Sevilla - Days 8 & 9

Sevilla has an old world charm to it that you cannot find in Madrid, but is still packed with historical sites and entertainment.

Start your day with a tour of the Torre del Oro, right along Rio de Guadalquivir. This watch tower is now the Sevilla Maritime Museum, with paintings, relics, maps and more.

With entrance to the museum, you can also climb to the top of the tower to get amazing panoramic views of the city. No wonder this was used as a watch tower!

To get to the top of the tower, there are 91 steps that curve around the inside of the tower, some of which are very tight. On the main floor and the second floor are the maritime exhibits.

From here, make your way to the Archivo Generales de Indias. This museum includes Spain's most important archival documents that depict Spain's Empire in the Americas and the Philippines. There is also a letter written from Christopher Columbus to Queen Isabella and his journals of his journeys.

After making your way through the archives, head to the Alcázar Palace. Here, there are gorgeous gardens full of flora and fountains. Easy to get lost in, but perfect for a leisurely walk.

Inside the palace you will see gorgeous marble and tile work throughout. The palace is very elaborate and still the official Seville residence of the royal family. There are also guided tours of the residence held throughout the day. This tour does cost a little extra.

Walk from the Alcázar to the Catedral. This claims to be the largest church in the world. It was built as a 12th-century mosque, and contains the remains of Christopher Columbus.

Attached is the Giralda, the 12-century minaret that is all that is left of the original mosque over which the cathedral stands. You can climb the ramps and stairs to get a view over the city.

The Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, Seville's bull ring, does tours and also holds bull fights regularly. However, tickets sell out early, so plan ahead!

Take a walk to Alameda de Hercules, Seville's Towers of Hercules. There are four of them total surrounded by a plaza filled with musicians, restaurants and shopping.

From here, continue walking to Casa de Pilatos, a 16th-century palace that is now the residence of the Dukes of Medinaceli. There are tours of the residence are held March through the end of September from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. and the rest of the year from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.

For an authentic flamenco show, visit Tablao El Arenal. Reservations are very important as this place is tiny and fills quickly. Many hotel concierge and souvenir shops will make the reservations ahead of time for you.

Reservations can include a drink; drinks, tapas and dessert; or drinks, tapas, dinner and dessert. Shows are held at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. each night.

Day 7: Gibraltar

Our 7th day in Spain had us briefly leaving the country to head into Gibraltar, a territory of the United Kingdom.  It's located at the furthest point south of Europe, is only a few square kilometers large, and you can see Africa from its coast.  The greatest fame for this area comes from the giant rock, which made for an important military staging ground many times in its history.

One thing very unique to entering Gibraltar is that you must either drive or walk over an active airport runway to enter.  No airplanes came during our crossings of the border, but it was still an interesting experience crossing it like that.

Our first stop in the city was to go to the port and head out on an hour cruise through the Straits of Gibraltar to get some good sightings of Dolphins in the area, as well as beautiful vistas of the Rock, Algeciras and Morocco.

After our cruise around the Strait, we walked through Casemates' Square and down Main Street.  The English feel was very prominent to the area, especially with their classic phone booths.

One thing you'll also notice in Gibraltar is that there are small Barbary Apes EVERYWHERE!  These tiny apes can be seen on top of cars, roaming the streets, sitting at bus stops, as well as all over the rock itself.  This is the only place in the world they can be found and they are treated with the utmost respect by the residents of the city.

After walking around the main part of town, we took a ride up in a cable car to the top of the rock.  The views of the city, Spain and Africa were breathtaking from here and I'd strongly reccommend anyone that visits the area to make the trip to the top.

Day 6 in Spain: Estepona

A gem of a town hidden between major tourist sites is Estepona.

A laid back old town, Estepona has a traditional feel. From our hotel, the H10 Estepona Palace, we could look out and see Gibraltar and Tangier.  On either side of the hotel were hotel and apartments still being completed.

