Thursday, December 2, 2010

Side Trips

One of the perks of going on this study abroad (though EVERYTHING is a perk when you're abroad) is that I get to go on side trips. My group is going on specific trips every other weekend, but the other weekends I get to spend however I choose, which is awesome. I'm planning on going to as many places as I can, and the list below shows the distance from Alcalá de Henáres (where I'll be staying right outside of Madrid) to each city.

Places and distances from Alcalá de Henáres:
WITHIN SPAIN---
Toledo-- 122 km, roughly 1 1/2 hours
Zaragoza--284 km, roughly 3 hours
Pamplona-- 407 km, roughly 4 1/2 hours
Barcelona--585 km, roughly 6 hours
Cordoba--428 km, roughly 4 1/2 hours
Salamanca--251 km, roughly 2 hours
Sevilla--565 km, roughly 6 hours
Valencia--358 km, roughly 4 hours
Bilbao--398 km, roughly 4 hours
Cadiz--687 km, roughly 7 hours
Granada--455 km, roughly 5 hours
Segovia--129 km, roughly 1 1/2 hours
Malaga--575 km, roughly 6 hours
Alicante--422 km, roughly 4 1/2 hours

The below cities are places I plan on visiting once the program is over--I have 11 days after the program to make it to London, where I fly out of to return home to San Francisco. Obviously I won't be returning to Alcala de Henares once I get to each city, but this just gives you an understanding of how much I'll be traveling.

OUTSIDE OF SPAIN---
Gibraltar (which is a tip of Spain at the Strait of Gibraltar, right across from Morocco)--719 km, roughly 7 1/2- 8 hours
Toulouse, France--799 km, roughly 8 hours
Lisbon, Portugal--661 km, roughly 6 1/2- 7 hours
Paris, France--1,271 km, roughly 12 hours
Versailles, France--1,264 km, roughly 12 hours
London, England--1,716 km, roughly 17 hours

These are all of the places I can think of, but I'd love feedback. Are there any other places I should visit? What do you think?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Just be sure to stop by and visit The old castle of Alcalá La Vieja. While my friend was in spain he said it was one of the most enjoyable places.

PS - you're still one angry ginger. :)

Katy said...

You should definately go to Gibraltar--that was my favorite side trip I ever did. And Porto in Portugal is a really beautiful city also. Agh I am so excited for you and jealous at the same time!!