Travel Plans
JOHN CHAPMAN
I was wondering if the group is still in operation. I have not received any notes for several weeks. Roger, is this an aberration!
Hello from Canada. The weather is starting to draw in and we are already regretting our plans not to return to our beloved Spain this year. Who knew several months ago the strength of the Canadian dollar would reach a 30+ year high against the US greenback. Traveling is a pure bargain right now.
Is anyone else either in Spain now or planning a trip soon? I am sure that all of us in North America would love to hear stories at any time.
My wife and I are planning to spend a month there next year. We will be going to Barcelona and outlying areas for two weeks and then I want to return to Sevilla for the Bienal de Flamenco (www.bienal-flamenco.org) for two weeks. I was there last year and had tickets for some terrific performances, but due to personal illness and family issues I had to return home before seeing any. Did any else attend either then or in the past.
I hope everyone is well and enjoyed their summer.
Abrazos
John
From: Roger Warwick <ro...@gomadrid.com>
To: trave...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 3:08:04 AM
Subject: [travelspain] Re: is this group still active?
She's still a member, so presumably she'll reply to you directly.
Roger.
On 10/12/07, Steve Wright <stevew...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> If so, I'm looking for former? member Rowan Fookes if anyone knows how to
> find her.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Steve Wright
> 2330 SW 13 ST Miami, FL 33145
> 305/776-3231 mobile 305/285-4830 fax
>
> stevew...@yahoo.com
>
> ________________________________
> Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail,
> news, photos & more.
> >
>
>
>
John Zumsteg
It has been very quiet on Travelspain recently, but we're still alive
and well.
We were in Spain for three-and-a-half weeks a year ago and as I was
reading your email I realized that I never wrote a trip report for the
group, even though I'm always telling folks to do that. Disculpame,
por favor!. Next month I'm going to have some enforced idleness
(getting some medical stuff taken care of) and I vow that I'll get my
notes out and do some writing then.
We may return next year also. My son and his wife will be
living/working in Berlin for three years starting in March and they
want us to give them a tour of Spain. Won't take much persuading to do
that! Of course, they also want to see Paris and France with us, and
that won't take much persuading, either. We shall see...
I've wondered, too, why it's been so quiet here (and interestingly,
several other non-travel groups that I belong to have gotten less and
less busy, too). Anybody have any ideas for re-invigorating
Travelspain? Maybe recruiting some new folks to get us going?
John
On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 08:49:16 -0700 (PDT), JOHN CHAPMAN placed fingers
on keyboard and tapped out:
Pete Clark
nsConsulting.com> writes
>I've wondered, too, why it's been so quiet here (and interestingly,
>several other non-travel groups that I belong to have gotten less and
>less busy, too). Anybody have any ideas for re-invigorating
>Travelspain? Maybe recruiting some new folks to get us going?
I have been working hard (:-< on my website, and on clients websites,
and hardly had time to leave the house - normally, I live in southern
Spain, but at the moment, I am in the UK on biz - looking forward to
November, when I can get out of all the rain and get back again.
--
Pete Clark
Sunny Andalucia
http://hotcosta.com/Andalucia.Spain
Mac
On 14 oct, 16:49, JOHN CHAPMAN <chapma...@rogers.com> wrote:
> Hola Amigos,
>
> I was wondering if the group is still in operation. I have not received any notes for several weeks. Roger, is this an aberration!
>
> Hello from Canada. The weather is starting to draw in and we are already regretting our plans not to return to our beloved Spain this year. Who knew several months ago the strength of the Canadian dollar would reach a 30+ year high against the US greenback. Traveling is a pure bargain right now.
>
> Is anyone else either in Spain now or planning a trip soon? I am sure that all of us in North America would love to hear stories at any time.
>
> My wife and I are planning to spend a month there next year. We will be going to Barcelona and outlying areas for two weeks and then I want to return to Sevilla for the Bienal de Flamenco (www.bienal-flamenco.org) for two weeks. I was there last year and had tickets for some terrific performances, but due to personal illness and family issues I had to return home before seeing any. Did any else attend either then or in the past.
>
> I hope everyone is well and enjoyed their summer.
>
> Abrazos
>
> John
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Roger Warwick <ro...@gomadrid.com>
> To: trave...@googlegroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 3:08:04 AM
> Subject: [travelspain] Re: is this group still active?
