A long tour of Spain; from the capital city, Madrid, to Barcelona and more..

Travel by air EasyJet + car 12 days in the capital and its good to the coast.
Tips:
• Madrid is a city clean and easy to visit with the media, but Barcelona is better if you turn in your car, because very large and beyond the means you have to walk a lot. To reach the village you can not do without the car
• Paella and sangria are great everywhere, for the rest no comment ... better if you stop at a restaurant greek, turkish etc. ....

 

Arrival in Madrid

Malpensa and at 7.00 we are on time we leave for Madrid with Easyjet. Everything goes well except that we do not find a bus to the airport to the city then take a taxi that takes us to the hotel for 25 €. We're right in the center, then deposited the luggage we go to lunch and then begin to make a walk in the streets around Plaza Mayor. Then we head to the Museo del Prado, very interesting. When we go out it starts to rain: less evil that had to be very hot here ... Back at the hotel we get ready and go out to dinner at a nearby restaurant where we eat a Paiella exceptional, the best of the trip, then take a ride through the center of III & IV people, bar and stalls.

Visit to Madrid

Without breakfast we head to the Cathedral Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena, a church ended a few years ago so very nice, where there is virtually none, and then the visit also going very well at the top with the guide. Then we head to the Royal Palace which is located there next to it is enormous, there are obviously real but you can visit and partly so we aggregate to a group of Italians with the guide to learn more. Continuing our tour we headed to Piazza di Spagna, a simple park with a statue in the middle of Don and Sancho Panza Chischotte and here we stopped to eat a sandwich jambon. Then walk along the Gran Via full of shops, bars and hotels, to the Puerta del Sol, then head to the Parco del Buen Retiro, where we stop to take a nap on a bench because the heat had exhausted us. This park is very nice, as well as an artificial lake where tourists rent boats, rowing, there is also an old glass greenhouse with a pond in front of now unused. From there we went by subway to see the Plaza de Toros, not being open we only did a turn around and then we came back at the hotel. In the evening we had dinner at the Plaza Mayor and we saw an outdoor concert.

El Escorial

This morning we headed to the coach and we got what we brought to El Escorial. This small town is known for the presence of the Monastery of San Lorenzo, built by Philip II as king of the pantheon of Spain. It is a building so imposing in the distance she seems to exist only on that hill. Returning to Madrid in the afternoon we went to see the famous Santiago Bernabeu stadium being able to admire the interior from the balcony of the bar which is accessed from 'input. Finally we ended the day going a bit 'for shopping and dining in a charming little place.

Toledo

The next morning we went to pick up the car to the rental near the station, but unfortunately we had a reservation for the afternoon and there was no way to have it before. So to pass the time we went to visit the Reina Sofia Museum which is located nearby and I'd say it was good because I had not documented enough and therefore did not know that was rich in works by Dali, Miro and Picasso, in particular this is exposed, Guernica, a work of gigantic proportions, one of the most famous paintings by Picasso. Back at the station finally gave us our Clio and left in the direction of Toledo. This country is about an hour from Madrid and is very beautiful. Surrounded by ancient walls, we went through the Puerta del Sol until you reach Zocodover Square, from here we went to visit the Gothic Cathedral, very very nice, the Synagogue and the Alcazar. Being quite late we had dinner there and then we came back to Madrid.

Avila and Segovia

Had breakfast and taken the car from the parking lot (be careful because the center of Madrid there are only a parking fee and are very expensive, we paid € 25 per night!) we headed to Segovia and unlike the day before we had some difficulties because we could not find the correct exit from the ring in Madrid. Segovia is famous for the still-functioning Roman aqueduct, an arch structure that welcomes you at the entrance. We visited the Cathedral and the Alcazar, the latter very special, like a Disney castle. After a quick sandwich we left for Avila. Here too, we visited the cathedral and we had a tour of shops but the thing that most impressed us was admiring the city walls from the point of view because this village is famous for being the only one in the world to have a ring yet walls of perfectly preserved. In late afternoon we returned to Madrid where we dined in one of the center's premises.

