train (be sure, AVE line) very easily from city to city and its silly but very vital to know, once you buy your tickets online (can also easily do at station but prices might go up longer you wait), before finding your train be SURE to print your tickets at the counter with an agent.
Mistake, I waited in line when time was crucial, ticket was only on phone, I had to run out of line - leave my luggage there and print the ticket. #dontdo
2: ATTRACTIONS RESERVE YOUR SPOT
There are a few major musts in Spain.
There are a few major musts in Spain.
In Barcelona, Sagrada Familia (most remarkable, stunning church in the world), Casa Batlló (Casa Milà if you have extra time, walk the roof - Vicky Cristina Barcelona was filmed here) and Park Güell. A day trip (or I would recommend staying a night and enjoying) take the train to Figueres - see the Dali Museum, it is amazing, then take a bus to where he lived in Cadaques! Cadaques is a lovely seaport village where I wish I stayed for one night! For the museum you can buy tickets there but for his house I definitely recommend buying in advance, worst case you can still see his garden. In Seville, from my experience I would suggest buying tickets for the Cathedral in advance, the view from the top is amazing (and since the Muslims would pray 5x a day, they built a ramp to the top that you will walk that was used for the horses to bring them up to pray!). So cool. Alcazar arrive early and the queue will be short. Also, an event that was life changing - you have to see the Flamenco, it was after all born in this city! One more day trip, Granada and Cordoba. I was told Granada could be a day trip but to do it right, it really cannot. It is about 3-4 hours away and stunning. I would recommend going and staying a night or two. Be sure to see Alhambra. Cordoba can be a stop from Madrid to Seville as the train stops in Cordoba on the way. However again, if you have luggage as I did, it would have been better to stay overnight or go back without luggage. All places mentioned above I would say buy tickets in advance for :)
Mistake, we biked to Sagrada then had to go back once we had tix #dontbeus hah
Mistake, we biked to Sagrada then had to go back once we had tix #dontbeus hah
Park Guell
3: AIRBNB
Be sure to get ALL photos. Of the hallway, building and apartment #dontbefooled
For Barelona, I would recommend staying in or near Plaça de Tetuan. Madrid, near Metro Tirso de Molina. Sevilla, near the Cathedral (Hotel Murillo is a great one).
Miracle, you might land with the most amazing hosts who are also locals and be shown a night you will never forget. Very unexpected, a wonderful dinner with lovely conversation followed but the most interesting history tour of Madrid #getlucky
4. KNOW THE LANGUAGE ha
#mistake but every local was still extremely kind
5. TAKE THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED
In Madrid, skip Calle Major and walk along all the back roads. They are colorful, unique and so interesting. Barcelona, rent a bike to visit every narrow, historic road and be sure to check out the markets. I saw food I have never seen in my life before. Seville, be so sure to walk all around the center city but rent a bike and be sure to also check out the edges of Seville.
Mistake, I wish I had more than a few days in each city. Once you see the museums and must see sites, you want to always have time to live like a local #maketime
