261910 Wed Oct 16 11:13:19 -0700 2002 7 26 International 0 1383986 I'll be going to Spain by myself for two weeks in November. I'll be landing in Madrid and then going to Barcelona, Bilbao, Grenada and Cordoba. I welcome any suggestions of where to eat (I'm looking for both cheap and tasty and one or two splurges), especially in restaurants where I won't feel uncomfortable dining alone. (Of course, if you're a tourist, I suppose it's OK to eat alone.) I also, going OT, welcome shopping recommendations in Barcelona, as I'm arriving on Monday when all the museums are closed! Wed Oct 16 11:13:19 -0700 2002 0 eeee 1 1383988 I was in Santiago de Compostela for 3 weeks in July. It's a major tourist town, and I always ate alone when in restaurants due to my travel companions' lack of good taste and daringness. While there I never once felt like I was treated differently for being a single woman dining alone. I fully expect that I would have found some of this at home. Can't comment on any of your specific destinations, though. Wed Oct 16 16:02:55 -0700 2002 1383986 0 ironmom 1 1383989 There have been some varied opinions on the restaurant at the Bilbao Museum. Hope you'll post on this. Wed Oct 16 16:26:48 -0700 2002 1383986 0 mc michael 2 1383997 I have to say that lunch at the Guggenheim museum restaurant was the best meal we had on a visit to Bilbao last month. I don't take notes, so I can't remember in detail what we ate, but it was innovative without being too radical, had a lovely atmosphere and friendly service. A perfect way to break a full day at the museum. The other upmarket meal we had in Bilbao was at Zortziko which is a Michelin one-star. It reopened after a two-week break on our last night back, so it may have been off-key for that reason, but we found it very disappointing. The service was stuffy and clumsy, and the food - particularly the much-taked-about twice-baked hake - was uninspiring with some very unpleasant clams which *may* have contributed to my partner's lack of health the following day. Thu Oct 17 05:49:26 -0700 2002 1383989 0 David A 1 1383992 My wife and I just returned from 16 days in Spain. We were in Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Granada, and Barcelona. We took good notes and I'll be posting a long email on the highlights as soon as I get around to transcribing things. We had a wonderful time and ate really well. You can eat incredibly well for not very much money in Spain. You didn't mention Seville on your list of cities. We had a really great time there (and the food was incredible). I'm going to stick some general stuff stuff in this posting and save the detailed bite-by-bite account for later... I would definitely recommend speaking with Dan O'Beirne of Magical Spain Tours. We hooked up with Dan through his website (www.magicalspain.com). He took the two of us on a private day-long tour through Seville and Carmona (a nearby town). Dan is a grad student in medieval Spanish history and was both really knowledgeable and a whole lot of fun. In fact, we hooked up with him a couple of days later for Tapas in the Triana district. Dan and his Spanish partner run tours ranging from an afternoon walking tour to multi-week bicycle tours of the countryside. This is not your typical big crowd on a bus type tour...We also had some wonderful chowhoundish discoveries (see my upcoming posting) thanks to Dan. Especially since you're travelling alone, I highly recommend sending him an email to see what he can put together for you. We also did a really fun Madrid Tapas walk that was supposed to last for 2 hours but went for 5 (because we were all having such a good time) with Stephen Drake-Jones of the Wellington Society (http://www.geocities.com/wellsoc/) One more non-chow related comment. Be sure to get your tickets to the Alhambra well in advance (you can buy them online) and I highly recommend getting tickets for both the day and the evening. They only let a few people into the Nasrid palace at night and it is really magical...One of those not to be missed attractions! Stay tuned for a detailed account on all things food related to be posted as soon as I can catch my breath! Have a great time in Spain...we certainly did! -Ken Link: http://www.magicalspain.com/ Wed Oct 16 20:13:45 -0700 2002 1383986 0 Ken Meyer 2 1383996 I hope you do your detailed post within the next 2 weeks as we're leaving for Spain end of October and will be visiting all the spots you went to plus Cadiz. Anyone else who's been there recently could also chip in. Thu Oct 17 00:02:14 -0700 2002 1383992 0 JoanB 1 1383994 Several hundred mile south of Barcelona is Valencia. Other than paella Valencia is also known as the home of Lladro porcelain. Most importantly is the store at the Lladro factory where it is sold at 30 to 40% off of the Spanish price. The Spanish price is half the American price. This means that if you go to the store at the Lladro factory you can buy almost the full line of Lladro for 75 to 80% off of the American price. They will ship it home for you. While you're in Valencia you may want to consider purchasing a handmade paella pan. Wed Oct 16 22:16:51 -0700 2002 1383986 0 Joe H. 1 1384012 The large department store, El Corte Ingles, in central Barcelona has a great food hall in the basement that stays open all day with no break for lunch........terrific!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also fantastic is the Boqueria market off the Ramblas. By the way, be careful with your pocketbook in the Barrio Gothico....we saw two people being "mugged" in daylight on some of the shadier side streets there. Thu Oct 17 18:39:07 -0700 2002 1383986 0 erica