In town, there is a long promenade with flowerbeds, benches, on the beach restaurants and shopping.

Since the majority of tourists are heading to Málaga, it leaves a beautiful, non-commericalized beach for an actually relaxing vacation.

At the center of town is the Plaza de Flores, filled with orange trees and jasmine. This plaza has many benches to sit and relax as well as a few restaurants.

In the marina, there are great restaurants that serve all meals as well as really good coffee. If you are a fish fan, these restaurants are right off the docks and get the freshest seafood around, as well as have the largest selection of dishes.

Also at the marina is a old style lighthouse that is still is use. However, to walk to the lighthouse from the marina, you have to walk through the fish processing district (bleh - I recommend NOT walking through the marina).

Take a walking tour through the town - Estepona is  a very traditional, old world Spanish town. Make sure to see the clock tower, the old castle, the Estepona bullring, and more.

Alhambra: Day 5

In the town of Granada, about a five hour drive from Madrid, is the now-famous Alhambra Palace. The Alhambra was named a finalist to the list of the seven new wonders of the world.

Reserve tickets in advance by clicking here. If you don't reserve in advance, there is a chance that the tickets for the palace tour will be sold out.

There are three main locations of the Alhambra: the Palacios de los Nazaries, the Alcazba and the Generalife.

Tickets for the Palacios de los Nazaries are on half hour time slots and if you are late, forget it, you're not getting in. These tickets sell out quickly - sometimes even before the actual day.

However, tickets for the Generalife are typically available all day.

When entering the Alhambra, (unless you have early tickets for the Palacios de los Nazaries) head into the Generalife gardens. The gardens are full of flora and pools and winding walkways that you can get lost in all day.

From here, there are many options to spend your day.  The Alcazba is the oldest part of the Alhambra and has been reconstructed over the ruins of a 9th century castle.

Throughout the rest of the Alhambra area is Moorish baths, a cathedral and the former palace of Alfonso XII.

Inside the Palacios de los Nazaries, you will see exquisite Moorish craftmanship in marble work, tile work and more. Throughout the halls, rooms and courtyards you'll see more marble work and tiling than you ever expected to see, ever.

We visited the Alhambra on a rainy day because we had already booked tickets in advance. However, if you can pick a not rainy day, go for it! While the Alhambra was beautiful, the rain made it dreary and us irritable.

For lunch or dinner, there is a lovely hotel and restaurant right outside the Alhambra called Guadalupe Hotel that has amazing Paella in the restaurant and very delicious coffee and sandwiches on the ground floor bar.

Four Day Trip to Madrid: Day 4

For breakfast or brunch, go to Mercado de San Miguel located right between the Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor. Here you will find a fabulous selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish and meat.

There are also many stands that serve tapas and pastries to consumption right there. Here, you will also find wineries and coffee shops.

The beauty of the market is there are tables for sitting and standing throughout so you can order a few different things from different stands and have a "Taste of Madrid" meal.

Many vendors also sell items to go, so pick up a bottle of wine, a jar of olives, or some chocolates to take with you.

While we were there, the market was holding a special Philadelphia cream cheese stand that was selling tapas made with Philly cream cheese along with a cooking show.

From here, walk into Puerta del Sol and see Km 0 marker. This is where all of Spain's roadways begin. The marker is on the ground in front of the governor's residence.

Also in Puerta del Sol is Bear and the Madroño Tree, heraldic symbol of Madrid, that is on Madrid's city seal. He is located behind the metro station.

Just past Bear and the Madroño Tree along Calle de Alcalá is Museo de la Real Academia de Bella Artes de San Fernando. Here, Dali and Picasso were students and there is an entire room devoted to Goya who was a former director of the academy.

Hop on the train from Puerta del Sol to Santiago Bernabéu. While seeing an actual Real Madrid soccer game would be awesome, they are expensive and difficult to get tickets to. The alternative is a tour of the stadium and museum.

