Sunday 18 June, 2006
Honeymoon to Spain!
After an amazingly blessed wedding on Friday, Christine and I were picked up at the house, 2602 Grant, by Vardan of Five Star Limousine around 3:00pm. He had a nice white Lincoln Town Car and chauffeured us to 1713 Lombard in Philly to attend Lilly’s 40th birthday party. We visited for an hour and left 1713 Lombard at 4:50pm.
We arrived at PHL Terminal A at about 5:05pm, checked in and went through a relatively short security line. I called my dad from a pay phone to wish him happy Father’s Day and make sure he made it back ok from the wedding. He sounded tired but was going to be ok. Said he had to stop twice on the drive to Mechanicsburg to Baltimore because he was in so much pain from his chronic back.
Christine and I found the same bar where we had a drink prior to leaving for Italy last year and each enjoyed a Kettle One dirty martini and watched the US Open for about 30 minutes.
We boarded Air France flight 365 to Paris at 6:50pm and were “wheels up” at about 7:30pm.
We got two seats next to the Lavatory. Yippee! 30 minutes into the flight we are getting a few “customers” and are enjoying the fresh aroma of French airplane lavatories. Could be worse I guess.
Christine is exhausted and already sleeping. She said to order her the chicken with basil and we are going to partake in a glass of Champagne.
Air France served us quite a good meal for airplane food. I had ravioli and she had chicken and we toasted with a glass of champagne.
I slept about two hours and Christine slept about four hours despite the extremely cold cabin.
Monday 19 June
We arrived in Paris at Charles de Gaulle airport around 8:45am local time. We connected to a smaller jet for the flight to Málaga. The flight was pushed back from the gate at 11:05am (30 minutes late).
We arrived in Málaga around 1:30pm to find one of our two checked bags missing. We were told it was still in Paris and would be delivered the next morning.
We picked up our rental car, a Lancia 4-door manual transmission diesel. Driving in Málaga seems pretty straightforward. Some pavement markings and signs are different than in the states but are relatively intuitive.
We found our way to the Autopista (A-7, N340) and by 3:30pm we were speeding down the road with the Spanish motorists toward Marbella.
We really didn’t have directions to the hotel so we exited at Marbella and wound up parking in town to stop at a café to eat and ask for directions.
We are finding that fewer people speak English than expected, which is making the trip a little more exciting and adventurous.
We ate some gazpacho. It was very refreshing and tasty. We also had a dish of hot garbanzos with chorizo and a hearty spicy sauce – also quite tasteful. Next we were brought two pork dishes with grease-soaked French fries – one a pork chop that was fine but nothing special and pulled pork with a yellowish curry-like sauce that was very satisfying. We had two beers and dessert of pre-packaged rice pudding and flan – again, ok but nothing special.
Then we walked around town, which was very enjoyable despite our extreme tiredness at this point.
We found a small tourism office and got directions to the Golf Hotel Guadalmina and picked up a book on Andalusia. Then we strolled further into the heart of town and found a Western Union office where we exchanged some dollars for Euros (Euro 0.75 to $1).
Marbella is a very nice, charming, clean town that we want to explore further. It reminded us a little of Sorrento and Hamilton, Bermuda.
We finally found the Golf Hotel Guadalmina by about 6:30pm – 20km west Marbella – just past the town of Puerto Banus.
The hotel is beautiful. Bright, flowery tropical plants adorn the landscaping. The help at the front desk was very friendly and spoke English. Miquel helped us with our bags and directed us to parking.
The place was surprisingly quiet and tranquil. I had imagined a more bustling touristy spot but this was not the case.
We got to our room which was very nice with dark marble tiled floors, new lightly colored wood furniture and a great balcony overlooking a putting green and a view down to the Mediterranean Sea.
The temperature during the day was a very comfortable 75-80 degrees and into the 60s at night.
As soon as we got into the room we crashed on the bed and slept for almost three hours and woke up around 10pm. The hotel bar was empty and the kitchen had closed at 11:00 (it was after 11:00 by the time we got up and dressed). Knowing that Spanish culture dictates late dinner we drove into Puerto Banus (a small town with a large marina filled with dozens and dozens of multi-million dollar yachts) and found a bustling strip of hip bars and restaurants along the marina.
We strolled the strip full of “beautiful people” and found a Greek restaurant eager to serve us. We had a decent dinner that, like lunch, was nothing special. Lemon chicken soup, hummus, grilled Greek cheese, and a mix of grilled fish satisfied our hunger but did not impress.
We walked up the street to find a busy bar/café with patrons spilling into the street and music pumping from the speakers. I had a Coronita (Corona) and Christine enjoyed watching me drink it.
We left Puerto Banus around 1:30am and slept in until about 9:00am.
Tuesday 20 June
Up at 9am with a wake up call. Got dressed and asked the front desk about our equipaje (luggage). No bag yet.
We went to the restaurant to find a beautiful sun-laden patio with several other guests and friendly service. We had café con leche (me) and café con leche desnatada (skim milk) for Christine. The coffee was delicious.
Honeymoon to Spain!
After an amazingly blessed wedding on Friday, Christine and I were picked up at the house, 2602 Grant, by Vardan of Five Star Limousine around 3:00pm. He had a nice white Lincoln Town Car and chauffeured us to 1713 Lombard in Philly to attend Lilly’s 40th birthday party. We visited for an hour and left 1713 Lombard at 4:50pm.
We arrived at PHL Terminal A at about 5:05pm, checked in and went through a relatively short security line. I called my dad from a pay phone to wish him happy Father’s Day and make sure he made it back ok from the wedding. He sounded tired but was going to be ok. Said he had to stop twice on the drive to Mechanicsburg to Baltimore because he was in so much pain from his chronic back.
Christine and I found the same bar where we had a drink prior to leaving for Italy last year and each enjoyed a Kettle One dirty martini and watched the US Open for about 30 minutes.
We boarded Air France flight 365 to Paris at 6:50pm and were “wheels up” at about 7:30pm.
We got two seats next to the Lavatory. Yippee! 30 minutes into the flight we are getting a few “customers” and are enjoying the fresh aroma of French airplane lavatories. Could be worse I guess.
Christine is exhausted and already sleeping. She said to order her the chicken with basil and we are going to partake in a glass of Champagne.
Air France served us quite a good meal for airplane food. I had ravioli and she had chicken and we toasted with a glass of champagne.
I slept about two hours and Christine slept about four hours despite the extremely cold cabin.
Monday 19 June
We arrived in Paris at Charles de Gaulle airport around 8:45am local time. We connected to a smaller jet for the flight to Málaga. The flight was pushed back from the gate at 11:05am (30 minutes late).
We arrived in Málaga around 1:30pm to find one of our two checked bags missing. We were told it was still in Paris and would be delivered the next morning.
We picked up our rental car, a Lancia 4-door manual transmission diesel. Driving in Málaga seems pretty straightforward. Some pavement markings and signs are different than in the states but are relatively intuitive.
We found our way to the Autopista (A-7, N340) and by 3:30pm we were speeding down the road with the Spanish motorists toward Marbella.
We really didn’t have directions to the hotel so we exited at Marbella and wound up parking in town to stop at a café to eat and ask for directions.
We are finding that fewer people speak English than expected, which is making the trip a little more exciting and adventurous.
We ate some gazpacho. It was very refreshing and tasty. We also had a dish of hot garbanzos with chorizo and a hearty spicy sauce – also quite tasteful. Next we were brought two pork dishes with grease-soaked French fries – one a pork chop that was fine but nothing special and pulled pork with a yellowish curry-like sauce that was very satisfying. We had two beers and dessert of pre-packaged rice pudding and flan – again, ok but nothing special.
Then we walked around town, which was very enjoyable despite our extreme tiredness at this point.
We found a small tourism office and got directions to the Golf Hotel Guadalmina and picked up a book on Andalusia. Then we strolled further into the heart of town and found a Western Union office where we exchanged some dollars for Euros (Euro 0.75 to $1).
Marbella is a very nice, charming, clean town that we want to explore further. It reminded us a little of Sorrento and Hamilton, Bermuda.
We finally found the Golf Hotel Guadalmina by about 6:30pm – 20km west Marbella – just past the town of Puerto Banus.
The hotel is beautiful. Bright, flowery tropical plants adorn the landscaping. The help at the front desk was very friendly and spoke English. Miquel helped us with our bags and directed us to parking.
The place was surprisingly quiet and tranquil. I had imagined a more bustling touristy spot but this was not the case.
We got to our room which was very nice with dark marble tiled floors, new lightly colored wood furniture and a great balcony overlooking a putting green and a view down to the Mediterranean Sea.
The temperature during the day was a very comfortable 75-80 degrees and into the 60s at night.
