A Few Final Thoughts

Now that I have been home for a week, I thought I would put down a few final remarks, some ratings, and some notes for next time.

Best bed - Westin Palace
Best overall ambience - Westin Palace
Best location for sightseeing - Westin Palace
Best bathtub - Westin Palace
Best bathroom - El Rancho
Best overall facilities - El Rancho (the in-room fridge swayed me, along with the comfy couch)
Best breakfast - Hotel Sidorme in Granada (Publianus)
Best access to shopping - Hotel Sidorme
Best "I am SO spoiled" experience - the shower at the Delta Sky Club in Atlanta on my homeward-bound layover

The free wifi advertised in each hotel failed me only once, in Mieres (and I had wifi in Salamanca, though Jorge didn't).  In Cordoba, it didn't work in the room, but did in the lounge.  I found wifi available in lots of random places, too - public parks, on the street, inside and outside some restaurants, at the mall.

I carried a GSM phone, with a SIM card I purchased from Orange, for staying in touch with Jorge, and to call home a couple of times.  The SIM was 9 euro, with 9 euro credit on it.  Before I travel with this phone again, I will learn how to lock the screen to avoid buttdialing (never actually called anyone, but I was constantly bumping it).  I also carried my regular phone on airplane mode, with the wifi turned on.  I downloaded a free texting app called HeyWire so that I could text home over wifi, and it worked great for awhile, sporadically for awhile, then seemed to quit all together.  I'll find a different app for next time.  Bluetooth worked great for transferring pictures from Jorge's phone to mine, and vice versa.

The yellow flowers we saw were rapeseed (canola).  Thanks, Jenny, for clearing that up!
The town with the windmills is Consuegra.

One pair of black shorts and a pair of sandals are good additions to any packing list.  You just never know.....

                           The fabulous private shower room at the Delta Sky Club, Atlanta.