Friday, August 26, 2011

Alojamiento booked!

Camarinas hotel rustico


Much to Cari's relief and pleasure, the reservations at the Spanish hotels and bed-and-breakfasts are finally complete - phew! The mapping, research, exchange of information and final confirmations are over with and we can now focus all of that valuable energy on the continuing endless obsession with what clothing to pack for the trip.

Our itinerary is:

We begin the trip with a funky little hotel right on the beach in Santander and a requested room with a view of the sea.
Next, we head for the mountains and stay at 2 casas rurales (rural homes/bed-and-breakfasts) with amazing mountain views and tons of character.
Then, it's off to the big city of Oviedo; our hotel faces the cathedral and is in the middle of the action for the festival celebrated the week we are there.
We then return to the seashore again when we arrive in Camarinas to stay in a little hamlet of 3 old stone houses converted into a hotel.
Next, we stay close to the coast but head inland to an old farmhouse bed-and-breakfast.
It's then back to the city in Santiago de Compostela for 2 nights at a hotel located in a building from the 1700s (recently renovated) and within walking distance of the cathedral and central plaza.
Our final night in Madrid is at a beautiful hotel located on a pedestrian-only street, close to the Puerta del Sol. More importantly, it's only 2 blocks from El Corte Ingles department store, where we can do our last-minute shopping before the flight back the next day.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Cari missing the convenience of Rick Steves...

Cari's busy desk

So, I have stolen a blog post that Cari put on her personal blog:

Because I work full time, I have put her in charge of securing reservations at the various hotels and bed-and-breakfasts (casas rurales) where we will be staying. It has turned out to be more work than she expected, prompting her to post the following (hilarious) complaint:

I have a whole new appreciation for Rick Steves, our local travel guru. When I traveled to Italy in 2007 all that was required of me was getting there and back, plus a few dollars to Mr. Steves, good old Rick and his group took care of the rest.
This year my daughter Christine and I are going to Spain and doing all the planning ourselves. Hours and hours on the computer doing research, e-mails coming and going to set up reservations, and the all important itinerary. I used up an ink cartridge and have not seen the top of my desk in weeks. WHAT A JOB!

Yes, I feel like I have a job now but pay off from all of this planning will be fabulous. I realize chances are that, as in most trips, something could go wrong but should that happen, no problema, we will have lots of wineries we can visit and drown our troubles in good Spanish wine. OLE!!!



"After God, long live wine"
Rosalia De Castro (Spanish poet)


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Test post




Here is a test post just to see if I can upload photos and make blog posts from Caryl's Netbook.


Monday, August 15, 2011

Welcome to our travel blog...

Welcome to Cari (Nana) and Christine's (Aunt Chrissy) travel blog! We are planning on updating this blog as frequently as possible while on the road in Northern Spain, crossing Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia.

Departure for Spain is Tuesday, September 13th, (Q's birthday) and we find ourselves in the final stages of research and preparation. Currently we are planning on arriving in Madrid at 7:30 a.m. September 14th, grabbing a cafe con leche or churros con chocolate and boarding a train that will take us to the sea in Santander. We pick up the rental car the next morning in Santander and it's off to the Picos de Europa!

Final preparation includes such important issues as 'finding the perfect bag' and 'how many pair of pants should I take?' and don't forget the eternal shoe dilemma: Sandals? Boots? We are going from mountain to sea in this trek, so smart packing is going to be very important. Of course, I definitely won't mind if I find myself needing to purchase a new bag or pair of shoes in Spain :-) Te dejamos pronto...rumbo a España!