Stephanie and I survived and did not kill each other. Therefore, our trip to Spain was a total success.
We are often asked which city is our favorite. Of the two larger cities, Stephanie’s favorite is Valencia, with its beaches, mild-weather, and Turia Gardens. I prefer the city center, Moorish architecture, and river of Seville. For reasons I can’t explain, the vibe of Seville reminds me of Memphis. Maybe it was just the heat.
Of the two smaller cities, Stephanie liked Cordoba the most, whereas I am partial to Granada, largely because of the mountains. Though we were in Ronda for only one day, it was also a favorite of ours.
When I asked Stephanie what she liked the most about Spain I got: Casa Fabiola (art museum in Seville); Real Alcázar de Sevilla; Catedral de Sevilla; La Alhambra y el Generalife; and, Bioparc (zoo in Valencia). To that I would add La Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, Catedral de Granada; Oceanogràphic (aquarium in Valencia); the high speed trains; tapas bars generally; and, tinto con límon. Alhambra Tradicional gets an honorable mention as the beer of choice.
Truthfully we could have made our like list two or three times as long. These are just the highlights.
We also enjoyed meeting other travelers and expats who were in Spain. We had drinks with folks from the United States (mostly Texans …), England, Canada, and the Netherlands. Even I’ll admit that it was nice to talk retirement, travels, and goals in English with other couples who are somewhat similarly situated.
Living in Airbnbs was a better experience overall than we expected. The major downside is the lack of certain amenities, like clothes dryers and “full” kitchens. Missing kitchen essentials is a common theme. No spatulas, no measuring cups, sauce pans without tops, no baking sheets. You just have to suck it up and adapt. It’s not hard, just different.
Also, does everyone in Spain shop at IKEA? I’m pretty tired of basic IKEA furniture, which seems to be the furniture of choice for Airbnb owners.
Street noise was an issue at our Airbnbs in Seville and Granada (ground floor on a busy street and/or near a tapas bar). Coming from the suburbs we are not used to the background noise of city living. Our place in Cordoba was quiet. Valencia was quiet, too, except for one neighbor’s dog that occasionally had an early morning barking fit. Stephanie spent the whole trip trying to pet random dogs, but this one dog she could have killed.
Many of the differences between the United States and Spain quickly blended into the background. The siesta culture and store hours were certainly different. We learned not to try to shop in the afternoons or on Sundays, and that stores are most crowded on Saturdays.
Seeing beer, wine, and liquor sold at every grocery store and convenience store was fascinating at first, but not for long. Okay, I was fairly surprised to walk into a combination ice cream store, pasty shop, and bar in Seville. Shot of whiskey or a draft beer to go with your puff pastry or two scoop cone?
Also, grocery stores price drinks by the can or bottle. If you want to buy eight Cokes, just rip open a twelve pack and grab eight. Want a Coke in the middle of the afternoon? Pull one off the nearest six pack. Good to go. If you want a cold drink, look for the coolers. Cold singles are sold everywhere.
Another major difference is apparent at night. Folks go out late and stay out late. Restaurants do not open for dinner until 8:00 PM or later, and close around midnight. With meals tending to be lengthy affairs, seeing families with young kids out and about late at night was typical.
We felt very safe everywhere we went in Spain, no matter the time of day. Contributing to this sense of safety is the fact that there are just as many folks out and about at 10:00 PM as there are at 10:00 AM.
Drivers in Spain are incredibly deferential to pedestrians. If you are simply standing near a crosswalk, drivers will stop to let you cross. Once or twice I even crossed a street just because a driver stopped, even though I did not need to cross.
This courtesy, however, does not necessarily extend to bikes and scooters. Those folks expect pedestrians to clear out of the way. Bike lanes follow most major roads and are clearly marked. Keep your head on a swivel anytime you are near one. Our only near misses were with bikes and scooters.
We probably should have learned more Spanish beforehand. It would not have been difficult. Gestures help, but are not foolproof. The same goes for Google Translate and internet photos. “Dos cervezas, por favor” isn’t much to get by on, though ordering a beer was never a problem. Well, not until we were asked what type of beer, size, or if we wanted a draft or bottle.
At a sidewalk restaurant in Valencia our waiter, who spoke decent English, tried to describe the available beer selection, but we couldn’t quite follow. We asked a few questions, but exceeded the limits of his English vocabulary. Usually we just order a beer and drink what we get. This was our first experience having to choose.
Finally the waiter asked if we wanted heavy or light. We answered light beer, figuring a local lager or pale ale. I’m still not sure what our waiter meant. A guy at a nearby table overheard our rambling and disjointed conversation, cut in, and grabbed me to go inside.
Along the wall were two coolers full of bottled beers. This place only sold bottles, no drafts. It had a wide variety of beers from Spain, Germany, Belgium, and Mexico (Corona is sold everywhere). Pick your own, awesome. Why the waiter didn’t show us the coolers is beyond me. For the record we started with a Corona before changing to a Mahou and then Alhambra.
Even if someone proclaims to know English you must be careful. At a café we ordered one drink and one pastry to share. We told our waitress that we were going to split it. She replied that she knew English and understood. Then she promptly brought us two large drinks and two pastries. Oh, well. No sense in complaining. Besides, they were really, really good.
In a sense Spain was the test. Do we like living in a foreign country for an extended period of time, versus taking a seven to ten day vacation? Absolutely. Can we live in small Airbnbs for months at a time? Apparently we can, though there are some downsides. Is our budget realistic? Thankfully so, which bodes well for future travels.
Garrett and Stephanie
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Love the pics. Can’t wait to see Galapagos.