My trip and thoughts- Madrid/Barcelona

(2) Barcelona- Completely different feel. MUCH more crowded as could be expected in August in beach area. Every menu thus far has English version. My son's Spanish here not nearly as helpful though as soon as they see you and recognize you're an American, they immediately start to speak in English. Line REALLY long for Picasso- over an 1 1/2 hrs and we went back several times at different times. Did not buy museum pass as family was burned out from museums and decided we had had enough. Gaudi is an absolute genius and Sagrada Familia was BREATHTAKING. It was truly one of the most incredible things we had ever seen and we've seen most of the biggies in Italy, Paris and Cologne. Definitely book time ahead online. Barcelona much more spread out than Madrid so requires more time between sites. We never felt afraid or threatened but are used to "cities."
The only time my husband or I ever felt uncomfortable was at Puerta del Sol (in Madrid) when someone was walking way too close to us and there was plenty of space. We just picked up our pace and he went away. Adeu :)!

(3) Sorry one more suggestion! Trips to Toledo on AVE fairly frequent. Had no problem getting there. Coming back next day trains full and ended up taking bus back to Madrid. Was good option as the stations are close to each other and buses run more frequently.
Segovia much more difficult. Train Station not as easily accessible and not as many trips going there. We opted for bus in both directions and it made much more sense in this situation.

(4)
Barcelona Beaches- We went to several and liked Bogatell. There are chairs and umbrellas which look like they're free but they are 6 euros and 5 euros respectively. You receive a tag and it allows you use for the day. Didn't do it the first two days- well worth it by day 3! Really hot and tiring being in sun all day with no shade :)!

Hi Ralph,
Please do not misunderstand me. I find it completely obnoxious and presumptuous to assume people in other countries should speak English :)! I am merely stating my experience so people are prepared. We had a spanish/english guide book which was completely useless. Wished I had a menu decoder for Madrid. Actually looked for one for Barcelona (while in Spain) and couldn't find it but haven't needed it here. Kept our menu options very slim in Madrid :)!

All Euros are taught english Are they teaching the money to speak in foreign languages now?

Ralph, you were slammed because you said "almost no one in Spain speaks english" which isn't true, and when called on it, you said we must have just gone to touristy areas. But AFAIK the only place you visited in Spain was Barcelona, ja? And as Michelle pointed out, Spanish isn't helpful in Barcelona...because Spanish is not the linga franca there and locals tend to not like to speak in Spanish if they can help it.

Sarah, I believe half of the population of Barcelona does not speak Catalan, but it's true that a native Catalan speaker is not going to light up and smile when you address them in Castilian Spanish. From my experience I agree that the average level of English comprehension in Spain is significantly lower than its northern EU neighbors. I imagine the Franco regime was not too keen on foreign languages, but even before that time Spain had its vast empire so perhaps had less need of a foreign lingua franca.

'Franco regime was not too keen on foreign languages' Nah. I went to school in Spain during the Franco era. All academics were taught in French one year, German the next, Italian the next. English was going to be the next year, but I was gone. Spanish was allowed after lunch for the soft subjects, but there was also a foreign-language course taught in the afternoon to prep for the up-coming year's academic subjects. Ralph must be unaware of the extensive british communities along the south and east coasts. Not so much on the north coast except around Santander. Also, many Spanish schools don't teach one bit of English.

Will, I wouldn't know, I addressed them in Mexican Spanish, but that didn't work too well either. I just gave up and stuck to English which means I got met with much more hospitable service - the only place I've done so in Europe, honestly. Which was bizarre for me at the time, because I was so excited about going to a place where I "knew" the language. Guess not! I wouldn't be surprised to find out that in general the English literacy rates are much lower in Spain than say, the Netherlands. But that doesn't mean the post that Ralph is still complaining about, where he got jumped on for saying "No one in Spain speaks English" based on a trip to Barcelona, is correct either.

Sarah, the politics of language in Catalonia are interesting; I can't claim to be an expert. I never experienced any hostility or poor service when using Castilian Spanish in Barcelona. By the way, I use the phrase "Castilian Spanish" to just mean "the dominant Spanish language as spoken in most of Spain and Latin America." I suppose Catalan, Galician et al. have just as much a right to be called "Spanish" as Castilian. I just now recall a buddy of mine, a native Venezuelan, who said the Burger King staff in Lloret de Mar spoke English to him even after he ordered in Castilian (he was a U.S. soldier in the company of other, gringo soldiers). Visca Catalunya!

Michelle, How long did you spend in the different places you visited? And in retrospect, were you to do the trip again, how would you spend your time in Spain? I am planning a trip for April and welcome your suggestions. Richard

I was surprised how few people spoke English in Spain. Hotels and touristy areas weren't an issue but generally fewer than other parts of Europe. When we invited into private tents at Sevilla's April Fair, they had difficulty finding an English speaker to translate. My Mexican Spanish helped a lot but was far from perfect. I have a couple of theories as to why this is so: First, for many Spanish is already the second language. Spain has Basque, Catalon, as well as Castillian (I may be missing some). Another language makes three and French or Portuguese make more sense to study first. Second, like the US, Spain is a big country. Many Spaniards stay within an area where they only use one language.

Hi Richard,
We spent a week in each city. If you give me a little more info- such as who you're traveling with/ages and what your interests are I'd be happy to give you more specific info :)!

Just a question - is Mexican (or other Latin American countries) Spanish quite different from Castillian Spanish? To the point that there can be difficulties in comprehension between the two? Just out of curiosity really.

Ian, I'd say it's quite similar to American and British English. There are of course differences in slang and some word usages, but it's certainly the same language. I personally found the "Castilian" (central Spanish) accent more difficult to understand than Latin American accents, but I wager if I were a native Mexican or Argentine I would have very little trouble in Spain.

Yeah, Castillian Spanish versus New World Spanish isn't much of a problem. It's the "other" languages in Spain - like Catalan - that are significantly different. I almost think knowing French would be more helpful with regards to understanding/being understood in Catalan than Spanish.

I was in Spain for two weeks last October and found absolutely no shortage of English speakers in either Madrid or Barcelona. One of my main difficulties was finding someone who would let me practice my Latin American Spanish. Interestingly, my Latino accent was only a minor problem in Madrid or Barcelona, but in Sevilla I found that many of the locals also spoke with what I'd identify as a Latino American accent ...

to answer Ian's question regarding "mexican spanish" versus "castilian spanish" versus Spanglish (english plus spanish spoken in a Puerto Rican household) the differences might be huge. Castilian is the pure spanish language of our forefathers, whereas, spanish spoken in the caribbean nations is not a refined spanish. The greater the education, the more accurate the spanish is spoken. There is also the dialect, the word choices (what we think is ok may be a curse word or offensive word for other cultures). I was thinking that when I visit Barcelona in a couple of months, my so called Spanish will help me communicate with the locals. But when in doubt - we will speak English.