Our itinerary for Spain

It's not quite finished yet, but we're close enough. Here's the itin for Spain.

Day 1: Fly to Madrid.
We're flying direct (woohoo!). I haven't flown direct to Europe since I studied at Oxford in college. Whether London can be grouped with the rest of the continent is up to your judgement.

Day 2: Arrive, jetlagged and bedraggled, and immediately start sightseeing.
We would have had to pay an extra 50 euros to guarantee an early check-in to our hotel room, and that's nearly as much as we're paying for a single night, so we opted out of this option. I'm mentally prepared for not being able to get in until 4 PM, or whenever check-in is. In Germany, they dangled a nice little carrot in front of us: "I can give you a room now, but if you wait, a suite will be available." Naturally, we waited. It was worth it. You get an expresso maker in suites, so we saved a few dollars on B's daily coffee doses. Plus it was nice to have another room to go to when you couldn't sleep.

For our first day in Madrid, we'll take Rick's self-guided walk and visit the Real Jardin Botanico (Royal Botanical Garden), the CaixaForum (a free exhibit hall with funky architecture and a hanging garden), and the Prado Museum. The Prado is free after 6 PM and is practically across the street from our hotel--two factors that I hope will overcome jet lag and will get me out of the hotel and into sightseeing mode when early-evening exhaustion sets in.

Day 3: Continued Madrid sightseeing.
For our next day in Madrid, we're considering visiting even more promising locations. First up is the Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales (the Descalzas Royal Monastery), which is a working Franciscan monastery that you can visit only when the nuns vacate (perhaps concierge can call that morning to confirm that they've departed; if not, we'll save it for another day). Next is the Palacio Real (Royal Palace), which Rick has declared Europe's third-greated palace behind Versailles and another palace in Vienna that I have not visited. Then on to the Museo del Traja (Clothing Museum), though it is off the beaten path and will likely get cut from the day's itinerary if we run short on time.

At sunset, we will visit the Temple de Debod, an ancient temple that was a gift from Egypt. I'd love to go to Egypt, but until then, I'll make due with opportunities like this.

If we're feeling up to it, we'll take in a Zarzuela theater show, which is sort of like light opera. Having seen many a light opera show in high school at a local theater, I don't have high hopes for the show but will try to keep an open mind because Rick sings it praises.

Day 4: Continued Madrid sightseeing.
Day 4 finds us still in Madrid, still jet-lagged (probably). We'll visit the Parque del Buen Retiro (Retiro Park), which features a crystal palace and cheap canoeing. The Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, which features Picasso's Guernica, is where we'll find ourselves in the afternoon (because the entrance fee is free).

In the evening, we'll catch a flamenco show. Sevilla is better for flamenco, but since we're not venturing that far south, we'll make due with our available options.

Since these 3 items will probably not fill up the entire day, we'll supplement with activities that we skipped the previous day.

Day 5: Final day in Madrid.
For our last day in Madrid, we'll visit El Rastro, Europe's biggest flea market and the most likely place that we'll be pickpocketed. Yippee!

Next up is the Museu Naval (Naval Museum), which requires a passport and doesn't feature any English, but B really wants to go. And if I am taking him to a clothing museum, I think a naval museum is a fair tradeoff.

Finally, if we aren't exhausted by art and museums, we'll stop by the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which might earn a spot in our itinerary due to its proximity to our hotel.

Day 6: Fly to Barcelona.
On day 6, we'll stop thinking in Castilian (Spanish) and start thinking in Catalan (the language of Barcelona). Ok, we'll be thinking in English the whole time with the occasional desperate-sounding Spanish phrase, but a girl can dream.

Our first day in Barcelona will focus on the Eixample neighborhood, which features a plethora of Modernisme buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi.

After checking in to our hotel (assuming we can), we'll visit La Pedrera, also known as Casa Mila, a wild-looking building designed by Gaudi. Next up is the so-called Block of Discord, a block of competing 19th-century facades.

Our next stop is the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church), Gaudi's most famous work, which is still under construction and therefore features an exhorbitant entrance fee. Finally, we'll stop by the Parc Guell, a 30-acre garden that Gaudi intended to be a 60-residence housing project (that plan didn't work out so well).

Day 7: Barri Gotic and the Ramblas
Our next day in Barcelona focuses on the Barri Gotic neighborhood and the Ramblas, which is one of the main drags in town (and also the location of our hotel).

We'll take a self-guided walk of the Barri Gotic and also visit the Museu del Calcat (Shoe Museum) and the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat (City History Museum).

Next up is a walk of the Ramblas, followed by visits to the Palau Guell, which is an early Gaudi building, as well as the Museu Maritim (Maritime Museum) and the Monoment a Colom (Columbus Museum).

(I could be persuaded to skip the last two, but observe the presence of the shoe museum in the itin.)

Day 8: Day trip to the Dali museum.
For day 8, we're leaving Barcelona to visit the Dali museum in Figueres. I'm considering booking a tour for this activity but haven't made up my mind yet.

Day 9: La Libera neighborhood
Day 9 features a Picasso-themed morning, with a 2-hour walking tour and then a visit to the Museu Picasso.

In the afternoon, we'll visit the Palau de la Musica Catalana, a concert hall with the best Modernista interior in town (unless we buy tickets to a concert and see the hall that way). We'll also stop by the Church of Santa Maria del Mar and the Museu de la Xocolata (Chocolate Musuem).

Who can resist a chocolate museum?

Day 10: Last day in Barcelona.
For our last day in Barcelona, we'll visiting the Parc de la Ciutadella (Citadel Park) in the morning. The park features an ornamental fountain designed by Gaudi. In the evening, we'll watch the magic fountains at Montjuic. I think they're like the fountains at the Bellagio in Vegas.

We'll fill in the blanks with activities that we missed or want to do again.

Day 11: Fly home.
And sleep.