John

Hoping to hear from some Spain experts.

Barbara

Spain is a wonderful country. I am an American living in Mexico and was never that interested in going to Spain. But when I did 2 years ago I thought it was fantastic. The people are very friendly and helpful, the food is excellent and abundant, all tourism services are good. We spent 2 weeks there. The first week in Madrid and then rented a car and went to Toledo, Avila, Segovia and back to Madrid. From there took the AVE train to Cordoba, then a bus to Granada, then train to Sevilla and then back to Madrid to return to Mexico. The gov't. run parador hotels are excellent and reasonably priced. It was a wonderful trip and we will go back.

Danie

We loved Spain. Were there 3 yrs ago and visited Madrid/Toledo. flew to Malaga and visited Andalusia for a week, drove to Seville and back to Madrid. We loved the people, the food, the history and the landscape. We are no experts, but sure had a gread experience. We are going back next year, this time to Costa Brava and the Pyrenees. <BR>Have fun, it's a beautiful country

Rex

Not sure what you're hoping to hear from &quot;them&quot;, but you will find a lot of Spain expertise at www.madridman.com<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Carolina

I love Spain! It has so much to offer. I think that Spain can be anything you want as there are so many interesting cities and sites and also great countryside, beach resorts etc.<BR>What exactly do you want to know about Spain?

NotAnExpert

I've been to Spain three times, am not an expert. (Been to France a zillion times, Italy a dozen, Eastern Europe a few times, North Africa a few, Asia once - so, fairly well traveled).<BR><BR>Spain still suffers from an inferiority complex within Europe, in my opinion. Prices are way higher there for basic things like food and accommodations than they deserve to be, given that the level of service and amenities is pretty basic. The people are dignified and friendly, there is too much petty crime, the Costa Brava is WAY overrated, the roads are terrible compared to the rest of Europe, and all in all it's a close to Third World experience within Europe. My primary impression after three trips to Spain is that it is definitely NOT worth the money. They are charging prices that would be worth paying in France or Italy or Germany for far inferior food, accommodations, and sights.

ttt

arriba!<BR>

joy

for not an expert:<BR><BR>Of course you are not an expert, you should visit Spain once more and keep your eyes wide open. Spain is a beautiful and wonderful country.<BR><BR>&quot;and all in all it's a close to Third World experience within Europe.&quot; you´re kiding, right?. You should avoid opinions like that in this forum.

gail

I'm not an expert either but have been three times and loved each visit. Never had an interest in going til a friend suggested we go visit a mutual friend teaching in Segovia about 4 years ago. It was beautiful, we had great food at what we (2 very tightfisted yankees) thought were quite reasonable prices. We also visited Cordoba and enjoyed that.<BR>I liked the first trip so much I convinced my husband, who isn't fond of travel, to go with me and we rented a house with his brother in a small village south of Granada. It was a fantastic experience, the villagers were cordial, we experienced some of the small delights of living in an Andalucian village. We did an overnight trip to Ronda which was pretty spectacular. On the way to Ronda, my sister-in-law and I had to pee and we stopped at a gas station outside Ronda, expecting the very worst. The restroom was tiled in spotless white ceramic tile and was cleaner than any public restroom I've ever used in the US. Not sure why the above poster thinks it's a &quot;3rd world experience&quot; going there. <BR>Again, we enjoyed had a great time and returned to another rental a year and a half ago, this time in Torrox. The house itself was less than charming but the town was very sweet, we never had a bad experience buying groceries, getting cold medication at the farmacia, taking the bus to Malaga or the train to Cordoba. <BR>In all the 3 trips, I never once felt as if I were being ripped off (except by the British owner of the last house we rented who exaggerated its charms). People were friendly (without being gushy)and helpful, seemed to appreciate any effort to speak their language, tried to offer us directions when we were lost, etc. We NEVER found bad roads (and we took a back road from Torrox to Frigiliana that was barely more than a car wide but it was in good condition and we had no problems). The larger roads and highways are at least as good as anything we have in NH.<BR>There may well be petty crime in the cities but there's petty crime in OUR cities and in most of the cities of the world. We had no instances of being fearful, including when it was just 2 women walking around in Segovia in the evening.<BR>We're getting ready for our 4th trip there this March.

e

it is a lot nicer than New York City.

lynn

I have travelled to Spain probably 10 times in all over a 15 year span and I'm not an expert, just a lover of it's beauty. We obviously loved it the first time or wouldn't have returned. <BR>I think &quot;not an expert&quot; is entitled to his opinion but here's mine for what it's worth.<BR>The country has come along way in the past few years in bringing it up to par in it's transportation system. There is building going on everywhere to improve roads etc while still keeping it's glorious countryside as intact as possible. <BR>Good restaurants are plentiful and we found lots of inexpensive and very nice places to stay over the years as well. The other post on this board right now about Spain being over priced tells me people aren't shopping around.<BR> The different parts of the country all have something to offer. <BR>Our experience with the costa Brava is that it couldn't possibly ever be over rated. It's so diverse and there is so much to see and do (or not if you so desire).<BR>We are unfortunately taking a year off from travelling to Europe but when we do return Spain is on our list for the 11th time!

NotAnExpert

Dear Joy: Can you explain to me why I should &quot;avoid opinions like that on this forum?&quot; They are MY opinions and every bit as valid as YOUR opinions. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean they don't belong on this forum.<BR><BR>I stand by my opinion on Spain. It suffers from an inferiority complex within Europe. It lost its status as a superpower ages ago, long before France and Germany. The outskirts of every major town and city are full of hideous rubble and architecture, its food is inferior and overpriced, the road system is by European standards poor, and it has been very slow to attract tourism for these very reasons, plus the recent spate of petty crime. It just doesn't measure up to the rest of western Europe. Sure, it's got a fabulous history, plenty of places of significant interest, and lots to see and do, but to answer the original question (Did you like Spain?), we gave it three tries and decided no, we did not like Spain. Just drive down the Med coast from France into Spain and you cannot fail to notice the immediate difference in the standard of living and basic infrastructure - it's not that I fault Spain for not having these things; it's just not worth my money to pay inflated prices for an inferior experience. That's my opinion, and it's every bit as valid as yours is.

Will

I do not like the Spanish Government because they want to take over the freedom loving people of Gibraltar. If the Spanish Government was fair, they would give back their colonies (Ceuta, Melilla) that they stole from Morocco.<BR><BR>If they stay in Morocco, then they should not complain about Gibraltar. Just of bunch of hypocrites.

Julie

I loved Spain so much that I'm trying to learn Spainish now (and I'm awful at languages!) You might want to check out some guidebooks--Frommers, Rick Steves, and Foders were ones I liked, and some of the following websites: spainlist.com, aboutspain.net, spainalive.com, and okspain.org.<BR><BR>If I had to choose between my favorite countries in Europe, I'd have to say it's a tie between Spain, Italy, and France. All three are IMO absolutely wonderful.<BR>