Thank you to everyone on the Spain page for amazing tips. Special shout out to GeoffB who had invaluable suggestions.
HIGHLIGHTS:
December 16:
8am arrival into BCN
Debated heavily on taking a connecting flight to Seville or go by train. VERY happy we decided on a connecting flight via Vueling. The ambivalence stemmed from the very mixed reviews of Vueling Airlines. Stressed about the European size/weight of our carry ons, so we packed ridiculously lightly for two weeks in the winter. Turned out, Vueling was very chill about luggage and didn't check size or weight. The flight was an easy 1.5 hours, on time and pleasant. Our three-hour layover gave us plenty of time to make our way through passport control and relaxed walk to our gate. (Delta and Vueling are both on Terminal 1.)
NOTE: BCN is incredibly civilized in that connecting flights don't have to go through the main and very long (!) passport check for travelers whose final destination is Barca . There is a separate exit, passport control, and security check for connecting flights with virtually no one in line. Bravo, BCN!
Seville (4 nights):
- Right decision to have stayed in an AirbBnB right by Cathedral as first timers, although Triana is where we will be next time around. Triana is effortlessly cool and the more you walk away from Calle Betis, the more charming it gets. The walk to historic center is about 20 minutes. But for a 4 night stay, our location was great.
- Sunset at Plaza de Espana is uncontrollably breathtaking.
- Since we were in Seville on a Monday, we reserved the free Alcazar entry at 4pm as a preview and thought we would buy tickets if we loved it. But we spent over two hours there on Monday and it was more than enough time. (They didn't kick us out at 5pm.)
- Cathedral/Giralda Towers were amazing, but question: those of you who have been there in the summer-- how was the tight space in all that heat?? It was pretty tight in December.
- We reserved a day to do walk-and-cafe in Santa Cruz, but LOVED El Arenal. -Seville wakes up really late in the winter and the sun is late to rise, so an early morning walk is ethereal. Earliest cafe opens at 8a! -We were logging in about 20k steps a day so good shoes were essential. We lucked out with sunny weather all but one day.
- Food: We ate out of the tourist sections. El Rinconcillo is spectacularly overrated and the cantankerous host was almost an SNL caricature.
- Casa Del Flamenco was good but the zambra in Granada.. uff!
Ronda (via Cadiz) Two nights:
Car rentals for automatic cars were ruinously expensive but finally found a reasonable rate on DoYouSpain. DoYouSpain also allowed us to pick up from the Seville Train Station and drop off at Granada Train Station without over the top one-way fees. We did get the International Drivers Permit before leaving the US- easy process at AAA office and $20.
Cadiz is charming and historical. It was a little over 1.5 hours drive from Seville. It rained that day so we cut our visit short but we spent enough time to marvel at El Populo, the beach, and have 1.5 euro beers at a place in the central plaza that has 1/2 price food and drinks on Wednesdays. Plan on spending about five hours for the full effect-- especially if you have good weather.
TIP: Map out parking before you go. There is public parking right by the old town. This was a fail for us. We winged it with parking and ended up unnecessarily far away.
RONDA: (2 nights)
Whoever told us to stay a couple of nights in Ronda is a god. Very glad we did not day trip this.Two nights is the minimum to get just a whiff of the charming of the city.
(continued in Part 2)