Post by Kim on Jun 30, 2003 18:53:57 GMT -5
I started my trip out in Madrid or a week, which was a lot of fun. I saw a lot of the museums including the Del Prado, but honestly I felt that the nicest one with the best collection was the Sofia museum a few blocks away from the Prado. Here I was able to see Picasso´s famous Guernica which was incredibly larger than was ever represented in the art textbooks I have read.
The nightlife is great in Madrid, and I met a lot of great people at the Hostel de la Posada which I give a two thumbs up to. It was very nice, and clean. The only downside there was that they closed it at 10:30 for cleaning. They should wait a few more hours so the night owls could at least function on what little sleep they get.
Anyway, near that hostel was A LOT of clubs and bars and some great eateries. My first night there I ended up staying out until 6:30 AM with some people I met at the hostel. I found the subway here very easy to use and very convenient for getting around. If you are going to stay here for more than a few days, get a 10 use pass as its much cheaper and you will end up being able to get around a lot easier.
On my third day there, I took a side trip to Segovia which was a beautiful city with its ancient acqueduct, and the alcazar. Unfortunately, the alcazar was closed due to a wedding, but I still enjoyed my time there. Surprisingly the bus ride there was a cheap 8 euros round trip, and it took only an hour. Two days after I visited Segovia, I visited the Escorial outside of Madrid and found that to be spectacular. It was incredibly beautiful inside and out.
The following day, I caught a bus with my school group to Granada where I am going to be staying for a month. So far Granada is pretty nice but the food here is very very different from that of Madrid and definitely does not suit my American tastes and its a pain in the butt to get around. There are not a lot of things to do here, and fun has mostly been found with the people in my school group. This past weekend I took a weekend trip to Majorca in the Meditteranean which was probably the nicest place in Spain I have been to so far and I highly reccommend it. We rented a car on the island and was able to see a lot of the major sights in only 2 days including a stop to ride the camels, see 2 different caves, swimming with the local children in Porto Christo, driving the mountains between Solleil and Pollenca and everything else in between.
I highly reccomend visiting Solleil while on Majorca. Its a little town about a half hour drive from Palma. It is situated in a valley up in the mountains and has a very beautiful church there with easily the most beautiful altarpiece I have ever seen portraying the Virgin Mary in blues, whites, and tasteful gilding and very smartly illuminated. Walking through the small empty streets was a lot of fun, and it was very neat seeing the steep mountains creep out between two buildings that are barely enough far apart to allow a car through. After Solleil we drove through the mountains and were surprised to find some very picturersque lakes situated up there. All of the driving was nice, but considering that we only stayed there for 2 days, we ran out of time to relax on the beach!! I definitely reccomend at least 3 days here. I just got back this morning and I already want to go back!!
Anyway, thats it for now. Next week I am going to Marrakech, Morocco for the weekend and will send a report back then!
Ryan
The nightlife is great in Madrid, and I met a lot of great people at the Hostel de la Posada which I give a two thumbs up to. It was very nice, and clean. The only downside there was that they closed it at 10:30 for cleaning. They should wait a few more hours so the night owls could at least function on what little sleep they get.
Anyway, near that hostel was A LOT of clubs and bars and some great eateries. My first night there I ended up staying out until 6:30 AM with some people I met at the hostel. I found the subway here very easy to use and very convenient for getting around. If you are going to stay here for more than a few days, get a 10 use pass as its much cheaper and you will end up being able to get around a lot easier.
On my third day there, I took a side trip to Segovia which was a beautiful city with its ancient acqueduct, and the alcazar. Unfortunately, the alcazar was closed due to a wedding, but I still enjoyed my time there. Surprisingly the bus ride there was a cheap 8 euros round trip, and it took only an hour. Two days after I visited Segovia, I visited the Escorial outside of Madrid and found that to be spectacular. It was incredibly beautiful inside and out.
The following day, I caught a bus with my school group to Granada where I am going to be staying for a month. So far Granada is pretty nice but the food here is very very different from that of Madrid and definitely does not suit my American tastes and its a pain in the butt to get around. There are not a lot of things to do here, and fun has mostly been found with the people in my school group. This past weekend I took a weekend trip to Majorca in the Meditteranean which was probably the nicest place in Spain I have been to so far and I highly reccommend it. We rented a car on the island and was able to see a lot of the major sights in only 2 days including a stop to ride the camels, see 2 different caves, swimming with the local children in Porto Christo, driving the mountains between Solleil and Pollenca and everything else in between.
I highly reccomend visiting Solleil while on Majorca. Its a little town about a half hour drive from Palma. It is situated in a valley up in the mountains and has a very beautiful church there with easily the most beautiful altarpiece I have ever seen portraying the Virgin Mary in blues, whites, and tasteful gilding and very smartly illuminated. Walking through the small empty streets was a lot of fun, and it was very neat seeing the steep mountains creep out between two buildings that are barely enough far apart to allow a car through. After Solleil we drove through the mountains and were surprised to find some very picturersque lakes situated up there. All of the driving was nice, but considering that we only stayed there for 2 days, we ran out of time to relax on the beach!! I definitely reccomend at least 3 days here. I just got back this morning and I already want to go back!!
Anyway, thats it for now. Next week I am going to Marrakech, Morocco for the weekend and will send a report back then!
Ryan