As soon as we got into the room we crashed on the bed and slept for almost three hours and woke up around 10pm. The hotel bar was empty and the kitchen had closed at 11:00 (it was after 11:00 by the time we got up and dressed). Knowing that Spanish culture dictates late dinner we drove into Puerto Banus (a small town with a large marina filled with dozens and dozens of multi-million dollar yachts) and found a bustling strip of hip bars and restaurants along the marina.
We strolled the strip full of “beautiful people” and found a Greek restaurant eager to serve us. We had a decent dinner that, like lunch, was nothing special. Lemon chicken soup, hummus, grilled Greek cheese, and a mix of grilled fish satisfied our hunger but did not impress.
We walked up the street to find a busy bar/café with patrons spilling into the street and music pumping from the speakers. I had a Coronita (Corona) and Christine enjoyed watching me drink it.
We left Puerto Banus around 1:30am and slept in until about 9:00am.
Tuesday 20 June
Up at 9am with a wake up call. Got dressed and asked the front desk about our equipaje (luggage). No bag yet.
We went to the restaurant to find a beautiful sun-laden patio with several other guests and friendly service. We had café con leche (me) and café con leche desnatada (skim milk) for Christine. The coffee was delicious.
Breakfast on the terrace, Hotel Golf Guadalmina
We had a wonderful buffet of fresh fruits, breads, mimosas, eggs, bacon, and fresh cold cuts. With temperature of about 72 degrees and a light ocean breeze it was perfect.By 11:00 we were lying in lounge chairs overlooking the beach and sea. Hazy sunshine and 75+ degrees and a surprisingly quiet amount of tourists.
We spent a very relaxing afternoon by the pool and beach reading and soaking up the sun. We laid out a tentative schedule for the week to see Ronda, Granada, and maybe Córdoba.At about 3pm we had a nice lunch on the patio of Carpaccio with fresh parmesan shavings and Ceviche that was very fresh with chopped scallops and lime, grapefruit, cucumber… It was a very satisfying snack.
We got back to the room to find that a bag had been delivered but not ours. I returned it to the front desk and they called the airport. We’ll have to wait another day, I guess.
We decided to skip Ronda tonight as it was getting past 4:30/5:00, and go into Marbella. We got in the car for the 15-20 minute trip and found parking in the heart of Marbella’s older section.
It turns out we were right in this very section of town on Monday. It’s a very nice clean area with narrow tree-lined streets, shops of all kinds, and many restaurants and bars – quite touristy.
We strolled around and found some ibuprofen at a pharmacy for my shin splint that has been a slight annoyance but not nearly as bad as the sprained ankle in Italy a year ago.
We wanted to do a tasca (bars that serve tapas) crawl in town to taste the famed Spanish tapas. Using our guide book it wasn’t long until we found a couple streets with several restaurants and bars.
We sat down at the first bar on the outside patio area which contained large barrels with table tops and stools. We were street-side around 7pm with a bustling atmosphere of people walking, biking, and skating. One thing we’ve noticed is several couples with young kids and many babies in strollers.
Sidewalk Tapas in Marbella
We had two sangrias that were fresh along with a few tapas including Iberian ham (a cured Italian-like meat but with its own unique flavor), tomatoes with oil, garlic, and parsley, and two small sandwiches – one with anchovies and tomato and one with Spanish cheese omelet (affectionately known in Spain as a tortilla) that had a Manchego-like cheese. They were all good, my favorite being the Spanish omelet sandwich.We strolled some more and found the Plaza de Los Naranjos, a true tourist area with many sidewalk restaurants. This area of town is very quaint and attractive but definitely touristy.
We stopped at another tapas bar, which was, by the way, harder to find than we expected (restaurants – which do not seem to typically serve tapas – were more prevalent), and had a beer (me) and red wine (her). We tried some paprika shrimp and curry chicken tapas – both good but nothing more. The atmosphere was enjoyable again sitting street-side in the narrow alley-like ways.
We found Christine some ice-cream and stopped at one more tasca near where we began. This place had the same large barrels as tables and was out on a large sidewalk area.
We had a beer and red wine plus two tapas – a pork and red pepper mini sandwich that was very good, plus grilled octopus that was even better. It was probably the best grilled octopus I’ve had (which really isn’t many) this side of Dmitri’s in Philly.
Overall we had a very enjoyable relaxing evening in Marbella – great weather, good food and drink, and a fun atmosphere. We caught the end of the exciting England/Sweden World Cup game that ended in a tie.
Our clear consensus, at this point, with two days in-country is that significantly better food can be found in South Philly than Spain, but it is early in the trip.
Wednesday 21 June
Up at 9am, breakfast on the sun-drenched patio. Still no luggage but encouraging news that it is on its way. We tried to reserve tickets for the Alhambra in Granada but they are booked through the 26th! Looks like I’m playing golf today!
I drove across the road to the clubhouse to see how feasible it would be to golf without my shoes and socks that were in the lost luggage. The pro shop did not have shoes to rent, only to buy, and the caddie master did not recommend playing in my leather sandals (wet and sandy course).
I came back to the hotel and met Christine poolside to soak up some sun (another beautiful day, 80+ degrees). We stayed out until about 1:30 and decided to drive to the small town of Ronda to the northwest.
We left for Ronda around 3:30pm, and headed up highway A-397 (map says A-376, it’s wrong) and as I expected, based on the map and what we read about Ronda, the drive was a very twisty adventure up several hundred meters into the Sierra Nevada. Our average speed was probably around 50 km/hr but it was a very enjoyable ride up into the mountains.
Christine and I stopped about 15 km from Ronda at a little restaurante called Pension El Navasillo that had a little view of the mountains. We were served a very fresh enjoyable liter of Sangria. We also ate fresh gazpacho plus Christine had a good salad with lettuce, tuna, green tomatoes, onion,…and I ordered the Rabe de Toro (Bull’s Tail.) The salad was fresh and the bull’s tail was delectable. The meat fell off the bone and was done in a savory spiral sauce. It was on the fatty side, but that helped make it taste so good. My meal came with French fries, which is a common occurrence here.
Lunch on the road to Ronda 
As we have experienced at several restaurants to date, the service is not bad, but they are not as concerned with attentiveness as American servers. Everyone is friendly and will get you anything you want, it just might take an extra five to ten minutes.
We finally got back on the road to Ronda and were there within about 15 minutes. The town is exactly as we imagined based on what we read of it. Several famous writers, including Hemingway have been known to comment on the beauty and romanticism of Ronda. We come into town via the main road which quickly turned into a typical narrow European street.
There is clearly an element or Tourism here but the quaintness and beauty are still intact. It wasn’t long (about 90 seconds) before we were driving over the city’s most famous landmark, the Puente Nuevo, or New Bridge, built around 1750. We found the town’s main square, Plaza de España on the other side of the bridge and were able to find a parking garage rather quickly.
A note on parking garages in Spain; they are mostly underground, very clean, and extremely tight. In going from one level to the next, one often has to wait for other vehicles to pass and getting into a space often takes two or three “back and forths” to get in.
We walked toward the bridge but first stopped in a meat and cheese shop to buy some Manchego and Cabrales cheese plus a bottle of local wine. We found a bakery to pick up some fresh rolls and went over to the bridge. We saw a great view of the surrounding valley and mountains and walked around to explore a little more.
A snack sitting on Puente Nuevo in Ronda 
Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) in Ronda
Ronda Cliffside in the Evening
Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) in Ronda
Ronda Cliffside in the Evening
We found a clean town with several restaurants and bars. We walked by the famous bull ring where as lore has it, started the tradition of bull fighting on foot rather than on horseback.
We decided to stay in Ronda for the evening instead of going back to our 9pm reservation in Marbella at La Hacienda.
We were hoping to find some good tapas. We did find a nice café in a plaza but the food was only fair. She had chorizo a la Ronda (chorizo with an egg, French fries, and green peppers) I had a small tortilla (omelet) sandwich. Neither meal was anything special.
We finally got on the road to head home and made the long and winding trip in the dark with no problem. We went to bed by about 11:30pm, as the next day we were to get up at 5:30am to drive to Granada to see the Alhambra!
(Note: when we arrived at the room, our missing bag had arrived!!)
Thursday 22 June
Wake up call at 5:30am, Ugh! We got up and ready and left the resort around 6:20am. It was still dark compared to in the states. The Spanish clocks are slightly off compared to ours in the U.S. – providing darker mornings but lighter evenings. Sunrise must be around 7:00-7:30 and sunset around 10:00pm.
We got on the Autopista (toll highway) and headed east/northeast toward Málaga. We saw some rush hour traffic heading the opposite direction – thank goodness.
The trip to Granada went smoothly by following the road signs. The Michelin map I brought was a little helpful but not very accurate relative to some of the road names.
We arrived in Granada by about 8:10am and were able to follow signs to the Alhambra, arriving there by about 8:25.
Parking was not a problem as we got into the lot closest to the entrance. I got in line for tickets and Christine picked up two cafés con leche, a pastry, and an OJ. The ticket line took only 5-10 minutes and we picked up two audio guides.