>
> She's still a member, so presumably she'll reply to you directly.
>
> Roger.
>
> On 10/12/07, Steve Wright <stevewrigh...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > If so, I'm looking for former? member Rowan Fookes if anyone knows how to
> > find her.
>
> > Steve Wright
> > 2330 SW 13 ST Miami, FL 33145
> > 305/776-3231 mobile 305/285-4830 fax
>
>
> > ________________________________
> > Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail,
> > news, photos & more.- Ocultar texto de la cita -
>
> - Mostrar texto de la cita -
Steve Wright
Steve Wright
2330 SW 13 ST Miami, FL 33145
305/776-3231 mobile 305/285-4830 fax
Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today!
John Zumsteg
My one recommendation about the Alhambra is to see it twice, once in
the day and once at night. It really does take on a different
atmosphere at night and is worth seeing then.
I have a friend who spent a year studying in Granada and knows the
city well. She also stayed at a nice hotel in a small town in the
Alpujarras, but I don't remember the name of the town or hotel. I'll
try to get in touch with her (she's now teaching in Madrid) and see if
I can get some ideas for you.
John
On Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:28:03 -0700 (PDT), Steve Wright placed fingers
on keyboard and tapped out:
>> We're headed to Granada y las Alpujarras next May.
>>
>> Our 4th trip to Spain...2nd to Andalucia....1st to the
>> land of the Alhambra and points south and east both
>> inland and coastal.
>>
>> My wife uses a wheelchair, so we're looking at city and
>> seaside visits, not treks through the mountains and
>> valleys on foot.
>>
>> Let's get the ball rolling in this group with some
>> suggestions for yours truly.
>>
>>
>> Steve Wright
>> 2330 SW 13 ST Miami, FL 33145
>> 305/776-3231 mobile 305/285-4830 fax
>> stevew...@yahoo.com
>>
>>
>> Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research
>> Panel today! --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------
>> ~--~----~ You received this message because you are
>> subscribed to the Google Groups "Travel Spain" group.
>> To post to this group, send email to
>> trave...@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this
>> group, send email to travelspain-
>> unsub...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this
>> group at http://groups.google.com/group/travelspain?hl=en
>> -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Dr Alfonso Gonzalez
Below is my longish account of my uneventful trip, if you are interested.
I made my usual annual trip to Spain this past summer...arrived in
Madrid on 24 July and left to return to Canada on 28 August. It was a
really uneventful trip and don't know how much interest you may have in
my trips which have increasingly (and almost totally) reverted to
visiting the family. Since I have visited just about every corner of
Spain, except for the Canaries and the two exclaves in Morocco, I don't
feel the need to go revisiting all corners of the country, at least for
now. Furthermore, for the first time in at least two decades or so, I
did not rent a car since I was travelling alone.
As you probably know the international flights for the last couple of
summers use the new, impressive, & large Terminal 4 at the Barajas
airport in Madrid. There is now an extra fee of 1ε for using the metro
to & from the airport stations (but you can use your 10 trip ticket to
pay that fee). The "old" terminals are eerily almost empty compared to
before and there is another metro station to reach Terminal 4 in
addition to the shuttle bus within the airport itself. So, you don't
have to get on/off at the "old" terminal starting this past summer.
Since I arrived late in the afternoon, I went directly to the South bus
terminal (metro: Méndez Alvaro) for the nocturnal bus to Santiago de la
Ribera (on the coast of Murcia....near the much more famous beach resort
of La Manga....visible across the embayment, El Mar Menor, from La Ribera).
I spent nearly a week in La Ribera visiting with my cousins, who have a
typically small apartment there. I stayed as usual (though not always)
in a furnished apt that the owner rents out the four bedrooms ....I paid
a bargain 12ε a night (has not changed for years), but the
accommodations are not especially good, but the other regular renters
are nice (& one somewhat strange). Often when I travel with my
companion, and we then rent a car, I stay in the adjacent (inland) small
town of San Javier about 3 km away (I walked it often--it's hot, but
there is shade often). Then we stay at the Pensión Nenico, just off the
main square for 18ε single & bit more for double....much nicer & has a
private bath. Rooms there have always been available in contrast to in
La Ribera which is right on the beach and more expensive.
