Ship tour to Granada Alhambra from Malaga

[bennybear]

32 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I will honestly admit that we had never even heard the word "pinxtos" until we spent a couple of days in San Sebastian.  While standing at a bar (to enjoy an early evening drink and some tapas) a local took us under his wings and explained a little about "pinxtos" vs "tapas" and how it worked in that particular bar.  One thing about Spain that is difficult for many Americans is getting used to the various dining times around the country.   The first time I tried to make an 8:30 dinner reservation only to discover that the particular restaurant did not even open until 9 was a shocker.  And seeing families dining with school aged children at 11pm on a school night was a real shocker (the kids usually get a long nap before dinner).

 

Lastly, we really do miss Anthony Boudain in our home.  DW and I were big fans and there is still no equal although Andrew Zimmern is also a lot of fun.

 

Hank

 

We ran into a similar situation in France when we got snowed in, hadn’t eaten lunch and foolishly thought we could eat at an airport hotel before 8 pm😂

 

some fond memories of San Sebastián 

 

 

 

 

[mskaufman]

At a Cideria in Oviedo

 

[bennybear]

4 minutes ago, mskaufman said:

At a Cideria in Oviedo

 

We really enjoyed Oviedo too.  

[marazul]

Those pictures are torture!😉

Bennybear- cidra and croquetas, two of my favorites in one picture.. 

[Despegue]

As my family moved to Spain last month to forfill our Lifelong dream, One of our goals is to stay at all Paradors.

 

[cruisemom42]

On 9/16/2020 at 7:26 PM, Hlitner said:

My friend who "turned me on" to Paradors and Pousada's has been traveling to Portugal and Spain for over 35 years and making good use of both types of facilities.  I think he has stayed at nearly every Pousada (Portugal is his 2nd love after his wife) and a fair number of Paradors.  I realize this is a cruise oriented web site (and we are avid cruisers) but we always try to encourage fellow cruisers, who take European cruises, to also take advantage of their trip to spend some quality time in Europe.  We also encourage folks to try some independent travel although we do understand that many Americans are reticent to do a lot on their own.   We have always considered travel somewhat of an adventure and doing things on one's own does require some "spirit of adventure."   After a lifetime of travel (over 50 years) we would estimate that 95% of our independent travel has been a terrific experience and the other 5% has sucked.  But the more experience you get the easier it gets to deal with the few lousy situations.  I should add that the trick of independent travel (especially for novices) is to do your research/homework before the trip and learn about the many options.

 

Hank

 

Totally agree about the paradores and pousadas. I'm a big fan of historic properties, and often these are historic (though some are modern). Here's one I stayed at in Portugal on a hilltop near Palmela, on a trip in search of Roman ruins....