We walked in through the gate and made our way on the grounds to the palace, the main attraction.
The Alhambra was an impressive fortress built by the Islamic Moors and later conquered by the Christian Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.
We made a few stops on the audio tour and got in line for the palace entrance. One inside we found quite an amazing display of Islamic architecture and craftsmanship - intricately carved walls and colorful polished ceramic tile centuries old. It was very impressive.
The tour took us winding through various rooms with a different story for each. There seemed to be endless view of courtyards, entrance ways, and rooms that I felt compelled to take many pictures.
The Alhambra offers various forms of architecture due to the Islamic origins and subsequent European/Renaissance rule. In going from one section of the palace to the next the contrast was pretty clear and interesting.
We decided to stay in Ronda for the evening instead of going back to our 9pm reservation in Marbella at La Hacienda.
We were hoping to find some good tapas. We did find a nice café in a plaza but the food was only fair. She had chorizo a la Ronda (chorizo with an egg, French fries, and green peppers) I had a small tortilla (omelet) sandwich. Neither meal was anything special.
We finally got on the road to head home and made the long and winding trip in the dark with no problem. We went to bed by about 11:30pm, as the next day we were to get up at 5:30am to drive to Granada to see the Alhambra!
(Note: when we arrived at the room, our missing bag had arrived!!)
Thursday 22 June
Wake up call at 5:30am, Ugh! We got up and ready and left the resort around 6:20am. It was still dark compared to in the states. The Spanish clocks are slightly off compared to ours in the U.S. – providing darker mornings but lighter evenings. Sunrise must be around 7:00-7:30 and sunset around 10:00pm.
We got on the Autopista (toll highway) and headed east/northeast toward Málaga. We saw some rush hour traffic heading the opposite direction – thank goodness.
The trip to Granada went smoothly by following the road signs. The Michelin map I brought was a little helpful but not very accurate relative to some of the road names.
We arrived in Granada by about 8:10am and were able to follow signs to the Alhambra, arriving there by about 8:25.
Parking was not a problem as we got into the lot closest to the entrance. I got in line for tickets and Christine picked up two cafés con leche, a pastry, and an OJ. The ticket line took only 5-10 minutes and we picked up two audio guides.
We walked in through the gate and made our way on the grounds to the palace, the main attraction.
The Alhambra was an impressive fortress built by the Islamic Moors and later conquered by the Christian Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.
We made a few stops on the audio tour and got in line for the palace entrance. One inside we found quite an amazing display of Islamic architecture and craftsmanship - intricately carved walls and colorful polished ceramic tile centuries old. It was very impressive.
The tour took us winding through various rooms with a different story for each. There seemed to be endless view of courtyards, entrance ways, and rooms that I felt compelled to take many pictures.
The Alhambra offers various forms of architecture due to the Islamic origins and subsequent European/Renaissance rule. In going from one section of the palace to the next the contrast was pretty clear and interesting.
A Courtyard of the Alhambra
The Court of the Lions
One of the many Alhambra gardens
We finally made our way through the palace and up to the Generalife (pronounced Heneral-LEE-fay) palace, the summer home built by the Nasrid family dynasty.
Generalife had many beautiful tranquil gardens with fountains and great views of the Alhambra and the city.
A Garden at Generalife 
View of the Alhambra and Granada from Generalife
View of the Alhambra and Granada from Generalife
After Generalife we walked back to the other end of the Alhambra to see the Alcazaba, the 9th century fortress that was the first piece of the Alhambra.
We finally left the Alhambra by around 1:00pm and went into the city to try to find a place to eat. We found the popular street, Calle Reyes Católicos, and found the Plaza Nueva with many bars and restaurants.
We stopped at Antigua Bodega Casteñeda and sat in the alley, enjoying some street performers playing The Girl from Ipanema and other tunes on a guitar and flute.
We had a couple of beers, a combination cured meat platter (very good), roasted herbed chicken (even better), and a baked potato with three cheeses that was ok.
Again the service was friendly but slow and we were there for over an hour. We left to stroll down the Calle Reyes Católicos only to find it was siesta time and most places were closed. So we decided to drive back to San Pedro where the hotel was.
We were both very tired and Christine fell asleep once we were on the highway. After 30 minutes of driving I decided that pulling over for a nap was the best thing to do as I was feeling very drowsy.
We stopped at a service plaza that was very nice with many amenities including a hotel, restaurant, and cafeteria. I took a 20 minute nap and felt quite refreshed. We filled up the tank with diesel-plus and got back on the highway.
The landscape was relatively mountainous near Málaga with large open plains between Málaga and Granada. There was farmland, particularly thousands of acres of olive groves. Overall this part of Spain is very scenic but not as what we experiences in Italy.
Right before Málaga we hit the traffic jam of a lifetime, unfortunately. A truck had overturned with a load of fill and took us almost two hours to go about two miles.
This was another example to me of the comparatively laid back lifestyle (or maybe in this case simply the lack of preparedness) compared to the U.S. When we finally got to the accident scene there was one small backhoe trying to clean up the mess. In the U.S. this would have been a 20-30 minute delay.
We finally got back by around 8pm, ate some cheese, drank some wine, and read our5 books on the balcony of our room. We decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant. We showed up at 10:30pm, right at the last minute. There was one other couple in the entire place and the restaurant was closing, to our surprise, despite all we were told about late dinners in Spain.
It was a very good meal with excellent service. We had grilled vegetables with goat cheese and a plate of cod and anchovies that were both very very good. I had monk fish that was broiled accompanied by a light mix of diced vegetables in a sweet sauce. It was the best dish I’ve had yet. She had a shrimp and greens salad that was beautifully presented, fresh, and very tasteful. Dessert was a piece each of an apple pie that had doughy crust with perhaps cream cheese in it, plus a coffee mousse cake. Both were good but nothing fantastic.
Friday 23 June
No wake up call today. Slept until 9:45 am! We’re surprised we slept so long, but it felt great. I think we are finally caught up on rest from the wedding. These five days (four, really, discounting Monday) at this beach resort are what we needed. We are only planning on relaxing more today after a somewhat long road trip yesterday.
We had another great breakfast on the patio – café con leche (“better than Starbucks” said Christine), fresh poached-like eggs, bacon, cereal, fruit, bread, juices, mimosas, cold cuts, cheeses, and more all available.
By about 11:45 we were down on the deck by the beach/pool relaxing in the sun, reading The Devil Wears Prada (her), and Don Quixote (me.) Both of us are enjoying our tomes. I guess I have started a tradition of reading novels set in the place to which we travel, having read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown while in Rome last year.
The weather is perfect – 85 and not a cloud in the sky – sitting under an umbrella on the deck and thinking of taking a dip in the sea having already swam a few laps in the salt water pool earlier. Looking forward to watching the Spain world cup soccer game later at 4pm. Probably going to find a bar in San Pedro or Marbella to mix amongst the locals to the extent possible.
I took a dip in the Mediterranean and found it to be just right on temperature – a little cool when first entering but perfectly refreshing after about 90 seconds. The floor quickly went deep and the water was over my head within about four or five meters from the shore. The water was quite clear and I swam out about 15 or 20 meters from shore and floated for about 10 minutes.
We left the deck and came up to the patio at about 3:30 to get some lunch. Christine had a langostino and calamari salad. I had a seafood salad sandwich. It was all very good, fresh, with good presentation. The service was a little slow. We never did end up signing for the meal as we wanted to get to San Pedro to watch the futbol game.
We drove into San Pedro (10 min) and were able to find public parking and went into a true “townie” bar. A very small place with some scruffy-looking clientele. We walked in at halftime and ordered two beers and watched the second half. Spain was ahead of Saudi Arabia 1-0. This would be the final score. It was fun to be there but it didn’t quite deliver the exciting experience we were hoping for. We must have stuck out like sore thumbs.
We walked around San Pedro a little, a little town, pretty clean with some touristy restaurants and shops, but not as touristy as Marbella. One gets a sense that this is a little more of a “commoner” town.
We stopped at the grocery store in San Pedro to pick up some bread, snacks, fruit, and water. We got back to the hotel around 7:00-7:30.
We sat on the balcony of our room and enjoyed the remainder of our wine and cheese we bought in Ronda. The front desk made a reservation for us at Restaurante Manelo in San Pedro.
We got dressed for a nice dinner, drove back into San Pedro and quickly found Manelo. It was a nice place that was not quite what we were looking for. The clientele was a little on the average street dress side versus a little more upscale type of place we were hoping for. We sat on the terrace, nicely decorated with plants. The service was friendly and spoke English. We started by sharing a house salad that was very good but a little too much dressing. We next shared an order of Sea Bass that Christine really enjoyed. It was cooked in a salt wrap and laying in olive oil. Overall it was pretty good, not great. Finally we split an order of seafood paella that was very nicely prepared for two – a very large portion for each. It had prawns, mussels, octopus, cod,… A very tasty dish if not a little on the heavy side. We also drank a full bottle of white wine (house) that complimented the meal well. Dinner was over around 11:45 and of course there were many people walking around town and to our surprise we saw many parents with children of all ages, in strollers up to 8-10 years old.