The weather was typically hot, and the town crowded with Spanish
tourists. In the many years I've been going there, I have very rarely
heard anything but Spanish. Most of the foreign tourists go to Alicante
(to the north) and Cartagena (to the south) and to La Manga (across the
embayment...El Mar Menor). This time I ate the big meal (lunch) with my
cousins and they also fixed me something light for dinner (late, as
usual, about 9 PM). Breakfast I ate in the local cafeteria (since my
cousins are late risers) and that (café con leche & toast--I purchase
oranges on my own) cost about 1.80ε. So, it was quite pleasant and
certainly enjoyed being with my cousins and it was inexpensive (I am
definitely a budget traveller). I quote prices so that you have an idea
as to how inexpensive staying in Spain can be, since many in this group
do expect more and they pay plenty more. While there I took the
50-minute bus ride to the provinicial capital, Murcia, to visit with a
geographer colleague who teaches at the University of Murcia.....a nice
trip & visit.
After almost a week, I left for Madrid (again by nocturnal bus). Since
my parents were both Spaniards, I allegedly have Spanish citizenship, so
I decided to have that recognized by the government. I started that
morning (31 Jul) going from office to office and getting a good taste of
pleasant Spanish bureaucracy...so I went from about 9 AM until 2 PM when
government offices close for the day, visiting 5 buildings (sometimes
two offices in the same building) scattered through Madrid (my 10-ride
Metro ticket came in handy, as usual). What a run-around. Nothing was
accomplished and I learned nothing useful. After that I had lunch in my
usual group of restaurants adjacent to the Atocha railway station (menú
del día was about 7-8ε and then headed to see my geographer colleagues
at a research institute. So, it was a hectic day, but it wasn't
excessively hot, and in the evening headed to the bus terminal for the
nocturnal bus to Orense, in Galicia (where the bulk of my relatives
reside).
This ride, like the others was comfortable, fast with one 20-minute rest
stop (also had a restroom, comparable to that of an airplane, but not as
stable a ride). In Orense, which is a very pleasant medium-sized Spanish
city and a provincial capital on one of Spain's major rivers (Miño), I
waited a few hours for the local bus to Puebla de Trives, about 75 km to
the east. That ride is about 1 1/2 hours and I arrived in Trives on
"feria" (fair or market day)...there it occurs on the 1st & 15th of the
month (but not on Sundays or holidays) and lasts from before 10 AM until
about 2 PM....some food & music stalls, but mostly clothing & household
goods....it is crowded, at least in the summers.
I stayed in Puebla de Trives for about 3 weeks in my cousin's apt--as
usual, small & nice. In a nearby village(about 2 1/2 km away) my parents
and uncles & aunts were born & raised....some of them migrating to the
US, where I & my brother were born. The town has about 3 thousand
inhabitants and, like almost all of Europe, stagnant in population
(except for the new, many illegal, immigrants) and aging. Of course, the
migrants (legal & illegal) are not seen in the Murcia coastal region and
in provincial Orense, but they have been visible for some time,
especially in Madrid in the central core (and selling their wares on the
Metro) and along Avenida Atocha on the way to the railway station.
I spent the time visiting relatives & friends, shopping with my cousin
for household necessities, walking about (the countryside is right there
a few steps away), visiting the village of my parents, about 2+ km off
the highway through fern & chestnut, & oak forest. There are some rural
tourist development hostals in the district, both inside the town and
real rural sites....they are more expensive than the two in-town hostals
(both are very good and I have stayed in both many times). I also check
& send E-mail at the three places where Internet service is free in that
very small town. Enjoyed eating good Spanish food and have already
practiced with another Spanish dish (this one is Spanish potato
tortilla--I even like those that I've made myself).
I did attend one village festival while in Galicia, but the music is now
"modern" and the traditional is disappearing even more, but it was nice
seeing the family & friends at the large gathering in the cool evening
in the village open field. But I did not stay for the town annual
festival because that has turned into a little carnival for the kids and
the music is rock-jazz-whatever. The weekly free movies (dubbed into
Spanish--which I don't like at all) still goes on.
After that stay I took the bus to Madrid and then another bus to the
coast of Murcia to revisit my primary 1st cousin again and her daughter
& granddaughter. I spent my last week again there with them and then
back to Madrid and my departure for home.
