I was so excited for my trip to Spain that I think my planning elevated to a near obsessive compulsive level. As I mentioned in the last post, it started with an old school approach, reading and taking notes from Fodor’s Travel Guides checked out from the library. But once I had my list of places I wanted to visit, I wanted to figure out where everything was, so that I could combine nearby destinations into the same outing. Being a visual person who remembers and can process graphic info easier, I decided to make maps of both Madrid and Barcelona, and plotted out the locations of all of my destinations and then tried to get a sense of distance between them – what things could I walk to from one another, and which circumstances would require the subway?
I moved into the technology realm at this point, leaving behind the Fodor’s guides, and looking to online maps, apps, YouTube, and more. Tracking the walking distance, sometimes even making my own custom maps of how to walk from one location to another, it seemed to make sense to get an idea ahead of time what was involved in getting around, rather than just winging it and possibly wasting time or being less efficient than I could be (see what I mean about obsessive?) There’s something to be said about exploring while lost, and I actually enjoy doing that, but I think I built up this trip in my mind – first time in Europe in 12 years – a language I don’t speak – and I wanted to feel like I had a grasp on as much as I could.
A quick note on the language here – while I don’t speak Spanish – and certainly have no experience with Catalan, which is spoken in Barcelona – I do have the attitude that it’s important to have a few phrases and words down in order to show the locals that I’m at least making the effort to speak their language. I’m 100% against the idea of an American who shows up expecting everyone to cater to speaking English. So I got the Duolingo app, and started with daily Spanish lessons. I should have started Duolingo much sooner – a couple weeks with learning things like “yo como pan” (I eat bread) and “ella es la mujer” (she is the woman) did not exactly help me on my trip, but I did memorize some phrases, such as “Me gustaría pedir …” (I would like to order) in restaurants. I didn’t fool anyone into thinking I spoke Spanish, but I’d like to think it showed some courtesy.
Back to the planning; I wanted to share a couple resources that I found to be really helpful. I wondered, how does one figure out a subway or metro system in a foreign country where one doesn’t speak the language? I found a YouTube channel called Spain Revealed, and they had a fantastic and simple video here about how to use the Madrid metro. Just having a visual heads-up on how the metro ticket machines differed between those that only took cash versus those that took credit cards, or how to find a flag icon on the screen to translate the interface to your own language – it was very reassuring to see how to do all this in advance of being there.
Another simple idea – yet very complicated – was how to get a train from Madrid to Barcelona. Sounds simple, right? Just buy a ticket and get on the train. Except there’s four different train options, including Renfe AVE, Avlo (a Renfe budget version), Ouigo (French budget), and Iryo, a private line. They all have different luggage requirements as far as fees or limits, how does one figure it all out? Well, I found the ultimate guide – a blogger named Mose Hayward, who has a site called Minimalist Travel. He had plenty of interesting posts but the one that answered all of my questions regarding getting from Madrid to Barcelona was in this post, titled “Ouigo, Iryo, Avlo, and Ave: The Key Differences in High-Speed Train Options in Spain – at a Glance.” He had comparison charts, reviewed each one, described the seating, the speed, luggage situations, which ones had outlets, WiFi, etc. It was the perfect guide and helped me figure it all out (I chose Iryo, and was extremely happy with the experience).
Mose actually had another helpful post I wanted to mention here, one on “Minimalist Packing.” He points out that he’s coming from the perspective of two decades of traveling constantly, and I found that adopting some of his basic ideas, such as don’t pack “just-in-case” items, pack clothes that can be multi-purpose, go with layers rather than different coats, etc. Considering my plans included taking a metro from the airport to my Airbnb, which involved transfers, and a short walk at the end, having a smaller and lighter suitcase was greatly appreciated.
Lastly, one of the most helpful tips I got – thrown into some YouTube video that was really focused on a lot of other things – was the mention of an app called “Citymapper.” I can honestly say this app had the single-largest impact on my whole trip – it made everything so much easier! It works with multiple cities, so I’ll give you an example of how I used it. Let’s say I’m in Madrid and I want to walk from my Airbnb to The Prado. I enter my destination (The Prado), and it shows me which streets from my current location (in real time) I should walk and how long it will take. Let’s say I want to go from The Prado to The Royal Palace – enter the two locations and it will give you all of the options of how to go: how long it is to walk, if you want to take the metro, which lines to take (and how soon the next train arrives at the station nearest you) and which metro car is the least crowded! (how do they know that???). If you want to take the bus, it’ll tell you which bus line to take. Want to rent a Bicimad bike? Citymapper will tell you where the nearest back racks are, how many bikes are currently parked at each one (in case they’re all being used), and how many open spots are currently available at the bike rack of your destination. All in real time. Unbelievable!!
It was invaluable in getting around Madrid, and once I got to Barcelona, I simply changed the city and it gave me all of the same navigational tips to get around that city. And Citymapper is not just for Spain – you can see all of the cities they cover around the world here. I wish I could remember the YouTube video where I heard about this, so I could give them credit – it literally made getting around each city easy and clear, and I can’t imagine how different the trip would have been if I hadn’t used it.