Just Back From Spain

Angela, sounds like you really had a great time in Spain. I would like to add a piece of advise regarding rental cars: We rented with www.doyouspain.com three times and not once have we encountered any hidden charge or other kind of disappointment. I can highly recommend it.

Thank you Angela. We are taking the RS Spain/Portugal tour in July and arriving in Barcelona two days early. We are going to the beautiful Palau de la Música Catalana for a concert at night. What would you recommend as must-sees in Barcelona? Also places to eat?

I just checked the RS Spain/Portugal itinerary, and it looks like you'll have very few guided tours in Barcelona (or, Barthelona), and you will have plenty of free time. We had the fortune of having a good friend who lives there, so we spent a great deal of time with him in locals-only places with the luxury of having his car to get to some places where you'd need one.

But a few places come to mind as sites/restaurants we enjoyed that are easy to see without a car:

1) Montjuic ("Mount of the Jews"): this is the site of the '92 Olympic Games stadium, and easy to get to via the Metro (with a free transfer to the furnicular up the "mountain"). The Olympic Statium is free to enter, and you will get some great views of Barcelona and the Mediterranean from up there.

2) The RS tour has you going to Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, but buzzing by the other Gaudi buildings (Casa Mila, etc.) on Passeig de Gracia (a major street in BCN) is worth a look

3) Loved the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic), had a very Venetian feel to it with narrow passageways, (mostly) pedestrian only zones, cool architecture, etc. If you are into Picasso, the museum has a nice collection, but if you could take or leave his art, don't bother.

4) We really enjoyed Montserrat (had a car to get there, but RS gives the train instructions in his book), but would strongly recommend you get there as early as possible to avoid the crowds and see the sun coming up over the region. Again, cool views from up top.

5) Las Ramblas is one big sea of humanity, the street is lined with American fast food restaurants. About 20 minutes was sufficient for us.

6) We went to Parc Guell, can't really say it is a "must-see." But we were there on a Sunday, when it seemed that the entire population of Barcelona was there, milling about. Maybe it is a little less chaotic during the week.

Food continued in next post...

...food

1) I'd caution you when you first get there to not overdo it on ham dishes.

2) We ate tapas one night in the VERY popular Cerveceria Catalunya (Calle Mallorca 236), which was tasty but get there early-ish (by 8:00 - yes, that is very early in Spain!). They had a sauteed mushroom dish (yes, with bits of ham) that was fantastically done in olive oil/garlic.

3) Our friend brought us to Trobador Enrique Granados (Enric Granados, 122, in the Eixample neighborhood), which is popular with locals so you'd need to either make a reservation or eat earlier than them to get a table.

Lastly, keep in mind that people from Catalunya don't consider themselves from Spain, and are very proud of that. To make the locals giggle, tell them you are starting in Barcelona and going to Spain in the next few days.

Sorry for the information overload, but hope some of it helps!

Welcome back to spring in Chicago, Angela! ): Thanks for the update. I agree completely with your report on 1, 2 and 5. Espana is an amazing place. Just curious: did you see any Flamenco, and if so, where...and what did you think of it? Also, never been to Ronda, but would love to go someday. Makes me think of a small Umbrian or Tuscan hilltown when I read about it. Would you mind describing it a bit, and tell how much time you spent there? Gracias, Senora.

PS: In Madrid, the Mueso de Jamon absolutely killed me!

Angela: please keep the tips coming. In two weeks I am leaving for Madrid and Barcelona.

I can't wait to try the tapas bars you recommend in Barcelona.

Gio, seems we just missed the snow here! We did not see any Flamenco, it just wasn't something we were interested in seeing live (rather than going to YouTube). :) While many shops sold Flamenco dresses/gear, it wasn't like ladies were walking down the street wearing them, and our fear was that it would be a little "Williamsburg-ish," something kept alive for tourists. Could be wrong...

Ronda and the White Hill Towns (mainly the smaller ones) were my favorite part of the trip (Sevilla being a close second), and we only spent a few days there (but I'd definitely go back - or live there!). We had a car and were able to stop and explore some of them, and I couldn't get over how pristinly white all the buildings were - just as advertised.

The area has rolling, plush green hills (some pretty high and more like mountain foothills), lots of farms (but no pigs), narrow, windy roads, and dotted with these tiny little stark-white towns. Ronda itself has a huge gorge, friendly people, but is one of the largest White Hill Towns. I preferred the smaller ones (Zahara & Grazalema, both in RS book), but the entire area had an untouristed vibe to it. Again, I'd go back just to spend a week. Oh, and there was some sort of flower in bloom, making it all smell similar to lilacs.