We finally left the Alhambra by around 1:00pm and went into the city to try to find a place to eat. We found the popular street, Calle Reyes Católicos, and found the Plaza Nueva with many bars and restaurants.
We stopped at Antigua Bodega Casteñeda and sat in the alley, enjoying some street performers playing The Girl from Ipanema and other tunes on a guitar and flute.
We had a couple of beers, a combination cured meat platter (very good), roasted herbed chicken (even better), and a baked potato with three cheeses that was ok.
Again the service was friendly but slow and we were there for over an hour. We left to stroll down the Calle Reyes Católicos only to find it was siesta time and most places were closed. So we decided to drive back to San Pedro where the hotel was.
We were both very tired and Christine fell asleep once we were on the highway. After 30 minutes of driving I decided that pulling over for a nap was the best thing to do as I was feeling very drowsy.
We stopped at a service plaza that was very nice with many amenities including a hotel, restaurant, and cafeteria. I took a 20 minute nap and felt quite refreshed. We filled up the tank with diesel-plus and got back on the highway.
The landscape was relatively mountainous near Málaga with large open plains between Málaga and Granada. There was farmland, particularly thousands of acres of olive groves. Overall this part of Spain is very scenic but not as what we experiences in Italy.
Right before Málaga we hit the traffic jam of a lifetime, unfortunately. A truck had overturned with a load of fill and took us almost two hours to go about two miles.
This was another example to me of the comparatively laid back lifestyle (or maybe in this case simply the lack of preparedness) compared to the U.S. When we finally got to the accident scene there was one small backhoe trying to clean up the mess. In the U.S. this would have been a 20-30 minute delay.
We finally got back by around 8pm, ate some cheese, drank some wine, and read our5 books on the balcony of our room. We decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant. We showed up at 10:30pm, right at the last minute. There was one other couple in the entire place and the restaurant was closing, to our surprise, despite all we were told about late dinners in Spain.
It was a very good meal with excellent service. We had grilled vegetables with goat cheese and a plate of cod and anchovies that were both very very good. I had monk fish that was broiled accompanied by a light mix of diced vegetables in a sweet sauce. It was the best dish I’ve had yet. She had a shrimp and greens salad that was beautifully presented, fresh, and very tasteful. Dessert was a piece each of an apple pie that had doughy crust with perhaps cream cheese in it, plus a coffee mousse cake. Both were good but nothing fantastic.
Friday 23 June
No wake up call today. Slept until 9:45 am! We’re surprised we slept so long, but it felt great. I think we are finally caught up on rest from the wedding. These five days (four, really, discounting Monday) at this beach resort are what we needed. We are only planning on relaxing more today after a somewhat long road trip yesterday.
We had another great breakfast on the patio – café con leche (“better than Starbucks” said Christine), fresh poached-like eggs, bacon, cereal, fruit, bread, juices, mimosas, cold cuts, cheeses, and more all available.
By about 11:45 we were down on the deck by the beach/pool relaxing in the sun, reading The Devil Wears Prada (her), and Don Quixote (me.) Both of us are enjoying our tomes. I guess I have started a tradition of reading novels set in the place to which we travel, having read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown while in Rome last year.
The weather is perfect – 85 and not a cloud in the sky – sitting under an umbrella on the deck and thinking of taking a dip in the sea having already swam a few laps in the salt water pool earlier. Looking forward to watching the Spain world cup soccer game later at 4pm. Probably going to find a bar in San Pedro or Marbella to mix amongst the locals to the extent possible.
I took a dip in the Mediterranean and found it to be just right on temperature – a little cool when first entering but perfectly refreshing after about 90 seconds. The floor quickly went deep and the water was over my head within about four or five meters from the shore. The water was quite clear and I swam out about 15 or 20 meters from shore and floated for about 10 minutes.
We left the deck and came up to the patio at about 3:30 to get some lunch. Christine had a langostino and calamari salad. I had a seafood salad sandwich. It was all very good, fresh, with good presentation. The service was a little slow. We never did end up signing for the meal as we wanted to get to San Pedro to watch the futbol game.
We drove into San Pedro (10 min) and were able to find public parking and went into a true “townie” bar. A very small place with some scruffy-looking clientele. We walked in at halftime and ordered two beers and watched the second half. Spain was ahead of Saudi Arabia 1-0. This would be the final score. It was fun to be there but it didn’t quite deliver the exciting experience we were hoping for. We must have stuck out like sore thumbs.
We walked around San Pedro a little, a little town, pretty clean with some touristy restaurants and shops, but not as touristy as Marbella. One gets a sense that this is a little more of a “commoner” town.
We stopped at the grocery store in San Pedro to pick up some bread, snacks, fruit, and water. We got back to the hotel around 7:00-7:30.
We sat on the balcony of our room and enjoyed the remainder of our wine and cheese we bought in Ronda. The front desk made a reservation for us at Restaurante Manelo in San Pedro.
We got dressed for a nice dinner, drove back into San Pedro and quickly found Manelo. It was a nice place that was not quite what we were looking for. The clientele was a little on the average street dress side versus a little more upscale type of place we were hoping for. We sat on the terrace, nicely decorated with plants. The service was friendly and spoke English. We started by sharing a house salad that was very good but a little too much dressing. We next shared an order of Sea Bass that Christine really enjoyed. It was cooked in a salt wrap and laying in olive oil. Overall it was pretty good, not great. Finally we split an order of seafood paella that was very nicely prepared for two – a very large portion for each. It had prawns, mussels, octopus, cod,… A very tasty dish if not a little on the heavy side. We also drank a full bottle of white wine (house) that complimented the meal well. Dinner was over around 11:45 and of course there were many people walking around town and to our surprise we saw many parents with children of all ages, in strollers up to 8-10 years old.
Dinner at Restaurante Manelo
There was a little festival in the town square which we enjoyed for 10-15 minutes. They had live music and some people were dancing. We were back to the room in bed by around 1AM.
Saturday 24 June
Today we drive to Sevilla! Wake up call at 8am. Feel like I was hit by a truck, but after we finally get up I feel pretty good.
Another prefect morning on the restaurant terrace for breakfast – bright sun, a light breeze, a great view of the Mediterranean.
We checked out, packed the car, and were on the road around 11am, anticipating a three hour drive. To get to Seville we had to drive through Ronda again so I had another chance to drive the fun twisty road. The trip to Ronda seemed quicker this time and we were soon heading through new territory.
This drive from Ronda was very scenic through some foothills of the Sierra Nevada followed by rolling farmland (wheat fields? And sunflowers in full yellow glory!).
Today we drive to Sevilla! Wake up call at 8am. Feel like I was hit by a truck, but after we finally get up I feel pretty good.
Another prefect morning on the restaurant terrace for breakfast – bright sun, a light breeze, a great view of the Mediterranean.
We checked out, packed the car, and were on the road around 11am, anticipating a three hour drive. To get to Seville we had to drive through Ronda again so I had another chance to drive the fun twisty road. The trip to Ronda seemed quicker this time and we were soon heading through new territory.
This drive from Ronda was very scenic through some foothills of the Sierra Nevada followed by rolling farmland (wheat fields? And sunflowers in full yellow glory!).
The Drive to Seville
We followed the signs into the Centro Urbano of Seville and luckily saw signs for our hotel that got us in the neighborhood. We parked in a garage around 2pm and thought it best to ask someone where the hotel was as the old center part of town has amazingly narrow streets from the days of horse and buggy that are not signed very well and are certainly not laid out in any type of planned grid or orderly fashion.
We stopped at a café, tried a margherita pizza, salad, and soup mariscos, and got directions to the hotel.
We walked to the hotel, which was situated perfectly in the Santa Cruz neighborhood of Seville, where the cathedral (3rd largest in Europe and certified by Guinness as the largest in area) and Alcázar (the old royal palace) are situated.
We stopped at a café, tried a margherita pizza, salad, and soup mariscos, and got directions to the hotel.
We walked to the hotel, which was situated perfectly in the Santa Cruz neighborhood of Seville, where the cathedral (3rd largest in Europe and certified by Guinness as the largest in area) and Alcázar (the old royal palace) are situated.
The Cathedral in Seville
We checked in without our luggage to find a nice city-type hotel, very different in feel and style than the Hotel Guadalmina. We were a little upset to find two twin beds in our room but were too tired to do anything at this point. Within ten minutes we were asleep and took about a 60 minute siesta.
We got up and I asked Antonio at the front desk if we could have a better room and he more than obliged us with a nice large room with king size bed, a nice little view of the cathedral’s bell tower, and A/C that wouldn’t quit.
