Spain (Spring 2023)
Wow - just realized how negligent I’ve been to this blog as I haven’t posted since February. Time flies when you are gardening I guess.
Anyway - spent a good deal of time in Spain and Portugal earlier this year. It was in March so it was technically winter, but hey, it felt like Spring.
When people ask me how was the trip I always respond with “I could live there.”
The area had so much going for it and the fact that it was very affordable probably makes it that much more appealing. A lot of trips you can take in Europe may cost you a bit to enjoy the vacation but Spain and Portugal were priced right.
Back when we were there the Euro was almost the same as the USD. It’s a bit more now but the exchange rate is still fairly good. Pretty much everything was cheaper except for gas.
Prices often already included tax so what you see is what you pay and they also often round it so that you don’t have to wind up with a bunch of cents if you pay in cash. There is also no tipping so the price listed for food and drink is truly what you would pay.
Most places accepted payment by phone so it made shopping and dining pretty seamless.
The other aspect is that Spanish seems fairly accessible to me. You can almost decipher what things mean. Of course in Europe these days - it seems like almost everyone under 40 seems to be able to speak perfect English.
A lot of the traditional places close in the mid-afternoon during the siesta time so it adds to the laid back atmosphere. Another nice thing about Spain and Portugal is that the locals go out. It’s not just tourists going out - people here live the weekdays like it’s the weekend (or perhaps it’s like they have eternal weekends?).
I also saw some silly things in Madrid, like there was a huge line for 5 Guys Burgers. Really? I can see Wendy’s maybe but not for 5 Guys. Mexican taco restaurants also seemed like the hip new thing as the youngsters would be lining up for those places at night.
You will also hear people say “vale” a lot. It’s like a filler word kind of meaning “okay” or something like that.