Spain Travel Blogs on RealTravel

Barcelona journal: 5.26.08 (Monday) _ Barcelona

2008-05-28T13:24:12Z

a journal by KandJBird from a trip to Barcelona, Spain.

Monday, May 26th

Forecast: 75F high/ 63F low – Chance of rain 20%

For the first time all weekend, we awoke to no rain! We checked out of our hotel around 9:15am and decided to head toward Park Guell where we would eat our breakfast. To get to the park we took the metro from the Placa de Catalunya to the metro stop Vallcarca. From the Vallcarca metro stop we followed the signs to the park. Going in this way took us up a high hill that rotated from escalators to stairs that we had to climb to get to the top. But once we were at the top we had another spectacular view of ...

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Spain journal: Espectaculares Vistas desde la Terraza

2008-03-17T17:21:02Z

a review of Restaurante Vista al Mar, a place to eat in Spain.

Muy buena comida de paella y pescado y marisco fresco.

Junto a la muralla de la antigua ciudad de Peñíscola (Spain) y espectaculares vistas al Mar Mediterráneo

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Malaga journal: Malaga

2008-02-03T06:17:13Z

a entry by matt & kita from a trip to Malaga, Spain.

Monday, 12/31/2007

Two countries down, one to go! So far we had had great experiences in England and France and were hoping to have equally fantastic adventures in Spain.

Bright and early, we took the RER train to the Paris airport to catch our flight to Madrid, then from there catch a flight to Malaga. The Paris to Madrid flight ended up being slightly delayed, which meant trouble for our luggage. When we arrived in Malaga we discovered our bags had missed the second flight and all we could do was wait until the following day. Not cool!

Trying to stay positive, we picked ...

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Granada journal: The Eighth Wonder of the World

2008-01-31T17:18:58Z

"Now I have used the word amazing quite a bit in these blogs, however it is the most apt expression for Alhambra"

a entry by Mike & Linda Fidge from a trip to Granada, Spain.

With only four days in Spain and us wanting to see as much as we could in that time we decided to leave the beautiful Seville for pastures unknown in Granada. Little did we realise what wonders we were about to discover.

We hit Granada in the early afternoon and were immediately ready for some good ol' wandering. We were in luck, as Granada's narrow medieval streets were the ideal place to wander. As is so often the case, we were soon lost in our own little world turning corners at random (although I still had a close eye on the map) and stumbling upon beautiful streets, buildings and ...

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Seville journal: Orange Trees and More

2008-01-31T17:17:42Z

"If you a little peckish, just reach up and sustenance can be found in a big squishy orange!"

a entry by Mike & Linda Fidge from a trip to Seville, Spain.

What can I say about Seville except that I loved it very much and it is surely on my short list of cities where I would love to live one day! I will try to explain in this short blog why Seville holds such a special spot in my heart and where its charm lies! Enjoy!

As soon as you arrive in Seville, you cant help but notice one very special thing about this town.....orange trees! They are everywhere, lining every single street and every square and every park! If you a little peckish when you are wandering along the lovely streets of Seville, just reach up and sustenance can be found in a ...

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Barcelona journal: Barcelona, Spain

2008-02-11T09:51:54Z

"One of the best cities I have ever been to!!"

a entry by Nancy17 from a trip to Barcelona, Spain.

Ola!

I first arrived in Madrid after London, took a side trip to Portugal, headed down to Morocco and back up the coast of Spain to spend a few days in Barcelona. Madrid was good, not great. I expected more, I guess. When I came up from Fes, I wanted to spend a few days in Valencia. After the all night bus I arrived about 7am. I found out that there was a festival going on and Ï could not even find a 5 star hotel with a spare room. My Lonely Planet book said this festival was not until March, oops! I wandered around a bit, extremely exhausted. All I really wanted to do was find ...

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Sevilla journal: Modern Hotel

2007-12-16T16:31:09Z

a review of NH Central de Convenciones, a place to stay in Sevilla, Andalucia.

It is a lovely new hotel, the only inconvenient is that is not near the center of Seville. It has lovely modern bedrooms and very spacious. It is a hotel I would recommend.

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Sevilla journal: Really nice

2007-12-13T17:41:40Z

a review of Samay Hostel, a place to stay in Sevilla, Andalucia.

This is a quite new hostel in Sevilla and is really nice. It is on one of the main streets not far from the bus station and the centre of the city. The staff are helpful and speak really good English. The rooms are large and not too crowded and have their own bathroom. There is also an entry area which is separate and has safes for valuable. They are real safes as well so your stuff is definitely secure. There are three computers with free internet access available all the time. The kitchen is good though there are no bowls for some reason. There is an overn though. There is a supermarket just ...

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Cordoba journal: Overpriced on the weekend but reasonable during the week

2007-12-13T17:27:08Z

a review of Hotel Los Patios, a place to stay in Cordoba, Spain.

