# Has anyone on here been to Spain?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 12, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952 "2015-07-12T17:44:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Arrogant\_B\_st\_rd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogant_B_st_rd)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/1 "2015-07-12T17:44:38Z")
Me and my buds take an international trip each year. We have not decided on where to go this year. It is down to Costa Rica, Japan, and Spain.
Costa Rica is a bit too touristy, so I heard. Every geek, hipster, and misfit loves Japan and dreams about traveling there. I’m not interested. I’m trying to talk my friends into going to Spain. They have awesome traditions, great wine, and I love the architecture. I want to know more about Spain.
So, if anyone knows more about Spain first hand, please share. I’m trying to persuade people, and I will show them this thread if I get good replies.
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/2 "2015-07-12T17:54:39Z")
I’ve never been to Spain
But I kinda like the music.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/3 "2015-07-12T17:56:16Z")
I’ve just come back from a week in Murcia. Excellent food and wine, warm and welcoming culture, beautiful rugged landscape, superb weather. What’s not to like?
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/4 "2015-07-12T19:10:15Z")
I spent about five months in Andalucia, in the southern part of Spain. Great Moorish-influenced architecture, beautiful cathedrals (look on line for the one in Seville). There are also the castles at Grenada and Cordoba, and of course southern Spain has Jerez de la Frontera, which is where sherry comes from. Great coastal towns like Torremolinos, Malaga and Marbella, and all the picturesque little whitewashed towns sitting on the hillsides along the roads.
I also enjoyed Madrid and Toledo.
Now, I also liked Japan, but it’s a much faster pace there than Spain (at least in the Tokyo environs), but I understand that Kyoto is a great place to visit.
If those three countries were my only choices, I’d eliminate Costa Rica immediately in favor of the other two, and would likely go back to Spain.
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### Author:  [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/5 "2015-07-12T19:19:25Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> 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.
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### Author:  [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/6 "2015-07-12T19:28:14Z")
I don’t think anyone on this forum lives in Spain. Surely they would have mentioned it before now.
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### Author:  [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/7 "2015-07-12T20:29:53Z")
I’ve been to Oklahoma.
Not Arizona.
Yeah, I got nava, I mean nada.
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### Author:  [@BigDadWolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigDadWolf)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/8 "2015-07-12T20:54:41Z")
I recently spent a week working in Seville in southern Spain and enjoyed being there very much. I had one free day which I spent sightseeing enjoyed visiting their historical landmarks including the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See which is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world.
I also found the people very friendly, the food tasty, and the beer cold. Each night I was there I had plans with locals in our office that included dinner and drinking. While Seville may be limited in terms of sights and activities for an extended stay there are many things to do in that region. Also, it is apparently possible to do a day trip to Tangiers in Morocco so you could add Africa to your list of continents visited very easily.
I think you and your buds would find Spain a surprisingly enjoyable (and affordable) place to visit.
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### Author:  [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/9 "2015-07-12T21:01:46Z")
I’ve been to Madrid on business so didn’t get to see much, but what I saw I loved. I’ve also been to the tiny town of medina del campo for volunteering week. Spanish food is awesome. The people in Madrid were friendly, the people in medina were cautious (they don’t speak much English there).
I adore the little green chiles they often serve with steak dishes. Nom!
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### Author:  [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/10 "2015-07-12T23:33:48Z")
I went to Madrid for work, and enjoyed it, but found that you don’t even try to get dinner before 8 pm. (We next went to Amsterdam where they rolled up the streets at 9.) And we stayed in Barcelona few days before and after a cruise, and saw some Gaudi. Did not see any museums, alas. I’d go back for longer.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [July 12, 2015, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/11 "2015-07-12T23:36:55Z")
Well, I’ve never been to heaven, but…
> [@AncientHumanoid](#):
>
> I’ve been to Oklahoma.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2015, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/12 "2015-07-13T00:02:46Z")
Never been to Costa Rica, but friends who went there loved it.
