The Rick Steves guide book on Spain has a ton of information but surprisingly nothing on Valencia. I'll have to depend on Trip Advisor Spain forum for that.
I'm starting to develop a schedule of sorts. This is what I have:
7/10/18 Depart Buffalo.
7/11/18 Arrive Madrid. Train to Pamplona. ON Pamplona.
7/12/18 Running of the bulls-Pamplona. I've booked us 5 balcony spaces with
www.bullbalcony.com Train from Pamplona to Barcelona.
7/12-7/20/18 Barcelona. Train to Valencia on 7/20/18.
7/20-7/23/18 Valencia. Train to Cordoba on 7/23/18.
7/23-7/26/18 Cordoba. Pick up rental car in Cordoba on 7/26/18. Drive to Granada.
7/26-7/29/18 Granada. Tickets to Alhambra for 7/27/18. Drive to Torremolinos on 7/29/18.
7/29-8/02/18 Torremolinos/Costa del Sol. Day trip to Gibraltar. Drive to Ronda on 8/2/18.
8/02-8/03/18 Ronda. Drive to Jerez on 8/3/18.
8/03-8/04/18 Jerez. Drive to Sevilla on 8/4/18.
8/04-8/08/18 Sevilla. Drive to Toledo on 8/8/18.
8/08-8/11/18 Toledo. Return rental car in Toledo on 8/8/18. Train to Madrid on 8/11/18.
8/11-8/16/18 Madrid. Day trip to Segovia/Avila.
8/16/18 Depart Madrid.
8/17/18 Arrive Buffalo/home.
Normally when planning a trip I do a printed schedule which includes flight, train, car rental, hotel information and costs. I list the restaurants I've picked. Then I try to develop a day to day schedule for the sightseeing. I didn't really do that for this trip since it was such a last minute deal. We would be returning home from French Polynesia on 6/4/18 and then a month later we'd be on our way to Spain! Definitely not my comfort zone as I'm a planner. I did a bare bones schedule.
I also write down tons of information about our trip in a 7 X 4.5 notebook that I take with me. It's my trip Bible.
The preparations are pretty much done. I bought sunscreen, bug spray, travel size toothpaste, and some other necessities for this trip. I pack a small first aid kit-neosporin, bandaids, pepto bismol, tylenol. I put lots of stuff in plastic zip lock bags. Our medications. Travel alarm clock. Small flashlight. Hand sanitizer. Weight scale so I can weigh our suitcases and make sure they are under 50 lb. limit.
Packing. This always presents a headache. Spain will be hot so shorts & capri pants but we also will be visiting cathedrals/churches with a dress code. Beach time-swim suits of course. Dinners: Do we dress up for that?? So many questions. In the end I think I did ok. I packed 2 pair of long pants for Richard for dinners but he never wore them. I packed some dressy skirts which I never wore either. Unless you are going to a specific restaurant that seems to be on the fancy side casual chic was just fine. I always wore shorts or capri pants (to the knee) and tops that covered my shoulders when visiting the cathedrals/churches. Only at Sagrada Familia and the Barcelona Cathedral did I see people being vetted on their attire.
Since we would be celebrating our grandson's birthday his mom had told me what he wanted. I ordered the HexBug and when it came the box was huge! Had to use the 29" suitcase for that. The good thing is that I would be getting rid of it on 7/17!
We took a 29" suitcase. a 25" suitcase, and a carry on for the camera/video gear. I bought a theft proof criss cross purse that I used all the time. I loved it so it was money well spent. I packed a small back pack in one of the suitcases. I will use it while sightseeing. I'm happy to report that the 2 check on suitcases were well under the 50 lb. limit. Room for souvenirs!!
Camera/video gear. I took my Canon point & shoot. Small and lightweight. I did bring my SLR Canon along with 2 filters and a hood cap. This camera takes great pictures but it's bulky and heavy. Lots of memory cards. Extra batteries. I also took a small, compact lightweight SONY video camera just to film the running of the bulls. In hindsight I could have left the video camera at home because my Canon point & shoot has a video feature. As it happened I got home only to find that my video camera was missing. I've contacted the hotels we stayed at but it hasn't turned up. 😧😞😢
I took my Apple lap top so I could upload my pictures daily and also stay in touch about how things were going with my 94 year old mom. It is heavier than my I Pad but..........
The biggest regret I have is that we didn't take a phone. My daughter Dorie had an I Phone that not only was a phone but it took great pictures & video and had a GPS feature. Driving our rental car through southern Spain we relied on maps. Getting from one town to the other worked out fine but locating our hotel-that was another matter. GPS would have made things so much easier!
I'm starting to develop a schedule of sorts. This is what I have:
7/10/18 Depart Buffalo.
7/11/18 Arrive Madrid. Train to Pamplona. ON Pamplona.
