Another travel thread, Spain, Portugal

[wizbangdoodle]

My daughter works for a high end cruise company and asked if we wanted to go on a shakedown cruise for free. Well who am I to pass up free.

We fly into Barcelona, sail to Valencia, Portimao and finally Lisbon. Short cruise, but should be fun.

What should I know about Spain and Portugal and should we get some Euro cash for tips? Any advice is appreciated.

**** Biden

 

[AustinSN]

Is your daughter looking for others to offer a shakedown?

lol.

 

[Blown 89]

You will get pickpocketed in Spain. Just a fair warning. The food there is truly awful too. Spain is awesome other than those two things. They are truly night owls, families with diaper aged kids will be out having dinner at 11pm. Siestas are the real deal there too. Spain is very cool.

Bold move mentioning you have a daughter around here.

 

[wizbangdoodle]

Funny guys

No, she is spoken for. Ya filthy animals.

Thanks for the info.

**** Biden

 

[365 Saleen]

I hope you can speak some Spanish or Portuguese, if only a little bit. It helps a lot.

 

[wizbangdoodle]

I hope you can speak some Spanish or Portuguese, if only a little bit. It helps a lot.

Next to zero.

Google translate is my friend.

 

[Serpent]

My daughter works for a high end cruise company and asked if we wanted to go on a shakedown cruise for free. Well who am I to pass up free.

We fly into Barcelona, sail to Valencia, Portimao and finally Lisbon. Short cruise, but should be fun.

What should I know about Spain and Portugal and should we get some Euro cash for tips? Any advice is appreciated.

**** Biden

Get ready to have some of the best food in the world.

You might need to be vaxxed too. I believe I read something about France banning US travelers who do not have it. Other Euro countries will probably follow suit.

You will get pickpocketed in Spain. Just a fair warning. The food there is truly awful too. Spain is awesome other than those two things. They are truly night owls, families with diaper aged kids will be out having dinner at 11pm. Siestas are the real deal there too. Spain is very cool.

Bold move mentioning you have a daughter around here.

I've never heard of anywhere in Spain having bad food, lol, where'd you go?

 

[Blown 89]

I've never heard of anywhere in Spain having bad food, lol, where'd you go?

I've spent significant time all throughout Spain. Chalk it up to personal preference I guess.

 

[mysticsvt]

Got my first tattoo in Spain, had a blast there several times. When I was stationed in Sicily we had to do quarterly trips to Rota to change the secret presets on some of our Mines. I heard Palma is the place to be however.

 

[GOTSVT?]

Flew into Madrid, took a train to Seville, then drove to Malaga, it was awesome.
Great food and friendly people.
Enjoy the siesta, in the afternoon.

 

[nxhappy]

Spain is friggen awesome. Pretty safe place, just be "smart" as usual. Lots of sightseeing, the cathedrals are some of the best in the world. Also, go see a bull fight, it's awesome. I also recommend taking a train to nearby cities if time allows. Spaniards are SUPER nice people. Food is pretty well diversified, you can even find McDonalds or burger king. I wouldn't call the local food "horrible". All Euro food is way different than American food, lol. 100% get vaccinated right now, it will save you tons of headaches if you have your card. They may not even allow you into the country without it.

 

[Kevins89notch]

Barcelona is an absolute blast! Best way to quickly see some of the city is with a free walking tour. They have these all over Europe in major cities. They usually start about 10 or 11 am and last 2-3 hours. You walk around the downtown area, see all the sites, and the tour guides know everything. While it's "free" it is tipped based. Drop 10 euros a head and that's fair. After the tour, they sill be selling tickets to their other tours. The Guadi/Modernism tour is well worth the 10-15 euros they charge.

You gotta check out the Basílica de la Sagrada Família. Even if you just go there, and spend 30 minutes to walk around it, it's 100% worth going there. Going inside would be even better, but that's your call based on time limits, if they are even allowing people in, etc.

Here's the free walk tour link/info:

Free Tour of Barcelona - SANDEMANs NEW Europe

Book the Barcelona Free Tour with SANDEMANs, the original free walking tour company. Get the perfect introduction to Barcelona with local expert guides.

www.neweuropetours.eu

 

[wizbangdoodle]

Really good info guys, I appreciate all the tips. Time in Barcelona will be limited, but we'll try to get in as much as we can.

@Blown 89, you must have been going to Spain's version of Denny's for food. Everyone else is saying the food is great. Any chance you were just in terrible spots for food?

We leave early tomorrow morning. I'll report back on our trip as time/wifi permits. We have a long layover at JFK, so we plan to head to Peter Luger's to have an early dinner.

 

[Rb0891]

Loved Lisbon. People are nice and most spoke English that you would have to interact with.

Side note - police seemed a little shady there and the populous generally seemed like they would fold quickly if the shit hit the fan. Maybe that is because there are no pickup trucks and dudes in pickup trucks. Lol

 

[Blown 89]

@Blown 89, you must have been going to Spain's version of Denny's for food. Everyone else is saying the food is great. Any chance you were just in terrible spots for food?

The tourist areas had better food so I suppose it depends. All I know is that when someone in the US invites me over for dinner I know I'm in for a treat, eating in families homes in Spain was a daring adventure. Spanish foods aren't my favorite in general so like I said, it might just be me.

Either way, you're going to love it there. Watch your wallets and purses in toursty crowds.....seriously.

 

[wizbangdoodle]

Barcelona Cathedral

**** Biden

 

[CobraBob]

Well, that was quick! LOL. I thought that trip was some time in the next couple of months. LOL. A couple of days later....you're there! Well, have a good time and pop in here when you can to give us an update or two, along with more photos.

 

[wizbangdoodle]

Yes, this was a spur of the moment thing. Hey when you're presented with a free cruise...

We did a tour of Barcelona today. There are a lot of things I found out about Spain today that I never knew. Barcelona is a unique place. We were told that all of the walkways/alleyways get washed down twice a day. I think this came about because, at one point in time, Barcelona was considered the dirtiest city in Europe. I found it to be very clean and the architecture is fantastic.

**** Biden

 

[wizbangdoodle]

This is La Sagrada Familia. An unfinished church designed by Gaudi. Started about 1880, it was never finished. They now have an estimated completion date in 2026. Quite an impressive building.

**** Biden

 

[wizbangdoodle]

The inside.

**** Biden