We decided to take the bus tour for which we had a voucher. It was a beautiful evening with a bit of a strong breeze. We walked past the cathedral and over to the Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold, an old Islamic guard tower on the bank of the Guadalquivir River) to catch the bus. (After we stopped at Starbucks for frapucinos.)
We sat on the top deck of the bus and enjoyed the cloudless sky and warm breeze. We saw the old tobacco factory that inspired Bizet’s opera, Carmen. We saw a few other sights, but overall the tour was just ok.
We walked back toward the hotel and stopped for a snack and drink at a sidewalk café near the cathedral. Christine had a very good “seafood salad” that was chopped fresh tomato and onion with olive oil and spices plus three or four shrimp. I had Iberian ham which was also very good (for the price, about eight Euros for a little meat, it should be!)
We got up and I asked Antonio at the front desk if we could have a better room and he more than obliged us with a nice large room with king size bed, a nice little view of the cathedral’s bell tower, and A/C that wouldn’t quit.
We decided to take the bus tour for which we had a voucher. It was a beautiful evening with a bit of a strong breeze. We walked past the cathedral and over to the Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold, an old Islamic guard tower on the bank of the Guadalquivir River) to catch the bus. (After we stopped at Starbucks for frapucinos.)
We sat on the top deck of the bus and enjoyed the cloudless sky and warm breeze. We saw the old tobacco factory that inspired Bizet’s opera, Carmen. We saw a few other sights, but overall the tour was just ok.
We walked back toward the hotel and stopped for a snack and drink at a sidewalk café near the cathedral. Christine had a very good “seafood salad” that was chopped fresh tomato and onion with olive oil and spices plus three or four shrimp. I had Iberian ham which was also very good (for the price, about eight Euros for a little meat, it should be!)
We went back to Hotel Los Seises and prepared to go out for some tapas and flamenco. Antonio at the front desk was again very helpful.
We walked east through Santa Cruz and found many people walking through the tiny cobblestone medieval streets. We came upon our destination which was a section of the neighborhood with many bars and restaurants.
We had two riojas at a café plus chilled seasoned prawns and some roast beef on toasted Spanish bread. Again, both were flavorful but nothing special.
Next, we found Carbonería, a local flamenco club/bar Antonio recommended. We almost missed it because there was no sign, but I asked a gentleman who came out for a smoke and he said, “Sí, aquí.” The front room of the establishment was very quiet with only a couple of patrons. It had a bar on the left, raised on a different floor level, and whitewashed walls with a few little alcoves with wooden tables and benches.
We walked east through Santa Cruz and found many people walking through the tiny cobblestone medieval streets. We came upon our destination which was a section of the neighborhood with many bars and restaurants.
We had two riojas at a café plus chilled seasoned prawns and some roast beef on toasted Spanish bread. Again, both were flavorful but nothing special.
Next, we found Carbonería, a local flamenco club/bar Antonio recommended. We almost missed it because there was no sign, but I asked a gentleman who came out for a smoke and he said, “Sí, aquí.” The front room of the establishment was very quiet with only a couple of patrons. It had a bar on the left, raised on a different floor level, and whitewashed walls with a few little alcoves with wooden tables and benches.
Carboneria Flamenco Club in Seville
We quickly realized we had to walk through the next doorway and found a room, about 30’ x 40’ with a small lighted stage that had three performers – a singer, guitarist, and dancer. The room had long wooden tables and benches aligned to face the stage, and a large bar on the left side with a couple of bartenders.
We stayed for about 30-45 minutes, had one drink each, and enjoyed the local flavor. There were several tourists and we decided to call it a night.
Overall our first impression of Seville is very favorable – very very charming old neighborhood with a ton of history.
Tomorrow: Cathedral (mass?), the Alcázar, and a bullfight!?.
Sunday 25 June
We awoke to the sound of the bells in the cathedral’s tower (La Giralda) around 8:30-9am, got up and went downstairs for breakfast.
The breakfast was not nearly as good as that at Hotel Guadalmina, but it would suffice (except no leche desnatada, skim milk, for Christine’s coffee!).
We decided to go for a walk in the Parque Maria Luisa, a large park in the heart of Seville. It was a very beautiful morning, about 72-75 degrees F and not a cloud in the sky.
It took about 15 minutes to walk to the park after we stopped at the Plaza de Toros (bullring) to pick up tickets for the night’s fight.
We walked along the Guadalqivir River, seeing kayakers in the river and several joggers and bicyclists.
We went into the park which was very beautiful with many types of foliage including large palm trees mixed with deciduous (maple??) plus some colorful flowers here and there. It reminded me a little of how Spain has a mix of architecture, the Mudéjar style, that combines Islamic and Renaissance.
We stayed for about 30-45 minutes, had one drink each, and enjoyed the local flavor. There were several tourists and we decided to call it a night.
Overall our first impression of Seville is very favorable – very very charming old neighborhood with a ton of history.
Tomorrow: Cathedral (mass?), the Alcázar, and a bullfight!?.
Sunday 25 June
We awoke to the sound of the bells in the cathedral’s tower (La Giralda) around 8:30-9am, got up and went downstairs for breakfast.
The breakfast was not nearly as good as that at Hotel Guadalmina, but it would suffice (except no leche desnatada, skim milk, for Christine’s coffee!).
We decided to go for a walk in the Parque Maria Luisa, a large park in the heart of Seville. It was a very beautiful morning, about 72-75 degrees F and not a cloud in the sky.
It took about 15 minutes to walk to the park after we stopped at the Plaza de Toros (bullring) to pick up tickets for the night’s fight.
We walked along the Guadalqivir River, seeing kayakers in the river and several joggers and bicyclists.
We went into the park which was very beautiful with many types of foliage including large palm trees mixed with deciduous (maple??) plus some colorful flowers here and there. It reminded me a little of how Spain has a mix of architecture, the Mudéjar style, that combines Islamic and Renaissance.
Parque Maria Luisa in Seville 
The paths of the park are mainly dirt. We heard the constant sound of doves singing their song. We came upon several fountains, some not in operation. It didn’t take us long to realize that, despite the park’s beauty it was not well-maintained at all.
There were many weeds, untrimmed hedges, and dirty fountains. Despite this we still enjoyed a 45 minute retreat through the greenery.
Next we walked through the Plaza de España, site of the 1929 Spanish-American Exposition. Next we walked past the old tobacco factory and into the Santa Cruz neighborhood where the cathedral and our hotel were.
We stopped back at the room, picked up Christine’s D&K book on Spain, and went to the cathedral for 1pm mass.
We sat in front of the large altar screen that was built in the 1500s. The altar itself was amazing with gilded statues and engravings. The altar backdrop was huge with several levels of carvings and engravings depicting different biblical scenes.
The mass was over in about 35 minutes and had no music. Christine took communion and, of course, I watched.
We would have liked to see more of the cathedral but they shepherded everyone out.
We decided to get lunch at Giraldillo, a restaurant we walked by several times in the plaza behind the cathedral. This would end up being the most enjoyable meal to date.
We sat at a sidewalk table under a tree. The weather was prefect, low humidity, a light breeze, about 80-85 degrees.
We picked several items from the tapas menu including: Ox tail croquettes, fried fish in a lemon marinade, Andalusian olives, Manchego cheese, garbanzos Andalusian, … We also had white wine. It was all very very good. The main point to note is that the Andalusian olives were, perhaps, the best olives I’ve ever had. They were a large, meaty green olive that had an unbelievable fresh taste. The olives, along with a bite of the Manchego cheese and bread, was the best flavor of the trip. The vino blanco complemented it perfectly!
There were many weeds, untrimmed hedges, and dirty fountains. Despite this we still enjoyed a 45 minute retreat through the greenery.
Next we walked through the Plaza de España, site of the 1929 Spanish-American Exposition. Next we walked past the old tobacco factory and into the Santa Cruz neighborhood where the cathedral and our hotel were.
We stopped back at the room, picked up Christine’s D&K book on Spain, and went to the cathedral for 1pm mass.
We sat in front of the large altar screen that was built in the 1500s. The altar itself was amazing with gilded statues and engravings. The altar backdrop was huge with several levels of carvings and engravings depicting different biblical scenes.
The mass was over in about 35 minutes and had no music. Christine took communion and, of course, I watched.
We would have liked to see more of the cathedral but they shepherded everyone out.
We decided to get lunch at Giraldillo, a restaurant we walked by several times in the plaza behind the cathedral. This would end up being the most enjoyable meal to date.
We sat at a sidewalk table under a tree. The weather was prefect, low humidity, a light breeze, about 80-85 degrees.
We picked several items from the tapas menu including: Ox tail croquettes, fried fish in a lemon marinade, Andalusian olives, Manchego cheese, garbanzos Andalusian, … We also had white wine. It was all very very good. The main point to note is that the Andalusian olives were, perhaps, the best olives I’ve ever had. They were a large, meaty green olive that had an unbelievable fresh taste. The olives, along with a bite of the Manchego cheese and bread, was the best flavor of the trip. The vino blanco complemented it perfectly!
