My Way Spain + 6 days Barcelona

04/29 - major sightseeing plans; pouring rain
- 9:00 entry La Sagrada Famila this is our 2nd visit; 1.5 hours viewing the sanctuary, museum and gift shop. Bill avoids downward stairs and we did a tower previously, so not today
- San Pau Recinte we’re ahead of our timed entry, but no crowds so we head right in, pouring rain dampens enthusiasm for dashing between buildings; wish it had been a dry day as it’s so worth a visit to this former holistic hospital, especially if you have a hospital background or are just a fan of Modernista architecture (and no crowds)
- 15:00 timed ticket entry for Casa Batllo doesn’t work out; people with 14:30 and 14:45 are still waiting (uncovered) in the pouring rain and decide we’re too wet to wait for uncertain entry time - we had the blue ticket option
- Evening tapas tour with Foodlovers terrific small group; congenial group with all ages including a kid; plenty of food and an introduction to vermouth; guide Marcel knew how to manage a group for maximum enjoyment; 4 different stops in Pablo Sec & Sant Antoni neighborhood

04/30
- am walking tour with Nick Lloyd Spanish Civil War Tour easy meeting spot across from Placa Catalunya; small group walking tour of important Spanish Civil War sites in Barcelona ( next time you’re in Placa Catalunya look for bullet holes in the masonry); tour ends in a coffee shop where he shares more stories and artifacts; he also has an excellent book if you want to read up before you visit the city
- pm visit to La Pedrera entry time was 16:45; get audioguide and take elevator up to the furnished apartment; the attic has an excellent display explaining Gaudi’s design techniques; eventually end up on the roof; one of our favorite stops
- Tapas at La Bodeguita and dessert from Xixona

05/01 - nice weather for the Spanish holiday; many places are closed
- off to Montjuicmetro to funicular to 150 bus and we’ve got a 360 view of Barcelona; the castle is fascinating after our tour the previous day with an exhibit on its historical roll; guidebook and even Wikipedia don’t give its current status much credit, but we read all the information in rooms surrounding the courtyard; the moat where Franco’s firing squad shot Luis Campanys was being used as an archery range;
- because of the holiday, lines were long for the cable cars
- Bus 150 winds a route through Montjuic, so next stop was Fundacio Joan Miro very busy and we remember we’re not big modern art fans, so it’s a limited stop
- Back on bus 150 to the Olympic Stadium which is the current home of FC Barcelona (grandson wants an FC jersey) and the Olympic Village from an Olympics we well remember;
- Sadly, Museu Nacional d’Art de Cataluynais closed for the holiday (but we didn’t realize this before we got there)
- Escalator to Arenas de Barcelona - basement food court, nice restaurants on the roof and shops on floors between
- My Way Spain begins tomorrow

Travel styleMurphy’s Law

Lol! Love this. So true!

Edit to add: We're spending about 5 days in Barcelona this fall, so I'm definitely bookmarking this! The Maritime museum is one of our favorites. And I love the "Pre-tour research" idea.

NIck Lloyd's tour really is terrific. Personally I would just go to a show at the Palau de Musica and arrive early enough to look around rather than take a separate guided tour, and I love guided tours.

Over the years I’ve developed a long list of regrets and not doing a concert at the Palau de Musica is now on the list. My carpe diem needs work

My Way Spain begins - disclaimer: because this is our 2nd tour with a similar itinerary, we didn’t repeat some of the most popular sites. I try and mention what others did at each stop.
05/02 - onward to Hotel Jazz the tour hotel; drop luggage
- tour of Palau de la Musica; English tour at 10 a.m., arrive early as we’re afraid we’ll get lost, but that means time for a coffee in the Modernista cafe and a chance to take in this jewel box; engaging guide with a twinkle and a short film starts things off, tour of the facility and chance to sit and enjoy a pre-recorded section of a performance
- Lunch is on the top floor of El Corte Inglesdepartment store; a cafeteria/food court with killer views;
- Tour meeting at 5:00; Rich Earl introduces himself and explains his function (he went WAY beyond); we choose buddies and briefly explain who we are; appetizers and drinks are provided; one couple was off kilter as they had left home without realizing their ATM/ debit had expired and their credit card wasn’t working either-a reminder to always check expirations (I’m sure lots of people would have answers for the mistakes they made, but we’re the Murphy’s Law people so we get it)
- Rich offers an orientation walk and points out pharmacies (remember all that rain?) and ATMs with the best conversion rate

