You could easily spend a week or more just in the Prado. Given that you have such a short time there, I would recommend you either fly to Granada/Seville, or travel overnight by train.
I don't really know what a mid-Western American would class as dodgy, but most of the hotels I've been in in Spain have been pretty good, and some have been pretty spectacular at surprisingly low prices. I have stayed in one called the Murillo in Seville, which was very nice. Except in an emergency, you might want to avoid hostales, though, which are aimed at the younger 'budget' traveller. I find it easier to choose hotels from a printed guide book rather than the internet. I decide roughly the standard I want and the budget, have a look at where suitable hotels are on the map, and choose the one in the best place. I almost never book more than a day in advance, if at all. Of course, you have to have a Plan B if the hotel has fallen down since the guide book was printed, but that doesn't happen very often. Aranjuez is a very enjoyable day trip from Madrid, with some good restaurants by the river - particulary La Rana Verde. -- Cheers, Bob > -----Original Message----- > From: John Likes [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 19 August 2005 03:17 > To: Pentax Discuss > Subject: 3rd time lucky. > > Hello there, > > I'm a long time lurker who's decloaking now. As a quick > introduction, my name is John Likes, and I live in Colorado, > U.S.A. I would characterize myself as a snapshooting > amateur, although my first contact with Pentax goes back to a > Honeywell H-3 bought in 1963. > > Mostly now I use either an Optio 430 or MZ-S, depending on > whether I want instant gratification or not. > > My first question is sort of off subject, but I have an > opportunity to spend a week in Spain at the end of September, > and I wonder if anyone has any good tips on what to not miss, > what to avoid, and how to find hotels on the internet that > won't turn out to be either hugely lavish or too dodgy to the > average mid-western American. The plan is to see all the art > museums in Madrid, and then either Granada, or Seville, or > both. Sound like too much? > > My spanish command is passible high school with some review recently. > > Thanks for listening, > > J.W.L. > > > > > >
