Más España

Plaza Catalunya, Barcelona.

Trying to recapture the magic of our Spanish spring not to mention the lost photographs I travelled differently, more simply and cheaper. I’ve already established that I ride the train when possible but I also look for accommodations a couple of notches below the three plus stars Peggy and I favor. And while that is partly driven by frugality it also comports with my belief that the more stars your hotel boasts the more you’re removed from the heartbeat of the community. And engaging with real folks is the wonder of memorable travel. So, when alone I choose unstarred hotels, ones that are a world apart from the whole star system. And despite that the modest establishments can wonderful. 

Along the strand, Barceloneta.

In Madrid I stayed in the two-star Hotel Mediodia at the perfect location for the Prado, La Reina Sofia and the Parque Retiro where I ran each day. I found a local bar and a place for a 5-euro lunch including a small beer. From Madrid I took the high-speed train, second class, to Barcelona where I stayed in student housing near the beach in Barceloneta. It was simply furnished, came with a simple breakfast brought to my room and with a laundry downstairs. Sure, it was spare, but it was four blocks from the playa, three from an amazing mercado and surrounded by tasty local eateries with no tourists.

Centro, Cordoba.

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Roman Ruins, Cordoba.

Royal Alcazar, Sevilla.

Catedral de Sevilla.

In Cordoba I stayed at the El Convento Antiguo, also un-starred, where I sat on the front steps talking with the Ernesto the front desk manager who commuted to work from the countryside. Yes, it was once a convent.  In Sevilla it was the well-named Hotel Sevilla, another no-star just a block from great tapas, ice cream and flamenco. The Sevilla offered a prepared to order breakfast, an ideal location and was 79 euros with the breakfast. I couldn’t ask for more. It was personal and welcoming compared to a faceless chain hotel. And it was across a small plaza from a bar that filled with lawyers, teachers and workers enjoying a traditional prix fixe lunch of an appetizer, an entrée, a dessert and a small beer or wine for the munificent sum of 8 euros.

It doesn’t take big money to enjoy a city. Quite the opposite I’d say. And you can stay longer at at less than 100 euros a night. I struggle to rationalize 300-euro hotels, and $6,000 a week guided tours when for that price I can a stay for a month and really get to know the place. To me it's a gimme.