Food & People

In July my wife and I took our first trip to Madrid. I was really exicited and couldn't wait to go to Spain. My question is what is up with the People in Madrid? They think they are the greatest in the world, They act like they're mad all the time they have almost no personallity, Madrid is a very beutiful city I was impressed, and the transportation is outstanding,The food was terrible I couldn't wait to get out of there. On the other hand Toledo was really great people more friendly and a beutiful city. I would go back to toledo anytime. My wife is a native speaker so language was no problem, I also speak fluent spanish, but the people in Madrid didn't really appreciate my Mexican Acent. We went to the Bullfights in Ventas, The Bulls were really fantastic, to bad they were better than the Matadore's. Who were those guy's? What a wasted afternoon that was. I was ready to leave after the 3rd bull. Those so called Matadore's were supposed to Confirm the Altertaniva in Ventas. They should join the circus, because they wasted beautiful Bulls. And the people, I thought was at a "Funneral" the way the public looked. Thank God I didn't pay to much for the tickets. $34.00 each and that was to much for that Cartel. Really enjoyed Seville, Barcelona was interesting also. Next time I think I'll try the South Granada or Valencia and avoid big cities like Madrid. When you order something in a restaurant the people say "Dime" {Like Yeah tell me in a real grouph tone of voice. Not polite at all Felt like saying sorry I bothered you.

"Spain Is Different" goes the slogan.

Seems to me there have been quite a few threads by people, mainly 'Americans' (by "Americans" I don't mean people from the Americas like those from Cuba, Brazil, or Canada - although all these can be considered, to some, as "Americans" - but rather I mean those from the USA) sharing their experiences about Spain's people and food.

And if you think Spain is bad you must try France! hehehe...

I could drone on and on on (that's THREE "ons"! ) this topic but.. well... I'll pass. Sorry to hear it wasn't what you had expected, indioladino. That's a true shame.

Saludos, MadridMan

Well, Madridman, as they say in Spanish, "Te la comistes, hombre!Too funny!

"And if you think Spain is bad you must try France! hehehe... "

When I first went to France, many years ago, I made a really BAD mistake. I dared to speak Frances to a Parisian, yes, I was a stupid 18 year old girl!

Those Parisian taxi drivers tore me to pieces! One of them told me, you must be from Spain, and he spat on the ground. Apparently, since my first language is castellano, I speak French with a Spanish accent!

I didn't know it was a SIN for a foreigner to speak French in Paris! After all I was in Honors French at St. Agathas Catholic H.S.
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Spain is really a very very nice country. What you have to understand is that the Spaniards are undergoing a very difficult social transition. Waves of immigrants are settling in Spain in the last five years, and this is new to many Spanish people. It has happened a little later than other European countries.

There's bound to be a bit of xenophobia during the transition. But, I am sure that after all is sorted out the good Spanish common sense justice will prevail. Spain will prevail as she has always done from previous migrations, she assimilates the best, eschews the worst, and voila, a new cuisine is established!

wow, indio, that is a true shame that Madrid did not sit well with you. It sounds like you enjoyed Spain as a country though, because if you did not, you would not have spoken about your next visit. I hope that the next one goes well for you. My wife is from Spain, and I have many friends from all regions of Spain, some of them have come to America and have had the same reaction as you.That Americans think they are the greatest(many do) and complain that the dance clubs close at two am, blah blah blah. You get the idea. As MadridMan said, "Spain is Different" and USA is different from Spain. We should just learn to appreciate those differences.I hope your next trip goes insanely well.

Indioladino writes: Maybe they just didn't like you because of your manera de ser or your way of speaking? If the food was terrible, you should have complained and/or sent it back! Unfortunately, many American tourists won't do that. Toledo has a tourist-driven economy: acting friendly toward tourists is just what they do. It makes them money! And there are some words used in Mexican Spanish that have an entirely different meaning in Spain Spanish. From your description, they were Novilleros fighting their first (4-year old) Toro. That's cheap for a corrida in Ventas. What would you like them to say?

Como te vean, asi te tratan.

In defense of the French - I don't think they are that bad. I know a little bit of french and sometimes have tried to speak it and they were always fairly nice to me. They speak in a condescending tone but I wonder if that has something to do with the accent. I have met some really friendly people in France - young people though.

I have found that Madrid gets friendlier with each visit. Small towns always seem a bit easier for me and so I usually begin trips in Toledo and end them in Madrid when I am no longer tired. Madrid has great food if you can just figure out where to eat!!!

Got back from Madrid a little over a week ago, after my first visit back in more than 5 years. I am really surprised at indioladinos comments -- I found the people extremely friendly, even given my "spanglish" and the food was wonderful -- bocadillos de calamares around the plaza mayor, chocolate con churros for breakfast, and a great dinner which we had on my last night there in a restaurant called "Bazar" where I hear that David Beckham and his Real Madrid teammates sometimes eat. We had dinner for two, two courses each with desert, and even a bottle of champagne for a total price of less than 50 euros. I'd also recommend Casa de Iztiar at C/Fernando el Catolico 50 in the Arguelles area for excellent food. By the way, I also found the city much cleaner than I remember from 5 yrs. ago.

Carole the sparkling wine you had in the restaurant was Cava (Spanish Champagne). Real French Champagne goes from 44 euros on.

Cheers,
Andrés

Thanks Andrés. Either way, it was excellent. Can't wait to go back.

Carol, I ABSOLUTELY AGREE with you. Just today I hang out with some American friends and we drank a bottle of Rimarts Cava (one of the best). I can tell you that everyone loved the wine. Wait to see what happens when I serve them a bottle of III Lustros (the best Cava I ve tried up to date).

Cheers,
Andrés

Let me also recommend a great wine I had there - a Ribero del Duero called Barones de Bárcabo. A friend of mine gave me a bottle, so I'm not quite sure where to get it, but it was a very nice red with a distinctive Spanish flavor.