Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 9, 2018 16:34:38 GMT
Can't wait to go back this Summer .....
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Menorca
Jan 9, 2018 21:24:35 GMT
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Post by marveltone on Jan 9, 2018 21:24:35 GMT
I just can't wait for summer in general!
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 10, 2018 7:49:22 GMT
The UK is grey and dismal at the moment, but we don’t get your breath taking plummets in temperature thank goodness. I can’t imagine -20 or less.
What I don’t like here though is the amount of wind we get. I live in a place called Crockham Hill which as you can imagine..... is on a Hill. We can see the South Downs which is about 30 miles away and we have a very well known walkway called Pilgrims’ Way along the top of the hill, where loads of monks travelled way back in time, to Canterbury . They made up all kinds of rude stories which are called, ‘The Canterbury Tales’. Puts you off the vicar a bit!!
But because we are on a Hill, we get some ferocious blasts of wind sometimes.
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Menorca
Jan 11, 2018 3:57:29 GMT
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Post by marveltone on Jan 11, 2018 3:57:29 GMT
We've had a brief break in the cold, just these last couple days. It hovered right around freezing, so I took the opportunity to haul more firewood from the big pile to the basement in preparation for the deep freeze starting again tomorrow. When it gets to -20 or worse, the main heat can't quite cope, so we fire up the ancient wood furnace in the basement. Old houses take lots of BTUs!
Never been to Spain, but I have been to Dubrovnik and Srebrenika way back in my college years. Absolutely beautiful! Love the Mediterranean climate!
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 11, 2018 8:05:44 GMT
Me too Joe. Menorca is quite special to me. It’s a small island off the right hand side of Spain (Which I also love) but on the island, there are quite a lot of Spanish people on holiday from the mainland as well. They are a riot. Such fun people.
We went every day to this restaurant, where the waiters (all from Barcelona) served us and became great pals with us. They work ridiculous hours, from 10am to virtually midnight when they all go for a drink in a local bar. They only work the Summer and then go back to Barcelona.
The islanders have their own dialect which is Catalan. It’s kind of mixed up Spanish, French and Italian I think. I found that very odd since in Spanish, I can just about get through with basic stuff but Catalan is very different.
Tenerife is also beautiful. I nearly bought a house there actually.
I love the ‘upbeat’ nature of the islanders. All so positive and extremely friendly people. Many times, we were chatted to in shops by staff and we’d be in them for ages, just talking.
On mainland Spain, lots of things stop in the afternoon when everyone seems to go to sleep and everything closes. (Siesta) it can get extremely hot in the south and central Spain so I don’t blame them. Then everything opens up in the early evening, but I think the Spanish morning goes on until two or three in the afternoon and many are eating at ten and eleven at night!
Funny thing is that I used to speak Spanish fairly fluently at one time because I was visiting so often and kind of learned stock things to say pretty efficiently and could get through very easily but since I stopped touring quite a long time ago now, it’s totally gone now and I actually struggle with it. Or I’m getting old. It kind of comes back when I’m there but I have to refresh my head with Spanish now before going so I guess there’s no substitute for continual use.
Mallorca is a bigger island across the sea from Menorca, but the little island has its own ‘feel’ without all the clubbing tourists of Mallorca, although there are some equally stunning places in Mallorca as well.
Tenerife is the same. Gorgeous island and then there’s a place called Las Americas which is full of tourists and noise. I was working there so I guess those places are good for music but not for a relaxing holiday. I was staying in a house out in the sticks which was lovely then.
We’re going back to Menorca next Summer for four weeks, and I can’t wait.
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Javier
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Post by Javier on Jan 11, 2018 9:26:44 GMT
Siesta is a hard to kill myth though I wish it were true. People only take naps after lunch on weekends or when in holidays.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 11, 2018 11:02:52 GMT
The shops closed in Barcelona last time I was there, Javier. Then they opened around 5pm I think it was and stayed opened until really late. I guess that’s not typical then? I always wondered how businesses could cope tbh. I found some newspaper article that says the government were trying to stop it so that businesses could stop at reasonable times. Mind you, it does say the majority don’t have a siesta anyway so the law wouldn’t have a great effect. www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2016/apr/05/adios-siesta-is-it-goodbye-to-spains-national-napIt looks from that as though it happens in some places and not others? Mind you, Spain is a big country to say the least. For me, it’s a disappointment that I never really went into central Spain. Mostly coastal areas. The wildest bit was down at the south where there’s a t semi desert. The wind was coming from the south and it was literally like standing in a breeze from a hairdryer. We got unbelievable heat in a place called, Mojacar, I think it was which I never forgot because it was just ferocious when I was there. The desert area was so remote with little villages dotted around. I have no idea how people there make a living tbh.
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Javier
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Post by Javier on Jan 11, 2018 12:07:54 GMT
Yes, most small or family owned shops close from 14:30/15:00 to 16:30/17:00 so they can stay open until 20:30/21:00 without excedeing too much 8h/day limit (and avoid paying extra hours if they have employees). As most offices stop at 18:30 the busiest hours are the latest in the evening so it is quite logical to close when sales are at their lowest (lunch time) and open when sales are highest. OTOH this does not happen in most offices (1h lunch break is the standard) or larger shops which don't close at all.
Spain is indeed big and so is the contrast between its regions. The North is very different to the South and the central plateau (mainly Castille) also has its own personality. The same can be said from East (Mediterranean coast) to West (interior). Landscapes are different and so are cuissines, towns and, as you've found out, even languages. Catalonian or Galician languages are easy to understand if you are a native Spansih speaker, >90% of the words are basically the same. Basque is another story but few people speak it in larger towns/cities and one can get around in Spanish without any problems.
If you've never been to, I'd recommend visiting central Spain (Spring or Autumn are probably best) , many great places to visit and excelent food/drink, as long as you stay away from restaurants for tourists.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on Jan 11, 2018 14:02:31 GMT
I've always wanted to go into the central regions tbh. Nearly did it once but got called away!
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