Either the San Sabastian or the Barcelona/madrid under consideration. Teens are 13&16, of RC Mexican american heritage, mannerly & well educated. Tour choice suggestions? Clothing (appropriate, inappropriate)? Public manners & affect? Any other comments or suggestions gratefully received. Thanx
Posted by
galt, USA
16 posts
We were in Barcelona in early June. Churches, etc. required shoulders and knees to be covered to enter. Capri's or skirts instead of shorts. Beautiful beach right in the center of town. Humidity made it feel at least 10 degrees hotter than the temp. said, but we're from Calif. & not used to humidity at all! Loved the city, wish we had more time!
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
One quick thing re Barcelona: some people in the area are strongly Catalan nationalist and may react badly to being addressed in Spanish by a native Spanish speaker. (They usually don't expect an English-speaking person to know Catalan, but a native Spanish speaker may attract nationalistic hostility occasionally.)
Posted by
Atlanta
1357 posts
2 teen girls, plan lots of time for shopping. Lots of it.
Posted by
Denver
787 posts
Of the places you mentioned, we've only been to Barcelona, with our then-12yo son. He loved it, as did we. We all love art & and architecture, and were drawn to Barcelona in part because of that, particularly Gaudi's works.
In terms of attire, I would say whatever they wear at home for the time of year/weather that you're going. Keep in mind, however, that some churches have restrictions on short shorts or bare arms, so they'll need to dress accordingly on the days you visit those kinds of places.
Public manners - if they're mannerly young ladies, then they'll do fine. Keep in mind that the drinking age in Europe/Spain is lower than the U.S. (assuming that's where you're coming from) - I don't know if it's 16 or 18. Assume that they'll be offered wine if you parents are having a bottle with dinner, and decide in advance how you will handle that.
I disagree with the Spanish-speaking comment, assuming that any members of your group are Spanish speakers. The Spanish will know at once, from your accents and the words that you use, that you don't speak Spanish Spanish. And I don't think the Catalonians expect other Spaniards, even, to speak Catalan.
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Badalona, Barcelona, Spain
324 posts
Philip: Has this actually happened to you, or are you just repeating the same tired story that so many other people who've never been to Barcelona seem to take as gospel? Except for the 4 wackos selling nationalist books at the end of the Ramblas, you'll be hard pressed to find anybody in Barcelona who refuses to speak Spanish, especially to a tourist.