Lunch at Giraldillo Behind the Cathedral
Spanish Olives, Manchego Cheese, and Wine 
We reluctantly left Giraldillo and went to see the Alcázar, the old royal palace of Seville. It was great to see, but after the Alhambra it was not as impressive, and we were ready for a nap.
With the hotel being in the heart of the main sites to see, it took about five minutes to get back. We slept until about 6:20 then got showered and were out the door at 7:15 for the 7:30 bullfight.
We walked a few blocks to the bullring, apparently one of the most famous in Spain. We were seated in the shade, two rows from the front. The tickets are priced by whether or not you are in the sun – in the sun being cheaper.
With the hotel being in the heart of the main sites to see, it took about five minutes to get back. We slept until about 6:20 then got showered and were out the door at 7:15 for the 7:30 bullfight.
We walked a few blocks to the bullring, apparently one of the most famous in Spain. We were seated in the shade, two rows from the front. The tickets are priced by whether or not you are in the sun – in the sun being cheaper.
The Plaza de Toros (Bullring) in Seville.JPG)
We were completely among the locals and really felt an authentic experience. I was a little worried that Christine would not want to stay long based on the stories we heard about how barbaric bullfights can be. Fortunately she hung in there and wasn’t too bothered by it, nor was I.
Corrida de Toros (Bullfight) in Seville 
- Melon caviar – melon juice dripped from an assembly of large syringes into a solution of calcium fluoride. (I think this is what he said. It was a little hard to make out with the accent.) It created a sweet “caviar” on which they added very small amounts of passion fruit and fresh mint.
The bullfight was a very interesting and fun experience. They have three matadors and six bulls. They go through the traditions of the picadors, banderillos, and the matador for the final kill.
The Picador
Each fight was entertaining with subtle differences. The third (and sixth) matador was the best. He was quite a showman and very athletic. To our surprise, he was from France.
The Final Blow (He's holding a sword) 
There were two bulls that did not hold up very long, and were shepherded out of the ring by other bulls (white and brown) that were let in the ring, then directed out of the ring by a shepherd. It was kind of funny except the second bull was made lame by the picador and could barely make it out of the ring – it was a little sad. He then died in the tunnel and had to be pulled back into the ring and out like the others.
Overall it was really fun being at the bullfight and we were both glad we did it. It ended around 10:15-10:30.
We walked back to Santa Cruz and decided on El 3 de Oro restaurant for dinner.
This was a very good dinner. We had grilled octopus for an appetizer that was very nicely done in a paprika-like spice with olive oil. It was slices of large (about 3cm in diameter) tentacles.
Overall it was really fun being at the bullfight and we were both glad we did it. It ended around 10:15-10:30.
We walked back to Santa Cruz and decided on El 3 de Oro restaurant for dinner.
This was a very good dinner. We had grilled octopus for an appetizer that was very nicely done in a paprika-like spice with olive oil. It was slices of large (about 3cm in diameter) tentacles.
Dinner at El 3 de Oro
Christine’s main course was squash stuffed with seafood. She really liked it and said it was a flavor she never experienced. I tried it and agreed. I had salt cod that was done well. It was a nice meaty cod with Iberian ham on it, in olive oil, with potatoes. I had beer and she had white wine. We shared a nice chilled, sugared/spiced apple for dessert.
In bed by 1am.
Tomorrow, train to Madrid and España World Cup futbol game at 9pm.
Monday 26 June
We got up around 8:45am and had to get ready for our 11am train to Madrid.
Taxi to Stación Santa Justa (15 min)
Train left at 11am. Very nice first class cabin with beverage and meal service. The train is very quiet, comfortable, and smooth.
In bed by 1am.
Tomorrow, train to Madrid and España World Cup futbol game at 9pm.
Monday 26 June
We got up around 8:45am and had to get ready for our 11am train to Madrid.
Taxi to Stación Santa Justa (15 min)
Train left at 11am. Very nice first class cabin with beverage and meal service. The train is very quiet, comfortable, and smooth.
Journalizing on the Train to Madrid 
The Spanish countryside is very rugged: dirt roads, old farms, some hills, and many open plains. I an envision Don Quixote and Sancho Panza and their perilous adventures out there. Many olive trees. Dry, rocky terrain.
The Castillian Countryside
We arrived at Madrid’s Atocha Station at 1:25pm to find a busy, older train station. We got a taxi for the ten minute ride to our hotel – Hotel Quo, Puerta del Sol.
The traffic in Madrid is just as we read about – crazy. I feel like it’s probably worse than New York City.
The hotel was very nicely located right in the heart of Madrid in the “Sol” (sun) section. We were within a fifteen minute walk to virtually all the major Madrid attractions.
The hotel itself was very nice with modern décor, small but adequate rooms, and young friendly front desk staff who all spoke English.
We asked the staff to make us a dinner reservation at a nearby highly recommended (by Frommer’s) restaurant and we went for a walk to the well known park, Parque del Buen Retiro.
We found different versions of the famous “LOVE” statue that reminded us of Philly’s Love Park, and snapped a few photos.
The traffic in Madrid is just as we read about – crazy. I feel like it’s probably worse than New York City.
The hotel was very nicely located right in the heart of Madrid in the “Sol” (sun) section. We were within a fifteen minute walk to virtually all the major Madrid attractions.
The hotel itself was very nice with modern décor, small but adequate rooms, and young friendly front desk staff who all spoke English.
We asked the staff to make us a dinner reservation at a nearby highly recommended (by Frommer’s) restaurant and we went for a walk to the well known park, Parque del Buen Retiro.
We found different versions of the famous “LOVE” statue that reminded us of Philly’s Love Park, and snapped a few photos.
"LOVE" statue in Madrid 
Within a few more minutes we found a main gate to the park and walked in to find a well kept, very large public park. There was a small lake with a huge, impressive monument on one side and people in row boats on the lake.
Monument in Parque del Buen Retiro
We found a small café in the park. I had a beer and sandwich (cured ham, cheese, and tomato on baguette – pretty standard Spanish fare) and Christine had a sangria with an ensalada mixta with iceberg lettuce, tuna, tomato, corn, onion,… It was a very nice late afternoon snack.
We walked back to the hotel to see if the hotel staff had made reservations for dinner but they had no luck yet since the restaurants were not yet answering their phones at 5:30pm.
Next, we walked west through Old Madrid to the Puerta del Sol (a large central square/plaza). We also found the Plaza Mayor (another large public square with much history). This part of Madrid is similar to the Santa Cruz neighborhood of Seville, with narrow, criss-crossing streets, shops of all kinds, and endless bars and restaurants.
We got a quick taste of this neighborhood and headed back to the hotel (just a 10-15 minute walk).
We got back to the hotel to learn we had a 9:00 reservation at our first choice, La Terraza de Casino Madrid. The Frommer’s book recommended it highly – so we thought we’d try it. We took a little nap and were ready to go at 9:00. There was a dress code (jacket required) so luckily I was able to borrow one from the restaurant.
La Terraza was right up the street from the hotel and we found that at 9:05pm we were the first customers to arrive for the evening.
It was a perfect evening for an outside meal – about 75 degrees and low humidity with a cloudless sky.
The terrace restaurant overlooks Calle Alcalá (a main street of Madrid) and we could tell right away this was going to be a special meal.
We were seated near the small bar for a cocktail. We each had a glass of champagne and toasted Us and Spain. After about 25 minutes we were seated at our dinner table that was in the “front row” near the edge of the terrace closest to the street.
We walked back to the hotel to see if the hotel staff had made reservations for dinner but they had no luck yet since the restaurants were not yet answering their phones at 5:30pm.
Next, we walked west through Old Madrid to the Puerta del Sol (a large central square/plaza). We also found the Plaza Mayor (another large public square with much history). This part of Madrid is similar to the Santa Cruz neighborhood of Seville, with narrow, criss-crossing streets, shops of all kinds, and endless bars and restaurants.
We got a quick taste of this neighborhood and headed back to the hotel (just a 10-15 minute walk).
We got back to the hotel to learn we had a 9:00 reservation at our first choice, La Terraza de Casino Madrid. The Frommer’s book recommended it highly – so we thought we’d try it. We took a little nap and were ready to go at 9:00. There was a dress code (jacket required) so luckily I was able to borrow one from the restaurant.
La Terraza was right up the street from the hotel and we found that at 9:05pm we were the first customers to arrive for the evening.
It was a perfect evening for an outside meal – about 75 degrees and low humidity with a cloudless sky.
The terrace restaurant overlooks Calle Alcalá (a main street of Madrid) and we could tell right away this was going to be a special meal.
We were seated near the small bar for a cocktail. We each had a glass of champagne and toasted Us and Spain. After about 25 minutes we were seated at our dinner table that was in the “front row” near the edge of the terrace closest to the street.