I’ve been to Spain several times and Japan many times. Seems like a very strange choice. I’d pick Spain any day, though. I love Europe, and while Japan is nice, it’s very densely populated and just not my style.
If cost is an issue, and assuming the OP is American, you’ll probably find that:
Japan \> Spain \> Costa Rica
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### Author:  [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2015, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/13 "2015-07-13T00:09:51Z")
I’ve been to Spain and would always choose traveling in Japan over Spain.
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### Author:  [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/14 "2015-07-13T00:11:28Z")
I spent about 12 days earlier this year in Spain, visiting Barcelona, Granada, Cordoba, Seville and Madrid. My greatest interests are churches, museums and architecture, and those cities have plenty of those, including La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and the Alhambra in Granada. My wife and I loved the food too, especially the tapas. We’d like to go back again, perhaps taking in the north of Spain next time: it’s a big country.
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### Author:  [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/15 "2015-07-13T00:13:09Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#):
>
> I’ve been to Spain and would always choose traveling in Japan over Spain.
I love both countries, having been to both in the last year. I too would choose Japan over Spain, but my wife wouldn’t: different tastes for different people.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/16 "2015-07-13T00:25:03Z")
> [@Giles](#):
>
> I love both countries, having been to both in the last year. I too would choose Japan over Spain, but my wife wouldn’t: different tastes for different people.
The 2 countries are quite different, so choosing between them is completely a function of what one’s tastes are what one wants to do/see. Japan has (mostly) a frenetic, urban culture with the emphasis on modernity. Spain has fantastic urban life, too, but lots of countryside to see along with it.
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### Author:  [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/17 "2015-07-13T00:31:37Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#):
>
> I don’t think anyone on this forum lives in Spain. Surely they would have mentioned it before now.
**Nava** is probably our best known native born Spaniard.
I went on a student tour there once, but it was a very long time ago. Our group saw a good deal of Andalucia, including Granada and the Alhambra, Segovia, Toledo and Madrid. I enjoyed all of it, but I’ve always been into history, architecture, and art history. I’m the sort of person who goes to a museum to see a painting IRL that I’ve read about in books for years previously. On the other hand, I’m sure it’s just as good a destination if you simply want to unwind or have a good time. I understand the Mediterranean beaches are nice.
When would you be taking this trip? Winter and early Spring temperatures can be surprisingly brisk for a country thought by many to have a California-like subtropical climate.
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### Author:  [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/18 "2015-07-13T00:35:10Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#):
>
> I don’t think anyone on this forum lives in Spain. Surely they would have mentioned it before now.
**Nava** is probably our best known native born Spaniard.
I went on a student tour there once, but it was a very long time ago. Our group saw a good deal of Andalucia, including Granada and the Alhambra, Segovia, Toledo and Madrid. I enjoyed all of it, but I’ve always been into history, architecture, and art history. I’m the sort of person who goes to a museum to see a painting IRL that I’ve read about in books for years previously. On the other hand, I’m sure it’s just as good a destination if you simply want to unwind or have a good time. I understand the Mediterranean beaches are nice.
When would you be taking this trip? Winter and early Spring temperatures can be surprisingly brisk for a country commonly thought to have a California-like subtropical climate. On reason for this is that many of the major cities are at an elevation of 2000 feet or so.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/19 "2015-07-13T00:42:32Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#):
>
> **Nava** is probably our best known native born Spaniard.
-
Whoooooosh!\*
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### Author:  [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)
#### Post date: [July 13, 2015, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/20 "2015-07-13T00:54:09Z")
What’s not to like about Spain? Great relaxed atmosphere, very tourist friendly, lots of history and culture, and great tapas and wine. Eating well in Spain is very inexpensive compared to other EU countries. Just be careful of restaurant hours as lunch and dinner usually start a couple of hours later than what you would expect in North America. So lunch would typically start at 2pm and early dinner would be 8pm. Also, be careful of gypsies and pickpockets especially in areas where tourists congregate and alley ways at night. I found Madrid not to be as bad as Barcelona.
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