If when you think of Spain images of Flamenco dancers, bull fighters and tapas come to mind then Andalusia is the place for you. Andalusia's capital, Seville (Sevilla in Spanish) is filled with an endless amount of history and charm. You can visit places such as Plaza de España, the Sevilla Cathedral (pictured on the right) and Alcázar. In spring the streets are lined with orange trees and the weather is perfect. You can spend your days touring Seville's museums and monuments rich with Spanish history and exploring its maze of old, twisting, narrow streets. Enjoy your nights watching Flamenco dancers, eating at the city's numerous tapas bars and listening to Andalusia's Arabic influenced music. 
Cadíz, a province in the southwest of Andalusia, hosts the second biggest carnival (Carnaval in Spanish) celebration in all of Spain. It takes place on the weekends preceding and following the week of Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday (Carnaval dates for 2012 are February 16th-26th). We went March 2011 and loved it! The streets were filled with lights, decorations and lots of people that had come from all over the world to join in the festivities. Everyone was decked out in elaborate costumes. There were vendors selling souvenirs, alcohol and the most delicious fair food I have ever had in Spain.
This trip is definitely not one for the younger kids. They might get bored easily and seeing all the sites requires a lot of walking. Our daughter did well and really enjoyed Carnival but it did limit us adults as far as enjoying the huge party going on around us.
Andalusia is another great side trip within Spain. Seville is a 20 euro bus ride (4-hours) from Madrid. Continuing on to Cadíz is only another 2-hours. You can save time and take the high speed train (AVE) however, the price goes up significantly for the train. Both Seville and Cadíz have a lot of great, reasonably priced accommodations. Book at a larger chain like the NH, Hilton or Novotel and kids usually stay for free in their parents room. However, note that during Carnival season rooms prices go up and they need to be booked well in advance. To save money we stayed in a town right outside of Cadíz, San Fernando, and took the public bus into Cadíz for the celebration. It was just a 20-minute journey and the buses ran until about 2-3 a.m.
Questions about an upcoming trip? Ask me in the comments section and I will respond back shortly.
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