Spain, anyone?

[jnettie]

DH has really wanted to go to Spain. Probably not this year, but next year I'd love to take him as a gift, maybe even as a surprise.

I'd love suggestions, please! In our first European trip, we spent a lot of time in large cities, and we realized we'd like being in smaller towns or the country better.

DH speaks Spanish fairly fluently, so no worries about going anywhere that may not have English speakers.

Also, suggestions on a good time of year? We are, unfortunately, ruled by an academic calendar. But, a weekend trip isn't out of the question, if planned ahead.

[emmjay]

My favorite region of Spain is Andalusia in the south. This is where tapas, flamenco and bullfighting originated, and to me it is the most "Spanish" part of Spain (or at least my idea of what Spanish is!) The largest city is Sevilla/Seville, and I don't think that has as much of a big city vibe as you might expect from its population (something like 2 mil in the metro area), especially if you stay in the central part of the city. Things to see here would be the bullring, the cathedral and Giralda tower, the Alcazar (old palace), and the Plaza de Espana. The tapas here are awesome as well, and there are tons of great options for restaurants and bars. The center gets a bit touristy due to, well, all of the tourists, as well as students studying Spanish but it really is a great city and worth a day or two if you end up flying into Seville.

Granada is a smaller city and I think it is a must-visit in Andalusia due to the Alhambra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra). It is also in a beautiful setting - palm trees in the city with a view of snow-capped mountains in the background.

As for smaller towns, Andalusia also has the "pueblos blancos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Towns_of_Andalusia)"/white villages. These are small villages in the mountains throughout the region - I think you can do bike rides between them, or else take public transportation. Ronda is another smaller town in the mountains with the oldest bullfighting ring in the world. Oh, and Cordoba is farther north in Andalusia and has a really cool mosque that was converted into a cathedral with red and white striped pillars throughout the interior.

Weather: I would not go to Sevilla in the summer. It gets insanely hot there - well over 100º. The mountains in the summer are cooler, but if you can go during a spring break, that would probably be perfect weather all around.

It's good your DH speaks Spanish - I think it would be hard to get by there without knowing at least a little because there are relatively few people who speak English. I mean, you can always find someone but it's definitely easier if you can speak Spanish.

HTH! Another part of Spain I've always wanted to visit is Galicia (north of Porgutal) but I've never been so I don't have any recommendations. I just think it looks like a cool place to go based on what I've read.

[HeatherFL]

Well it's a large city, but we really enjoyed Barcelona last October/November. The weather was actually quite lovely and the dining was wonderful. I also speak Spanish and though they don't consider themselves part of "Spain" there (it's Catalonia) and a lot of people don't speak regular Spanish, I made my way just fine. I've heard amazing things about a couple of the places emmjay mentioned-Sevilla and Granada have always been given positive reviews by anyone I've talked to.

We were supposed to go on to Mallorca, but due to a family illness had to cut our trip short. I've also heard the waters out there are magnificent!

[jnettie]

Thanks for the suggestions!