Travel Tips And Discussion

Barcelona is one of the best places in the world to appreciate the Mediterranean atmosphere. It is a city to be found on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain and the capital city of Catalonia. This place has won the esteemed 1999 RIBA Royal Gold Medal, mainly because of the structural designs of edifices. Not all cities have had the prestige of having that award. It used to be just architects who win awards like these, but Barcelona has pretty much done it as a city. That’s how beautiful this city is as far as architecture is concerned. Add the fact that Barcelona is included in the top 10 list by a Travel Magazine under the category of must-visit places in Europe

The early 20th century structural designs of Catalan were developed here in Barcelona between 1885 and 1950. True enough, it has left a vital heritage in the city. Group of these creations are now known as World Heritage Sites. Part of these sites are works of the celebrated architect Antoni Gaudí, responsible for the great but still-in-progress temple of the Sagrada Família (construction of this started in year 1882 and is due for completion in 2026).

Another renowned architect was Lluís Domènech i Montaner, who was responsible for the design of the Palau de la Música Catalana.

Barcelona is a great destination for historical pieces as it a convergence of a good number of museums, one of which is The City History Museum that used to be a royal residence. Works of Joan Miró can be found in the museum of the Fundació Joan Miró. The Picasso Museum can also be found in Barcelona, which features early works by Pablo Picasso.

Barcelona also now has a revitalized coastline which is always picture-worthy nowadays.

Taste for yourself the gastronomical delights of this city. Pan con tomate with tapas are some of the originals of Barcelona, and these can very much go well with your choice of wine.

Come and visit this majestic city…Barcelona!

Question: What is the best way to travel between Madrid, Santiago, Barcelona, and Granada (in just 9 days)? Is their air pass in Spain?

This answer is from Jona:

There’s no air pass in Spain. If you only have nine days, I think you better take a plane, at least in one or two of the trips. Companies that have domestic flights in Spain are Iberia, Vueling, Spanair and Air Europa. Iberia should have the most options and Vueling should be the cheapest.

You can get a train pass, called interrail, which will give you free pass to all the trains (except high speed train) for a fixed price for a certain period of time. More info in www.inter-rail.org (only in Spanish). If you want to buy single tickets just check the Spanish rail network website www.renfe.es (info available in English) where you can find prices and timetables. Prices don’t change so no matter when you buy them.

The worst option in my opinion will be the bus, but if you want some info just check www.alsa.es which runs all long-distance Spanish journeys. It’s a little bit cheaper than the train though.

I think it depends on the actual route you take between them and the time you want to spend on a vehicle. If you travel by train or bus, you better travel overnight so you can enjoy more your time. In the train you can even get a bed.

Have fun!

Seville (Sevilla) is one beautiful part of Spain, and is home to many magnificent citadels and cathedrals. Regardless of its many historical sites, it is also a place where you can find several of the modern destinations. The great balance of old and new is what attracts a lot of in this part of the planet…especially during the summer season.

Seville has long, dry and hot summers and even warm winters. Annual average temperature is 18.2C and can go up as high as 26.6. No wonder, it is known to be one of the hottest places in Europe. But the hot weather is not a hindrance for people to enjoy Seville’s wonderful tourist spots

Seville is proud to have the tallest tower in Spain, which is attached to its cathedral. The La Giralda (Moorish Tower) is 319 feet high and is an ancient minaret of the Islamic Mosque. Another one of its pride is the Torre del Oro or Golden Tower (made of golden tiles that reflect the sun) built at the end of the reign of the Taifa Kings.

There are lots of other visit-worthy places in Seville and can easily be seen with any City Bus tours with English-speaking guides. There are also hop on / hop off Seville guided bus tours which give an easy way of sightseeing.

For sheer Andalucian culture, Seville is the place to be.

Seville Information / Fast Facts and Orientation

• Country: Spain / España
• Status: city / capital of Andalusia
• Population: 720,000 in the city, 41 million in Spain
• Language: Castilian Spanish
• Currency: Euro (EUR)
• Time zone: 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
• Country dialling code: +34
• Telephone area code: 95
• Religion: Roman Catholic
• Electricity: 220 volts, 50 Hz - round two-pin plugs are used

The City of Murcia is dubbed as one of the most beautiful in the country of Spain and is without doubt also a tourist-prone spot. It is located at the south of Valencia and it has about only 300,000 inhabitants. This place is entrenched in the mountains of Sierra de Orihuela and Cresto de Gallo. Its huge and urbane watering system made it very famous as a vegetable-producing place. It is also irrigated by the Rivers Segura, Murdo and Sangonera. However, there are also areas in which it has dry span that serve as thriving area for olives and vines.