Zaragoza

Today, a little 'sorry we left Madrid to the Costa del Sol, however, to avoid a long trip we decided to make a stop in Zaragoza. The trip was very quiet, the landscape is desert and there are quite aware of being at high altitude, only the relatively low temperature makes you understand. Once in Zaragoza and leave your luggage at the hotel we visited Pilar Square where, after a quick lunch we went to forget the huge Basilica of Our Lady of Pilar. At one end of the square is another cathedral in Zaragoza, the Catedral de la Seo, who has elements in Mudejar style, and also famous for the Carpet Museum. We then walked around the Old Town visiting the Picasso Museum and then we went to the fortress, the Palace de la Aljaferia where you can admire the beautiful Synagogue and the entrances. Return to the hotel we were refreshed, and then we went back for dinner and we headed in the modern part of town where there are modern buildings and several restaurants. Here we finally found an Italian restaurant where we ate divinely fresh pasta and pizza we were waiting!

Lloret de Mar

After leaving Zaragoza we headed to Lloret de Mar to enjoy a few days of rest at sea. Unfortunately, we ended up in a huge structure where it took 2 hours to get the room keys and park your car. I leave you only imagine what was there, people of all ages and all races, boys who knocked on the door at night, a dinner buffet where you had to struggle to catch up on some 'food ... in short, a mess! The country is not quite so bad, it is virtually deserted during the day while at night is populated by drunk guys and it is best to avoid certain streets.

Tossa de Mar

Unfortunately, having booked late so we had to make do in other places most beautiful and quiet there was no room, but today we came up with a great idea: we took a boat and went to Tossa de Mar, located a few kilometers Lloret and boys from here was a whole other world. Quiet, peaceful town full of narrow streets full of shops and restaurants at affordable prices where we ate very well. In addition, lovely beach and a castle to visit. So for two days we went there in the morning returning in the evening.

Tossa de Mar

Like the previous day

Barcelona

After completing the 3 days at sea we headed to Barcelona. After some difficulty finding the hotel we unloaded the luggage and then we went to deliver the car nearby. Unfortunately we were wrong not to keep the car until the last day because Barcelona is huge and we tired to walk a lot ... it will be next time. However, first we headed to Las Ramblas, starting from Plaza Catalunya and we traveled for a while ', enjoying street entertainers and stalls. Towards the middle of the street we ate something and we headed to the old quarter to visit the Gothic Cathedral of Santa Eulalia and then we had a shopping tour. In the evening we took the subway and we went to the Citadel in a local hotel where we had been recommended, however, we ate really badly.

Barcelona

This morning the first thing we made a trip to the port, from there we went up to Montjuic cable car and we visited the military museum while admiring the city, then walk we headed to the Olympic City, but there was a bit 'being kept rather badly disappointed. We visited the Miro Foundation, which is the museum dedicated to him, then we headed down to the MNAC, the Museum of Catalan Art, but we found it closed since August. Disoriented we went to Piazza di Spagna and from there we headed to the center where we visited the Pedrera. This house, whose real name is Casa Mila is one of Gaudi's works, we had a little 'tail to enter but it was worth it because you can understand how great the brilliance of this architect. Nearby is Casa Batlló is probably even more beautiful but not very expensive since we visited the entrance. So we took a tour of shops and then we came back to the hotel exhausted from the long journey. Despite the fatigue we went out for dinner and we went back to the Citadel but going into one of the premises which are located along the beach. This time we ate well, but it was a bit 'expensive.

Barcelona

Last day in Barcelona and still plenty of things to see and then the first thing we headed to the Sagrada Familia, the cathedral built by Gaudi and still under construction. It 'a work of gigantic proportions, infinite pity that there was a queue to climb the towers and then we just visit the interior and the museum. After a pizza from Pizza Hut which is located nearby, we headed to the MNAC and finally we managed to get into it. In this museum the thing that most impressed us was the reconstruction of some paint scraped from the walls of the original church and rebuilt there as in the original environment. In the afternoon we headed to Parc Guell, Gaudi and built by the park when we visited his home. Unfortunately it was difficult to get to the park because of problems with the subway stop and then we made a mistake in that we just had to pass a long piece on foot because of some work. However, despite the time and fatigue, we tried to climb on the mountain in Barcelona, Tibidabo, famous for the church and the park giorchi, but unfortunately when we arrived in the climb to take the tram we lost the last race exhausted and we decided to return to the hotel. Although the forces were now running out, after a shower we went out again and we went to dinner at the first restaurant we could find, a greek restaurant.

Coming back home

Without breakfast we pack up and realize that it's raining today, so we went to buy an umbrella from the Chinese and then we headed in a square near the hotel where we took the bus that took us to the airport and we went home.