7/12/18 Running of the bulls-Pamplona. I've booked us 5 balcony spaces with
www.bullbalcony.com Train from Pamplona to Barcelona.
7/12-7/20/18 Barcelona. Train to Valencia on 7/20/18.
7/20-7/23/18 Valencia. Train to Cordoba on 7/23/18.
7/23-7/26/18 Cordoba. Pick up rental car in Cordoba on 7/26/18. Drive to Granada.
7/26-7/29/18 Granada. Tickets to Alhambra for 7/27/18. Drive to Torremolinos on 7/29/18.
7/29-8/02/18 Torremolinos/Costa del Sol. Day trip to Gibraltar. Drive to Ronda on 8/2/18.
8/02-8/03/18 Ronda. Drive to Jerez on 8/3/18.
8/03-8/04/18 Jerez. Drive to Sevilla on 8/4/18.
8/04-8/08/18 Sevilla. Drive to Toledo on 8/8/18.
8/08-8/11/18 Toledo. Return rental car in Toledo on 8/8/18. Train to Madrid on 8/11/18.
8/11-8/16/18 Madrid. Day trip to Segovia/Avila.
8/16/18 Depart Madrid.
8/17/18 Arrive Buffalo/home.
Normally when planning a trip I do a printed schedule which includes flight, train, car rental, hotel information and costs. I list the restaurants I've picked. Then I try to develop a day to day schedule for the sightseeing. I didn't really do that for this trip since it was such a last minute deal. We would be returning home from French Polynesia on 6/4/18 and then a month later we'd be on our way to Spain! Definitely not my comfort zone as I'm a planner. I did a bare bones schedule.
 |
| July 2018 |
 |
| August 2018 |
I also write down tons of information about our trip in a 7 X 4.5 notebook that I take with me. It's my trip Bible.
 |
| This small notebook contains all the information for our trip. Flights, hotels, restaurants, sights, etc. |
 |
| Here's the first page on Cordoba which has information on our hotel and possible self service laundries. |
 |
| This page on Cordoba lists the restaurants I'm interested in. The check mark means it's one we've gone to for a meal. |
 |
| This page on Cordoba lists things to do/sightseeing. The check mark means it's a sight/place we've visited. |
The preparations are pretty much done. I bought sunscreen, bug spray, travel size toothpaste, and some other necessities for this trip. I pack a small first aid kit-neosporin, bandaids, pepto bismol, tylenol. I put lots of stuff in plastic zip lock bags. Our medications. Travel alarm clock. Small flashlight. Hand sanitizer. Weight scale so I can weigh our suitcases and make sure they are under 50 lb. limit.
Packing. This always presents a headache. Spain will be hot so shorts & capri pants but we also will be visiting cathedrals/churches with a dress code. Beach time-swim suits of course. Dinners: Do we dress up for that?? So many questions. In the end I think I did ok. I packed 2 pair of long pants for Richard for dinners but he never wore them. I packed some dressy skirts which I never wore either. Unless you are going to a specific restaurant that seems to be on the fancy side casual chic was just fine. I always wore shorts or capri pants (to the knee) and tops that covered my shoulders when visiting the cathedrals/churches. Only at Sagrada Familia and the Barcelona Cathedral did I see people being vetted on their attire.
Since we would be celebrating our grandson's birthday his mom had told me what he wanted. I ordered the HexBug and when it came the box was huge! Had to use the 29" suitcase for that. The good thing is that I would be getting rid of it on 7/17!
We took a 29" suitcase. a 25" suitcase, and a carry on for the camera/video gear. I bought a theft proof criss cross purse that I used all the time. I loved it so it was money well spent. I packed a small back pack in one of the suitcases. I will use it while sightseeing. I'm happy to report that the 2 check on suitcases were well under the 50 lb. limit. Room for souvenirs!!
Camera/video gear. I took my Canon point & shoot. Small and lightweight. I did bring my SLR Canon along with 2 filters and a hood cap. This camera takes great pictures but it's bulky and heavy. Lots of memory cards. Extra batteries. I also took a small, compact lightweight SONY video camera just to film the running of the bulls. In hindsight I could have left the video camera at home because my Canon point & shoot has a video feature. As it happened I got home only to find that my video camera was missing. I've contacted the hotels we stayed at but it hasn't turned up. 😧😞😢
I took my Apple lap top so I could upload my pictures daily and also stay in touch about how things were going with my 94 year old mom. It is heavier than my I Pad but..........
The biggest regret I have is that we didn't take a phone. My daughter Dorie had an I Phone that not only was a phone but it took great pictures & video and had a GPS feature. Driving our rental car through southern Spain we relied on maps. Getting from one town to the other worked out fine but locating our hotel-that was another matter. GPS would have made things so much easier!
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