Spain on the Brain

My next business trip to London is coming up in March. When I booked my airfare, it was so reasonable that Phineas has decided to join me for a few days in the UK, and then we will journey on to Spain for a week+ vacation.


I've never been to Spain, and Phineas has just passed through. So we're excited to go somewhere new to us both. Our itinerary is not fully set, but, due to our flights, we will definitely start out with a few days in Barcelona and end with a few days in Madrid, with a day trip to Toledo.

There are 3-4 days in the middle that we are trying to decide on. At this point I think we will head to Andalucía in the south of Spain to see the Alhambra (in Granada). We may also make stops in Seville or Córdoba.

Here are some miscellaneous facts about Spain:

Capital: Madrid

Population: nearly 45 million.

Government: Spain is a monarchy; the present king is Juan Carlos I, who inherited the position from General Franco, the dictator who ruled Spain from 1939 until 1975.

Where is Spain?: Spain can be found on the Iberian peninsula in Europe, a piece of land it shares with Portugal and Gibraltar. It also has a border to the north-east with France and Andorra.

Famous Buildings & Monuments: Spain is the home to La Sagrada Familia, the Alhambra, and the Prado and Reina Sofia museums in Madrid.

Famous Spaniards: Spain is the birthplace of artists Salvador, Dali Francisco Goya, Diego Velazquez, and Pablo Picasso, opera singers Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, architect Antoni Gaudi, Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, pop singers Julio Iglesias and Enrique Iglesias, actors Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, flamenco-pop act The Gypsy Kings, film director Pedro Almodovar, rally driver Carlos Sainz, poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, author Miguel de Cervantes, historical leader El Cid, golfers Sergio Garcia and Seve Ballesteros, cyclist Miguel Indurain and tennis players Rafa Nadal, Carlos Moya, David Ferrer, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.

What else is Spain famous for? Spain invented paella and sangria. Christopher Columbus, though probably not Spanish (no-one's quite sure), was funded by the Spanish monarchy.

Has anyone been to Spain? Let me know if you have recommendations!