Author: Zenoch

Tips for visiting Spain via road trip

Tips for visiting Spain via road trip

I’ve put this tip-sheet together to help others plan trips to Spain. Background: I lived near Madrid for 3 years as a teenager while my father was in the US Air Force there. 

In 2018 three of us (wife, daughter, self) took a 3-week 3,500 mile roadtrip around Spain. Still the best vacation I’ve ever been on. We stayed in different hotels each night – with staying in some places (Madrid, Malaga) for a couple of nights. Here is the rough route we took:

  • We flew into Malaga. While in Malaga for 4 nights we visited downtown Malaga, Ronda, Marbella, etc.
    • Then to Cordoba and on to Sevilla
  • Sevilla – and many Andalucian towns have a week or multi-week festival called Feria. Sevilla’s was fantastic and one of the highlights of the trip. Definitely try and time a trip to coincide with it.
  • From there we then went to Cadiz and stayed along the eastern coast of Spain with a stop in Granada. Our stops were: Arcos de la Frontera, Malaga again, Granada, Alicante, Valencia, Tortosa, Barcelona for 2 nights, visited Montserrat on the way to Olite, Santander, A Coruna, Segovia, and then Madrid for 4 nights. While in Madrid we visited Avila, Valley de los Caidos, Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor, Retiro Park, and Toledo.

In 2023 & 2025 – we took our kids and grandkids (split between the two trips) to Spain. Starting off in Madrid and then flying out of Malaga. The last 8-10 days of the trip we stayed in a villa about 10 miles SW of Malaga. The whole trip took a bit over 2 weeks. Here is the rough outline of those trips:

  • Fly into Madrid and stay there a couple of days visiting the Madrid specific sites like Royal Palace, Prado, Retiro Park, etc.
  • Then we hit the road. Stopped by the Costco just in the northern suburbs of Madrid. Then visited El Escorial/Valle de los Caidos and stayed in Segovia. 
  • Segovia is one of my favorite towns. Very picturesque. 
  • From there we visited Avila and drove to Toledo.
  • Toledo is a very cool town with beautiful cathedral, alcazar, etc. Great place to buy swords, knives, etc.
  • From Toledo we drove down to our villa outside Malaga.
  • While staying in Malaga you can do daytrips to downtown Malaga, Cordoba, Sevilla, Ronda, Cadiz, Rock of Gibraltar, Granada, etc. 
  • The villas we stayed in both slept ~10-12 people and had swimming pools.

Based on these three trips – here are the places we visited and prioritizing them in to 2 groupings:

Highest Priority Places to visit:

  • Toledo
  • Segovia
  • Granada
  • Cordoba
  • Barcelona
  • Madrid (Royal Palace)
  • Sevilla

Second Priority

  • Malaga
    • Ronda
    • Arcos de la Frontera
    • Marbella
    • Valencia
    • Santander
    • Santiago de Compostela
    • A Coruna
    • Madrid ( Plaza Mayor, Retiro Park, Prado)
    • Near Madrid – El Escorial, Valle de los Caidos
    • Cadiz
    • Tortosa
    • Olite
    • Montserrat
    • Avila
    • Cathedrals Beach
    • Bilbao
    • Morocco

Here are various tips for planning:

