Spanish shawl

In Barcelona there is Ingles Dept Store that may have a shawl. I did not buy one but did purchase a great looking Pareo for a cheap price. I regret not buying a fan--great looking fans everywhere at various prices.

Wife bought a nice one from a street vendor in Barcelona as we ate dinner. The vendor came by, selling decent looking shawls. We haggled a bit on the price. The above mentioned store also sold shawls. In the Rambles, there are a lot of shops selling almost anything you wish.

We also enjoyed the open air market close to the Columbus statue in Barcelona. They had some really unusual items. There is also a bridge there that goes to a mall on an island in the bay. The mall has some wonderful shops, plus we got a free concert on Friday night.

I assume that you're talking about the typical "mantón de Manila" (http://images.google.es/images?hl=en&q=manton+manila&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2), so called because they used to be embroidered by Philipinas. While they are much more traditional in the South (let's say from Toledo on down) they may be found in tourist shops anywhere. There are several different quality/price ranges available, starting from the street vendor quality (machine made in Asia) -- pay somewhere in the neighborhood of €20-€50 for one of these. Next step up would be a machine embroidered, silk shawl which you will probably be better off buying from a specialty store (the is a good one on C/ Sierpes in Seville.) One of these will set you back roughly €150-€250. Then, you will find the hand embroidered silk shawls made by locals -- definitely have to go either to a local co-op or to a specialty shop for one of these. This is heirloom quality, but will set you back €1,000 or more.

I've purchased several mid-quality shawls, and have always ended up at El Corte Inglés, even after much dithering and searching in other shops. My feeling is that at least there, I know that I will be assesed honestly as to the quality of the shawl. If you can afford it, go for something in the mid-range, you'll have and enjoy it for the rest of your life.

just returned from a month in the Spanish Pryenees (northern Spain) area - and saw NO shawls for sale anywhere - or fans. I was surprised, as I had thought to bring some home myself.

I didn't see any in Asturias last year, either. Maybe it's more common in the southern parts of the country?