Laying Plans

Frustrated by the fact that my trip to Spain is a whole 7 weeks away yet I bought the Rough Guide to Spain yesterday to start reading about more about the country.

I've been to Spain once, a few years ago. My ex and I stayed with some friends in an apartment in Torrevieja just outside Alicante. We hired a car and managed to do some exploring around the South-east coast, but I was pretty unimpressed and wanted to leave after a few days there. Maybe we missed the good spots, but it just seems that this part of Spain is crawling with British & Irish tourists and, what was probably once a beautiful coastline, is destroyed by high-rise developments stretching as far as the eye can see.

This time, I'm doing it Myyyy Waaaayyyyy. Spain is somewhere I've wanted to explore for a long time, and even though I only have 10 days this time around, I'm hoping to see quite a lot.

Hiring a car seems like a good option. Splitting the cost between two of us, it works out about the same as train-fares, and this way we can cover more ground.

Our flight is landing in Girona early in the day, so we're thinking of picking up the car, putting the boot down, and driving straight through to Madrid. I'm looking fwd to experiencing this city a lot. Spanish ppl I've met in college and worked with over the past few years seem to agree that, while Barcelona is decidely hip and cool, Madrid is less assuming and the ppl are warmer (and no, it's not because they are more inland. LOL). I'm looking fwd to making up my own mind.

I'd like to spend a couple of days in Madrid, there seems to be lots to see there. Two days isnt nearly enough time, but I think you can cover a good bit during this time. Although, I have been warned that you can wake up in Madrid, having lost 2 days of your life and not remember a thing! LOL!!

After Madrid, it's on to Cordoba and then Seville, maybe 2 days in Seville also. Andalucia sounds like an amazing part of the country. I cant wait to see it.

We're hoping to spend a night in Ronda. My brother didnt get to see it when he was last in Spain, and I've got lots of recommendations from ppl on this site to visit it, so we can't miss it!

Then, on to Granada for a night. Looking forward to seeing the Alhambra a lot. One night should be enough here.

The drive to back to Barcelona from Granada is going to be a bit of a beeetch, so I think it might be worth stopping off in Valencia for a night on the way back. We might check out Tarragona, if we dont stay in Valancia. This leaves us with two nights in Barcelona before we head home.

We might be taking on a lot for a 10 day trip, but neither of us mind driving very much. I dont want to spend all my time sitting in a car trying to squeeze in everything, but I think it's pretty doable.

If anyone's got any recommedations of places to go, things to do along this route, I'd love to hear them!

In the meantime, it's back to boring old work....