Spain Sucks

6-18-10
OK, it’ not because I got ripped off here. That certainly didn’t help. But it goes far beyond that. Here’s the litany:

They smoke. A lot. There are some non-smoking restaurants, but they are few and far between. There are very few public places that are non-smoking. Even places that have “No Smoking” signs have ashtrays. I’ve inhaled more smoke in the last week than the last 25 years combined. It’s making me physically ill.  There are some cultural events I’d like to see, but I know I’ll be surrounded by chain smokers.

The food. I’ve had one good meal in a week. In Italy or France, I could walk into a restaurant and see a dozen things on a menu I could eat. Here, I see maybe one. If there is a menu. You can walk into a restaurant here and ask what they have. They tell you what they are making that day. I say I eat no meat and they ask if I’d like a salad. But a salad here is just a pile of chopped vegetables. No dressing, no salt, no pepper. The rest is overcooked, bland, stale. Topped with tobacco smoke.

The style. Call it moffles modern. You know, the style of the muffler shops in Tijuana? There are pockets of traditional Spanish architecture in small villages, but they’re overwhelmed by the concrete block and plaster style you see so much of in border Mexico. Coastal development is a stretch of hideous 6 story apartment buildings for mile after mile after mile. It’s depressing.  (BTW, in Barcelona, several of the Gaudi buildings are undergoing or closed for renovation, but if you want to see the Sagrada Familia, Casa Battlo and La Perdona, it will cost you almost $50 in tickets.)

There are two redeeming factors. The people and the roads. The people are good, nice people and the roads are ALL clean and new. I haven’t seen any place with roads as bad as San Diego’s, but Spain has a reputation for the best roads in Europe, even on the tiny country lanes, and it’s true.

So, I’ll just be on my way, looking for surf and hoping Portugal has better food.

6-21-10
OK. I wrote that when I was feeling pretty down. I'm feeling better now, but still not great. It'll take a while to get over that ripoff. Still, most of my comments above stand. Maybe I'll edit it again later.