Spain

Thoughts on Spain
Spain is the 7th European country that we’ve spent at least a week in.
Though a bit like France outwardly, it was quite distinct, as we discovered in the about two weeks spent going around the country, but mostly in the south
The people I thought were friendlier, and very good looking. Bit like the Italians.
The country is poor. There are more beggars, petty thieves, homeless people scavenging garbage bins than I’ve seen elsewhere in Europe.
People are laid back. Siesta is all important. Everything closes between noon and five pm and nothing is open on Sundays. Reminds me of Kolkata Goa, or Cambodia. Pubs and cafes do brisk business and are omnipresent, and people spend hours sitting and talking over beer or sangria. Bit like Italy.
Like Italians, they’re proud of their separate regional identities and have different languages, food and culture, though to us it seemed very similar.
They’ve had a violent history, both in medieval times, then the inquisition and finally the extremely tragic Civil War, and politics continues to be highly polarised and strong separatist movements exist. People are vocal about opinions.
Despite 800 years of Islamic rule, not much remains except for the strong influence in the art architecture and cuisine in the south. Every mosque was destroyed and churches built on the ruins. The famous cathedral in Cordoba was spared but altered and turned into a cathedral.
The Muslim were given option of converting leaving or being killed, thus there is no indigenous Muslim population. Later both Jews and protestants met with the same fate and the country is vehemently catholic.
South Spain is straight out of tourist brochures, dazzling blue skies, sparkling blue sea, palm trees, brilliantly whitewashed houses, castles nestled on hilltops, in fact a lot like the French Rivera or the Adriatic coast of Italy with a slight oriental air, and one fantastic improvement… unlike the rest of Europe, the beaches are not pebble and gravel but actually of sand.
I Often wondered how people sunbathed on such prickly surfaces. Here there was no such problem and the sand was dotted by prone sun worshippers, mostly topless.
Their national dish and obsession is paella, a rice dish that’s a cross between biriyani and khichri, and has meat in the north and seafood in the south. But the ubiquitous snack is tapas, which could be anything from potatoes bread seafood meat vegetables pickles or croquettes in small bite sized portions. One piece is offered with any drink you order, even water, at any cafe or bar, which dot every street and plaza. They are also very proud of their ham, and its displayed everywhere, with popular restaurants being called museum of ham.
Beer and sangria are the popular drinks but there are regional variations. Every city has its traditional food and drink or variations of regular drinks. Like Madrigo of Madrid, from a berry, just like Amarula of South Africa. The sparkling wine of Spain is Cava and some cities only serve Cava cocktails instead of the ubiquitous sangria
The national desert is churro and chocolate and there’s an iconic outlet where everyone from Antonio Banderas to Penelope Cruze and princess Diana to Pete Sampras have visited, and their photos adorn the wall. Its open from 5am to 1am, and there are queues to enter. It actually was quite wonderful and better than the churros we ate everywhere else
Most low end jobs are done by immigrants from the erstwhile colonies, like everywhere else in Europe, but here they’re entirely from South and Central America, as they have the language in common. Therefore beautiful Latinas dot the markets and distinctly native American features are common
Their national sport is the very controversial bullfighting, and it has been banned in some states, but elsewhere it’s still a major obsession and matadors are national heroes. At Saville, they take the art very seriously and appreciate nuances. Elsewhere its a boisterous blood sport that shocks current sensibilities, but you cannot deny the adrenaline rush
Finally the Gypsy flamenco is a spectacle quite unlike any other dance forms I’ve seen. Perhaps tap dancing evolved from it. Said to be descendants of the banjaras of India, they have distinct features and are a big part of the tourist experience
We thoroughly enjoyed our 2 weeks in the Iberian peninsula but opted out of visiting Portugal which has a very similar culture. Spain is justly proud of its food, music, art, architecture and culture and their seafaring history.
If Columbus had a better sence of geography, we might have been speaking Spanish today, Spain would have been far richer and probably have an Indian origin president by now
Soumya