And the Museo de Jamon - laughed so hard when we saw the first one (turns out there are many in Madrid), that I rushed in and took a picture of the spectacle, much to the surprise of the locals. Some things you just can't describe in words...

Please don't EVER tell someone from Spain they speak with a lisp! They'll argue that's how true Castillan Spanish is spoken (and rightly so.) A lisp is a medical condition where people cannot pronounce sibilant sounds, making their speech is unclear. The Spanish are perfectly capable of pronouncing "S" sounds....and their speech is certainly clear to other Spaniards.

It's not spoken with a lisp, as Norm said. And only c and z are pronouced as th, s is still pronounced like an s. So "gracias" would be pronounced "grathias". My Asturian friend gave me a pronunciation rule to explain why he pronounced Madrid as "Madreeth" -- "if it ends in d it's pronounced like c" (or, to us, as th).

It's funny you mention that, Norm, as our friend in BCN is married to a Catalan woman who is the person that pointed it out to us. She said it is more prevalent in the southern parts of Spain, although we noticed it just about everywhere. Other locals we met and conversed with about it on the trip said it was a matter of upbringing, and were happy when we'd make an effort to use the "th" sound when speaking, a sort of respect for the local dialect.

I certainly hope I didn't offend anyone by mentioning it (totally not my intent!) or likening it to a lisp, it is just one of those things I think people traveling to Spain should be aware of when trying to use (and understand) the local language. And it's definitely something to keep in mind that you'll need to train your ear to when listening to Spanish in Spain (especially if you are trying to get help!)

Yes, Nancy, pretty close. A friend of mine told me to make my "D" sounds with my tongue right behind my teeth instead of farther back on the hard palate, and you get a "dth" type of sound, which is common to all "D"s in Spanish (at least, Spain Spanish ;)) Another one is "bvuh" for "V"....almost a B with a VVVV sound, as if "por favor."

Since we are drifting into an academic discussion of the proper pronunciation of Spanish words, it is helpful to remember that none of the natives of S. America speak Spanish with that particular characteristic "lisp". The explanation that I remember from my salad days in college was that the lisp originated from one of the Spanish Royals (a Hapsburg) in the late 17th early 18th Century. As was the custom of the time, if the king spoke a certain way, then it was decreed the proper way to speak...

Angela you are so right about number 1 and 2. What did you think of Andorra, for us aside for the scenic drive we did not think it was worth it!.

Hi, I just returned also from a two week trip to Spain. I visited my daughter in Sevilla and had an amazingly wonderful time. The history is incredible, planning the trip was fun also. I didn't do as much as you did but I went to Ronda for three days, Granada for three days, and spent a lot of time in Sevilla. Absolutely loved Ronda. Went to three different flamenco shows...all recommended by locals...two in Sevilla and one in Granada...I didn't realize flamenco was so serious. I speak Spanish and in the states I am a bilingual teacher, so there are all sorts of words and accents just like in English. I went with my daughter to the Dr. and had to ask the Dr. to please speak a little slower! I also heard that the S is pronounced the way it is in some areas due to a Hapsburg royal, as previously stated by someone. I just looked at my pictures again and wish I was still there. I was lucky enough to be invited into a home for a Spanish meal and had Tortilla Espanola, which was delicious and better than anything I tried in a restaurant. I'm not a big eater so I kind of ate one meal a day besides the fruit I ate in the morning from the local vegetable market. I just can't do the late night meals so I would have a good lunch and then stop at a pastry shop later on for pastel de pinones (pinenut pastry). I really enjoyed it! Diviertense mucho en Espana! Karen

Martine, we'd agree with you about Andorra. The genesis for our trip there was to get a taste of the Pyrenees, and we decided to pop into Andorra since we were there. The parts we saw reminded me of the international terminal at any airport - a mixed bag of languages being spoken and a lot of duty free stores. Kind of summed it up for us!

Karen, glad to hear you had such a great time! I'm sure we crossed paths at some point. And like you, all throughout Spain we were constantantly going into pastry shops. Man, Spanish bakers sure know their stuff (and the chocolates they use are off the hook)! Regarding Sevilla, have you ever been to a place that smelled so wonderful?! Everywhere we went we'd catch whiffs of those blooming orange trees, made the whole town smell like one big flower stall!

Speaking of which, does anyone know if Sevilla always smells like that, or if it is a springtime occurance?