Spain 2022
Rena and I spent 3 weeks in Spain in April 2022. We visited Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona, Girona, Seville, Granada, and Cordoba, in that order. Madrid and Barcelona are huge cities, 3.5 million and 1.6 million respectively. We used planes, trains, and buses to travel between cities and then used the excellent local transportation to get around. In some cities, we just walked. Semana Santa or Easter week is very crowded with tourists. There are lots of pedestrian streets and they were full of people. But we managed to avoid any Covid problems. “Everyone” wore masks inside buildings and on public transport. We didn’t do anything in the country side. Next time.
We stayed in small apartments most of the time which we pre booked, mostly on booking.com. We used the kitchens to eat breakfast and some dinners. The photos show many of the places we stayed. Our friends Charan and Michael were also visiting Spain and we overlapped with them for several days. We were warned about pickpockets and Rena’s pack was unzipped one time but all they got was dirty tissue.
The most memorable experiences we had were seeing the Prado Museum in Madrid (no photos allowed) and the Sagrada Familia ond other Gaudi architecture in Barcelona. There are differing opinions about Gaudi but I really liked it. Other highlights were the Semana Santa procession in Girona, the Moorish mosques in Seville, Granada, and Cordoba, and experiencing great flamenco dancing.
For the first time, I did not take a big camera. All the photos were taken on my new iPhone 13 pro max. The three videos show the Samana Santa and flamenco dancing.
DAY - DATE - ACTIVITY - SLEEP
1 - 4/6 - Fly from Los Angeles - Sleep on plane
2 - 4/7 - Arrive late in afternoon - Madrid 1
3 - 4/8 - Walk around Plaza Mayor, Grand Via, and Retro Park - Madrid 2
4 - 4/9 - Museums - Prado + Reina Sophie - Madrid 3
5 - 4/10 - Day trip to Toledo by train, walk all over Toledo - Madrid 4
6 - 4/11 - Grand Palace, more walking - Madrid 5
7 - 4/12 - Train to Barcelona, walk around La Rambla + Catalunya Place - Barcelona 1
8 - 4/13 - Sagrada Familia, Block of Discord (Gaudi), flamenco at Palace of Catalana Music - Barcelona 2
9 - 4/14 - Walk along La Rambla to waterfront, train to Girona, walk along wall - Girona 1
10 - 4/15 - Walk around historic center and Jewish district, see Samana Santa procession in evening - Girona 2
11 - 4/16 - Jewish Museum in Girona, train to Barcelona in afternoon - Barcelona 3
12 - 4/17 - Walk around Monjvie, visit Park Guell - Barcelona 4
13 - 4/18 - Fly to Seville, walk around Barrio Sante Cruz - Seville 1
14 - 4/19 - Walk around Triana, visit Alcazar, more flamenco - Seville 2
15 - 4/20 - Walk around Plaza de Armas, visit Seville Cathedral - Seville 3
16 - 4/21 - Bus to Granada, walk to Plaza San Nicole for view - Granada 1
17 - 4/22 - Visit Alhambra & Sacromonte Cave Museum - Granada 2
18 - 4/23 - Bus to Cordoba, walk around town + Jewish district - Cordova 1
19 - 4/24 - Visit Mezquita, the 3rd of the three major Moorish palaces we saw - Cordova 2
20 - 4/25 - Train to Madrid, covid test, Crystal Palace - Madrid 6
21 - 4/26 - Fly Madrid to home
Read MoreWe stayed in small apartments most of the time which we pre booked, mostly on booking.com. We used the kitchens to eat breakfast and some dinners. The photos show many of the places we stayed. Our friends Charan and Michael were also visiting Spain and we overlapped with them for several days. We were warned about pickpockets and Rena’s pack was unzipped one time but all they got was dirty tissue.
The most memorable experiences we had were seeing the Prado Museum in Madrid (no photos allowed) and the Sagrada Familia ond other Gaudi architecture in Barcelona. There are differing opinions about Gaudi but I really liked it. Other highlights were the Semana Santa procession in Girona, the Moorish mosques in Seville, Granada, and Cordoba, and experiencing great flamenco dancing.
For the first time, I did not take a big camera. All the photos were taken on my new iPhone 13 pro max. The three videos show the Samana Santa and flamenco dancing.
DAY - DATE - ACTIVITY - SLEEP
1 - 4/6 - Fly from Los Angeles - Sleep on plane
2 - 4/7 - Arrive late in afternoon - Madrid 1
3 - 4/8 - Walk around Plaza Mayor, Grand Via, and Retro Park - Madrid 2
4 - 4/9 - Museums - Prado + Reina Sophie - Madrid 3
5 - 4/10 - Day trip to Toledo by train, walk all over Toledo - Madrid 4
6 - 4/11 - Grand Palace, more walking - Madrid 5
7 - 4/12 - Train to Barcelona, walk around La Rambla + Catalunya Place - Barcelona 1
8 - 4/13 - Sagrada Familia, Block of Discord (Gaudi), flamenco at Palace of Catalana Music - Barcelona 2
9 - 4/14 - Walk along La Rambla to waterfront, train to Girona, walk along wall - Girona 1
10 - 4/15 - Walk around historic center and Jewish district, see Samana Santa procession in evening - Girona 2
11 - 4/16 - Jewish Museum in Girona, train to Barcelona in afternoon - Barcelona 3
12 - 4/17 - Walk around Monjvie, visit Park Guell - Barcelona 4
13 - 4/18 - Fly to Seville, walk around Barrio Sante Cruz - Seville 1
14 - 4/19 - Walk around Triana, visit Alcazar, more flamenco - Seville 2
15 - 4/20 - Walk around Plaza de Armas, visit Seville Cathedral - Seville 3
16 - 4/21 - Bus to Granada, walk to Plaza San Nicole for view - Granada 1
17 - 4/22 - Visit Alhambra & Sacromonte Cave Museum - Granada 2
18 - 4/23 - Bus to Cordoba, walk around town + Jewish district - Cordova 1
19 - 4/24 - Visit Mezquita, the 3rd of the three major Moorish palaces we saw - Cordova 2
20 - 4/25 - Train to Madrid, covid test, Crystal Palace - Madrid 6
21 - 4/26 - Fly Madrid to home
