Travel to Portugal and Spain looking for critique

Apart from congratulating you on pace and spending admirable amounts of time in places, compared to many, and hoping you have the transport down (which it appears you have), not a great deal more to say.

I love the pace and length of your trip too. My family has taken two such extended trips (6 weeks each) and they too have been wonderful. I think your itinerary looks great! I have been to Madrid, it's a beautiful city. Granada is one of my favorite places to visit - the Alhambra and it's gardens are magnificent. I've been twice, and I would go back again in an instant. The Albayzin area is also enchanting. We absolutely LOVED Nerja! It's beautiful. Cordoba is not my favorite, but other people love it. I think it's good you only have given it two days. Toledo was very interesting! I spent 3 days in Lisbon, but I was so exhausted I couldn't really enjoy myself. I'm sure there is plenty to see and do for a week there. It's near some lovely beach towns too.
Your going to have an amazing trip I'm sure! Your granddaugthers are very lucky girls! I travel with my kids as well. next summer we are doing a home exchange in Provence, we'll be there for 3 weeks. My son is now 15 and my daughter 10. It's wonderful to show them the world!

Thanks for the feedback. We still need to look at where we will be staying. We hope to rent apartments in Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona. If you have any suggestions they would be appreciated. But thanks again for the encouragement on what we plan to do.

I rented an apt. in Madrid from the lady listed below. Great apt. with all conveniences. She even had cooling oil and salt and pepper available. [email protected] Her apt. add:
http://www.homelidays.co.uk/madrid/apartment-flat-391329en1.htm

Thanks for the tip on the apartment, but we are meeting our two 15 year old granddaughters in Madrid and ideally we would like to have two bedrooms and two baths. We could probably get by with one bathroom but we really need two bedrooms.

Since you are taking teenagers one tip that the RS book neglects in Lisbon: the Parque das Nações, On Av. Dom João II (Metro: Oriente Station. Train: Gare do Oriente.) Built for the 1998 World Expo, the eastern side of town (take the Metro to Oriente) is a change from downtown. It includes Oceanarium, One of the world's largest oceanariums. Admission 16.00EUR.
Also there is a very nice sky tram that gives you a nice ride along the riverfront, lots of bars and restaurants and people.

We live in Andalucia so I admit to bias for Spain! I think your itinerary looks great and so pleased to see you are not rushing around. Of the places you mention, we have been to all except Tavira. Lisbon was not a favourite I have to say but others love it. Seville is gorgeous, as is Granada and these cities, along with Nerja, we know very well. Nerja is a lovely town, but it is very popular with tourists and has a large expat community. Cordoba and the Mezqita is fantastic. Of course the Alhambra in Granada cannot be missed and book your tickets ahead of time and ensure you have the same credit card with you to collect them. Re accommodation - we have used www.sevilla5.com several times in Seville, and have always been very happy. They also have a good range of apartments and most are centrally located. Barrio Santa Cruz is generally where we have stayed. Granada we have used www.granadainfo.com several times, again very successfully. In Madrid we have used www.friendrentals.com once and will be doing so again next month. In Barcelona we used www.destinationbcn.com and were very pleased. But just google short term apartment rental and the city and you will find many others. We always try to stay as centrally as possible. I am sure you are aware that the Spanish are out late at night/into the morning so if noise troubles you, ask about that - and just because it is central will not automatically mean noise. Most of the buildings in the older parts of the cities are old and many will not have lifts so if this is a problem, check. Also, in Europe remember the ground floor is the one at street level, then 1st floor and so on. Another thing to bear in mind is size - many apartments are advertised as sleeping (say) 4 - 6 people but usually at least 2 of them are on a sofa bed. Read reviews - www.slowtrav.com has a number for Spain and of course tripadviser.

Thank you for all the valuable information and names to contact. We are only looking for apartments in Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona, since we will be there at least seven days. Most places have a limit of at least three days. But we will look into all the sites you suggested. Thanks again.