Have you been to Spain?

I love Spain, especially the Basque Region. I love the architecture of Bilbao, San Sebastian, Pamplona. I’m a huge Francophile, but my visits to Spain make me wish I’d taken Spanish in high school.

We went to southern Spain, Malaga, it was so beautiful, I miss it thinking about it. The pace of life was so relaxed, it was my first trip to Europe and it opened my eyes so much, it made me realize there is more to the world than just the USA.

I spent a summer in Spain studying at the University of Salamanca and doing a bit of traveling. Things I liked best:

Siesta – definitely an excellent idea, especially when it is hot.

In Salamanca I liked the fact that the dorm I lived in was named for Hernan Cortez and built during his lifetime, that Christopher Columbus had been on the faculty of the university, and that the city still used the Roman sewers, although they didn’t always know precisely where they were. I also loved freshly made churros and chocolate, consumed every morning on my way to class, and I also looked forward to paella night and Ensalada Niciose night. A bottled citrus juice named “Tri Naranjus” was another favorite (like the rest of my family and many armies I tend to travel on my stomach).

In Madrid I loved the Prado Museum – a fantastic place, wonderfully full of paintings I had only seen in color plates. I also liked the subway which ran on rubber tires and was soundless and clean, and I loved the golden color of the afternoon sun pouring over the stone buildings surrounding the various plazas. I also greatly appreciated the isolated splendor of the Escorial, the memorial to the dead of the Spanish Civil War.

In Granada it was the Alhambra that trapped me. I remember very little about the city but I still remember so many details of the stone “lace” and fountains of the palace as well as the outdoor rooms. It is an amazing work of art.

In Toledo it was the marvelously winding medieval streets that excited me.

In Cordoba it was the mosque with the red and white painted arches that I remember.

In Santander I loved the smooth, flat sandy beach as well as the cool, San Francisco-esque skies and weather.

Torremolinos was fun because of all of the blond young people visiting from various northern countries – there was a party every night. I also loved the rocky beaches there and the crisp white walls of the buildings. It was a really cheerful town.

I could go on and on and on. I really loved everything about Spain except for bullfights, suicidal taxis in Madrid, and getting stuck on a bus with no A/C during the hottest day of the summer.

I’ve never been to Spain, but I kinda like the music. They say the ladies are insane there and they sure know how to use it.

the hot chocolate changed my life!!!!!!!!!!
spain is absolutely charming and beautiful. something for everyone!
it has amazing architecture styles (go gaudi!), roman aquaducts, very unique and interesting history wonderful people, amazing markets for fresh fruits, veggies, fish, meats and cheeses, home of Picasso, Dali, Lorca, busy yet laid back, tapas y cerbeza! geeze, I could go on and on, it is a great country!

Yes, that hot chocolate rocks! Add in churros and you have heaven on earth.