The Westin Palace offered a Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) “Cash & Points” rate during our weekend in Madrid. SPG’s “Cash & Points”, which allows a combination of points and currency to be used to pay for a stay, often provides … Continue reading
Located a convenient 10 minutes away from the Alhambra and tucked away from the town center with commanding views of the city, Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol is a perfect choice for a small bed and breakfast stay in Granada, Spain. … Continue reading
Unusual circumstances landed us in the Hotel Amadeus in Sevilla, Spain. Normally, we are able to book our “top choice” hotel based on our research, because we allow for plenty of lead time. However, our plans for Andalucía solidified much … Continue reading
The eye-catching, sail-shaped hotel at the very edge of the Barceloneta neighborhood is where we decided to stay for our 3 nights in Barcelona. The W Barcelona was very luxurious, but felt worlds away from the rest of the city. … Continue reading
Amateur traveler reviews are often instrumental in trip planning. Actual experiences and undoctored photos have proven much more reliable than short descriptions in guidebooks or glamorous hotel websites. Accordingly, we wanted to share our own impressions of our hotel choices … Continue reading
Evenings in Madrid enthralled us. On the warm fall nights during our visit, we discovered swarms of energetic people, spirited music, and an electrifying atmosphere. This jubilation apexed around Plaza de Santa Ana, the heart of Madrid’s nightlife scene. … Continue reading
Well, at least some of the best things are free! Two of my favorite sites in Madrid were the Prado museum and Retiro Park. The art featured at the Prado was fun to learn about and beautiful to admire and … Continue reading
City. Madrid, Spain When? Friday, September 14 – Sunday, September 16 (2 nights). The 2 nights were a little rushed. We visited all of our top priority sites (Prado, Palace, etc.), but another night would have allowed us to consider a … Continue reading
As much as I loved our night visit to the Alhambra, I’m glad we were able to go back and experience the Palacios Nazaries during the day as well. As I mentioned in my planning post, we purchased tickets … Continue reading
We originally wanted to fit a few days at the Costa del Sol (Spain’s South coast) into our latest trip itinerary, but we just didn’t have enough time. As a compromise, we decided to squeeze in a short day trip … Continue reading
The Alhambra in Granada, Spain was the only attraction that we booked ahead of time, and I’m so glad that we did. The ticket-buying process was fairly painless, and we were assured entrance into one of the greatest sites in … Continue reading
City. Granada, Spain When? Tuesday, September 11 – Friday, September 14 (3 nights). I actually think the three nights was plenty – they were very busy days, but we did pretty much everything we wanted to, including a day trip (about … Continue reading
Back in July, I posted on our positive and money-saving experience of booking tickets online before our trip. I figure I’d post a follow up on our success with using the online tickets, as well as our experience on riding … Continue reading
Sevilla impressed us all around, from its cathedral to the Barrio de Santa Cruz, but perhaps most at the Alcázar. The Alcázar is a palace originally built for local Muslim rulers in the 10th century, but then rebuilt by a … Continue reading
After choosing Sevilla as a destination city for our trip, we knew that a Flamenco show was on the top of our “things to do” list. In fact, it’s really the only thing I knew about Sevilla prior to planning … Continue reading