After hours of searching, we couldn’t find one single quote to fit Spain. There is so much to love here, so much passion. As we travel, you begin to realize that the more time you spend somewhere, the more every county is like this. Besides the USA and Japan, Spain is the only other country we’ve had the privilege to live in for an extended amount of time. Spain is so varied, its impossible to capture it in a single quote. We hope eventually to know many countries this well, until then we wanted to share a few quotes that we feel capture the magic of Spain. 

Any reasonable, sentient person who looks at Spain, comes to Spain, eats in Spain, drinks in Spain, they’re going to fall in love. Otherwise, there’s something deeply wrong with you. This is the dream of all the world.”
Anthony Bourdain

“Ronda is the place where to go if you are planning to travel to Spain for a honeymoon or for being with a girlfriend. The whole city and its surroundings are a romantic set. Nice promenades, good wine, excellent food, nothing to do.“
Ernest Hemingway

“I see cities as organisms, as living creatures. To me, Madrid is a man and Barcelona is a woman. And it’s a woman who’s extremely vain. One of the great Catalan poets, Joan Maragall, wrote this famous poem in which he called Barcelona the great enchantress of some kind of sorceress, and in which the city has this dark enticing presence that seduces and lures people. I think Barcelona has a lot of that.’“
Carlos Ruiz Zafon

So many quotes, so much truth. Go to Spain

 

Paella, bull fighting, olives, and lots and lots of sunshine all come to mind when dreaming of Spain. For the most part, after a few years living here we’ve found the country really does have all that in spades. Spain is full of culture, passion, great food (and, of course, wine), and beautiful countryside. We weren’t prepared for how varied the country really is, however. From the towering mountains of Picos de Europa to the Costa de Sol to the expansive rolling fields of Extremadura, there really is something here for everyone.

Perhaps what Spain taught us the most was how to take our time. The Spanish know how to enjoy life and to slow WAY down. After living in Japan, it certainly was quite a shock. Hard work is important, but so is taking the time enjoy life and the company of those you love. These are the lessons we will be taking with us even after we move on.

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Tips on Spain/

  • Especially if you are spending time in Southern Spain, don’t expect things to always run on time. Small stores open when they want to and might be random closed if the owner has errands to run (or doesn’t feel like being there).
  • You may think Spaniards drink sangria…they don’t. It’s Vino Tinto for the locals, tourists are generally the only ones with a carafe of sangria on the table.
  • As in much of Europe, tipping is optional. Workers get paid fair wages and most Spaniards either won’t tip or will simply just round up to the next dollar and leave the change.
  • While Madrid is an engaging and beautiful city, in our experience the best Spain has to offer is found elsewhere.
  • Siesta is real, so don’t expect to be doing a lot between the hours of 1400 and 1800.