Our Spain Adventure -- Cordoba, Seville, Granada and Barcelona! (Part One)
May 12th, 2014, 10:04 AM
#121
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Momddtravel2 - I'm confused about the photocopy thing. If you have the card you used to buy the tix with you and your id, why do you need photocopies as well? Since you got the tix at ATM, did you have to show the debit card and Id again at the Alhambra ?
Judy: Am eagerly awaiting the Gaudi day.
Judy: Am eagerly awaiting the Gaudi day.
May 12th, 2014, 10:07 AM
#122
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 6,573
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Elizacat - sorry - I was reading about what you are supposed to do if you do not have the card - it was odd to me... if i don't have the card - it would be unlikely that I had a photo copy but it stated if you don't have the card - bring a photo copy of the card. I thought I did not have the card as I was 99.9% sure that I used my card that had been compromised/replaced - as I use it for almost everything for points but in this case it turns out it was declined (as it was on our apartment) for fraud alert - so I tried my debit which went through. In the business of the last few months I forgot.
I did not have to show anything about the Alhambra since I was able to print out the tickets.
I did not have to show anything about the Alhambra since I was able to print out the tickets.
Jun 10th, 2014, 05:05 AM
#126
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,235
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tonight is our flamenco night in Córdoba at Arte y Sabores. We just went to see the venue. It looks wonderful. Small and intimate (30 pax max.), and the very kind host told us there will be 5 performers: 2 guitar players and 3 dancers (2 female, 1 male). Seven more hours until 10 pm!
Jun 12th, 2014, 01:25 PM
#128
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,235
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There were 6 performers (the five mentioned before and a singer). It was beautiful. Nothing like a touristy show but rough, passionate, dramatic. The dancers were all dressed in black (just black) which added to the dramatic feel. They did a bit of sevillana too, not only flamenco. I wish my Spanish were better so that I would have been able to understand what the singer was singing. Now I could only 'tell' from his face. It was a beautiful evening! It could have lasted longer than one hour.
There were only 16 spectators in the small tablao. With 30 people it would have been too full IMO. So we were lucky.
There were only 16 spectators in the small tablao. With 30 people it would have been too full IMO. So we were lucky.
Jun 24th, 2014, 03:06 AM
#131
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 522
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hey all.....sorry I've not been back here to finish my report. Still have the last 2 days in Barcelona to write about.
Life got really hectic these past few weeks, but I'm back now and hope to finish the rest of my trip report by this weekend.
Judy
Life got really hectic these past few weeks, but I'm back now and hope to finish the rest of my trip report by this weekend.
Judy
Jul 2nd, 2014, 07:41 PM
#136
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 522
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Our next to last day in Spain was all about Gaudi.
We started the day, as usual, with café con leche and a croissant and took the bus (conveniently located across the street from our hotel – and a real bargain! I highly recommend it for cross town trips) – into the Eixample neighborhood.
It was our first venture outside the Born/Gothic/Old City neighborhood and although I had read a little about it, I was still pleasantly surprised by its grandeur and elegance.
The bus dropped us off about 2 blocks from Sagrada Familia, our first stop of the day. There is nothing here that I can add historically or architecturally about this amazing place that you haven’t already read. I urge you to arrive as early as possible – we were one of the first to arrive and had the entire place basically to ourselves for the first 20 minutes or so – so amazingly breathtakingly beautiful, and those first 20 minutes were peaceful and so quiet. In my opinion, the best way to visit it.
We purchased tickets to go up the Nativity Tower. There are two: the Passion Façade and the Nativity Façade. I wanted to go the Passion Façade route as I had read it is easier on the legs in terms of climbing, however, I couldn’t purchase those tickets online, so I ultimately purchased tickets for the Nativity Façade instead.
Turns out that the Passion Façade was closed for renovations so the only option was the Nativity Façade. This is not mentioned on the website when you purchase tickets – and maybe now (June) both elevators are functioning, but thought it worth mentioning.
The elevator was small and cramped – but well worth it as the view from the top of the tower was simply stunning. My DH crossed the bridge to the other side but all of a sudden I got a touch of vertigo so we wound up taking the same elevator back down. I am not afraid of heights so the dizziness surprised me – maybe because I looked DOWN….
