nd help orgnzin trip to Spain

[staedtler]

by the end of October, its a quick weekend or so, the wife is there (Barcelona) for work, the plan
is to join her after her work is done and spend a couple of days. the idea is to go check out the
Guggenheim in Bilbao, i guess we need to get back to Barcelona and fly back together.
We were thinking of using the train, or renting a car, in the case of renting i might as well look into
renting a bike. I've never been, i know if we travel by bike which backroads make for a good route?
we might superslab our way back. i don't know of a good reputable place to contact for rentals...
i found this... http://www.imtbike.com/location.asp i don't know if they're good or not.
Thanks to the STN community in advance

[Orson]

Pyrennes

But if time is short, take the train

[OrangeOkie]

My first choice would be bike or rental car to experience the scenery.  Bring your GPS for navigation.  If you decide on the train, you will need to get your tickets in advance.  They sell out in advance on the "fast train."  Whatever you do, don't take a "milk run" train.  They stop at every "Petticoat junction" along the route.

[miles]

Bilbao isn't close to Barcelona.  That's a bit like saying "Well, we'll be in New York, so we'll stop and see the Sears Tower."

Seriously- it'll take most of a day's drive to get there from Barca.  It's six hours in the car.  Skip it, or get cheap flights.

[Orson]

This has the spousal unit's fingerprints all over it.

A real Guzzisti would never consent to seeing some girly museum.

[miles]

This has the spousal unit's fingerprints all over it.

A real Guzzisti would never consent to seeing some girly museum.

It's not girly.  It's made of titanium, and has a freaking huge spider out front.

[Orson]

I was speaking from a Guzzisti mindset : D

[staedtler]

is not that far, is just like going to pecos  


View Larger Map



View Larger Map


no, seriously,...it's the same mileage...

[miles]

is not that far, is just like going to pecos  

If you want to spend the batter part of two days in the car driving there and back, knock yourself out.  There are better ways to spend your time.

[Gaw]

Hi,

For a couple of days I would recommend you to stay in Barcelona and enjoy it.

I think that t isn't worth it to go to Bilbao.

If at the end you go to Bilbao don't forget that this area is rainy

[miles]

is not that far, is just like going to pecos  


no, seriously,...it's the same mileage...

Spain ain't Texas.

[throttlemeister]

by the end of October, its a quick weekend or so, the wife is there (Barcelona) for work, the plan
is to join her after her work is done and spend a couple of days. the idea is to go check out the
Guggenheim in Bilbao, i guess we need to get back to Barcelona and fly back together.
We were thinking of using the train, or renting a car, in the case of renting i might as well look into
renting a bike. I've never been, i know if we travel by bike which backroads make for a good route?
we might superslab our way back. i don't know of a good reputable place to contact for rentals...
i found this... http://www.imtbike.com/location.asp i don't know if they're good or not.
Thanks to the STN community in advance

A friend of mine rented from here:

Moto Espana
Barcelona
C/Notari 3 bjs, Vilassar de Dalt, 08339 Barcelona
Call:+ 34 618 783 431
enquiry@motoespana.com

Was run by an Englishman called Mike (at the time, 2006), and my friend had a great experience with him.

That said, if you're only there for a (extended) weekend, I'd stay in Barça. Plenty to see and do there and really not enough time to go back and forth between there and Bilboa to do interesting stuff.

[BBB]

I'm not sure if a round trip of 800 miles given the time constraints that you have would be worth it.

[Mr.Black]

Hi,

For a couple of days I would recommend you to stay in Barcelona and enjoy it.

I think that t isn't worth it to go to Bilbao.

If at the end you go to Bilbao don't forget that this area is rainy

Personally I would be listening to the guy FROM SPAIN.

[notarian]

There's plenty of great riding in the mountains and along the coast (see Lloret de Mar to Tossa de Mar to Sant Feliu - seems like 1000 turns are crammed in that 'as the crow flies' 20 km) nearer Barcelona rather than flog yourselves to death doing Bilboa.

But then again, Barcelona is a great city to hang about, see the sights, enjoy a flamenco, eat tapas, drink vino, cervesa and spanish brandy...

If so, wallet goes in the front pocket and safety pinned = lots of pickpocketers.

[Orson]

I've been wanting to go to this shop in Barcelona ever since I read about it.

They only do desserts  

Espai Sucre

[Ralf]

Spain ain't Texas.

But they both speak predominantly Spanish  

[staedtler]

ok,...update

im xtndng my stay so it'll be more like 5 days... we're renting a car (we have lots of shoes, no room on saddle bags for    )... we are going to Bilbao and checking out the Gughenheim fer sure...
question,...is there a..you know, romantic place to stop for the night in the way from
Barcelona to Bilbao....wink, wink   i dont have a route, i'm giving myself a day  to get there...

[Orson]

Five days would be perfect for exploring Barcelona and the twisty roads in its environs, but this whole Bilbao thang is really putting a kink in my plans  

 

[Aero]

question,...is there a..you know, romantic place to stop for the night in the way from
Barcelona to Bilbao....wink, wink   i dont have a route, i'm giving myself a day  to get there...

