Where am I ??

I could be walking on the Gran Via and Puerto Del Sol or 42nd Street and Times Square. Your guess.

I see Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, a brown UPS truck and the driver has the same color uniform, Dinkin' Coffee/Donuts, Pizza Hut, Fridays Restaurant, Some people are drinking Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola and Red Bull. The cigarette vending machine has Marlboro, Lucky Strike, Camels, L&M, Winston, Chesterfields.

I also see graffiti, lots and lots of cars and pedestrians, subways and Metros, and Irish Pubs. Young men and women dressing very similar.

So where am I?

Blackpool?

Jim , I hate this ... the Irish bars at least try to integrate a bit with Spanish lifestyle . However .. McDonalds , Burger King , Starbucks etc are horrible establishments !!!!

And don't forget Hard Rock Cafe and movie theater and bus-stop signs advertising the latest Hollywood movies. Turn on your TV and you have The Simpsons, CSI-whatever, 90210: The Next Generation, House, BONES, and almost any other American-made show on normal, public television - not to mention on Canal+ satellite.

That's why when people ask me, "Do you miss anything about USA?", my answer is always the same: "What's there to miss?? I barely realize I'm NOT in the USA if it wasn't for the food, wine, terrazas, and Spanish spoken."

Saludos, MadridMan

thank God for the terrazas, pimientos de padrón!, the Spanish accent (not South or Central American--not that there is anything wrong with that!:) the paseo, the café (torrefacto), the beautiful arquitecture, my friends and familiy, and the cafes (like Café Comercial), professional waiters, the tinto de verano, the delicious menú de la casa...
seeing America in Spain is distressing, so I search out the above things (and I know there are more things I am not mentioning right now) to make me feel like I am in Spain. 27 days til I am there again!!

The Gran Via doesn't traverse the Puerta del Sol as does West 42nd Street & Times Square in NYC.
My Guess, strongly influenced by the fact that this is a Spain message board, would be that you are in Barcelona. But you didn't mention KFC: there's a KFC at Antonio Gaudi's Sagrada Familia.

So, maybe you're in Lisbon, Portugal ...