05/02 La Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Park Guell, the Picasso Museum, Las Ramblas are on most tour mates list; laundry is on our list - it doesn’t take credit cards; meet helpful people and mission accomplished; buy lunch for tomorrow’s train ride in the basement of El Cortes Ingles; packed and ready for train ride to Madrid
Edited: Lavandería Autoservicio LavaExpress, Passatge d’Elisabets,3

05/04 off to Madrid
Everyone gathers with luggage and we walk to few blocks to Placa Catalunya and a bus to the train station; Rich manages to get all of us on the AVE train and in 3 hours we’re in Madrid; Hotel Moderno Madridis just off Placa del Sol; orientation walk followed by a group gathering for tapas and drinks; dinner was a fail but we get churros and chocolate at Chocolateria San Gines

05/05 most of the group** Prado,Royal Palace, Toledo**
- Noon tour with Stephen Drake-Jones for his Hemingway’s Madrid I had read For Whom the Bell Tolls before the trip; Mr Drake-Jones is quite a character and an excellent raconteur; lots of wine, food and stories so we just have gelato for dinner; he has a very interesting book about Madrid which I wish I’d gotten before the trip

05/06
- Botin Experience the oven has been running continuously for 300 years (even during COVID someone came in every day to keep it going) small group of six; we went through some pretty tight places in the cellar but lots of great stories; lunch followed and the suckling pig was worth it
- Walk to the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia We’ll being going to Guernica on our Best of the Basque Country following this tour; admission is free for over 65 (we didn’t need to show proof) and we use
the entrance on Ronda de Atocha
- there is an area that had more fabric stores than I have seen in years. I wish I had known ahead of time. I will try and edit this after I look up specifics

05/07Granada
Short walk to the bus; 2 comfort stops on the way and lunch is in an auto grill; Hotel Anacapriis our destination; orientation walk through the Albayzin and area around the hotel; Rich points out the bus stop for The Alhambra close to our hotel; he has arranged a dinner atRestaurante Las Tomasasfor anyone interested- the restaurant overlooks The Alhambra and we watch as the sun goes down and the lights come on - .pretty spectacular; those who were interested had given him money ahead and he set the menu; taxi back to the hotel

Fantastico! Heading to Spain in 10 days!

This just gets better and better. I just looked Stephen Drake-Jones up, and have bookmarked the website. Is his book simply titled "Madrid?" I see it can be purchased through the website, but I'll see if I can find it here first.

Thank you so much!

We took a walking tour with Stephen Drake-Jones also. It was some walking but mostly sitting which was fine with us. He is definitely a unique person, fun and interesting. When we were with him he mentioned his book but it wasn’t finished, gonna look for it now.

We also did the Botin Experience. A fun, fun afternoon and wonderful dinner.

As far as the hot chocolate goes, our tour guide took us to El Riojana which was just around the corner from Sin Gines. It looks like a bakery but has a small cafe in the back. Not crowded, no line, we had a table, and the hot chocolate was thick and creamy and delicious. A much better choice in my opinion.

Jane - you’re the reason I finally wrote this up as your past reports have been invaluable and I hope I can pass that along to others. The book is Stephen Drake-Jone’s Madrid.

Barbara - you deserve the credit for our time in Madrid. Both the Stephen Drake-Jones tour and the Botin were because of your trip report.

