My wife and I just returned from two weeks in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Granada, and Savilla). While we have embraced Rick Steves’ travel philosophy since the early 1990s, we hadn’t traveled to Europe in 6 years. Here’s what we learned on this trip:
Technology is critically important. For that reason, I will caution you NOT to stay in hotels with weak wifi. For example, while the service and hospitality at Hotel Anacapri (Granada) was wonderful, wifi service was horrible.
The only GPS app worth considering is Google Maps – as long as you rely ONLY on the directional arrow, not the audio directions, which are oftentimes inaccurate. Unless you purchase a Michelin map, free maps issued in hotels aren’t detailed enough.
AnchorPointer is a great app (free) that enables you to pinpoint and store locations that you visit. When you're ready to return to a location, an arrow directs you where to go. AnchorPointer is particularly helpful when navigating through ancient towns with narrow streets. Just follow the arrow.
As Rick Steves updates his books, here’s a suggestion: refer to attractions/sites by their local names, not their English names. When I needed directions to the cathedral in Toledo, a local resident couldn’t understand what I was asking. Frankly, I don’t think it is too much to ask travelers to refer to sites by their native names.
DEVOUR is a wonderful company (www.devourtours.com) that offers visits to local tapas bars and restaurants. Great choice for experiencing authentic Spanish food and delicious wines. DEVOUR services many cities in Spain. We spent wonderful evenings with their charming hosts in Madrid, Granada, and Sevilla.
If you are interested in a day-long tour for delicious Spanish tapas and wine tasting, Winebus (http://www.winebus.es/en/) is the right choice. On our tour, owner and host, Ignacio Segovia, took my wife and I to the beautiful town of Segovia and surrounding areas, including quaint little places that only a local would know, and wonderful wineries (tour and tasting). Along the way, we enjoyed delicious, authentic Spanish tapas.
While we love Rick’s tours, on this trip, we found ourselves trying to avoid them. For example, one night, we discovered that our dinner reservations were at the exact same time as one of Rick’s tour groups. Imagine waiting while the restaurant seated a tour group of at least 25 people. While Americans are great, we didn’t go to Spain to eat dinner with a restaurant full of them.
A few food suggestions: bocadillos (sandwiches), tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelette that's nothing like the American version), and Spanish vermouth (nothing like the vermouth Americans drink).
Good luck and safe travels.