It has been a while since I’ve been to Europe, and of the trips that I have taken there, I have never been to Spain. A while back, when my friend Jess and I discussed places we wanted to go together, Spain was tops on my list. Now that I am looking into vacations with El Presidente again, I am dreaming of Spain. I love touring old monuments, museums, ruins, and such when I go on vacation. It’s not all about laying around on the beach. I’ve found so many great places I’d like to visit. For instance, in Caceres, there’s Torre de Bujaco (Bujaco Tower), a 12th century Arab tower. Or there’s Muralla de Avila (Wall of Avila). I want to be able to plan my trip out ahead of time and figure out which sites I want to visit and where I want to stay. I’m not interested in a group tour and it’s so easy to plan your own itinerary. All I had to do was search for hotels in Spain and I could easily find places to stay that are in or near the cities I want to visit.
On my last trip to Europe, we stayed in one central location and rented a car to tour other areas. Another thought is to stay at a hotel in Madrid and drive to Avila, Caceres, and other towns. I found this place that has nice looking rooms. 
That also puts us closer to all the wonderful attractions in Madrid. MM always loved to visit the castles on our other trips, so the Royal Palace in Madrid would be a great place for her. Just like other palaces in other major European countries, this one is actually still in use, though not as a residence. El Presidente is the one with a degree in history and a very deep mind, so I think he’d enjoy El Prado Museum with it’s extensive art collection; however it was originally built to be a science museum in the 17th century, so perhaps even my mathematical mind can find something there to keep me entertained. I’ve already scoped out the Botanical Gardens. The Gardens were originally the King’s botanical collection in the 18th century when botany was a royal hobby, but for the past 25 years, it has been a public garden.
If I can demonstrate self control and really save up, I’d love to make this a long trip and stay in Barcelona as well. It’s too far from Madrid to make it a day trip and there’s too much there to do for me to want to cheat myself out of a fair amount of time in that part of the country. One place that I’d love to see is the Temple de la Sagrada Familia. This great building began in 1882 when the first stone was laid. More than a century and a quarter later, the building is still a work in progress. Can you imagine?! Again, to please El Presidente, there’s the Gothic Quarter which has points of interest from the Roman Era all the way through the 20th Century. Oh, and we can’t forget shopping! The Boqueria Market has been around since 1200! Not only can I shop, but I can learn some history as well!
With all the sites we have to see, we may not spend much time at any hotel in Barcelona. Although, this one looks absolutely great!
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I'm a 30-something mother and fiancee (soon to be wife). I live in Florida with my family where I am an Actuarial Analyst and Girl Scout Leader. My involvement in the Breast Cancer 3-Day is by far the best time I have ever had!