05/08
- During the orientation walk, Rich showed us where to catch the #C30 or #C32 bus to The Alhambra just uphill from Plaza Isabel La Catolica. It’s our 2nd visit to The Alhambra - the first visit was an afternoon stop which was hot and crowded; tickets are for the Nassrid Palace at 9:30 and we need our passports for entry; on the bus the Justice Gate is the second Alhambra stop; gates open at 8:30 and we get in the entry line at 9:15; they’re strict about entry time; dodge a few tour groups and we pretty much have the place to ourselves - magical; walk through the Palace, wind our way through the rose-filled gardens ( not a spot of black spot!) on the way to the Generalife Palace and gardens - so glad we made a second visit; easy walk back down the hill on a paved path under a tree canopy
- p.m. 2 tourmates had accidentally left a backpack in their taxi to The Alhambra during the confusion over who was going to pay, with all their cash, credit cards and passports; group support while Rich tracks down taxi and gets their stuff back; they forfeited their Alhambra tour and it served as a reminder to split assets and/or use a money belt; we team with other tourmates to visit the cathedral and Royal Chapel (crypt for Ferdinand, Isabella, and three others).

05/09 - next stop Ronda
- bus to Ronda drops us at the bullring; walk across the bridge to Soho Boutique Palacio San Gabriel; gorgeous boutique hotel in Old Town (Moorish Quarter); orientation walk; we visit the best bull ring on the trip with its excellent museum, chapel and stables; Rich has arranged tickets to a guitar concert for anyone interested - most are

05/10 - final stop Seville
- later start this a.m., so there’s a chance to walk more of Ronda and get photos; one intrepid mate walked a path to the Arab Baths and Bridge; Seville is actually quite warm; 15 min walk from bus drop to Hotel Dona Maria (literal stones throw from cathedral and the Alcazar); orientation walk, then chance to buy tickets for anyone that wants to a flamenco show at La Casa del Flamenco; more exploring and gelato; end the day with other tourmates on the rooftop bar

05/11 - alert: check availability of tickets to the cathedral well-ahead; sold out a week ahead for our dates
- other people: The Alcazar, The Cathedral, Plaza Espana,
- We’d seen The Alcazar, so we walked to Triana and the market, back across the bridge to the bullring; lunch is at El Pasaje one of our favorites on the trip
- p.m. the flamenco group gathers in an intimate venue and most get front row seats; the evening ends on the rooftop for most of the group; Rich has helped everyone with departure plans and we’re sad to leave this group behind, but we’re off to the airport and the RS Best of the Basque Country….

Final thoughts: longest luggage draggingwas Ronda and Seville, but the terrain was flat; Seville was the most challenging due to crowds; some on the tour had REALLY big suitcase - you bring it, you carry it; elevatorsin Barcelona, Madrid, Granada, Ronda and Seville: laundryavailable for a good price through hotel in Granada (personally, if we have a lot of laundry I’m beginning to feel I get better results taking it to a laundromat myself)

We would absolutely do this tour again and wish there were more My Way options. As we get older, being able to set our own pace is a real benefit

Patty, I think you've definitely managed to pass along helpful information. I am excited about the things and places you are reporting.

Did you like the Madrid hotel? We're planning to spend maybe 4 nights in either Madrid or Toledo after our Best of Spain tour this coming fall. Your hotel doesn't show dates for October yet, but the prices for earlier dates certainly seem reasonable.

I've tried to find the Drake-Jones book both at our local library system, and online, with no luck. Even Amazon doesn't have it.

We would absolutely do this tour again and wish there were more My Way options. As we get older, being able to set our own pace is a real benefit

We, too, find ourselves being more interested in the My Way tours. We haven't tried one yet, but they're on our radar. And your delightful report scoots them a little closer to the front of the line. Thank you.

Jane- we liked the hotel in Madrid, especially for location. We’re both veterans of a number of RS tours, so it’s a pretty standard RS hotel on the nicer side - room wasn’t particularly spacious, but nicely appointed. The location made it really easy to get everywhere we wanted to go.