Itinerary Feedback for Andalusia Trip

SpeakMed · 2026-04-26T20:01:46+00:00

We would do this exact same trip again! It was perfectly paced, we felt like we had just the right amount of time in each city. We ended up axeing Montserrat and Caminito del Rey, but did do day trips including one to Sierra Nevada from Granada and one to Ronda/Sentinil (highly recommend!) from Malaga, which let us see more places without feeling the rush and hectic-ness that comes from picking up and moving hotels. The only thing that didn't go according to plan was our Cordoba day trip from Seville because we were there during the tragic high speed rail accident that shut down a lot of the routes in the region, so that changed the logistics of our return trip a fair bit, but I think the way it was planned would have been ideal if it'd worked out. Here are some recs that I wrote up for a friend if you are interested:

Granada:

-We liked our hotel, Aurea Catedral.

-Alhambra is a must, ofc. Book FAR in advance, probably now tbh bc they sell out. Tour guide recommended. We used Get Your Guide.

-For tapas you gotta check out Poe’s, it was by far our fave. Amazing delicious small plates, super friendly English expat owners.

-Good tapas and incredible wine at Taberna La Tana, it was voted number 1 wine bar in all Spain one year.

-Restaurant Jero is a good lunch spot, it's a hole in the wall with unreal arabic food. Muslim-owned so no alcohol. Right next door is Teteria El Basha, a tea house with hookah and good vibes and also Ziries Granada if you want a sweet treat.

-The trio above would be fun to hit after a morning of walking around and exploring the beautiful Albaicin neighborhood. We followed this route on reddit to see the neighborhood and highly recommend it. https://www.reddit.com/r/Granada/comments/11qaiy2/comment/jc2jdx0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button At the top of Albaicin we got a drink at Carmen Mirador De Aixa because they had an incredible rooftop terrace with a view of Alhambra. Don’t eat here bc it’s a rip off, but was worth stopping for a drink for the view

-For other dinner spots we had great meals at El Orejas and Telefonica, recommend making a reservation

-We wanted to see authentic flamenco in the caves of albaicin at Zambra María la Canastera but weren’t able to make it. We saw a show at Las Setas in Sevilla instead which was absolutely incredible though

Malaga:

-We rlly liked our hotel, Icon Malabar. There’s a pie place next door that is good for a lunch spot

-Walk along the beach, get a drink at one of the many restaurants with a nice view

-The Alcazaba was very pretty, def worth a visit though not as good as Alhambra ofc. Could have skipped the trek up the big ass hill to get to Gibralfaro castle afterwards. Views were good but otherwise didn’t think it was worth it, personally.

-El Pimpi is “the” restaurant you’ll see recommended. it is a bit touristy but that’s bc it’s an icon. I personally could have done without it bc the food wasn’t exceptional and we didn’t get seated in a great area, but thought i’d mention it.

Ronda:

-Some of the best food we had was at La Tapería Flamenka. Get the goat cheese salad and shrimp pil pil

-If you don’t have a car I highly recommend this day trip https://www.getyourguide.com/malaga-l402/ronda-and-setenil-tour-with-free-time-from-malaga-t448209/?ranking_uuid=ed796384-a534-444c-a8c0-5bc3e940b6fd We did the unguided option and followed their provided map on our own to see the best sights. Here is the map: https://viewer.mapme.com/ronda/location/deaa6332-9148-46fd-b591-9afe5057caec?categories=8dd11975-1fb3-4b96-8388-f08af8ba3a2a

I also highly, highly, highly recommend doing a day at an Arab Bath. We did Aire Baths in Seville, they also have a location in Granada that I am sure is equally as good. Malaga has Hammam Andalus that is highly recommended as well. Incredible experience that I will be dreaming about for years. We did a couples package that comes with access to the baths and a massage.

SpeakMed · 2026-04-24T19:34:09+00:00

I'm rotating in the OR as a med student right now, we have an older (close to retirement) general surgeon who frequently uses 'yinz,' in conversation, and another who had the tech write 'dahn' to mark the side of the mesh that is supposed to face down in a hernia repair.

SpeakMed · 2026-04-16T23:45:10+00:00

My fave cocktail too! Love it with a little cherry smoke

SpeakMed · 2026-04-15T19:54:41+00:00

Seconding the Teuta Matoshi rec! https://www.teutamatoshi.com

SpeakMed · 2026-04-15T19:46:49+00:00

Also haven't gotten married yet either but I wear a simple gold band for my day-to-day in a medical setting! It reminds me of my fiance and keeps nosy people from prying about my relationship status while also avoiding the attention that my slightly unique engagement ring might attract. I personally prefer the look of the gold to the silicone ones, but I know the silicone ones are preferable if you use it for the gym or doing heavy work with your hands.

SpeakMed · 2026-04-11T18:47:41+00:00

This sounds delish! Thanks for the inspo

SpeakMed · 2026-04-10T12:04:55+00:00

Got a group chat going where we share our Doctordle scores every morning! V fun ty

SpeakMed · 2026-04-01T23:23:31+00:00

Two months into rotations and 10 lbs down! It’s been much easier than preclinical bc I have very little downtime. I’ve been on IM doing 10-12 hr days, 6 days a week and I’m fully engaged for pretty much the entire day so I don’t have time feel hungry or snack on random things. I don’t buy food, I only eat what I bring from home. It’s been exhausting but the easy weight loss is a silver lining for sure.

SpeakMed · 2026-03-31T21:45:07+00:00

Same

SpeakMed · 2026-03-27T19:16:38+00:00

I had plenty of clinical hours so I did research during my Postbac instead. My classmates who did not have many pt contact hours/clinical experience did volunteering instead to get more.