I had to stay in this hotel because it was the only place with rooms left for the Saturday of the long weekend. It had small rooms that were dark which is fine if all you do is sleep in them. The bathroom was small but clean but in need of some repairs (the towel rail fell of the wall when I was in there one day). The bed was rock solid which is great for me but some people wouldn't like it. It was quite noisy because of the restaurant that is on the ground floor. It is open until 11.30 which isn't too bad for Spain. Breakfast isn't included but the restaurant does serve reasonable breakfast ...

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Granada journal: Not bad but not worth the price

2007-12-13T17:30:54Z

a review of Hotel Juan Miguel, a place to stay in Granada, Spain.

I had to stay in this hotel because there were no beds anywhere else in the entire town it seems. The single rooms are towards the back stuck by the stairs but since I was on the fifth floor not many people were using them so it was pretty quiet. I also didn't get any street noise as my window looked over an internal courtyard. The rooms are nice and dark so it is easy to get sleep. The bathroom was almost as big as the room itself and the shower was good. The towels are big and fluffy which is lovely when you have been backpacking with a travel towel. There is a small minibar so you can buy ...

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Cordoba journal: Cold Cordoba

2007-12-09T14:23:45Z

a entry by mroc2103 from a trip to Cordoba, Spain.

Whoever told me that it would be warm in Spain at this time of the year was wrong. It's not. I'm very glad to have all my warm clothes with me because it hasn't been over 14 degrees since I got down south. It is down to 3 or 4 overnight and here in Cordoba it has been grey and cloudy since I arrived. So much for the sunshine.

That said, Cordoba is a really lovely little town. It took 3 hours to get here on the direct bus from Granada (which strangely enough stopped three times). It was quite a pretty trip through the hills covered in olive groves. They go as far as your eye can see ...

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Valencia journal: Nice and Comfy

2007-12-13T17:20:59Z

a review of Indigo Youth Hostel, a place to stay in Valencia, Spain.

This is one of the nicest places that I have staying in Spain. It is easily accessible from both the bus and train stations. The staff are friendly and speak good english. The rooms are large (some of the biggest I've seen in a hostel) and the common area enormous. The kitchen is reasonable and there is lots of fridge space which is a bonus. There is cable TV with lots of channels available in their original languages. Internet access is free and there are two computers available. The bathrooms are reasonable and very clean. There is also disabled access to the hostel and a disabled shower ...

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Barcelona journal: The lights of Barcelona

2007-12-02T09:38:32Z

a entry by mroc2103 from a trip to Barcelona, Spain.

I arrived in the early evening on the plane from Rome and headed straight to the hostel. There are regular buses to the city from directly out the front of the airport and they are around 4 euros. I decided to walk to the hostel from the bus station as it seemed easier than trying to get into the crowded metro with my bags on. There are always heaps of people about in Spain in the evenings so it is safe enough to wander around on the main streets. The city looks lovely at the moment because they have just put all the Christmas lights up and it is all sparkly. It is definitely a city that looks ...

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Barcelona journal: Nice and Friendly

2007-12-13T17:10:02Z

a review of Mambo Tango Backpackers, a place to stay in Barcelona, Spain.

I only stayed one night at this hostel but would have liked to stay more. The people who run the place are keen travellers themselves so know all the things that people want in a hostel. The internet is free and a good connection with three computers so you rarely have to wait. The kitchen isn't great but a lot of people don't cook while they are in Spain so I guess they haven't worried too much about that. The rooms are tiny because it is a house that has just had a hostel put into it and you have to have lockers out of the room but this is good in some way because it means that people aren't ...

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Valencia journal: Pretty Valencia

2007-12-04T17:22:37Z

a entry by mroc2103 from a trip to Valencia, Spain.

I liked Valencia. It was a good mix of the new and the old with neither taking centre stage.

I arrived on the bus from Barcelona and walked through to the hostel (Indigo) which is on one edge of the old town. It took about 20 minutes to walk and it was quite pleasant as it was a lovely day and about 22 degrees (much better than the 10 degrees and windy that is was when I left Barcelona). I checked in and asked about any supermarkets nearby. I was told that there was a Consum around the corner but that it was having a siesta until 5pm. It must be such hard work being a supermarket. Since ...

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Madrid journal: Bird Poop and High Culture

2006-08-22T21:31:30Z

"Nothing quite welcomes you to Europe like jolty, sweaty sleep in a room full of strangers."

a entry by Mojo McChachi from a trip to Madrid, Spain.

Hiking 40 minutes with all your gear down Seville´s windy side streets to the train station is a slow process. It´s like giving a piggyback ride to a chubby toddler; there´s no reason to prolong the strain on your shoulders.

Worse still is when you realize how quickly seats on the train to Madrid fill up, and you´re stuck with the decision of shelling out an extra 50 euros or waiting in a train station for 6 hours.

And with places to see and things to do, the plush comfort of an AVE business class train massages away the tightness brought about by a 41 degree celsius hike across ...

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Las Palmas journal: Simple But Did The Job

2007-10-30T16:42:21Z

a review of Hotel Don Bigote, a place to stay in Las Palmas, Spain.

