DISQUS

José Eduardo · 9 months ago

Thanks for confirming my suspicious about the bathroom lights.... and TP and street crossing. Thank God the 1st EWBC was at Logroño. But I can't wait to go back there with a bit more time to really explore Rioja.

All the best,
Jose Eduardo

ricard · 9 months ago

Gabriella, regarding the smoking law, these are the figures to bear in mind - the "double 97". In the 100 square metre plus category, 97% of all eating and drinking establishments in Spain are BELOW this threshold. The legislators knew this when they passed this moronic law. So only 3% need to comply with the rule that a third of the space must be reserved for non-smokers (the fact that not all do is another matter). The other "97" is that 97% of the places under 100 square metres have chosen NOT to ban smoking (something the legislators anticipated as well). With the consequence that 97% of 97% of all eating and drinking places in Spain (that's just over 94% of ALL places) allow smoking. The other six percent are unreliable. Good luck.

Justin · 9 months ago

Excellent post Gabriella!

BTW. A mobile phone with a bright screen can come in handy in the bathroom when the timer light trips off...

Yes, and definitely take care at those pedestrian crossings!
http://www.theaa.com/public_affairs/reports/aa-...

santos6 · 9 months ago

Gabriella,
Thanks for these tips,hopefully I will be able to use them this September, the only thing I am not set on is the do not rent a car bit. I think I want to drive.
Thanks again great post.
Steve

Gabriella Opaz · 9 months ago

Hey Steve - I would never deter you from renting a car, my only suggestion is to:

1. rent from a reputable company
2. get a really good map

Otherwise, explore to your heart's content!!!

santos6 · 9 months ago

This may sound over the top but I am thinking of taking GPS! I really enjoy driving and doing things on my own schedule, that's the main reasons for the car.

Gabriella Opaz · 9 months ago

Steve - the post just published today should be the perfect reference for your trip then ;-) http://bit.ly/1NbedJ

santos6 · 9 months ago

It is really good as was this one. I have already assigned my fiancee as the TP carrier and the battering ram since generally I am too polite!

alexsommelier · 9 months ago

Amazing post!!!! I have been in Spain many times I have family and friends who are living there, a lot of things that you wrote, bring me back memories from my trips there, the thing about sidewalks and the noise are so true :-)

It is always a pleasure to read your posts

Gabriella Opaz · 9 months ago

Thanks so much Alex for your kind remarks! These posts are simply fun to write, and are wonderful reminders as to why I love traveling - the stories :-)

Jennifer · 9 months ago

All of this is so true! I had to laugh out loud on TP and getting plowed down ones. The latter is something I dread every day of my life here in Barcelona!

Andrea · 9 months ago

I loved this article Gabriella, many things are almost exactly the same here in Portugal!!! Especially the bathroom and crossing the street hahahaha it took me almost a year to remember where the bathroom lightswitch was located! :p I have to say though, that as far service goes, I feel that the Portuguese are friendlier to people in general for the most part, but there are always some very bad places/people mixed in unfortunately!

You know I do recall having to plow my way through some Spanish tourists here one time when they were completely blocking the sidewalk waiting in line for the Santa Justa Elevator......boy were they mad at me hahahahaha :D And never ever trust little old ladies here in Iberia, that's how my purse got stolen right under my nose! Janelle can tell you about that one also!

Vince · 9 months ago

Hey Gabriella, this is a really great top ten list, very well written. I like your sidewalk rules the best, it really hit home after having to deal with the situation, my advice is just to find a less crowded street because you're not getting through. You can post this to our site http://www.toptentopten.com/ and then link back to your site. We are looking for top ten lists and our users can track back to your site. The coolest feature is you can let other people vote on the rankings of your list.

scrich · 9 months ago

Looks like Irak is safer than Spain. This post is not serious at all.

kahlia · 8 months ago

These tips are right on, actually. It would appear, scrich, that you've never seen Spain through the eyes of someone who wasn't born here. Each of these tips is something that is honestly shocking at first to an American or an English person who comes here. (Ya te digo, como una norteamericana a punto de casarse con un hombre español, hay cosas que me han sorprendido tanto al principio, pero que ya no me molestan.) The author is not saying that Spain is not safe, just that it has a few quirks (peculiaridades)... and I agree completely.
(Por cierto, no se dice "serious" para "serio" en contextos como este.)

oso · 9 months ago

Thanks for the info!

Troy · 8 months ago

I've meditated on the sidewalk aspect for a long time and as far as I can fathom is comes down to the following...

In the local mentality, why should they move? In the local thinking, they have as much right as you do to the sidewalk/pavement, so why shouldn't you be the one to move?

Seen from an Anglo-Saxon viewpoint this seems downright rude, but is it?

As for the siesta...well...I fall somewhere halfway between 30 and 40, work a fulltime job here and couldn't fathom the day without my little pickmeup siesta. Sure, I live far away from the so-called centres of culture here in Spain, but if it means missing my siesta...so be it.