Good day,
A few questions from a first timer, traveling alone....I'm going to assume the weather will be between 35 - 55 F(will the weather keep me in doors?, currently the SF bay area is in the midst of rain and "cooler temps"), which doesn't pose a problem and that it will be "off season". My goals are relaxation with helping of frivolity . I tend to prefer to meander about, so I should have a general gameplan going into this trip.... Museums, night-life, food... My thinking is stay at Hostal Gonzalo (good choice???), perhaps a tour the first day to get oriented (any recommendations??), spend the first two days in Madrid and then spend 2-3 days "day-tripping" (Sevilla, toledo, segovia or do I consider Barcelona for a few days ???) and then back in Madrid for the last 3 days.
So maybe not so much questions, as much as "Is this a rational plan?" I tend not to be a clock watcher, so if something catches my fancy, plans can be changed.
Many Thanks,

[ 01-25-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

DodgerBlue writes:
Sevilla is not your usual day-trip from Madrid: I have done it; it's possible; but since you'll be there in the cool of winter you might want to considewr an overnighter to Sevilla. In February, I would opt for Sevilla over Barcelona. But this February I plan to be in Cadiz for Carnaval Feb 10-12 (further south than Sevilla).

It depends on where you plan to find your 'frivolity.'
BTW
I find more often on this board first-timers who plan to 'hit the ground running' as soon as they get thru Customs/Immigration. It's as if you get off the flight from the U.S. west coast totally refreshed with no jetlag or biological clock problems or adjustments. The only time I have been that lucky was once when I got bumped up to First Class and slept several hours on the flight. Unless you're a seasoned traveler you might want to consider a light schedule and 'early to bed' the day you arrive.

[ 01-08-2002: Message edited by: Eddie ]

It all depends on when you go (which you didn't mention above) and WHERE you go. You'll find those quoted temperatures in different places in Spain at different times of the year, even summer, if you're at high altitude! I'd suggest checking out the different month-to-month charts HERE - at bottom of page) for whichever city you plan to visit.

Regarding Hostal Gonzalo, I think you'll find some first-hand experiences on this place in the "Hostels & Other Lodgings" forum is you use the keywords MADRID and GONZALO in your search.

Listen to Eddie. He REALLY IS a seasoned traveler. Good luck and enjoy all of Spain, no matter you plan to go.

Saludos, MadridMan

[ 01-08-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

Hey,

Thanks for the input...I'll be arriving in Madrid on Feb 9th and leaving on the 17th. A day of acclimation is probably a wise investment...

Thanks,
Van

I´ve been in Madrid for about 1 month now and agree that you´ll probably need to take the first day easy. My experience: didn´t get to sleep on the plane, only slept a few hours when i arrived the next day then dove right into Madrid since i already had a madrilleña friend who would be around for most of January. I ended up exhausted with and ill stomach for the first week. As for what to do when you get here, there is a tourist office in Plaza Mayor with info so you can figure in times and prices of certain things. Nearly everyone expects to visit the Prado when they arrive, but don´t overlook La Reina Sofia, right down the street by the Atocha metro station. Madrid is great just to walk around a different area during the day to observe and understand. As for nightlife, its quite impossible to miss out on it. Simply walk around Sol, Tribunal, Chueca, etc., and you´ll see where the action is. Also, pick up a Guia del Ocio at a a news stand, there´s a newspaper called InMadrid (in english, if it makes your life easier and faster?)that has plenty of listings for things to do and places to be. Whether you speak spanish well or not, there´s a play called La Llamada de Lauren that was pretty easy to follow, it was wonderful, howevery extremely intense. Hope this helps a little. Feel free to ask me anything else.

The only way you can miss anything in Madrid is if you're chained to your bed and locked in your hotel room with armed guards at the doors and windows

Ben
pbchamp@intercom.net

Try HARD to get to Sevilla and spend the night. I think this was my favorite city in Spain...spent two nights there on a tour of Andalucia. The fast train (AVE) between Madrid and Sevilla is nice and convenient, but a little pricy--around $50 each way.

I personally could've done Madrid in two days. It's OK, though not my favorite European city. Barcelona might be a bit ambitious for this trip, but check out Toledo(a day trip from Madrid) or Salamanca (spent 10 weeks there last summer studying spanish).

Have a great trip!!

[ 01-25-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

Our first day in Madrid (arrived at hotel around noon) we took the Madrid Vision bus tour around. there's 3 different lines and you will see the Madrid Vision bus stops all around the city-you just get on the bus, buy your ticket which is good for all day. You can get/on off at any time when you see something interesting and also change over to the other lines at any time. This gave us a good idea of the overall city right off and helped us decide where to go on our own in more detail. It was a non-exertion thing to do on the first day> At the same time it made the day enjoyable and profitable and kept us awake to get adjustd to Spain time. After this we used the metro to get around--cheap and convenient! The 2nd day we took the bus from the bus station near Principe Pio train station to Segovia and spent all day there. Very wonderful and we were able to see most of the city by walkng in a day (particularly the Alcazar and aqueduct). Sometime I'd like to stay longer tho. I'd definitely at least have a full day or more in Seville. Its a beautiful place. Don't miss the Alcazar and its gardens--the most beautiful in the world. Also Plaza Espana and gardens Murillo, the cathedral, Giralda and a walk around the Barrio Santa Cruz, plus lots of nice restaurants.
In 3 days in Madrid we were able to see many of the highlights and get a good all around sampling, but of course, to see everything would take longer. There are so many things and wonderful places to go in Spain, its really hard to choose!

I have some wonderful pictures of the Alcazar and the cathedral and about a thousand more things that I forgot what they were!

If I ever get enough motivation I'll create some kind of webpage with them all on there so y'all can take a look.

The key words here were "enough motivation"

Ben
pbchamp@intercom.net

Amazing...This is truly appreciated. Upon further review the plan is arrive on 2/9 early(9:30am) check in at Hostal Lopez , take a short walk around neighborhood,prepare for an introductory bar/tapas tour (with "Walks of Madrid" web: www.walksofspain.com ) at 9:30pm. Sunday take a quick intro tour of the Prado and then take the city tour (Madrid Vision) as suggested. Starting Monday it will be determining which day trips to take: Toledo, Segovia, overnighter to Sevilla (maybe all three). Then take Thursday, Friday and Saturday to bop around Madrid...
8 days seems shorter than it did a week ago.
I cannot thank you guys enough..
Van
PS: This could all change depending on my whim when I wake each morning.

[ 01-25-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]