Here is my general impression on
this trip to Spain and Portugal. It is from an American point of view.
·
Try to be best in your job. Our tour guide is
one example. He is funny and informative on the places and the brief history
for the cities we are going to visit.
·
The tour operator offers an apps to show the
itinerary and attractions and it is quite useful.
·
Avoid to come to Spain and Portugal in the
summer time as they are hot and too many crowded with tourists.
·
The food portion in general is smaller than ours.
Food is considered as a supplement to wines and beer. It is a little salty to
my taste but the pastries are excellent. Luckily there are about six Chinese
restaurants within walking distance from my hotel in Barcelona. Surprisingly
they’re quite good.
·
Made a second mistake in a restaurant right in
the attraction. The food was pricy and the portion was small. I do not know who
wrote the good review. Could not find other piglet offer close by.
·
Oranges are plentiful, tasteful and cheap as
they grow a lot here. So is kiwi.
·
If you do not join a tour, there are many day
trips available from Madrid.
·
Spaniards are quite fit and I do not find too
many fat folks there except our fellow tourists. It could be the warm climate
(300 sunny days in a year) and easy life style.
·
Most are laid back and enjoy life. Can they
compete globally? That could explain their high unemployment rate (15% vs. our
5%). Many skilled, young folks move to other countries in Europe.
·
Socialism has its drawbacks. Spaniards enjoys
social welfare supported by high taxes (50% I was told) which discourages folks
to work hard.
·
There is a clear presence of America business
here such as fast food, retail stores, TV shows and movies.
·
Huawei has a big presence in Spain which is not
of one the U.S.’s “5 Eyes”, which could be one year late in implanting 5G
network if they do not select Huawei. Trump is the best spokesman for Huawei
and now it is well-known even in the U.S.
·
They have a lot of farm land per capita from what
I saw from the tour bus.
·
The ‘loots’ from year 1450 on were long gone.
However, they left many extraordinary palaces and churches that attract
tourists.
·
You can find so many statutes in this trip. They
have over 2,000 years of written history compared to our 200 years.
·
Madrid replaces the old capital Toledo. Madrid
is flatter than the previous capital and well-planned with wide roads and trees
on each side of many roads.
·
We have to learn from Toledo where Muslims,
Christians and Jews lived harmoniously for a long period. Killing each other is
not in any preaching in any religious book. Forgiveness is the most powerful
word in any dictionary.
·
If you are not joining a tour, there are many
tours offered locally in Madrid.
·
Many sites still show the influences from the
mighty Roman Empire such as the aqua duct.
·
Madrid is great for bikers as in many European
cities. Boston is not and definitely not safe for bikers.
·
Do not miss the fascinating Flamenco dance show.
The ladies in my show must pass their primes.
·
Barcelona is richer than the rest of Spain.
That’s why they want independence besides other cultural differences. We were
glad that there was no riots due to the trial of the ‘separatists’ during our
stay.
·
Metro, the subway, has a reduced rate for 10
uses. It is convenient and efficient. Watch out for pick pockets. One young
lady was behind me and another one asked me for the time.
·
Plan for two full days in Madrid (one more for
art lovers and/or religious folks) each in Madrid and Barcelona.
·
The bus from airport in Barcelona to city center
costs $5.99. My hotel is within walking distance from the last bus stop.
·
Portugal’s secondary language is English and it
prepares the country better for global communication.
·
Euro is great for tourists but a tool to cheat for
some EU countries. Greece, Italy and Spain have financial problems and drag
down the entire union.
·
Europe has to control pick pocketing. It is
hurting the tourist industry.
·
We have a hard time to book transportation from
Madrid to Barcelona. The high-speed train seems to be great between the train
stations from our hotels. The cheaper tickets have to be booked far in advance
and the web site is in Spanish. Finally we chose the cheap airline that has a
lot of restrictions.
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Check out my new book "Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PT7NTQB
