We love Spain--A trip report

MADRID—3 NIGHTS

Arriving in Madrid, we took a taxi to our hotel--Catalonia Plaza Mayor.

https://www.cataloniahotels.com/es/hotel/catalonia-plaza-mayor

Technically, it was 4 nights because I booked the rooms for an extra night so we could check-in immediately upon arrival. I always do this now with a morning arrival as it’s just nice to get in the room right away and freshen up.

The location was perfect and we were able to walk most everywhere. I’ve learned that my sister and brother-in-law are not fans of my instant oatmeal for breakfast, so I made sure to add the hotel breakfast. The selection (cold and hot items) and food was excellent!!

I don’t like to plan anything for arrival day, so we just walked around. We headed to Plaza Mayor and the surrounding streets and ended up by the Royal Palace of Madrid and nearby gardens. We were quickly charmed by the Spanish architecture and all the trees that were in bloom.

The next morning, I headed out early to wander around, which is my favorite thing to do. I was a little disappointed to see so many people out early. I had heard that Spain was a late-night culture, so I had it in my head that I would be the only one out early in the morning. Wrong!

After my walk, I met up with my sister and brother-in-law and we headed back to the Royal Palace of Madrid to see the interior. I’m not normally a palace person, but this one was very impressive. Next, we headed over to the nearby Almudena Cathedral. Make sure you go in the right door or you might end up in the museum by mistake like we did. After lunch, we took a taxi to El Retiro Park to enjoy the nice weather.

The next day was our day trip to Toledo, which we all loved. We had tickets for the cathedral and spent the rest of our time wandering around all the narrow lanes.

Onward to Seville. See the section on train stations below for our experience at the train station.

SEVILLE—4 NIGHTS

Arriving in Seville, we took a taxi to our hotel--Hotel Fernando III.

https://www.hotelfernandoiii.es/

Perfect location and great breakfast, but two big negatives—extremely slow Wi-Fi and no soundproofing between the rooms. My sister had some laundry done here and it was super cheap.

When we stepped out of the cab, we were hit with the most incredible smell of orange trees. We loved the smell so much we came home with orange soap and orange room spray. I wanted to sleep outside!

I happened to read Jean from Idaho’s trip report right before we left and read about her experience at the Alcazar light show. We lucked out as the last night of the show was our arrival day and I was able to get tickets. This was a pretty incredible experience--very elaborate and well done, with so many great photo opportunities.

The next morning we were back at the Alcazar to see the interior and gardens. There were two separate entry lines—groups and individuals. Everyone was in the group line, by mistake I’m sure, so we went to the front of the individual line and were first in. I did feel a little bad, but just a little. :-) We loved this place so much. Our favorite part? The peacocks of course!! I wish I had purchased tickets for 2 days so we could have popped back in.

We then walked over to María Luisa Park and Plaza de España, which was at the top of my “must see” list for this trip. Of course it was a little crowded in the afternoon. Not to worry though, I had planned to come back early one morning to get my photos without people. There are paid toilets in front of the plaza costing 60 cents, soon to be 70 cents. If you are interested in reading more about our experience with toilets on this trip, see the “Toilets” section below.

The next day was our day trip to Cordoba to see the Mosque. Very impressive indeed! Our time here got a little goofed up because our original trains were cancelled. I was a little nervous about rebooking new trains as I didn’t want to get “stuck” in Cordoba. What does one do when they have questions about trains? Turn to the Rick Steves forum of course! With help from a couple of experts, I was assured other trains should be running. So, I purchased new tickets, and we were all glad not to have missed this day trip.

For our final day in Seville, we stopped at the General Archive of the Indies before heading to the Cathedral. I always try to buy tickets for the first timeslot of the day to avoid crowds, and this worked well here as we were the first handful of people to enter. After a lunch break, we headed over to the Church of San Salvador. There was just something about the interior of this church that really blew me away.

That evening we had tickets for the light show at the mushroom, AKA Setas de Sevilla. Was this as impressive as the light show at the Alcazar? Of course not, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

Back to Madrid for our nonstop flight back to Chicago.

MADRID—3 NIGHTS

We returned to the Catalonia Plaza Mayor for our final nights in Spain.