La Terraza de Casino de Madrid 
By this time a few other couples had arrived and the restaurant started to hum a little with servers buzzing about.
The terrace was set with a beautiful white stone ornate railing, white iron tables and chairs, seat pads that were embroidered with the restaurant logo, a stone tile floor, and ornate outdoor lamp posts. It was very beautiful.
There was also live music provided by a keyboardist and saxophone player playing Beatles tunes and old American standards.
The head waiter came over and told us that the chef had a special meal prepared for us this evening which turned out to be a prix-fixed eleven course meal we had read about. We were given no menu.
To make a long story short, this was the meal of a lifetime. It was the most impressive overall experience either of us had ever had at a restaurant! We were served the following courses and items:
- A special cocktail with Cointreau, small frozen melon balls, and fresh pieces of peaches and other fruit.
The terrace was set with a beautiful white stone ornate railing, white iron tables and chairs, seat pads that were embroidered with the restaurant logo, a stone tile floor, and ornate outdoor lamp posts. It was very beautiful.
There was also live music provided by a keyboardist and saxophone player playing Beatles tunes and old American standards.
The head waiter came over and told us that the chef had a special meal prepared for us this evening which turned out to be a prix-fixed eleven course meal we had read about. We were given no menu.
To make a long story short, this was the meal of a lifetime. It was the most impressive overall experience either of us had ever had at a restaurant! We were served the following courses and items:
- A special cocktail with Cointreau, small frozen melon balls, and fresh pieces of peaches and other fruit. - Hors d’oeuvres of mushroom crackers (light and thin), parmesan cheese in a crispy bite size tangled ball, sugared seeds (sunflower?), and crunchy calamari wrapped in seaweed with sesame seeds.
- A pistachio paste dipped in liquid nitrogen table side and served on a ceramic spoon.
- Melon caviar – melon juice dripped from an assembly of large syringes into a solution of calcium fluoride. (I think this is what he said. It was a little hard to make out with the accent.) It created a sweet “caviar” on which they added very small amounts of passion fruit and fresh mint.
- A small ham (cured Iberian ham) sandwich that was prepared on a thin crackery bread that just melted in your mouth.
- Almond foam prepared in liquid nitrogen tableside with garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.
- Fresh calamari with bacon and lemon puree, presented such that the lemon puree was the head of the squid. It was an amazing flavor.
- A chilled poached egg with asparagus, mushrooms, white truffles – delicious.
- Lobster with a basil cream sauce – amazing.
- Spanish Sea Bass with an artichoke puree and tomato puree – just perfect, fresh.
- Lamb (amazingly tender and juicy) served with a mango puree and mascarpone cheese – unlike anything we’ve ever had.
- A bottle of white Spanish wine called Viña Mein – not exactly sure of the type of wine/grape – reminded me of a pinot grigio.
- Dessert #1: pineapple sorbet with coconut and egg white.
- Dessert #2: Three textures of chocolate – a dense base of shavings on the plate (milk chocolate and two small pyramids – one dark chocolate and one lighter colored, but not white, chocolate.
- Dessert #3: A plate of various items – A delicate corn tortilla lightly sweetened, congealed and sugared olive oil cubes, a walnut caramel, coffee with almond foam, and our favorite which was a gourmet version of the old American “pop rocks,” a small bowl of dark creamy chocolate that melted in your mouth to reveal a popping, tingling sensation.
The description in the Frommer’s book mentioned that the chef was known for creating “explosions of flavor” in your mouth. This was more than true as every course offered our palate something we had never experienced.
Christine and I were blown away by the excellent first class service, and the even better meal. To top it off, the last song the musical duo happened to play was Fly Me to the Moon – our wedding song.
Before we left they gave us a customized printed menu describing all that we had, plus the name of the wine and the date of the occasion. What an experience!
Christine and I were blown away by the excellent first class service, and the even better meal. To top it off, the last song the musical duo happened to play was Fly Me to the Moon – our wedding song.
Before we left they gave us a customized printed menu describing all that we had, plus the name of the wine and the date of the occasion. What an experience!
Dinner at La Terraza de Casino de Madrid
We walked two minutes to the hotel and went to bed as we had a 9:45am city tour the next day.
Tuesday 27 June
We got up around 8:45, had a quick breakfast and took a cab to Plaza Oriente for a half-day Madrid bus tour.
The tour was ok but didn’t really show us much that was worth sitting in all of the traffic. It was good, though, to get a quick view of the main sights of Madrid.
We were let off the bus at Gran Via, a main artery through the city not far from our hotel, with many shops and restaurants.
We stopped at Starbucks (!) and got two mocha frapucinos and wandered around some of the shopping district. It was another beautiful day and the city was just hopping with activity – people and cars everywhere.
We stopped for a quick salmon and Philly cream cheese sandwich that was fresh and hit the spot, then wandered around the Plaza Mayor area to stop at the San Miguel market where we picked up fresh cheese, some soprasatta-like cured ham, olives and bread. We ate a little snack right as siesta time was in full swing.
We got up around 8:45, had a quick breakfast and took a cab to Plaza Oriente for a half-day Madrid bus tour.
The tour was ok but didn’t really show us much that was worth sitting in all of the traffic. It was good, though, to get a quick view of the main sights of Madrid.
We were let off the bus at Gran Via, a main artery through the city not far from our hotel, with many shops and restaurants.
We stopped at Starbucks (!) and got two mocha frapucinos and wandered around some of the shopping district. It was another beautiful day and the city was just hopping with activity – people and cars everywhere.
We stopped for a quick salmon and Philly cream cheese sandwich that was fresh and hit the spot, then wandered around the Plaza Mayor area to stop at the San Miguel market where we picked up fresh cheese, some soprasatta-like cured ham, olives and bread. We ate a little snack right as siesta time was in full swing.
San Miguel market in Madrid 
Taberna Toscana on a weeknight at 11:30pm
We finished our fresh tasty Spanish snack and walked the 15 minutes back to the hotel for our own siesta, which we needed after the big late meal last night.
We got up and wanted to grab some tapas, beer, and shop a little before the big España/Francia World Cup Futbol game.
We were able to grab a few tapas at a bar that were just ok – “bar food” as Christine keeps calling it. We had chorizo and French fries, paella that was fair, and relatively good octopus salad with olives, tomatoes, and potatoes that she liked. The sangria was average (none to date as good as Tequila’s in Philly) and the beer was cold and good as always.
We made our way to Puerta del Sol for the 9pm game, where, as expected, it was a mob scene. They had a giant television screen and the square was packed. We kept to the fringes where it was a little less mobbed but still pretty crazy.
We got up and wanted to grab some tapas, beer, and shop a little before the big España/Francia World Cup Futbol game.
We were able to grab a few tapas at a bar that were just ok – “bar food” as Christine keeps calling it. We had chorizo and French fries, paella that was fair, and relatively good octopus salad with olives, tomatoes, and potatoes that she liked. The sangria was average (none to date as good as Tequila’s in Philly) and the beer was cold and good as always.
We made our way to Puerta del Sol for the 9pm game, where, as expected, it was a mob scene. They had a giant television screen and the square was packed. We kept to the fringes where it was a little less mobbed but still pretty crazy.
Watching World Cup Futbol (Soccer) in Madrid's Puerta del Sol
Christine was a little nervous about the crowd but she hung in there and we enjoyed the experience of watching the first half, by the end of which Spain was ahead 1-0. The crowd was in a good mood.
We left the square at half time and finished watching the game at a bar that had a god crowd. Unfortunately that crowd, and we, would leave the game disappointed as France won 3-1 and eliminated Spain from the tournament.
We strolled the streets a little more and got back to the hotel around midnight.
We heard chants and singing all night long by some French soccer fans. We can’t imagine what it would have been like if Spain had won.
Wednesday 28 June
Up and out of bed around 9:00-9:15. Quick breakfast at the hotel and we walked over to the Prado Museum – about a 15-20 minute walk. Yet another perfect day weather-wise. 75 degrees, sunny and dry in the morning.
We quickly got into the Prado’s ground floor (Six Euros each), picked up an audio guide for each of us, and began checking out the famed museum’s massive art collection.
We spent about two hours taking in the Goyas, El Grecos, Valazquézes, Caravaggios, etc, etc. It was pretty amazing to see these great masterpieces. The place was very busy with other tourists but not overly so. The Prado is a must see for any visitor to Madrid.
We left the square at half time and finished watching the game at a bar that had a god crowd. Unfortunately that crowd, and we, would leave the game disappointed as France won 3-1 and eliminated Spain from the tournament.
We strolled the streets a little more and got back to the hotel around midnight.
We heard chants and singing all night long by some French soccer fans. We can’t imagine what it would have been like if Spain had won.
Wednesday 28 June
Up and out of bed around 9:00-9:15. Quick breakfast at the hotel and we walked over to the Prado Museum – about a 15-20 minute walk. Yet another perfect day weather-wise. 75 degrees, sunny and dry in the morning.
