BumbleB6

travelgirl2, Valladolid looks like an interesting place. I think if I went to Playa del Carmen, I'd also want to stay
in Valladolid for a couple of days.

We also like a nice combination of nature, scenery, city, and relaxing, doing nothing.
I really like the beach and pool but only for a few hours - then I must have something else to do! My daughter and husband are like this too.
Daughter and I went to Destin FL a couple of years ago with my parents and brother and his family - and we were both sooo bored! The beach is gorgeous, but that's all there is, except for outlet shopping malls, go-karts and chain restaurants. Not my cup of tea.. Couldn't wait to leave there, really.

I've tried to plan a trip to Costa Rica and it's a logistical nightmare if you don't want to drive, so I just gave up. I think I'd rather go to Panama City, where we can stay in Panama City then take a day trip to the rainforest - or stay a few days there; either way, it seems to only be a couple of hours away. And we'd have a combo of city and culture and wildlife/nature.

And yes, we loved Andalucia too, which had all of the above.

BumbleB6

Just looked up Cuenca, Spain. I want to go there!!

zashikibuta

Just arrived from Salamanca on a language learning trip and enjoyed every bit of it. It's a small city so you'll pretty much see everything in about a week.

I had the most memorable experience at Campo San Francisco where a group of abuelos encouraged me to practice my spanish when they found out I was a student.

Spanish from Salamanca, they say, is the purest form of Castilian, and I would have to agree.


So, i think you need to decide are you here to learn or have a vcation....

But I highly recommend Salamanca especially if you want to practice/learn Spanish! The historic sites are def a plus.

English is rarely spoken by the older generation, so fyi....i had to help out british couple who were getting frustrated...hehehe

antarcticman1

to all, i'm not spanish or latin american but have many friends from latin america and spain. to start with latin spanish is in all latin america including mexico,central america and south america, is mostly caribbean spanish as well as caribbean islands including cuba dominican republic and puerto rico as well as the canary islands.

however castilian is only spoken in spain, called european spanish and is the correct spanish like oxford english from england compared to ugly american english.

spain has a variety of dialect of castilian from all over the country, expample, celebriities like

penelope cruz, madrid,

paz vega, andaluzia, southern spain,

antonio banderas also andalusia,

the gasau brothers, former nba, barcelona,

javier bardem, madrid,

julio ingelsias, madrid,

famous late painter pablo picasso, madrid,

mocecedes rock group famous for song eres tu, bilboa, central spain

it's all castilian with their different dialects, listen to these famous spaniards and you will detect the castilian dialect.

bottom line: castilian is indigenously spain with it's various dialects. love castilian

IMDonehere

Huh?

I am not sure why this person answered two years after the fact but it is filled with fallacies.

This is for the benefit of others.

I assume the list of celebrities followed by a town is where they were born. Picasso was born in Malaga moved to A Coruna, Barcelona, a very short time in Madrid, Barcelona again and made France his home from 1904.

I have no idea where the other celebrities were born, schooled, or live.

There are many dialects and languages in Spain.

Euskara is spoken in the Basque country. The origin of the language is unknown but it is a non-Arayam language and there are numerous dialects.

Catalan which is spoken in Catalunya with variations in Valencia, Balearic Islands, and other places is founded in Provençal, not Spanish.

Galego which is spoken in Galicia, the area around Santiago de Compostela and A Coruna, is more Portuguese than Spanish.

And yes there are dialects in other parts of the country.

antarcticman1

to christina, yes it's all castilian in spain just different dialects or accents like english, ameircan, british, australian/new zealand, scotland/ireland, but only spain speaks castilian so if someone from latin america tells you they speak castilian that means their family migrated from spain and listen closely to them and listen for the soft lisp then you know it's castilian.