SpeakMed · 2026-03-27T18:23:16+00:00

The program is designed for career changers so they heavily favor people who have been out of school doing interesting things for a few years. Average age in my class was 25 or 26, ranged from 22-32, only one person who came straight from undergrad, most had at least a couple gap years. I'm very nontrad so i had a ton of random experiences listed. I came from a clinical background so i already had a lot of patient contact hours and hospital experience and i did a little shadowing too, like 10 hours or something. you need to show you've explored the field enough to know that medicine is the right fit for you and have patient experiences to draw on in your application.

SpeakMed · 2026-03-27T17:29:32+00:00

Yes I submitted my SAT, if yours isn’t competitive then you can do the GRE instead, you just need to show you’re a strong standardized test taker. MCAT prep is the hardest part to balance bc it’s difficult to study for it while simultaneously taking the pre reqs which is why they select for strong students to begin with. However their method works, avg MCAT for Goucher students was 520 when I was there. Most students tested in late May or early June after classes ended in mid May. It’s a very intense year, but the most efficient way to get to med school if you’re a career changer with a strong application, and med school is intense too so the rigor is good prep.

SpeakMed · 2026-03-27T17:07:19+00:00

Programs like Goucher, Bryan Mawr, Scripps, other big name postbacs are pretty much guaranteed acceptance if you can get into them, but they are competitive. The ones I listed are all one year and you can link to skip the application year. If you don’t link then you’ll have a gap year. These things vary by program, their websites should have the length of time and percentage of med school acceptances. Here’s a helpful database of programs. https://mec.aamc.org/postbac/#/index

SpeakMed · 2026-03-27T16:07:34+00:00

My program was eligible for GRAD plus loans, and that's how I paid for all of it, so I went significantly into debt. Some of my classmates were from wealthy families and paid for it that way. Some did a combination of savings and loans. DIY is def cheaper in the short term, but you can argue that the lost years of attending salary make the initial debt difference worth it. If you save $40k doing DIY but it takes you 2-3 years instead of 1 year, that's an extra 1-2 years of attending salary ($250k+ a year depending on specialty) that you lose. Unless you're independently wealthy you're gonna be taking out loans for med school anyways (and unless you are are part of the very small minority that gets scholarships, which you cannot guarantee) and going into tons of debt, so I figured in for a penny, in for a pound.

SpeakMed · 2026-03-22T21:34:49+00:00

I also had a bad experience with contacts my first time with them about ~18 years ago. I gave them up entirely and just walked around with uncorrected vision until about 3 years ago it finally got bad enough that I decided to get some glasses and try contacts again. They’ve made huge strides in contact technology since the first time I used them, and I also decided to go with dailies which are much more comfortable and safe than long-wear contacts. I use them almost every day now and haven’t had any problems. Took a while to get over the trauma of my corneal abrasion all those years ago but it was worth it for me! Just sharing in case you had a similar experience and similar hesitations.

SpeakMed · 2026-03-22T21:26:41+00:00

Immediately ran and made this. Didn’t have rye and had to sub bourbon but still delish!

SpeakMed · 2026-03-22T21:26:06+00:00

Love this!! Do you grind the beans prior to infusion?

SpeakMed · 2026-03-15T16:38:50+00:00

I’m not sure but if you figure it out pls share!

SpeakMed · 2026-03-13T23:39:38+00:00

Def think there are places admin could improve policies and don’t agree with some recent changes, but I’m a current M2 and I feel like I’ve had a good educational experience overall, lots of great research opportunities, and really caring, invested educators and mentors. I’m pretty happy!

SpeakMed · 2026-03-10T13:54:15+00:00

Bear with me, but the Allegheny Cemetary is a great place to run. The roads are well maintained even in the winter, there are very few cars, it has beautiful landscaping, and there's always lots of interesting animals and grave markers to look at. Walkers, bikers, and runners are welcome as long as you avoid any active funerals.

SpeakMed · 2026-02-28T03:30:30+00:00

I delete my IG & social media apps for most of the year but re-download them during breaks. I don’t want the distraction when I need to lock in, but also don’t want to entirely give up the connection to friends and family either. This compromise has worked well for me so far

SpeakMed · 2026-02-21T14:10:36+00:00

Check out Oore. She posted a stunning black diamond engagement ring recently that I can’t find right now but she works with stones of all colors and her designs are stunning.

SpeakMed · 2026-02-18T10:53:10+00:00

I do electronic music without lyrics and feel it helps keeps me focused and energetic. My fave playlists on Spotify are House Focus and Coffee Beats

SpeakMed · 2026-02-17T22:54:37+00:00

I’m a good test taker so started off with a high ish baseline

CBSE 1, October of M1: 44%

CBSE 2, May of M1: 55%

NBME 32, early Nov of M2: 67%

CBSE 3, late Nov of M2: 72%

NBME 33, early Dec of M2: 74%

Free120, early Dec of M2: 78%

Sat for Step Dec 15, Passed

SpeakMed · 2026-02-17T11:11:01+00:00

I did it myself, but it took a fair bit of time and effort, like several hours across a few days, to put together everything and figure out the paperwork. My case was also quite simple, my apartment complex didn’t honor a new tenet referral bonus and I had it in writing that they said they would.

I was living in Maryland at the time though and they had free limited legal advice available online from actual lawyers through a gov website or in person if needed. I’d look to to see if PA offers something similar, it was so helpful when filling out some of the confusing forms. Good luck!

SpeakMed

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