Hello all,
I'm going round Spain for exactly six weeks, from the 19th September until the 31st October (both Wednesdays). I fly into Barcelona and back home from Madrid. I'm going to be backpacking and ideally want things to be flexible enough that I can turn up at a coach or train station, buy a ticket, and sort out a hostel when I get to wherever I'm going. I'm thinking the following...
First of all, I've got cousins from Barcelona, so I already know the city fairly well. I'll be there for the weekend of Festes de la Merce, during which I'm planning on three nights (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) in a city-centre hostel, because my cousins live in a village a few miles out of the city and I don't want to have to worry about last trains and whatnot. The weekend will be capped off on the Sunday night with a visit to Camp Nou to see the Barça v. Sevilla match.
Thereafter, I'm easy. My only requirement is that I have to be at Barajas airport by about 3:30pm on Weds 31st October. I also want to spend all of the six weeks in Spain (I don't want to tack Morocco or Portugal on as afterthoughts to another country - I'll have time to see them in their own right another time).
I'd really like to see the main cities: Valencia, Seville, and Madrid. I'm thinking of travelling south from Barcelona, getting to Seville and then heading north to Madrid. The Basque Country would be nice if there's time, but I'd rather be able to take in each city I'm in, and see fewer, than try to cram everything in and not enjoy it so much. Between Valencia and Seville I'll be spending a night or two (more?) in Granada. And I'm mad about football (I write about it), so in each city I visit I'll be trying to take in at least one match - though I don't need any advice on that front as I've taken myself to games in Argentina, Uruguay and Hungary in the last year or so. BUT are there any HUGE clashes taking place during my time in the country (I've not had the time to get hold of the full fixture list yet)? I know Madrid - Barça isn't until later but if, say, the Seville derby is happening a few days before I arrive there, I'll make an effort to get down earlier for it.
The part I'm most looking forward to seeing is Andalucía, and my best friend's just got back from two weeks there with his girlfriend, so I've picked up a few pointers but will still have more flexibility than they had. He's insisting I go to Cádiz. Is it do-able as a day-or-two trip from Seville? And WILL I have time to visit Bilbao, or will a weekend somewhere a little closer to Madrid make it a less hectic end to the trip, since from Seville I'll have to go through Madrid to get to the Basque Country, then back down to Madrid for my flight?
Also, I read something in a newspaper last year about a chap who's building a cathedral out of scrapyard leftovers, spare tyres, bathroom sinks etc. somewhere not far from Madrid. If it's reasonably possible to get to it, I'd absolutely love to see this, having already seen Spain's other contribution to the Great Building Sites Of Our Time (aka the Sagrada Familia). Where exactly is it, and what's the best way of getting there? For some reason Toledo rings a bell but that's probably just my memory playing tricks.
Some things about me which you may or may not find relevant: I'm a 23 year old Englishman, I'll look very obviously foreign in Spain (I'm 6' with blond hair) but won't be walking round with a massive bag on my back, just my camera, and can sort-of speak Spanish, albeit with a bit of an Argentine accent and vocabulary. A big part of my reason for this trip is to improve that further (although I'd rather not lose the accent, I quite like it!), so although I'm not fluent, I'm also not shy of giving it a go. I can read Spanish just fine and understand about 90% of what's being said to me - though as you'll have guessed by now I've travelled a lot more in Argentina than I have in Spain. Budget wise I'm after the low-end ideally.
Really I'm just throwing this out to people for ideas - am I being stupid with the amount of ground I'm covering? Anything in particular that I should pack? I love reading, so are there writers whose books / houses / museums I should look out for as I pass through various cities (I've got Lorca listed mentally already)? Is turning up in a city without at least one night in a hostel already booked a very bad idea, or will I be fine (I'll stretch to cheap hotels for a night if it's desperate, I've been saving and looking forward to this trip for long enough)? Are there any legs between cities that might be a little odd in any way to travel (I'm lead to believe, for instance, that Valencia to Granada will have to be a night train)?
Sorry for a very unstructured and rambling post, any feedback at all is gratefully accepted.
Gracias a todos, hasta pronto.
Sam
Sounds great! I think you will have a fantastic time. 6 weeks would be wonderful. You can really take your time and just decide where to visit as you go. Dont bother with pre-booking accommodation.... it spoils the unexpected element of travel. You have a start and end point and you have obviously done some research and know where you are interested in so just wing it :-) Sounds like a fantastic trip!
Yes you definitely do not need any help, the only thing I would suggest is to book your hostel or something just in case. La Merce is a busy week end and most things might already be booked up.
ahhh i am so jealous. i miss spain. 6 weeks sounds fantastic to me. you can always go back to the places you missed. in andalucia the highlights are granada and sevilla of course. granada deserves at least 2 nights - you will spend a full day in the alhambra alone, another day to wander. cadiz is technically close enough to sevilla for a day trip, but i think it deserves a night's stay. you'll want to stop and see cordoba, but that's a fast one, one night at the most.
salamanca is one of my favourite places in spain, it is a small city but i stayed 3 nights and could have stayed longer. it's only a few hours from madrid. also while you're in madrid you should definitely take a day trip to toledo, and depending on your interests maybe a day trip to segovia too.
whether you will have time for bilbao, well, who can tell. why not just cover madrid and surroundings first and see how much time (and money) you have left to play with. also consider santiago de compastela, and maybe a bit more of galicia, altho maybe that's even further away than bilbao is i'm not even sure.
you can book a hostel for the festival but other than that don't bother, that way you will have much more freedom
Thanks 1, 2 and 3. I'm thinking along the lines you suggest, Zellturtle, of just seeing how much time and cash I've got as far as getting up to the Basque Country goes. And I'm definitely booking a hostel for the festival in Barcelona, tomorrow I think - I checked a few days ago and the one I want still had beds available then.
It's encouraging to know I'm thinking on the right lines, if nothing else...
Sam
Do you have any tips you can share on catching football games in Spain? I'll be there from Oct. 2-Nov. 27ish, and definitely want to see a game or two as I love soccer, as we Americans call it, and it's hard to share my enthusiasm in the U.S. I'm in Mexico now and so will speak some Spanish, but I'm an Asian-American woman and I'm sure will seem like quite an oddity wandering around asking how to get a ticket.
#5 - I'm planning to go along to the stadium (perhaps a day or two in advance if it's an especially big game), buy a ticket and walk in. I always enjoy the fact that in just about every country except England, it's possible to do this for top-level games involving top clubs, and it's a strategy that has so far worked just fine in Hungary, Argentina and Uruguay.
Your dates overlap with mine a fair bit so if we're in the same city at the same time and you fancy taking in a game together, send me a PM...
Sam
You're lucky and sounds like you have a great attitude and approach!
To respond to one of your questions: Cadiz can be done easily as a day trip from Seville but is much much more enjoyable for a night or two....
Thanks, 7. I'm thinking it probably will be a night in Cádiz, now that I've seen my best mate's pictures... they've got an excellent little stadium there, and the museum and Colombus stuff looks fascinating. And the beaches (although since I'll be there in October that probably won't be such an issue anyway!).
Sam
The atmosphere in Cadiz, the food, and the long, wide beaches (which I'm sure are nice enough even in Oct) made the city a top highlight of my trip to Spain last year. I preferred it even to Barcelona, if you can believe it. I missed the futbol season but know what stadium you are referring to there. You will love Cadiz :-) Oh, I'm not sure it's been mentioned yet but try to visit Cordoba if you can too, and if you find you have time and inclination then it's worth heading into Extremadura but I'm sure you will have plenty on your plate as it is. Enjoy!
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