# Has anyone on here been to Spain? **URL:** \ **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:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/41 "2015-07-13T22:28:57Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > Since we were in the empty dining room instead of the bar area, someone who I assumed was a waiter finally came over to ask what was up. He didn’t speak any English. He fired off a bunch of Spanish at us, more concerned than obnoxious, and I tried to understand him but finally had to gesticulate to him that I was sorry, no comprende. He said one more thing, it was a full sentence, but I was able to pick out three words: cucina albierta nuevo. Kitchen open nine. AHH! I told my coworker the kitchen opens at nine, and then nodded, smiling and let the waiter know I finally understood. You did OK for not having studied Spanish, but… You told the waiter that he doens’t understand. (I don’t understand = _[Yo] no comprendo_; You don’t understand = _[Usted] no comprende_). 🙂 _Nuevo_ = new. _Nueve_ = nine Open = _abierto_ (no “l”) ; Closed = _Cerado_ ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/42 "2015-07-13T22:32:07Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > This is often available by the slice as part of the tapas menu in bars. Very nice. > > Another suggestion on the food front is to find somewhere that is at least moderately popular with the locals and just order the _menu del dia_. It’s a gamble (you won’t necessarily know what you’re getting until it arrives in front of you), but it usually comprises several courses of good, hearty, tasty, honest - sometimes a little rustic - authentically Spanish food. Also, try to find _Jamon Iberico_ (Spanish ham). There are different varieties. Try to get one into your luggage, as they are horribly expensive in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/43 "2015-07-13T23:50:00Z")
I have been twice, including my honeymoon. Loved it. The people, the history, the architecture, the food. If you do go, check out the Paradore system. You can find lodging in some great old buildings. We stayed at the one in Carmona (outside Seville.) > **[Parador Carmona Parador Spain](https://www.theinspiredhotelsspain.com/spain/pcarmona.php)** > > Luxury Parador hotel in a fourteenth century Arabic fortress in Carmona, Seville. Spain. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/44 "2015-07-14T00:59:03Z")
Beer peddlers and topless sunbathing are the norm on Spanish beaches - I don’t remember much else. ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/45 "2015-07-15T07:05:14Z")
When traveling in Spain always remember: The trains in Spain run mainly on the plain. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/46 "2015-07-15T08:57:51Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > If you go, I’d recommend finding someplace that will make you a _tortilla_. It’s not what you think, and it takes a lot of preparation. I’ve never seen one in an American restaurant. It’s a delicious omelet (or frittata, if you prefer), made with vegetables long-simmered in olive oil, and potatoes and eggs. It’s cooked until set and browned, then removed from the pan by flipping it over onto a plate, then put back in the pan to finish. Heaven on a plate. That’s _tortilla paisana_. _Tortilla de patatas_ has only potatoes (and optional onion), _tortilla francesa_ or tortilla offered with no lastnames is the egg by itself, no filler. _Tortilla de patatas_ is frequent as a _ración_ or _pincho_, just a slice of it. In the last few years, there’s an invention that nobody seems to be sure what to call yet: _tortilla de patatas_ used as if it was the bread of a club sandwich or similar. > [@DrumBum](#): > > San Sebastian has a music festival that is very impressive, and the city itself is quite scenic. It is just across the border from France and there is some spectacular geology to view if that intrests you. > > It has been awhile since I was last there so I will wait for **Nava** to come along and correct my errors. What errors? 😕 A bit of information, though: San Sebastián is in the Basque area, so lots of signs are in two languages. The city itself has two names: San Sebastián (often abreviated Sanse) in Spanish, Donosti in Basque. > [@Chefguy](#): > > Also, try to find _Jamon Iberico_ (Spanish ham). There are different varieties. Try to get one into your luggage, as they are horribly expensive in the US. Ibérico is a specific race of pig; serrano ham may be from ibéricos or from duroc (if ibérico is not specified, it’s duroc). _Paletilla_ is the shoulder, it’s usually cheaper. _Lomo_ or _lomo embuchado_ is another preparation that I have rarely seen abroad: each piece is a whole steak of pork, rubbed with red pepper and left to dry. There are many stores where you can choose a specific piece of ham and have a block of it vaccuum-packaged, or hand-carved and vaccuum-packaged (a regular butcher will machine-slice it). The people working there will be happy to advise you (you can always start by getting a sampler so you can choose), just don’t ask “which one is good?” because the response will be “they’re all good!” ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/47 "2015-07-15T12:26:02Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > What errors? 😕 A bit of information, though: San Sebastián is in the Basque area, so lots of signs are in two languages. The city itself has two names: San Sebastián (often abbreviated Sanse) in Spanish, Donosti in Basque. It had been some time since I was there and I was not sure if the music festival was still taking place or had moved. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/48 "2015-07-15T14:21:22Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > You did OK for not having studied Spanish, but… > > You told the waiter that he doens’t understand. (I don’t understand = _[Yo] no comprendo_; You don’t understand = _[Usted] no comprende_). 🙂 > > _Nuevo_ = new. _Nueve_ = nine > Open = _abierto_ (no “l”) ; Closed = _Cerado_ No I didn’t. I couldn’t even remember “no comprende” at the time, I just wrote it in this post. Besides, I’m very sure that between my perplexed frown, shrugging shoulders, intense attention to his speaking, the waiter understood that it was me with the comprende problem! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/49 "2015-07-15T17:20:54Z")
They say it is pretty, though I’ve never been… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/50 "2015-07-15T19:00:30Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That’s _tortilla paisana_. _Tortilla de patatas_ has only potatoes (and optional onion), _tortilla francesa_ or tortilla offered with no lastnames is the egg by itself, no filler. _Tortilla de patatas_ is frequent as a _ración_ or _pincho_, just a slice of it. In the last few years, there’s an invention that nobody seems to be sure what to call yet: _tortilla de patatas_ used as if it was the bread of a club sandwich or similar. > > What errors? 😕 A bit of information, though: San Sebastián is in the Basque area, so lots of signs are in two languages. The city itself has two names: San Sebastián (often abreviated Sanse) in Spanish, Donosti in Basque. > > Ibérico is a specific race of pig; serrano ham may be from ibéricos or from duroc (if ibérico is not specified, it’s duroc). _Paletilla_ is the shoulder, it’s usually cheaper. _Lomo_ or _lomo embuchado_ is another preparation that I have rarely seen abroad: each piece is a whole steak of pork, rubbed with red pepper and left to dry. > > There are many stores where you can choose a specific piece of ham and have a block of it vaccuum-packaged, or hand-carved and vaccuum-packaged (a regular butcher will machine-slice it). The people working there will be happy to advise you (you can always start by getting a sampler so you can choose), just don’t ask “which one is good?” because the response will be “they’re all good!” Thanks for the clarifications. Always happy to expand my cooking knowledge. I knew there were different types of ham, but wasn’t sure how it was different. I was going to order some at one point from La Tienda (my go-to site for Spanish ingredients), but the first one I saw was $72 for six ounces, so didn’t go any further. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/51 "2015-07-15T22:26:00Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Also, try to find _Jamon Iberico_ (Spanish ham). There are different varieties. Try to get one into your luggage, as they are horribly expensive in the US. I nearly brought one back (I did buy an extra 5kg luggage allowance on my return flight for food), but for space reasons, I ended up bringing more of an assortment of foods, but I did squeeze in a couple of nice pieces of lomo embuchado. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/52 "2015-07-15T22:50:16Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I nearly brought one back (I did buy an extra 5kg luggage allowance on my return flight for food), but for space reasons, I ended up bringing more of an assortment of foods, but I did squeeze in a couple of nice pieces of lomo embuchado. Funny: I don’t remember being offered any. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/53 "2015-07-15T23:10:32Z")
We did two weeks in northern Spain for our honeymoon: Barcelona, Santillana del Mar, Bilbao, San Sebastian and Logroño. It was wonderful, and I’d go back in a heartbeat, if only for _jamón iberrico_. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952/54 "2015-07-16T21:35:05Z")
I’ve been to Palma, Cartagena and Rota. Would happily go back to any of those places for another visit. Drat. Now I’m hungry for gazpacho… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-on-here-been-to-spain/724952.md?page=2)