Take a look at the Paradores website, lots of gorgeous places to stay. Not just another hotel chain, they are mainly converted castles, palaces, fortresses and monasteries, state-owned and run as a way of preserving historic buildings.

         http://paradores-spain.com/

[miles]

OK.  If you really insist on going to Bilbao, here's the way to do it.  Haul ass down the freeway and stay the first night at the Parador in Olite.  Olite is a perfect little gothic town, extremely well preserved.  The next day, cut north to San Sebastian (blow off Pamplona, because you won't have time).  Drive through San Sebastian, wishing you had more time, because it's worth a couple of days by itself.
Head west to Bilbao, which is the Cincinnati of Spain.  Skip everything there except the Guggenheim, because there is nothing else there worth looking at.

Haul ass back to Barca on the freeway.

That leaves you two days, which is about 2/5 of the time you'll wish you'd spent in Barca.


Have fun!

[staedtler]

 

[FJR-UK]

Skip everything there except the Guggenheim, because there is nothing else there worth looking at.

Not completely true ... if you get hungry while you're there, here's the place:

http://www.victormontes.com/en_index.htm

[Gaw]

Not completely true ... if you get hungry while you're there, here's the place:

http://www.victormontes.com/en_index.htm

Hi Jerry,

you really know the important things of Spain!!!

Pimentos tapa is still waiting for you  

[FJR-UK]

Pimentos tapa is still waiting for you

I have NOT forgotten!

We were in France this summer and next year we'll be in the United States. Will the offer hold until 2013?  
 

[Papa Lazarou]

I have NOT forgotten!

We were in France this summer and next year we'll be in the United States. Will the offer hold until 2013?  
 

Why worry, there#s a tapas bar in Ventnor that matches anything Spanish...oh, wait, the Padron IS Spanish...

[FJR-UK]

Why worry, there#s a tapas bar in Ventnor that matches anything Spanish...oh, wait, the Padron IS Spanish...

As long as I have to cross water, I might as well go to Madrid.  

[Papa Lazarou]

As long as I have to cross water, I might as well go to Madrid.  

 

[Gaw]

Jaja, yes the offer doesn't expire

Papa Lazarou, you can join us and enjoy the authentic Spanish Padron  

[staedtler]

well, i got all the reservations done,....cant wait it's gonna be great.

one last thing i haven't figured out yet, been doing some research online (very confusing)
...do i get international plan for the iphone or do i
rent a local cellphn?   if so, i'm not sure if i can get one at the airport or do i have
to find a movistar local, or something like that? have no idea...out of that, is all good

i have a couple of days in Barca before heading to Bilbao,...since i
ll have a car i think i should do a day trip to Figueres and checkout Dali's crib over at port lligat
(i found out there's quite a bit of nude beaches in the area)...smart guy
and its all good cause if i get back aroung 7 or 8 its still way early to go out, looks like
things just start around 10 or so.... u hit the clubs around 2  
im just concerned about day 2  

[Gaw]

Hi Staedtler,

you can buy a prepayment card of Movistar, Vodafone or Orange. There should be a lot of locals in the city. Normally Orange has the cheaper rates. Be sure that your iphone is not locked for your company.

About beaches, well if the weather allows to go to you, be sure in what kind of beach are you entering,.... you know....  

[staedtler]

mamii...!... why is that man naked??  


 




..(got the phone tak'n care of  )

[miles]

The weather is probably going to be too cold for much beach activity.  

Dali's museum is well worth the visit, and so is the Picasso museum in Barca.

If you call AT&T you can set up a temporary international plan. It might be a bit more expensive than the other options, but you'll still be using your same old phone number, if you wantto be able to receive calls as normal. It's also a lot less hassle.

When driving, remember that there are stoplights to enter an intersection and mo leave it- one before the cross street and one on the far side. Look at the one close to you to enter, and the far one to proceed through. It seems odd, but once you understand what's going on it makes sense.

A GPS with fresh Europe maps will do wonders for you sanity. The highways are easy enough to deal with, but the cities are very, very challenging.

[staedtler]

  hey, thanks for the info..that was pretty good






i lived out of cafe con leche, beer, cigarrets, and the pintxos for a solid week....i mean, that was it, no full
meals, i don't even remember drinking water   ... it was great,... loved it!
first cafe con leche at the Barcelona airport, from then on it was...coffee beer coffee beer pincho coffee beer
got my last cafe con leche at the same place i got the first
 


*oye cowboy, baja las patas de la mesa*

[FJR-UK]

Good for you! There were a couple of other very nice tapas bars on that square (one just to the left of Victor Montez on the north-facing side) but I think you found the best place. Did you have caracoles?

[staedtler]

im sure i did (i tried all there was at the square over a couple of days   )... i don't think i tried the caracoles, i had quite a bit of bacalao (cod fish), you know i tried some over in San Sebastian (wow,)...

on our way back to Barcelona we stopped at a place called Sos del rey Catolico, medieval town of 500 people
on top of a hill overlooking the Navarra countryside with the Pirynees way on the background,
and stayed here http://www.elsuenodevirila.com/
next time  you go to Spain, do urself a favour, and go stay there... un belivable   magical