Travel Review: Family Spain Vacation, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Toledo, Prado Museum, Olive Oil Mill, Tapas Tour, Flamenco

Our favorite parts were probably the Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, the olive oil mill tour, the tapas crawl and flamenco show, Almodovar Castle, and Park Guell. The olive oil mill was so different and a huge part of the Spanish culture, so it was worth visiting! The owner did a great job educating us and really selling "good" olive oil. He had a tasting which was a first, and he changed our opinions about buying just any olive oil! I highly recommend this tour for everyone who visits Spain. Madrid was a big city that didn't feel so big, and it was easy to navigate on foot. We could go there again, and do day trips while staying in one city. The Almodovar Castle was so cool, and not just for our kids! We felt like we went back in time, and I loved that we could explore it ourselves, and go up every tower! My 24 year old son was in his glory. Our guide made the tapas tour and flamenco show great. She explained the history of both, and we wouldn't have appreciated it as much without her. Finally, Park Guell, and everything Gaudi was really great, and our guide was so knowledgeable and passionate that it came through. We really liked all of our guides, but our guide at the Prado museum, although very knowledgeable, was a bit too structured for my son, and he didn't feel like he could explore on his own.. Art is very personable, and everyone sees it their own way All of the other guides were more accommodating and less serious. 

A note about the hotel at the Madrid airport. This was the only place where the people at the front desk were not helpful or friendly. I left the phone at the front desk per our instructions, and they didn't want to keep it and refused to mail it back. Also, the phone didn't work unless we had wifi, so we couldn't use it when we couldn't find our guide!