Murcia was a Moor-founded city way back in 825 AD. During those times, the Moors (Arab) named it Mursiya. The Caliph of Cordoba, Abd ar-Rahman II, founded it on the site of a Roman colony.

Murcia has sunshine all throughout the year, and it can get really hot during the summer. The city has evident Moorish influence showcased in their extraordinary city walls. It has its own university and it’s well-known to host many conventions.

There are 23 diverse chapels in the city, although, The Cathedral is the most valued building in Murcia (first foundation was built in 1388 by Bishop Pedrosa).

Murcia exemplifies loaded history of commerce and agriculture. In fact, its original populace, the Iberian tribes, forged money-making relations with Phoenicians and Greeks. Later on, the place became first a Carthaginean colony, then a Roman colony. The Moors left the legacy of effectual and contemporary agricultural production, which is still being used up to these days.

Tarragona is to be found on the Mediterranean shoreline, about 60 miles southwest of Barcelona, Spain, in the area of Catalonia. Tarragona has about 110,000 people and it is the main city on the Costa Dorada. The coastal area of Tarragona reaches up to 212 km, whereby you can witness its unruffled blue waters. On the other hand, the domestic landscape is enhanced by the powerful luster of sunbeams. The sight of vineyards, hazel, almond, and olive trees give an atmosphere of charm and splendor.

The original name of the city was Tarraco. Previous settlers may have occupied the area, however the first Tarragona inhabitants were led by Gneus Scipio, who established a Roman military camp in 218 B.C. The force developed quickly and the place was declared a colony of Rome in 45 B.C. by Julius Ceasar. Tarragona was then considered as the key Roman town in Spain.

Tarragona , being situated in a very coastal spot, there is no doubt that the main menus will capitalize on SEAFOODS. The local cooking has FISH as core ingredient. One ver famous Tarragonian food product is the Romesco sauce (the first-rate olive oil from El Camp and the peppers grown in the vicinity, as well as the clandestine ingredient handed down from generation to generation of fishermen, are the indispensable components of this sauce).

The Tarragonians are honest, penny-wise, and generally hospitable even if they have certain reservations towards strangers…quite a universal behavior.

Mondays are hushed days in Tarragona. Shops and amusements are closed on Mondays. So never schedule a vacation in Tarragona on a Monday, unless you just want a relaxing escape form the jostle of the metropolis.

Today, Tarragona has gone a long way from its Roman history and is now comparable to other modernized cities. Still, it is an enriching hub for historians and archaeologists who persist on unearthing ancient Roman relics. Wine trade is also a major industry in this place.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Traveling is so fun, but it gets tough when the language barrier sets in. English is the universal language, but many European and Asian countries do not know how to speak and understand English. What do you do when the locals don’t understand a word you’re saying? Simple…don’t use words. Yes folks, just like how the song goes, “you say it best, when you say nothing at all”. Use the facial expressions and your hands to convey your thoughts.

It’s a lot easier than scouring the English-(other language) dictionary all the time.

When you want to ask for a restaurant, or say that you’re hungry, you can either pat your stomach or open your mouth and let your hand do the eating stroke. When asking for time, simply tap your wrist. When you want to respond “I don’t know”, just shrug your shoulders and perhaps raise your eyebrows. Ask “Which way?” without saying a word by pointing your fingers in opposite directions with an asking look. “How much?” can be interpreted by rubbing the thumb and fingers together. When you want to express that you want just “a little”, just put the thumb and finger close together. And say “Oops!” by placing the hands close to the mouth and with eyes wide open.

Lastly, nothing beats the effect of a good SMILE. Universally, it communicates something positive, and you’ll get positivity in return. Of course it helps to learn a few foreign words that are most basic to your destination. Enjoy!

Traveling in different times zones can spell disaster. Disaster in your body rhythm, that is. “Jet Lag” is a common term for globe trotters, and it’s the most natural thing that can happen when crossing time zones, and there are ways to cope with it.

· Rest is important. Sleep early a few days before the actual travel date. During the actual flight, sleep as much as you can in the plane.

· Stay away from alcohol, tea, coffee and other caffeinated beverages. Drink plenty of water before and during the flight to avoid dehydration which is one of the bad effects of jet lag

· Eat light (avoid unfamiliar food) during the flight and first few days of arriving at your destination. To cope with jet lag means to adjust your body clock, and the last thing you’d want to do is to exhaust your body further by spending more energy on adjusting to unusual foodies (at least for the first few days).

· Do take a occasional breaks from your flight seat. Do some stretching, walk the aisles of the plane in order to fatigue, prevent blood clot, back aches, and swollen legs.

· Last but not the least, take time to rest a little bit when you arrive, and try to make your body clock adjust to local time by sleeping at the same time the locals do. If you’ve arrived during rush hours, still rest for a while until you get your bearings.