There is a chapel in the lower level of the church that holds the remains of Gaudi himself – however, to get down there you need to leave the church and walk down some stairs to reach the entrance. This means you can’t get back in to the main church and if you have Tower tickets this is a problem. Also, the chapel has limited opening times. So you’ll need to coordinate carefully if you want to visit the chapel.
After an hour or so and about a thousand pictures, we left Sagrada Familia and took a cab up to Park Guell. The sun was (finally!) shining and we enjoyed a few glorious hours visiting the park – great photo opportunities here of everything Gaudi, especially from the terrace, where you can see the entire Barcelona skyline all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The mosaic benches were fun, and the stairway, fountains, the hall of 100 columns and the dragon were just stunning.
We didn’t get to visit the museum or the main park so I can’t comment about that but we did visit the Guard’s house which was just OK – some empty rooms with a few interesting videos of Gaudi’s life and works.
We left the park and stopped at the gift shop across the road – some really cool coffee mugs with attached spoons in the mosaic ceramic style and other ceramic things like cups, plates….just about everything was in the mosaic style – and at least a third more expensive than the same types of souvenirs you can purchase at Corte Ingles…just an FYI.
More to follow...
We started the day, as usual, with café con leche and a croissant and took the bus (conveniently located across the street from our hotel – and a real bargain! I highly recommend it for cross town trips) – into the Eixample neighborhood.
It was our first venture outside the Born/Gothic/Old City neighborhood and although I had read a little about it, I was still pleasantly surprised by its grandeur and elegance.
The bus dropped us off about 2 blocks from Sagrada Familia, our first stop of the day. There is nothing here that I can add historically or architecturally about this amazing place that you haven’t already read. I urge you to arrive as early as possible – we were one of the first to arrive and had the entire place basically to ourselves for the first 20 minutes or so – so amazingly breathtakingly beautiful, and those first 20 minutes were peaceful and so quiet. In my opinion, the best way to visit it.
We purchased tickets to go up the Nativity Tower. There are two: the Passion Façade and the Nativity Façade. I wanted to go the Passion Façade route as I had read it is easier on the legs in terms of climbing, however, I couldn’t purchase those tickets online, so I ultimately purchased tickets for the Nativity Façade instead.
Turns out that the Passion Façade was closed for renovations so the only option was the Nativity Façade. This is not mentioned on the website when you purchase tickets – and maybe now (June) both elevators are functioning, but thought it worth mentioning.
The elevator was small and cramped – but well worth it as the view from the top of the tower was simply stunning. My DH crossed the bridge to the other side but all of a sudden I got a touch of vertigo so we wound up taking the same elevator back down. I am not afraid of heights so the dizziness surprised me – maybe because I looked DOWN….
There is a chapel in the lower level of the church that holds the remains of Gaudi himself – however, to get down there you need to leave the church and walk down some stairs to reach the entrance. This means you can’t get back in to the main church and if you have Tower tickets this is a problem. Also, the chapel has limited opening times. So you’ll need to coordinate carefully if you want to visit the chapel.
After an hour or so and about a thousand pictures, we left Sagrada Familia and took a cab up to Park Guell. The sun was (finally!) shining and we enjoyed a few glorious hours visiting the park – great photo opportunities here of everything Gaudi, especially from the terrace, where you can see the entire Barcelona skyline all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The mosaic benches were fun, and the stairway, fountains, the hall of 100 columns and the dragon were just stunning.
We didn’t get to visit the museum or the main park so I can’t comment about that but we did visit the Guard’s house which was just OK – some empty rooms with a few interesting videos of Gaudi’s life and works.
We left the park and stopped at the gift shop across the road – some really cool coffee mugs with attached spoons in the mosaic ceramic style and other ceramic things like cups, plates….just about everything was in the mosaic style – and at least a third more expensive than the same types of souvenirs you can purchase at Corte Ingles…just an FYI.
More to follow...
Jul 4th, 2014, 01:27 PM
#139
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 46
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Judy, I love reading your trip report. I have not been on Fodors in a long time. Actually, I have a new email address so I could no longer log on as my former name, Janiekins or Jane. I am thinking of going to Spain next spring. Your report has just about sealed the deal! Can't wait to read the rest from you!