It was an uneventful trip, but pleasant and , to me, (now more than
ever) preferable to running around the country and seeing all those
cities, monuments, museums, castles that I had spent decades touring.
Attitudes change (at least for me) and I am looking forward to next
summer and don't know what I will do differently.....hope you have been
able to stand this recount of a pleasant and relaxed summer in Spain.....
Alfonso
--
Dr Alfonso Gonzalez, Prof Emeritus
Dept of Geography
University of Calgary HOME:
Calgary, Alberta 3910 19th Ave, SW #24
CANADA T2N 1N4 Calgary, Alberta T3E 7E7
E-MAIL: gonz...@ucalgary.ca CANADA
PHONE: (403) 220-5584 PHONE: (403) 686-1796
FAX: (403) 282-6561
John Zumsteg
and always give me another place to think about visiting. A month or
two ago I read an article about a chef in Ourense (I'll ask my
librarian wife where it came from; I think the NY Times, but I'm not
sure). The article was very complimentary about the area. I've driven
through it before; next time we'll stop and enjoy it.
John
On Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:26:09 -0600, Dr Alfonso Gonzalez placed fingers
on keyboard and tapped out:
>>
Roger
> summers use the new, impressive, & large Terminal 4 at the Barajas
> airport in Madrid.
In fact, not all international flights to Madrid go to Terminal 4. All
Iberia flights do, as do those of the other OneWorld alliance
airlines, but non-OneWorld airlines still fly to the other terminals.
Check your tickets to make sure you know which terminal you'll be
going to, or the Spanish airport authority website (http://
www.aena.es) for a complete list of which airline uses which terminal.
Roger.
http://www.GoMadrid.com - Madrid City Guide
brian glynn
I thought the group had vanished, but very glad it's still alive.
Below is my longish account of my uneventful trip, if you are interested.
I made my usual annual trip to Spain this past summer...arrived in
Madrid on 24 July and left to return to Canada on 28 August. It was a
really uneventful trip and don't know how much interest you may have in
my trips which have increasingly (and almost totally) reverted to
visiting the family. Since I have visited just about every corner of
Spain, except for the Canaries and the two exclaves in Morocco, I don't
feel the need to go revisiting all corners of the country, at least for
now. Furthermore, for the first time in at least two decades or so, I
did not rent a car since I was travelling alone.
As you probably know the international flights for the last couple of
summers use the new, impressive, & large Terminal 4 at the Barajas
airport in Madrid. There is now an extra fee of 1ε for using the metro
to & from the airport stations (but you can use your 10 trip ticket to
pay that fee). The "old" terminals are eerily almost empty compared to
before and there is another metro station to reach Terminal 4 in
addition to the shuttle bus within the airport itself. So, you don't
have to get on/off at the "old" terminal starting this past summer.
Since I arrived late in the afternoon, I went directly to the South bus
terminal (metro: Méndez Alvaro) for the nocturnal bus to Santiago de la
Ribera (on the coast of Murcia....near the much more famous beach resort
of La Manga....visible across the embayment, El Mar Menor, from La Ribera).
I spent nearly a week in La Ribera visiting with my cousins, who have a
typically small apartment there. I stayed as usual (though not always)
in a furnished apt that the owner rents out the four bedrooms ....I paid
a bargain 12ε a night (has not changed for years), but the
accommodations are not especially good, but the other regular renters
are nice (& one somewhat strange). Often when I travel with my
companion, and we then rent a car, I stay in the adjacent (inland) small
town of San Javier about 3 km away (I walked it often--it's hot, but
there is shade often). Then we stay at the Pensión Nenico, just off the
main square for 18ε single & bit more for double....much nicer & has a
private bath. Rooms there have always been available in contrast to in
La Ribera which is right on the beach and more expensive.
The weather was typically hot, and the town crowded with Spanish
tourists. In the many years I've been going there, I have very rarely
heard anything but Spanish. Most of the foreign tourists go to Alicante
(to the north) and Cartagena (to the south) and to La Manga (across the
embayment...El Mar Menor). This time I ate the big meal (lunch) with my
cousins and they also fixed me something light for dinner (late, as
usual, about 9 PM). Breakfast I ate in the local cafeteria (since my
cousins are late risers) and that (café con leche & toast--I purchase
oranges on my own) cost about 1.80ε. So, it was quite pleasant and
certainly enjoyed being with my cousins and it was inexpensive (I am
definitely a budget traveller). I quote prices so that you have an idea
as to how inexpensive staying in Spain can be, since many in this group
do expect more and they pay plenty more. While there I took the
50-minute bus ride to the provinicial capital, Murcia, to visit with a
geographer colleague who teaches at the University of Murcia.....a nice
trip & visit.