There are guided tours available in both Spanish and English, however, we chose to do the guideless tour and take our own time. Much of the signage throughout the museum and stadium is in both Spanish and English, anyway.

The guideless tour takes you into the stands so you can look down onto the stadium. You also get to go to the players box, see the locker rooms (there are jacuzzis in there!) the press room and more.

From there, you are directed into the Real Madrid museum, with information on all their teams, not just the soccer team, and trophies and awards won by all of the teams.

For me, there were two highlights of the museum (because, honestly, there is a limit to the amount of trophies I can see in one day). There is a display case of the pre-season trophies, which are huge and almost works of art in themselves. The largest one was probably over three feet tall. There was also a ship, a tower, and more.

The other highlight was the trophy for Best Soccer Club of the Twentieth Century, which was awarded to Real Madrid. This trophy is shaped like a soccer ball and covered in diamonds. It's also in a case by itself.

As this would be the last day in your four day trip to Madrid, use the rest of your time here to shop, eat, relax or return to places you enjoyed or missed.

4 days in Madrid (Day 3)

In the early morning, travel out to Plaza de Toros de las Ventas, off the Ventas. This is one of the major bull rings in Spain and the only one in Madrid. They do hold bull fights each night (or almost every night) that you can attend.

During the day, you can pay a few Euro to get a guided tour of the bull ring. The tour is done in both English and Spanish and is very interesting.

During the tour, you are taken to the to of the ring and shown the architecture of the ring. There is gorgeous tile work down on the outside of the stadium. Within the mosaics, there are seals for each of the Providences of Spain.

From here you are taken into the actual bull ring. From here you can see the royal box and the difference in seating. You are also taken down to the very bottom of the ring where the bull fighters, press, doctors, photographers and more sit during the fights.

Once inside the stadium, you are shown where they take the bull after the match to clean it. The meat is then sold to local restaurants and markets. The skin is sold to leather makers. And, if the bull was brave or exquisite, the head is sold to museums or private collectors.

From here, you can purchase tickets to see that evening's bullfight, if you so choose or, hop on the train to Atocha to see the Reina Sofía.

The Renia Sofía is the Madrid museum of Modern and Contemporary art.

Now, I like the modern stuff and I'm not a huge fan of landscapes and portraiture. However, this museum even pushes my limits of what is and is not art.

However, the staple piece in the collection is the Guerinca by Pablo Picasso. It takes up almost an entire wall and, because of the crowds that gather in this room, there are no other pieces of art hanging.

The Renia Sofía also has a vast collection of Picasso and other cubists and modern artists, as well.

From the Reina Sofía, walk up to Parque del Retiro - a great park to get lost in for the day.

On the way from the Reina Sofía to the park, there is a great little shopping are, with outdoor stands and very good prices. Here you will find great deals on jewelry, scarves, books and more.

At the top of this center is Parque del Retiro. In the center of the park is a huge lake and monument of Alfonzo XII from 1901. Here you can rent paddle boats and paddle around the lake and enjoy the monument. There are also stands to purchase food, drinks and snacks (mostly snacks but you might find a hot dog or two).

From here grab lunch in the Plaza del Colón (get off at the Colón station from the Metro). Here you will find the Madrid monument to Christopher Columbus. While it is in the center of a roundabout, there is a great little plaza on the one side to get a good view and great photos.

Hop back on the Metro to the Chueca station for tapas. Chueca is considered the "gay district" of Madrid, but has many great restaurants and shops along its streets. With all the restaurants and bars in this area, it is the perfect area to do a tapas crawl.

What is a tapas crawl? Well, its a lot like a pub crawl, but instead of drinking, you're eating. Order the house specialties or try different tapas at each bar or restaurant. Do this in the early evening for the best deals and atmosphere.

There is a Cafe & Té in Chueca for a geat cup of coffee and pastry before heading in for the night or enjoying Madrid's night life.