Hotel Don Bigote is a simple hotel, located close to most of the resort amenities of Palma Nova which includes the beach and a ten minute walk to Magaluf. Considering my three friends from school and I had booked in as B&B, the location was ideal with there being many restaurants nearby and a McDonalds on the beachfront so we didn't always have to pay for dinner in the hotel. There was usually a fairly decent buffet selection for dinner in the hotel and breakfast buffet wasn't too bad either but I usually found the food outside the hotel more appealing. I tended to leave the guys to their meal ...

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Barcelona journal: Barcelona

2007-07-23T15:54:52Z

a entry by Kiera from a trip to Barcelona, Spain.

DAY 1, WEDNESDAY - BARCELONA

Myself, Niamh and Ray made our way over to Barcelona. Mom and Dad had been over there since the Saturday. Audrey and Paul had been there since Tuesday. When we got to Barcelona we were knackered as we had been up since 4am (shouldn't have gone to bed really!!). We arrived there in full spirits and full of spirits. We were dropping Niamh off to mom and dad's place as she was staying with them. We got there without too much hassle. Mom and Dad were staying in the gay quarter of Barcelona and you wouldn’t really be able to tell from the outside or from the ...

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Toledo journal: The museum still has a pro-Franco slant but is absolutely fascinating telling the story of what must have been a harrowing ordeal.

2007-10-14T11:02:08Z

a review of The Alcazar - ferocious battleground of the civil war, a thing to do in Toledo, Spain.

This part of Spain isnt all 24 nightlife and sangria in the sunshine. Some pretty terrible things happened here in the 20th Century - especially during the deadly civil war of 1936-9. To get a good idea of how bad things got for this country and how much Spainiard was pitted against Spainiard then a trip to the Alcazar is a must. Its living history with bulletholes still intact and a sense of horror in the air.

The four cornered Alcazar de Toledo is the pride of Spain. Originally it was built in the 16th Century by Charles V. Not much of the original remains due to the infamous damage ...

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Madrid journal: Faunia

2007-10-08T09:47:02Z

a entry by ShanShan from a trip to Madrid, Spain.

So Max came up for the weekend and kept me company since almost all of the students in my program were in different countries. We spent all of Saturday walking around Madrid, through Parque del Buen Retiro, stopping for food at cafes, and saw a movie in Spanish. We were both pretty tired and a movie sounded like a good idea. We go to a little theater by my apartment and randomly pick one whose title I recognized (had no idea what it was about). It was called "Y tu, quien eres?" and was a Spanish film. We go into the theater and it's not pretty empty, just a handful of older couples. The movie ...

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Madrid journal: Spain es muy bonita!

2007-09-17T13:19:30Z

"So far, I´ve come across an eclectic mix of street performers - those performing dances (tango), musical acts, juggling dispays, etc."

a entry by Myra-World Explorer from a trip to Madrid, Spain.

So I finally made it to gorgeous Madrid! I have 4 days to live it up and take as many pictures as I can before I head off to South America. I flew into Madrid on September 14th from Istanbul and took 2 metro lines to Bull´s Hostel located in Plaza Santo Domingo. Since the metro directions on their website were wrong, I ended up getting off at Plaza de Espana station (several blocks away) and walking to the dormitory instead. Luckily I found it since it is inconspicuously located inside a bank building without any signage whatsoever. So odd!

It´s the tail end of my trip and I am ...

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Alicante journal: a cheap piece of paradise

2007-09-17T14:21:59Z

a review of Monte Royal, a place to stay in Alicante, Spain.

for 20 euros a night this place was unbelievable. Very helpful staff, spacious rooms with incredible views. The bar/restaurant is delicious and the atmosphere is the best part of all of it.

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Spain journal: Growing smaller...

2007-09-17T14:19:07Z

a journal by vida hermosa from a trip to Spain.

This particular adventure is quite the story... there were elements that may haunt me for a lifetime and moments that turned my world upside down. I spent 2 days on the coast of Valencia, Spain in a town called Alicante.

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Barcelona journal: Our Easter trip to Barcelona - DAY 4

2007-09-10T20:12:59Z

"Why come back to Barcelona"

a entry by 2live2travel from a trip to Barcelona, Spain.

DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4 DAY 4

Our last day has started and after a very good breakfast we realize that at 20.20 we will be going back home.

What are we gonna do today? We try to take the cablecar to Montjuïc. De start is at the beach, behind the harbour. We arrive at 10.15, because we know it will open at 10.30. No... it opened at 10.45. Well after a long wait and a few more visitors it took a while and guess what... we were told the cablecar was broken. No cablecar today. So we decide to take the bus to the museum Fundacio de Juan ...

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Barcelona journal: Our Easter trip to Barcelona - DAY 3

2007-09-10T19:40:14Z

a entry by 2live2travel from a trip to Barcelona, Spain.

DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3 DAY 3

Today the program is filled with two walking trails. The Barri Gótic route and La Ribera downtown. You walk through all kinds of small streets. It is a pitty that most of the stores are closed. It is nice to walk, but very quiet on Easter day. THE cathedral we pass is being renovated. Inside there is a lot of gold (blingbling) and ofcourse many statues en paintings. Many things to see. After we walked the first trail we decide not to walk the other. We went for the beach!

It's kind a strange such a big ...

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