Spanair S.A., a Spanish airline “Member of the SAS Group”, (and serving the public for two decades now by offering international, domestic, and chartered flights) announced their cheap flight promos. Now, from Spain, off we go to other parts of Spain and European destinations. HELLOWW SPAIN! HELLOWW EUROPE!

Bilbao - Munich 49 € Until the 1st of September
Madrid - Frankfurt 49 € Until the 1st of September
Madrid - Vienna 99 € Until the 1st of September
Zurich - Barcelona 45 € Until the 1st of September
Frankfurt - Madrid 49 € Until the 1st of September
Stuttgart - Madrid 49 € Until the 1st of September
Zurich - Madrid 53 € Until the 1st of September
Madrid - Granada Jaen 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona - Majorca 25 € Until the 30th of June
Madrid - Majorca 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona - A Coruña 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona - Jerez 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona - Vigo 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona - Santiago 25 € Until the 30th of June
Barcelona - Asturias 25 € Until the 30th of June
Madrid - Vigo 25 € Until the 30th of June
Madrid - Pamplona 25 € Until the 30th of June
Madrid - Asturias 25 € Until the 30th of June
Almeria - Madrid 25 € Until the 30th of June
A Coruña - Madrid 25 € Until the 30th of June
Bilbao - Madrid 25 € Until the 30th of June
Malaga - Madrid 25 € Until the 30th of June

*One way prices, buying round trip. All INCLUDED.

http://www.spanair.com/

Cadiz (pronounced as Cadith) is a marvelous town that has once served as home to bona fide voyagers like Ferdinand Magellan and Amerigo Vespucci. This place is often visited by tourists, as it is so close to another tourist favorite, Seville, which is another beautiful city of Spain. Cadiz is a preferred harbor amongst chic cruise ships.

Cadiz is located in Southern Spain in close proximity to the Rock of Gibraltar. The old city is small and very much echoes the Moorish era. The narrow streets are made up of cobblestones, well-preserved up to now. Their most favorite structure to flaunt? The twin-towered Cathedral, which is just a stone’s throw away from the harbor.

The Landward Gate, one of the city’s few 18th century walls, is still in place. Several of the aged buildings tell a rich association of Cadiz to other countries. Santa Cruz and San Felipe Neri, which were historically instrumental places for the changes of Spain’s Constitution, are the must-see churches of Cadiz are the churches of. The La Santa Cueva( home to quite a lot of paintings by Goya), and majestic mansions such as the Casa del Almirante and Casa de las Cadenas are other landmarks that are worth visiting.

Almería has centuries of history and it will surely be evident on the structures that you will see around. One good image is the Arab citadel that watches over the entire city. Almeria’s history is not just contributed by the Moorish occupation. This place also holds numerous archaeological indications of the various ancient cultures, including the Tartessos , Phoenicians , Romans, and Visigoths, who were drawn here by the natural beauty and useful maritime geographic location even before the Arabs came.

In 1522, Almeria was distressed by a seismic activity. Reconstruction and recovery did not arrive in Almeria’s favor until the 19th century.

With its interesting medieval architecture, Almeria’s old town is a delight to stroll through with its tranquil squares, archways and colonnades. The city also has a fascinating archaeological museum and unique cave dwellings in the hillside above the old gypsy quarter.

WEATHER

This is mainland Europe’s warmest and sunniest region, with over 3000 hours of sunshine a year. Until recently Almeria was less accessible than some other Spanish destinations, a fact which has undoubtedly helped to shield it from the excess of tourism and let it to become the unspoiled, peaceful place it is today.

Towns of Costa Almeria:

Adra, Agua Amarga, Aguadulce, Alba, Albox, Alcolea, Alhama de Almeria , Almanzora , Almeria, Almerimar, Antas, Arboleas, Bayarcal, Bedar, Berja, Cabo de Gata, Cabrera, Canjayar, Cantoria, Carboneras, Chirivel, Cuevas del Almanzora, Dalias, El Ejido, Finana, Gador,Garrucha,Gergal,Huercal Overa ,La Alfoquia, Laujar de Andarax, Los Gallardos , Los Lobos ,Lubrin, Lucainena de las Torres , Maria, Mojacar Playa, Mojacar Pueblo,Mojacar pueblo,Nijar,Olula del Rio, Oria, Palomares , Puerto Rey, Pulpi, Retamar, Roquetas de Mar, San Jose, San Juan de Terreros, Seron, Sorbas, Tabernas, Taberno, Tijola, Turre, Velez Blanco, Velez Rubio, Vera, Vera Playa, Vicar,Villaricos, Zurgena