If you’ve ever thought of visiting the “Florida of Europe,” you really should have no hesitation. Traveling to Spain could hardly be easier, and you will enjoy a country that is hospitable, enjoyable, beautiful, secure, tranquil, and interesting.
One thing to remember about the Florida of Europe is that it is actually far to the north of our Florida here in the U.S. That means it’s quite a bit cooler. Experiencing temperatures in the 80s here, I told my wife that I was not going to bring a jacket to Spain. She responded, “Have you looked at the weather forecast?”
“No.” I replied.
“That might be a good idea.” She said. She proceeded to check it for me. Turns out I definitely needed a jacket, but the weather was still pleasant.
One of the big issues with traveling internationally is still Covid-19. However, if you are traveling to Spain and have been vaccinated, it is super easy. You simply fill out this form, and you will receive a QR Code. It takes just a couple of minutes, and you are good to go. We did not even have to show our vaccine cards.
As of now, to return to the U.S., you need a negative Covid test one day before you leave. This does not mean 24 hours. It means one day. So, if you are leaving on Sunday, you do the test on Saturday. We used the Binax Now tests from Abbott Labs. It was very easy, and we had no problems. You can order them here.
When people think of Europe, they often think it is very expensive. It can be. However, I found that it was not much more expensive than the U.S. and, for many things, less. For example, we stayed in downtown Madrid and Barcelona in very good hotels for less than $150 a night in Madrid and less than $100 in Barcelona.
We arrived in Madrid and took an Uber to our hotel downtown. We did a private tour at a reasonable price. This was a great way to see the city. Madrid is a place where you could spend days. We only had 24 hours. A walking tour helped us make the most of our short visit. Afterwards, we went to one of the many flamenco shows and visited the royal palace. The beauty and wealth of the palace was beyond belief.
Eating in Spain was an interesting experience. For Americans accustomed to eating at 12 and 5:30, plan on doing something entirely different, if you are under the care of Spaniards. They generally eat lunch around 2 p.m., and this lunch can last a long time. The evening meal is taken around 10:00 or later. If you eat at 9:00 p.m., the restaurant may be empty. On the other hand, people are out in the streets until well after midnight.
My daughter is allergic to eggs and does not enjoy seafood. So, a lot of Spanish food was out. If you are used to chicken, don’t bet on it being on the menu. On the other hand, if you love seafood, you will probably enjoy Spanish cooking.
A lot of Spanish eating centers around tapas. I’m not sure how to translate this word. It’s a sort of mix between appetizers and snacks. Everywhere you will find tapas. It can be seafood, ham, bread, potatoes, peppers, vegetables, or anything else. You can try these smaller portions anywhere and at any time. To go with your tapas, alcoholic beverages are everywhere and cheap, especially wine and beer. Believe it or not, many French people drive down to Spain to buy cheap Spanish wine and bring it back to France. The water from the tap is safe to drink, if you prefer water. They also have a variety of other beverages as well. If you ask for coffee, expect to get something like a shot of espresso. If you want coffee like we have it in the States, ask for café americano.
Spain and Portugal are the closest European countries to us. You can get cheap flights from most of the United States. We were able to get a flight in the lower 400s that flew into Madrid and out of Barcelona. The problem is, how do you get from Madrid to Barcelona? The flights from Madrid to Barcelona were actually cheaper than the train rides (internal flights in Europe are remarkably cheap). However, I chose the train, the Ave, as they call it, which is the fast train. It only has a few stops, and you can make the trip from Madrid to Barcelona in about 3 hours rather than the 6 hour trip by car. You also get to see the countryside and don’t have to deal with the hassles of flying. It was a great experience. It made me wish that we had this option here in the U.S.
How is getting around in Spain if you don’t know Spanish? No problem at all. English is ubiquitous, especially in the bigger cities. If you were to go to Barcelona without knowing even how to say “¡Hola!”, I think you would be perfectly fine. However, if you’ve studied Spanish and are hoping to use it in the Catalán autonomous region (where Barcelona is), then you may be a little disappointed. Almost all of the signs are in Catalán, not Spanish! Catalán is a completely different language spoken by about 10 million people around the Northwestern Mediterranean. People do speak Spanish, but it’s rather shocking to find an entirely different language there.
For Americans who live in cities that are at most 300 years old but generally much less, it’s wonderful to observe the variety of little towns that go back into the Middle Ages and before. While we were in the province of Girona, we were able to visit a variety of them. Bresalú was a medieval village. Tossa Del Mar had an ancient fort overlooking the sea. Girona was a town of tremendous beauty and color (see the pictures below).
We loved Madrid, but everyone told us, Barcelona is so much better. They were not wrong. Barcelona is a city of incredible beauty and endless sights, sounds, and experiences. It may be the most beautiful city that I have seen. Every single city block was clean and had its own character and interest. It{s hard to describe the attention that seems to have been given to every detail of the city.
The crown jewel of Barcelona, in my opinion, is the church called La Sagrada Familia. We began our tour of Barcelona and saw it from the top of the hill. It was so huge that it stood out above the skyline. After seeing it from the hill, I said to my daughter, “I can’t wait to see that.” It did not disappoint. After having seen the pyramids and the wonders of Egypt, you don’t get wowed as often by buildings. This was the first time that my daughter and I had an Egypt-like experience of a building since we had been in Egypt. It was truly astounding in its size and glory.
If I were going to go again to Spain, I would probably take the trip recommended by one of our taxi drivers. He said go to Galicia in the northwest and then to Grenada or Seville in the south. You would experience a completely different side of Spain.
If you want to experience Europe in a relatively inexpensive and hassle-free way, Spain is a good choice. You should feel no intimidation about traveling to this amazing country. If you are on the East Coast and were traveling to the West Coast, you would go through four time zones to get to California and have an expensive vacation. You can travel two more and be in Spain and probably pay a lot less for your vacation. Why not, then?