Ever since our trip to Switzerland in 2021, we have been obsessed with Lindt chocolate. Yes, I know there is Lindt in the U.S., but it is not the same. So, we headed over to the Lindt at El Corte Inglés to stock up on chocolate balls. We walked through Puerta del Sol and it was more crowded compared to Plaza Mayor. Also, there was a much bigger police presence here. There were 8 police vans lined up with about 20 police officers standing in front of them. We weren’t sure if that was normal or if there was an event planned.

For our final day, we had tickets for the Prado Museum. Again, there were multiple lines, so I asked to make sure we got in the correct line. Turns out the ginormous line was for people waiting to buy tickets. I don’t understand why people do not buy tickets ahead of time for popular sights. There was also a huge line every morning in Seville of people trying to get tickets for the Alcazar. Plan ahead, people!

After the museum, we headed over to the nearby botanical gardens. And this is where we had our first and only rain of the trip.

This was such a great trip and we did not want it to end. I just wish the language wasn’t an issue, but it was. More on that below.

LANGUAGE: My sister and I both took Latin in high school, so that was not very helpful. My brother-in-law claimed to know Spanish, but I quickly learned that was not the case when he was attempting to ask for a bag and came back with a cup. “Bolsa” means bag, which was good to know as we were often asked if we wanted a bag when making purchases.

I did make sure to learn the basics—hello (hola), please (por favor), thank-you (gracias), and where are the toilets (dónde está el baño)—but these words are not helpful when someone is speaking to you in Spanish.

We even had trouble communicating with the hotel staff. For example, at the Madrid hotel, we let the receptionist know that the housekeeping staff had entered and cleaned my sister’s room even though they had a “do not disturb” sign on the door. The response was, “We can give you another room.”

Also, sometimes the signs were just in Spanish. All the other countries in Europe I have traveled to typically have signs in the local language and then also English. So, I did learn to use Google Translate on the signs, which was helpful.

I refuse to stick my phone in someone’s face to use Google Translate for a conversation. To me, that just seems plain rude. Obviously, that would be an option in an emergency.

The locals did seem to appreciate our attempts at Spanish. We often got a smile and a “muy bien.”

Of course this is Spain and everyone speaks Spanish. I don’t expect everyone to know English, but it does make it challenging for an English-speaking tourist. Short of becoming fluent in Spanish, I’m not sure how to get around this. I don’t think I would feel comfortable traveling by myself because of the language barrier. I am not comfortable with being uncomfortable. I wish that wasn’t the case, and I keep hoping that will change the more I travel, but so far it has not.

TRAIN STATIONS: The train stations in Madrid and Seville were a little confusing with the added layer of security. I knew to expect airport-style security screening, but I didn’t realize there were multiple security stations. So, you had to make sure to get in the correct security line. Luckily, there are train staff there to direct you if you are in the wrong line.

You have to watch the departure board to see which security area you need to go to. But the wording on the board and the wording on the signs did not match up. In Madrid, one time the departure sign said “planta premium” so I of course was looking all over the station for the “planta premium” security section. Instead, it was “departure 1” I think. And then “planta baja” is the ground floor. Once you have that figured out, it’s not difficult. I also made sure we were at the stations an hour early. Although getting there too early is not helpful because you have to wait until they open up security for your train. And then everyone lines up all at once. Show your ticket and get any luggage screened. Then when you get to the train platform, you have to show your ticket again. It doesn’t seem like a very efficient process, but it is what it is.

All our tickets came with seat reservations and yet there was always someone sitting in our seats. So, we had to let them know they were in our seats.

TOILETS: I’m always worried about the availability of public toilets and I’m happy to report we had no problem finding them on this trip. They weren’t always in the best condition (missing seat, no TP, broken lock), but a toilet is a toilet. Also, many of them were out of service, including on the trains. So, there might be 4 stalls, but 2 of them were out of order. As a woman, it sometimes feels like we spend half our life waiting in lines for the bathrooms. That was true on this trip.

For the toilets at the Madrid train station, the ones located before security, you have to pay to use. The ones after security, were free. For the ones before security, there was a sign that said “scan your ticket.” I thought, oh great, if you have a train ticket the toilets must be free. So, my sister and I tried to scan the QR code from our train tickets. Luckily, no one was around to see. When our tickets didn’t open the gate, we gave up and turned around that that’s when we saw the ticket machines on the back wall. So, you had to buy a toilet ticket and then scan that.

