Madrid and Barcelona
Alex and I spent a week in Spain in March 2008, over her college spring break. We spent 4 nights in Madrid and 3 in Barcelona. Our trip was booked with Go-Today and included flights, hotels, and the train between the cities.
Alex’s college room-mate, Kim, was studying in Barcelona for the term and came to Madrid to see the city and spend some time with us. She showed us around Barcelona, also. She really helped us out with her knowledge of Spanish.
Madrid
We had 3 very busy days in Madrid. We stayed in the Hotel Opera, centrally located, close to everything. A few blocks west was Plaza Mayor and Plaza del Sol, a few blocks east the Royal Palace. Just a block away, we found a great little restaurant, El Fogon De Claudia, serving 7 euro pitchers of Sangria.
It was Easter week so there were daily masses in Almudena Cathedral and it was never open for visitors.
Fortunately the Royal Palace was open for visitors. The Puerta de Alcala, the ceremonial gateway erected by Carlos III, is in the Plaza de la Independencia. Built in 1778, it was the main entrance to the city.
We enjoyed walking around the city, including the Grand Via with all the great architecture. We visited the Plaza de Armas, the Plaza de Santiago, and the Plazas de Cibeles.
We saw the Temple of Debod, from the 2nd C BC. The Egyptian temple was given to Spain in tribute to the Spanish engineers who helped move many monuments from the flooding from the Aswan Dam.
We visited the Palace of Communications, the Columbus Monument at Plaza de Colon, and saw the Statue of the Bear and Strawberry Tree, or “El Oso y el Madroño”. It shows a bear reaching for the fruit in a madrono or strawberry tree. It is on the coat of arms for the city and found in the beautiful plaza, Puerto del Sol.
We went to the El Rastro street market one day. Usually, it’s only open Sundays and we left on Sunday for Barcelona, so we wouldn’t have seen it, but it’s also open public holidays.
We also bought tickets to a Flamenco show. I had never seen this and it was wonderful.
Segovia
We added a night to our Madrid stay to be able to take a day trip to Segovia. On the train down it began to rain and I had left my umbrella in the luggage. Then we had hail, then snow. It was not the best day to be walking around. We were very wet and cold. However, I really enjoyed Segovia despite that – the old town is a beautiful place. We saw the aqueduct, the cathedral, and visited the alcazar, or castle. We warmed up over a few pitchers of sangria in a little pub across from the train station while waiting for our return to Madrid.
Barcelona
Originally a single family dwelling for the Batllo family, Casa Batllo, designed by Antoni Gaudi, is incredible. The facade and the roof make it beautiful and interesting outside and inside is even better. There are no straight lines, everywhere are flowing curves from the walls to the ceilings, lots of natural light, stain glass, gorgeous colors. We saw all the main rooms on the tour, the courtyard and the roof with the chimneys and mosaics.
We also visited the Casa Mila house, another incredible Gaudi design.
You can’t visit Barcelona without a visit to La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s unfinished cathedral. We bought tickets to visit the facana (ascensor facana) for 2 euro, saw stone carvers working, and just wandered for about two hours looking at all the carvings, windows and more.
We also visited Museu d’Historia de la Ciutat. The city museum displays the old Roman city Augusta Barcino. It is mostly subterranean. We walked through 2000 year old streets and courtyards, communal baths, and saw their huge wine vats. The museum building is the a 16th century Grand Noble Palace in the gothic quarter. We also saw the remains of the aqueduct, now part of the cathedral walls.
Park Guell was commissioned by Guell as a park for Barcelona’s aristocracy and designed by Gaudi. We came in the back entrance after climbing a very steep hill and wandered on the paths until we came to the huge open terrace. We enjoyed the views and the beautiful day while relaxing on the tiled mosaic benches, then visited the supported walkway (where Alex and Kim said America’s Top Model had a photo shoot) and the Gaudi dragon fountain and the entrance buildings.
Restaurants