  • Transportation in Spain
    • We took three multi-week roadtrips in Spain. All of them we rented cars with one-way drop-offs. After driving on the roadtrips – we would still do it again. Driving yourself provides much more flexibility and control.
      • Spain’s highways are actually pretty good
      • Be careful driving in the downtowns of older cities. They have very narrow roads that can handle only one-way driving. Also – some old roads can’t even handle any cars – except for very small ones.
      • Parking in towns can be an issue. We always got hotels that had parking spaces as part of the hotel – most of which required paying the nightly fee.
      • Manual transmissions will be cheaper than automatic transmissions.
      • Be aware that depending on the type of car you have (gas, diesel, etc.) – there might be extra fees for driving in some areas of the cities. Be aware of this when getting the type of car.
      • Spain has a good train network – esp between the major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, etc. But if you don’t have a car – taking public transportation to do daytrips can be difficult.
      • Doing a vacation going from city to city – with a new city each day – that can be very difficult if not done by car unless you limit yourselves to the main cities. Having to drag a suitcase/backpack around with you every where you go can get to be very taxing. It’s nicer to leave your bag in a car or in your hotel room rather than taking it everywhere you go.
    • The metro and buses in Madrid are good to get around – and esp to avoid driving
    • Trains – I have no experience with the trains, but some people really like them.
  • Getting around in Spain
    • Travel light
    • Watch for pickpocketers. Pickpocket-preventable backpack. Moneybelt. Purse with wire in the strap so they can’t easily be cut and stolen.
    • Get international cell coverage for your phone and use Google Maps or some other method for helping you get around. One year we had a Garvin GPS device. The other times we used Google Maps/Waze, etc. Money well spent.
    • If you are going to drive make sure and get the International Drivers Permit for each driver before going. You can get them at the local AAA travel office for about $20 each.
  • Suggestions to do before going
    • Get some euros – although this can be done at a spanish bank ATM
    • Passports – obviously required. (Check to make sure it doesn’t expire too soon. It will need to have at least 6 months of time left before the expiration date for your last day there.
    • International Drivers Permit – If you are renting a car – you will need this. Easy to get at AAA.
    • Electric adapters. They use different electronic plugs. Spains are different than the UK, etc. Research it and ensure you have what you need
    • International phone coverage – or I’ve heard you can get cheap cell coverage by getting a SIM card in Spain.
    • Get european and UK visas – https://etias.com/
    • If you are flying through a country you may need to go through customs and possibly go through airport security – so ensure you have ample time to make your next flight. Be advised that going through customs can be a very lengthy process
    • Notify your credit card companies of the countries you’ll be travelling in.
    • Most purchases can all be done via credit card.
  • Recommendations for arranging travel
    • You can make your own travel arrangements and reservations, however we’ve used a travel agent on all three trips and it’s definitely helped. Our first trip we had the travel agent book everything – planes, hotels, museums, etc. On the last two trips we used AAA to book some of the hotels, rental cars, etc.
    • Some places you need to reserve sometimes weeks in advance (Alhambra/Granada, Horse show in Jerez de la Frontera, Royal Palace in Madrid)
  • Hotels, Air
    • There are a number of websites that you can use: Expedia, VRBO, AirBnB, etc
    • For many of the hotels – we just had the travel agent book them for us
    • For the villas we stayed at I used VRBO and AirBnb. I found that many of the homes used both of those.
    • Paradors
      • One unique and special thing about hotels in Spain are their Paradors. Over a 100 years ago Spain’s government saw that there was a lack of hotels. So they converted 96 old castles to high-end hotels. They also use them to keep prices low and encourage other hotels to keep their prices lower. They are very cool places to visit and stay. https://paradores.es/en
    • AirBnB / VRBO
    • Airlines
      • We had good success with Icelandair, AirNorse, and Norwegian air. They had cheaper and better connections from Seattle than other airlines.
      • Sometimes travel agents can get cheaper flights.
  • Insurance
    • Travel insurance – including medical & trip protection. I tend to be very risk averse so getting travel insurance has definitely helped. One time we had one of our travelling party get sick and ended up in the hospital in Spain for 5 days. The bill, surprisingly, wasn’t that big (less than $2,000) but getting reimbursed for it was fairly easy and simple. Trip protection can help also – although we’ve never had to use it for that.
  • Misc
    • Costco – There are multiple Costcos in Spain (Madrid – north & south, Zaragoza, Bilbao and Sevilla). We have started our roadtrips with a stop at Costco for a pizza meal and then stock up on American-friendly snacks, foods and misc supplies. 
      • Beaches – be aware that like many places in Europe – there can be a lot of toplessness there so plan accordingly

Drone Fly-thru of Wrigley Field

IT Support in the Old Ages

Brilliant Child Business Prodigy

https://www.deseret.com/2022/8/22/23309244/cole-summers-died-newcastle-utah-warren-buffett-charlie-munger-bari-weiss-unschooled

Viewing Mount Everest via Drone

Dancing from All Over the World

Amazing perspective of the immensity of space

George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

Washington issued a proclamation on October 3, 1789, designating Thursday, November 26 as a national day of thanks. In his proclamation, Washington declared that the necessity for such a day sprung from the Almighty’s care of Americans prior to the Revolution, assistance to them in achieving independence, and help in establishing the constitutional government.

https://www.mountvernon.org/education/primary-sources-2/article/thanksgiving-proclamation-of-1789/

The 7 Stages of Severe COVID-19 – as told by a respiratory therapist. Adapted from an LATimes Op-Ed

Her Last Ride

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked..

‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90’s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940’s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.

The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

‘Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. ‘It’s nothing’, I told her.. ‘I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.’ ‘Oh, you’re such a good boy, she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, ‘Could you drive through downtown?’ ‘It’s not the shortest way,’ I answered quickly.. ‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice. I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. ‘I don’t have any family left,’ she continued in a soft voice..’The doctor says I don’t have very long.’

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. ‘What route would you like me to take?’ I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, ‘I’m tired. Let’s go now’. We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. ‘How much do I owe you?’ She asked, reaching into her purse. ‘Nothing,’ I said ‘You have to make a living,’ she answered. ‘There are other passengers,’ I responded. Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. ‘You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? What if I had been in a foul mood and had refused to engage the woman in conversation? How many other moments like that had I missed or failed to grasp? We are so conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unawares. When that woman hugged me and said that I had brought her a moment of joy, it was possible to believe that I had been placed on earth for the sole purpose of providing her with that last ride. I do not think that I have done anything in my life that was any more important.