Spain’s Little Sights

Exploring Europe, you see the big sights — and you also see the little ones. Here are a few little things I noticed along the way in Spain.

While I was very comfortable during my visit earlier this spring (temperatures were in the 60s and 70s each day and evening), in a few weeks it’ll be cracking 100, and there will be a lot of wall-crawling shrimps. (The brutal summer sun in Spain turns pedestrians into what are now called “wall crawlers” — people walking right up against the walls, catching whatever shade they can. And tourists not used to the sun who get burned are called “shrimps.”)

looking up at awnings along a street
Climate change is real — and Europe is getting hotter. In Spain, canvas awnings provide entire streets with critical shade.

 

More and more, tourists are enjoying the delights of Andalucía and, more and more, English is the language of travel. Rather than the old-school menus with five languages, menus are now generally in two (or maybe three) languages, including English.

Study this menu — great prices, fun tapas.

 

Spain loves its festivals, and Sevilla takes it to extremes. My favorite Triana bar includes the dates of the major festivals on its business card — for the next several years.

festival dates written in spanish on a small card
Olé!

 

(What about you? I’d love to hear about some of the little sights you saw on your last trip. Connect with me on Facebook or Twitter.)

 

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