CASH OR CARD: Like most of my trips, we did need cash on several occasions. 1) One of the toilets was cash only. 2) At one of the restaurants, we were told the Wi-Fi had just gone out and we would need to pay in cash or wait for the Wi-Fi to come back. Did we believe that after seeing other customers pay by credit card? No, but what are you going to do? I have learned to pick my battles and this is one I chose not to have so I paid in cash. 3) Our taxi driver, whom the hotel called for us, on the way to Madrid airport informed us once we had our luggage loaded and we were seated in the cab that his credit card reader was not working. Sure, we could have unloaded and waited for another taxi, but I had the cash and he did charge us the correct fee of 33 euros.

WEATHER: Our streak of near perfect weather somehow continues. We could not have asked for better weather. It was 50s and 60s in Madrid and in the 70s in Seville. Those 70s felt warm. I cannot imagine being in Seville in the summer.

CROWDS: What crowds? There were definitely people around, but it never felt crowded. This was my fourth March trip to Europe and it really is a great time to travel.

SAFETY: We felt completely safe. I was out walking by myself early every morning and never had any concerns about my safety. There was a police presence in Madrid, but that seems common for bigger cities these days.

FOOD: We did not have a single bad meal. Everything was beyond delicious. My idea of a good meal is a nice sandwich, so I won’t bother making any recommendations. We did enjoy several meals at the Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid. The markets are a great option so all the picky eaters (me) can get what they want.

SHOPPING: My sister loves to shop so we always make time for shopping. Spain has some fantastic souvenirs--Damascene jewelry in Toledo; gorgeous fans from Casa de Diego in Madrid; ceramic plates from Seville; T-shirts and sweatshirts from Prado Museum in Madrid; bags; magnets; bookmarks; orange soap and room spray from Seville; and spices from a Madrid grocery store.

ARE THESE REAL STAMPS?: I still like to mail postcards. Sometimes the shops will have postcard stamps, which saves me from waiting in line at the post office. I bought 20 stamps at one shop, and when I got back to the hotel later, I was like, wait, are these real stamps?? They were these weird tourism stamps called Postby.me.

https://postby.me/en/mail-shipment-postcards-tourist/

I looked online and I guess they are legit. I had to find a special green mailbox to mail them. We shall see if anyone ever gets them.

RANDOM OBSERVATION: We are dog lovers and noticed a lot of greyhounds in Spain.

LENGTH OF TRIP REPORT: I asked ChatGPT whether my trip report was too long and this was the response: “It’s detailed, practical, and very “Rick Steves forum voice” (honest, a little opinionated, and experience-driven). It’s not too long for that audience—people there like detailed reports.” It cracked me up that it knows the RS crowd likes their trip reports. :-)

Excellent trip report! Very well organized and easy to read with the bolded keywords and nice pics too (where are the people lol!) Glad you enjoyed visiting my country so much :-)

Of course, now you must plan your return, so many more parts of Spain to visit (being the second largest country in the EU), each region distinct in culture, climate, and history.

A well written report. Trip reports always take me back to when we visited a city. Thanks for posting.

The only disappointing thing about your TR is that you didn't go to any of the places we are going to in the Fall. We only have a week and decided on Zaragoza and Sitges for our first trip.

I refuse to stick my phone in someone’s face to use Google Translate
for a conversation. To me, that just seems plain rude.

I originally worried about that, but discovered that for the most part, after trying to speak and gesture back and forth, that people are relieved that I used it. I think the key is to try other methods first and then type and hand the phone over so they can read and respond.

Hi Carlos, thank you! Spain really exceeded our expectations. You’re absolutely right—I’m already thinking about a return trip.

And I’ll actually be in your part of the world soon—Stockholm and Copenhagen in May—so I’m looking forward to that as well!

As far as people go, I work hard to avoid having them in my photos. :-) That’s why my favorite time of day is early morning.

Hi Barbara, I appreciate that! I always enjoy reading trip reports for that same reason, so I’m glad this one brought back some memories.

