by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
The start:
A year ago, we decided to take a 2001 vacation trip which 1) would be reasonably priced and 2) which would include some great sights.
The process
Lots of brochures from our travel agent. Some Internet surfing. Talking to others.
The finalists
After about two months, we were down to three places: Canada, Wales/South England and Spain.
The decision
Canada is the United States North these days; we wanted to go to a foreign country. Our friend who was moving to Essex, England, put off her move a year (lodging in England is awfully expensive) so we put that trip off a year. That made it a slam dunk.
The itinerary
By June, we had booked air and hotels from start to finish:
Day 1: Fly Delta to Atlanta, then British Airways to London, then another BA plane to Madrid.
Day 2-4: Madrid.
Day 5: Bullet train to Seville.
Day 5-6: Seville.
Day 7: Pick up rental and drive to Gibraltar by way of Cadiz.
Day 8-9: Gibraltar.
Day 10: Drive to Granada.
Days 10-11: Granada
Day 12: Turn in car at Granada airport, fly Iberia Airlines to Barcelona.
Days 12-14: Barcelona.
Day 15: Fly to London via British Airways.
Day 16: Return to Jacksonville: British Airways to Atlanta, Delta to Jacksonville.
The situation
Sept. 11 came. Our trip was to start almost exactly a month later. Terribly, the world had changed. Should we change, too? No, we decided. Off we go. We didn’t do it for any macho reason — how many times have you heard someone justify something by saying “That’s what the terrorists want us to do?” We did it because we had planned it, because we didn’t think that any terrorists was likely to hunt down two Americans wandering around Spain and, most of all, because we had planned it for so long.
The trip
Great. Almost no problems. So, our impressions ...
The food
• Like eating in America, only there were a lot more places to eat. The menus could have been from any comparable restaurant over here. Most places have a separate English menu; that’s necessary because hardly any waiter spoke English.
• Lots was made about Spain’s famous tapas, which are a hors d’oeuvres selection that you combine to make a meal. Turns out that most tapas places serve a selection of things that have been sitting around at least a day.
• There were few odd items but all were identifiable. For instance, you can figure out what “Pig trotters” are and you wouldn’t eat them, either.
• Yes, you know all about “Spanish” olives. You don’t, really, unless you’ve eaten one there. They lose a lot between there and here. Olives are the national hors d’oeuvre; when you sit down to dinner, almost everywhere you get a dish of them.
• I hope the fact that we saw almost no cats and dogs didn’t have anything to do with what we ate.
• One menu featured “Sea cow paella.”
The security
• Anytime we entered a country — Spain twice, England twice (including Gibraltar,) the U.S. once) — we had to show passports at least four times. All our baggage was searched and many passengers were frisked.
• We were concerned only twice. The first was seeing armed military men at the Jacksonville airport. The second was going through customs at London’s Gatwick Airport; the official in charge was wearing a turban.
• When we flew from Granada to Barcelona on Iberia Airlines, the pilot kept the cockpit door open the entire trip.
The best sight
• Seeing “La Guernica,” the Picasso work in Madrid’s Sofia museum. He painted it after the Nazis had bombed a small Spanish town, killing numerous innocents. It was as timely after Sept. 11, 2001 as it was after April 27, 1939.
Other good sights
• The rock of Gibraltar. We grew up with the old Prudential logo and yes, it looks just like that.
• The Gibraltar apes. A greedy bunch, they are better than any pickpocket at getting into backpacks and purses to get food. They aren’t very big, they have no fear of humans and they were fun to watch.
• The big windmills. They look like giant airplane propellers and the mountains along the coast are lined with them.
• Las Ramblas is a mile-long boulevard that goes from the center of Barcelona to the port, and the median is a wild circus of street mimes, magicians, dancers and con artists. It’s a great place to people watch.
• The Alhambra, a Moorish palace in Granada. Even back in medieval times, they lived pretty well.