After almost a week, I left for Madrid (again by nocturnal bus). Since
my parents were both Spaniards, I allegedly have Spanish citizenship, so
I decided to have that recognized by the government. I started that
morning (31 Jul) going from office to office and getting a good taste of
pleasant Spanish bureaucracy...so I went from about 9 AM until 2 PM when
government offices close for the day, visiting 5 buildings (sometimes
two offices in the same building) scattered through Madrid (my 10-ride
Metro ticket came in handy, as usual). What a run-around. Nothing was
accomplished and I learned nothing useful. After that I had lunch in my
usual group of restaurants adjacent to the Atocha railway station (menú
del dÃa was about 7-8ε and then headed to see my geographer colleagues
at a research institute. So, it was a hectic day, but it wasn't
excessively hot, and in the evening headed to the bus terminal for the
nocturnal bus to Orense, in Galicia (where the bulk of my relatives
reside).
This ride, like the others was comfortable, fast with one 20-minute rest
stop (also had a restroom, comparable to that of an airplane, but not as
stable a ride). In Orense, which is a very pleasant medium-sized Spanish
city and a provincial capital on one of Spain's major rivers (Miño), I
Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha!
Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.
LesterOR
opting to travel in the US or in cheaper countries, like Latin
America. Hence, fewer postings.
Lester
On Oct 14, 4:07 pm, John Zumsteg <jzums...@DirectionsConsulting.com>
wrote:
> >> On 10/12/07, Steve Wright <stevewrigh...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >> >> If so, I'm looking for former? member Rowan Fookes
> >> >> if anyone knows how to find her.
>
> >> >> Steve Wright
> >> >> 2330 SW 13 ST Miami, FL 33145
> >> >> 305/776-3231 mobile 305/285-4830 fax
>
> >> >> stevewrigh...@yahoo.com
Ken Bielen
Mac
posting seems to have been wiped out, what I intended to say was that
the my summer activity was as usual travelling around the rivers and
canals of England by boat (not really relevant to this group!)
But with the onset of colder weather thoughts are naturally turning
towards a winter trip to Spain (although we're having an Indian Summer
here in Scotland!), so I hope to be back in touch with some on-the-
spot impressions.
Salud
Mac
Nick Worth
because of the cost, especvially of airfare. Those costs, coupled with the
weak dollar are definitely keeping people in the U.S.
Que lastima!
Nick Worth
Dr Alfonso Gonzalez
for your kind responses.
Roger....Yes, I know there are some international flights that use the
other terminals, but they must be few because the times I've gone
through them they appear deserted compared to earlier. All the flights
that I have considered, both from Canada & the US, apparently use
Terminal 4 and that now has a separate Metro station and also a 1ε
charge for using the stations for the airport. Roger, please keep us
informed of further changes that may affect our travels in Spain AND
thank you so much for keeping this list going. May we visit you when we
have time & pass through Madrid?
John Z....that article about a chef in Orense was (I think) in the NY
Times and dealt with the restaurant San Miguel ....Orense's most famous
restaurant--I visited it once because the daughter of the hostal owner
in Puebla de Trives (the town in Galicia that I wrote about) has a
daughter that did some apprentice training at the San Miguel.
Brian G...yes Asturias is quite impressive (like most of Spain) and the
mountains are comprable to the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada but
different from the volcanic Canaries. We have stayed a number of times
in Cangas de Onís in the Picos de Europa district and it's quite a
beautiful area AND cool (but overcast) in the summer.
Ken B...glad to see another geographer on this list....I did my freshman
year at Rutgers...are you teaching or?
Steve W....your post was prior to mine, but see live in Miami and I
visit my children & other family there about twice a year (next time in
December)....hope we can get together....
I'm impressed as to how many messages were posted in the last few weeks,
so hope we can keep it up.....my thanks and best to all of you.....