Hi Allen, Zaragoza and Sitges sound like great choices. I’ll be curious to hear how your trip goes.

That’s a good point about Google Translate. I may need to get more comfortable using it that way.

Thanks for sharing, we love Spain too! I do miss being able to access your trip reports under your profile.

Carrie, I loved your trip report and laughed at ChatGPT’s accurate summary of our forum! ; ). Wow, I’m glad you were able to purchase the Sevilla evening illumination show tickets on their last day! It is so pretty to walk through it for that experience and the beauty of the garden during the day, also. I posted that trip report while I was still in Malaga because I knew it would get delayed otherwise this time with my schedule.

I agree with you that high school Spanish (& I had a semester of Latin) don’t help much, and it is more difficult to find someone who understands a bit of English compared to other countries. But yes, the beauty & culture will draw you back repeatedly.

Thanks, Carrie. We enjoyed Madrid, Toledo, Seville, and Cordoba (plus Granada) in November so it's great to be reminded of our trip. I didn't think to include in my trip report our initial confusion in the train stations--that is helpful info that you have provided. We stayed in 5 different hotels or aparthotels, but all front desk staff spoke English well, so overall we were lucky and didn't run into language issues except in the train stations.

Carrie, great trip report and pix!
What- you didn't buy and shoes in Spain? Pikolinos are my favorite.
Thanks for all the practical info. Sounds like the BIL has mellowed?

Hi Carrie,

I loved your trip report. Thanks for sharing it.

Your trip reports are wonderful to read!

I do sense more Spain in your future!
You might like Valencia and Grenada, and in another direction, Bilbao the Guggenheim there was a dream come true for me.

I have not been to Barcelona in decades. I liked it a lot but fear it has become over-tourusted since.

Great report -- I appreciate your personal insight about how "I am not comfortable with being uncomfortable."

That's a thinker.

The ways of referring to floors/storeys in Spanish does need a bit of an explanation. PB in the elevator is how to get out of the building.

Carrie, thanks for sharing your trip report and your pictures. A trip is even more special when it surprises you with how much you loved it.

And I’ll actually be in your part of the world soon—Stockholm and Copenhagen in May—so I’m looking forward to that as well!

Happy to answer any Stockholm questions :-)

Hi Tammy (aka Diveloonie), Oh no, sorry I deleted the links to my trip reports. I didn’t think anyone was looking at them.

Hi Jean, I definitely owe you a gelato, as the Alcazar light show was one of the many highlights of our trip.

Hi Barbara N, I’m glad to hear I wasn’t the only one who was confused at the train stations. I also forgot to mention that at Madrid’s Atocha station, when we returned from our Toledo day trip, we followed the “Taxi” signs but still somehow ended up in the wrong place. I think we came out on the lower level and ended up walking halfway around the station (uphill!) to get to the front of the taxi line. Thank goodness we didn’t have our luggage that day.

Hi Pat, I made the mistake of taking my smaller suitcase on this trip, so there wasn’t a lot of room for larger souvenirs. I did pack some extra patience this trip for my brother-in-law. :-) Have a great time in the Netherlands! I can’t wait to hear about your trip.

Hi Katiecem, thanks, I appreciate it!

Hi NYCMOM, thank you! Valencia and Granada are definitely on my list, along with Barcelona. More research is needed, as I’m not too familiar with Spain outside of the big cities.

Hi avirosemail, thanks for reading! The terminology at the train stations definitely threw me off, but now I’m better prepared for a future trip.

Hi jeanm, Spain was a pleasant surprise for sure. It was a more challenging trip, but that didn’t stop us from falling in love with the beauty of the country.

Hi Carlos, I might just take you up on your offer for help once I get a chance to do some more research. I am definitely feeling less prepared for Stockholm than Copenhagen.

Great report. I know Italy is considered more sexy than Spain but for me, I think Spain has a lot of the same qualities at a cheaper price-and less obnoxious tourists. The food is great, the menú del dia are an over looked gem and probably one of the only good things started under Franco. And the history is amazing, castles, hill towns and Roman ruins. And one of the best high speed railways and Metros in Europe-sorry Germany.

Plus they keep all the good cheap wine in the country. Being able to by a 5euro bottle of white wine that is drinkable is sadly liking in the US.