• Palacio Real is the titular home of Spain’s royal family, though it’s so big that they live a few miles away. The name translates to “royal palace” and yes, indeed, it is that.
The worst sight
• We were going to a bullfight in Seville but fortunately first saw one on television in Madrid. Here’s how awful it was: we rooted for the bull. After a considerable amount of torture to weaken him, he eventually lost, but not before he gored a matador in the groin (we cheered.) Unless you have a very weird streak, avoid bullfights.
Getting around
• Easy. Spain is well-marked everywhere. I took the wrong exit in Granada (my fault, not the signage’s) and ended up in the “new” city (meaning it probably was only 500 years old.) Even with the rabbit warren of streets, there were numerous signs directing me back to the main road.
• “Aeropuerto” signs are all over the place. Can you imagine a person trying to find the airport from downtown Jacksonville?
• Their bullet train connects several big cities and probably is the world’s best. It’s as fast as France’s and a lot cleaner.
• Taxis were plentiful, cheap and the drivers were honest.
• The subways in Madrid and Barcelona are the equal of anywhere. Cheap and the best way to get anywhere. Not hard to figure out, either.
The arts
• There are some who say that Madrid’s Prado museum is the best in the world. We aren’t qualified to get into that discussion, but it was a great place. Several of the world’s most famous works are there: Las Meninas (wonderful, better when you see it,) The Naked Maja (disappointing; in person it looks amateurish) and The Three Graces (better in real life.)
Hotels
• We decided to spend our money in accommodations, as middle-rank Spanish hotels are hit-and-miss. The paradors, the national shrines which have been converted to hotels, were all booked, but we did better by staying at the commercial places. Our hotels were comparable to the Omni in every way: ambiance, service and price.
Cathedrals
• Every big city has a big old one. Our favorite was Barcelona, which is dedicated to a 13-year-old girl martyred for her faith. They keep 13 geese in the cloister as a reminder. The most celebrated is in Seville, which may be the world’s biggest (there are arguments over measurements from St. Peter’s in Rome and St. Paul’s in London.)
• One city has a big new one. It isn’t open yet and maybe it never will be; it’s the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which was started by an architect in 1882. He died in 1926 and it just sat there for a while, but they’re raising money and work continues. Incredible and undescribable.
Television
• We couldn’t understand it, but it appeared that local TV news was comparable to ours.
• Their version of “The Weakest Link” appeared to be just as lousy as ours.
• CNN is available everywhere but was so entranced with the Afghan war that there wasn’t room for anything else.
Newspapers
• Lots of papers in Spain and they seemed to be excellent.
• The International Herald Tribune is the only constant for American travelers (it’s a joint venture between The New York Times and the Washington Post; it’s not available here but you can read it at www.iht.com) but hard news is at least a day later — for instance, we got the Jaguars score on Tuesday. A few English papers dribble in; the best is The Times of London.
Drinking
• Terrific beer. The Spanish labels are all quite light; if you want a heavier beer, the English makes are everywhere. Each region has its own beer, too, so you’ll drink Macou in Madrid and Alhambra in Granada.
• When you order hard liquor, they bring the bottle to your table and pour it in front of you. If you want a little extra, no problemo.
• The wine also was light and very, very tasty. It’s the national lunchtime drink and no one seems to get a buzz.
Information
• There are signs everywhere directing you to tourism offices and the offices themselves have a big sign outside. It’s the international sign, sort of a giant lower case i, and every city has several places. Question: if you were a tourist in Jacksonville, where would you get information?
Prices
The peseta is devalued so the American dollar goes a long, long way. Comparable meals cost a third less there than in America. It’s a big contrast to London, where we stopped on the way back: things there are at least one-third more.
Wish we had ...
• Taken more guide books. We left several at home because we were traveling light, and we didn’t anticipate how few people spoke English.
• Talked to more people who had been there. This, of course, is true whether you’re going to the Prado or Palatka, but we didn’t have enough information.
• Learned more of the language. FCCJ has several courses, and it would have been well worth the time for the trip ... and the future.