We quickly got into the Prado’s ground floor (Six Euros each), picked up an audio guide for each of us, and began checking out the famed museum’s massive art collection.
We spent about two hours taking in the Goyas, El Grecos, Valazquézes, Caravaggios, etc, etc. It was pretty amazing to see these great masterpieces. The place was very busy with other tourists but not overly so. The Prado is a must see for any visitor to Madrid.
In the Prado Museum
Outside the Prado
We walked about 15 minutes to get up to the Salamanca neighborhood – a high end shopping and residential area like New York’s 5th Avenue and Central Park. We were hoping to find some nice souvenirs but it was all much too high end for us.
Streets of Madrid
On the walk back to the hotel we stopped at a nice terrace restaurant along Paseo del Prado where we had a good mixed salad and a very good dish of Spanish meat balls (Albóndigas de la casa) prepared in a tasty rich sauce with chopped carrots.
Lunch in Madrid
We got back to the hotel around 3:30 and had another great siesta.
We showered and left the hotel around 6:30pm for our last evening in Madrid. We decided to stroll Old Madrid to do some shopping and bar hopping.
We walked south from the hotel toward Santa Ana Plaza. On the way we stopped at a nice art gallery with works by José Puentes that mainly had bullfighting as the subject matter. We purchased a print of a scene of a bullfight in Seville as well as a map of Spain showing bull ring locations.
Santa Ana Plaza was hopping with many bars and restaurants and was a very nice square. We walked through the narrow busy streets towards Plaza Mayor stopping at shops here and there. We had some fried calamari and a beer at a small bar immediately off the southeast corner of Plaza Mayor. We then found a jewelry shop where I picked up a nice necklace made in Barcelona for my mom.
We showered and left the hotel around 6:30pm for our last evening in Madrid. We decided to stroll Old Madrid to do some shopping and bar hopping.
We walked south from the hotel toward Santa Ana Plaza. On the way we stopped at a nice art gallery with works by José Puentes that mainly had bullfighting as the subject matter. We purchased a print of a scene of a bullfight in Seville as well as a map of Spain showing bull ring locations.
Santa Ana Plaza was hopping with many bars and restaurants and was a very nice square. We walked through the narrow busy streets towards Plaza Mayor stopping at shops here and there. We had some fried calamari and a beer at a small bar immediately off the southeast corner of Plaza Mayor. We then found a jewelry shop where I picked up a nice necklace made in Barcelona for my mom.
Our Last Evening in Old Madrid
We found a t-shirt shop where I got two “España” shirts I liked.
We eventually strolled back to Plaza Santa Ana and stopped at the historic Casa Alberto bar/restaurant – recommended to us by Christine’s friend Michele.
The service and tapas were both very good. We had Bacalao (cod) in a hearty red sauce, plus pork on a skewer with a spicy paprika seasoning. We also had a specialty of the house, Banderillos (pickle, anchovy, and olive) on a toothpick that was very good.
We eventually strolled back to Plaza Santa Ana and stopped at the historic Casa Alberto bar/restaurant – recommended to us by Christine’s friend Michele.
The service and tapas were both very good. We had Bacalao (cod) in a hearty red sauce, plus pork on a skewer with a spicy paprika seasoning. We also had a specialty of the house, Banderillos (pickle, anchovy, and olive) on a toothpick that was very good.
Tapas and Drinks at Casa Alberto
We learned of the legend that Cervantes wrote part II of Don Quixote on the second floor of the building while staying in Madrid.
It was after 11:00pm and we felt like we should get going since we needed to catch a 5:30am cab for our 8am flight to Paris the next day.
But we just didn’t want to call it a night just yet. So we stopped by Taberna Toscana – just off Sana Ana Plaza. This was place was recommended in our Frommer’s book, and was packed with people seated at tables. We were able to walk up to the bar and got a glass of white wine each and we shared a nice bowl of rice pudding.
It was after 11:00pm and we felt like we should get going since we needed to catch a 5:30am cab for our 8am flight to Paris the next day.
But we just didn’t want to call it a night just yet. So we stopped by Taberna Toscana – just off Sana Ana Plaza. This was place was recommended in our Frommer’s book, and was packed with people seated at tables. We were able to walk up to the bar and got a glass of white wine each and we shared a nice bowl of rice pudding.
Taberna Toscana on a weeknight at 11:30pm
This place looked like it had great food and we hope to try it again some day.
We finally got back to the hotel around midnight.
Thursday 29 June
Up early at 4:30am. Christine had some stomach issues, as did I, but not as bad. Must have been the rice pudding or something we ate at Casa Alberto.
I walked a couple of blocks in the early Madrid streets to find many young people just heading home from bars or clubs. I found a 24-hour pharmacy and bought some medicine that we both took. We were in the cab at 5:30.
Arrived at the airport at 6:30am. Due to the long lines we just barely made it to the flight. Madrid airport was not that nice – needs a facelift.
Flight to Paris was smooth and we slept most of the way.
We grabbed lunch and some chocolate treats at Charles de Gaulle airport.
Eight hour flight to Philly was restful and went quickly. I finished the journal. We had another good meal (for airplane food) on Air France and are hoping Vardan is there to pick us up!
Summary
We had an amazing trip to Spain. Christine and I had a very special, unforgettable trip and I’m extremely thankful it all went so well and that we had such a great experience.
Other Notes
Not as many people spoke English in Spain as in Italy – which added to the element of adventure.
The food was generally not as good as in Italy – which I guess should not be surprising.
It was more difficult to find a very good, reasonably priced lunch or snack along the street as we did in Italy.
The weather was warm, sunny, and dry in-land.
We finally got back to the hotel around midnight.
Thursday 29 June
Up early at 4:30am. Christine had some stomach issues, as did I, but not as bad. Must have been the rice pudding or something we ate at Casa Alberto.
I walked a couple of blocks in the early Madrid streets to find many young people just heading home from bars or clubs. I found a 24-hour pharmacy and bought some medicine that we both took. We were in the cab at 5:30.
Arrived at the airport at 6:30am. Due to the long lines we just barely made it to the flight. Madrid airport was not that nice – needs a facelift.
Flight to Paris was smooth and we slept most of the way.
We grabbed lunch and some chocolate treats at Charles de Gaulle airport.
Eight hour flight to Philly was restful and went quickly. I finished the journal. We had another good meal (for airplane food) on Air France and are hoping Vardan is there to pick us up!
Summary
We had an amazing trip to Spain. Christine and I had a very special, unforgettable trip and I’m extremely thankful it all went so well and that we had such a great experience.
Other Notes
Not as many people spoke English in Spain as in Italy – which added to the element of adventure.
The food was generally not as good as in Italy – which I guess should not be surprising.
It was more difficult to find a very good, reasonably priced lunch or snack along the street as we did in Italy.
The weather was warm, sunny, and dry in-land.
8 comments:
Nice work, Buick! Glad to see you're blogging, and I can't get enough of your travel journals, especially that restaurant!
Blogged about it here: http://travelingroths.blogspot.com/
Keep it up!
-Diamond
Matt,
You have entirely too much time on your hands.
Please provide more detail, ie type of toothpaste used on which day, which sock you put on first each day, etc. Were they 100% cottton or an 80/20 blend? I am in suspense waiting for more.
Just bustin on ya. Where did the Matt that used to just drink beer, eat burgers, throw up on trains and wash girls' cars go?
:) B
When did you develop that writing style? You should consider a career with Frommer's. Seriously - nice job and a great momento of your beautiful honeymoon. You kids will enjoy having this history some day! Mom
Dear Matt,
Uncle David and I could not help but read the entire trip! What a romantic, wonderful experience for the two of you. I have to tell you that Grandgirl and Nana would both be so proud of you! Their favorite topic for letter writing was always the meals/food. They were both fantastic at giving wonderfully detailed descriptions of what they ate and the wonderful restaurants that accompanied the meals! You are a chip off the old block!
Love,
AJ
Now I know who to go to for advice on sights to see and where to eat in Spain and Italy. Who needs Frommers? Now about France and England.. :-)
People should read this.
Hi!
Congratulations for your honeymoon trip...very nice.....
I'm brazilian and lover of arts.
This year I'll go to madrid in a trip an I'll try to visit the Prado too.
I look the picture and you was near a canvas.......and now I have a question........
Inside the Prado is "free for pics" ?? I was in louvre and D'orsay last year and in bouth you can take some pictures you want.......and in Prado??
Thank you for help me and sorry my bad english.
Jean Rodrigo Vicente
www.otanino.blogspot.com
www.otanino01@gmail.com
Hi,
We have just added your latest post "Honeymoon to Spain - 2006" to our Directory of Honeymoon Travels and Locations. You can check the inclusion of the post here . We are delighted to invite you to submit all your future posts to the directory for getting a huge base of visitors to your website and gaining a valuable backlink to your site.
Warm Regards
honeymun.com Team
http://www.honeymun.com
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