Another informative trip report. Every place you report on makes me want to visit or return. Thanks Carrie.

Carrie, we had the same problem when we returned to Atocha from Toledo! It was so frustrating!

And I will echo what Tammy said about links to your reports in your profile. I use them regularly when I remember someone did a trip report that will help me plan my next trip. I hope you will replace them sometime when you have a chance.

Hi Heather, we actually had a much better time in Spain than Italy, but that might be due in part to some traveling challenges we were having. :-) Spain did feel less chaotic.

Hi Elizabeth, thanks for reading!

Hi Barbara N and Tammy (aka Diveloonie), I added back the links to my trip reports in my profile.

Thank you for the trip report! I enjoyed reading about my favorite country to visit.

we actually had a much better time in Spain than Italy, but that might be due in part to some traveling challenges we were having. :-) Spain did feel less chaotic.

This cracked me up. I love everything in Italy EXCEPT the chaos. I just want to line up in a coffee shop and get my coffee in the order in which I showed up! lol

I'm glad you had a great time. I am jumping through hoops to get my family back to Spain this summer with the short vacation window we have just 'cause we love it so much (still need housesitter approval!). The food is the BEST and the people are even better.

Thanks for the read.

Oh My Goodness. I LOVED the report and, especially, the BEAUTIFUL photos. We are headed to Spain in May and Seville is one of our stops. It is myself, my hubby, and our 2 adults children. One of our kids is, like you, a bit picky (and considers a sandwich a win) so I would love to know where you ate in Seville.
Thanks,
Joanne

Hi DebVT, thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Spain definitely felt a bit more orderly and relaxed. Good luck getting your trip lined up for this summer.

Hi ronjo, everyplace we went to had great food, so I don’t think you will have any problems. There are so many restaurants in Seville. We were in the tourist area, and all the restaurants seemed to have menus posted outside.

We liked the menu at La Decana, and like many places, they had outdoor seating. My sister had a nice steak, I had excellent fettuccine with pesto, and my brother-in-law had a pork and rice dish.

Across from the cathedral we discovered a little pizza-by-the-slice place—Slice of NY Pizza. My sister raved about the truffle pizza. I always get plain cheese and that was very good.

You can get ham sandwiches everywhere, and they were all beyond excellent. I even had a great one from Starbucks! We also picked up sandwiches for our train ride at DELIQUO Santa Justa in the train station--excellent!

My sister and I preferred the ham and cheese sandwiches on a croissant, while my brother-in-law preferred the heartier ham sandwiches on a baguette. The Spanish potato chips were also excellent!

Have a great trip!

Wonderful report that brought back memories of our trip to Spain in 2018 to celebrate my retirement. Thank you for all your great details!

Hi Luv2Travel, Thank you! I’m glad it brought back some memories for you. What a wonderful way to celebrate your retirement!

This is an excellent and interesting trip report. My husband and I were surprised at how much we loved Spain.

Hi Carroll, thank you! We felt the exact same way—Spain really exceeded our expectations. It’s such a great destination.

I'm so glad you loved Spain, Carrie, and I knew you'd love Seville especially. And I'm laughing at the organized chaos at the train stations. I remember how everyone would stare at the screens and then bolt to the platforms all at once.

Hi Mary, thank you! You were absolutely right—Seville was a highlight for sure. And yes, the train station “organized chaos” was something else!

Hi Carrie, was curious about your day trip to Cordoba. How long did you end up staying there and did you enjoy seeing other sites there in addition to the Mosque? I’m trying to figure out how long to be there. We will be staying in Seville for five nights and might devote one of our days there to a day trip.

Hi rob in cal, We were at the mercy of the train schedule for the Cordoba day trip. As I mentioned, our original trains were both cancelled. Based on the available schedule, we had to stay either shorter or longer in Cordoba than I would have liked.

I opted for the shorter option. My sister has some health conditions, and because of that I try to keep our days relatively light. It’s just easier on her.

We were probably there about 5-6 hours. Our main goal for that day was to see the Mosque, which I’m glad we saw. Before and after that, we just walked around.

As far as day trips, we all definitely preferred Toledo to Cordoba. And I loved Seville so much, I probably would have opted for more time there if given the chance.

Have a great trip!!