This website is mostly about Spain and most of the travel questions asked are for Spain. For me, I have made only one trip Spain and soon it will be two trips when I go in September of this year. Hopefully this upcoming trip will be as magically as the first one. Next year I probably if I can find a flight within my travel budget, I will visit Argentina for the first time.

I like to know who only visits Spain and the reason why? Is it to visit family or friends? How many of you like me, will visit Spain again sometime in the future, but will visit other countries too. Is Spain your dream vacation or do you have another dream vacation? My dream vacation would be a photo safari to Africa or a trip to China. If you live in Spain I like to hear were you like to travel to and why?

By the way, if and when I visiting Argentina, will I still be welcome here? Will MM strip me of my forum privileges and make me run in Pamplona's Running of the Bulls in womens high hell shoes with a bulleyes painted on my back? Just kidding MM!

Bill

Interesting post. The first time I studied abroad in Spain was the first time I had ever left the country, let alone lived outside the country... i liked it so much i went back again for another semester, so for that reason (and many many others!), Spain will always hold a very special place in my heart. I have amazing memories there, and lots of friends and a host family to go back and visit. That said, I really enjoy travelling anywhere! While living in Spain I got the chance to Visit England, and Morocco, both of which were very interesting, and id love to go back someday and spend more time in those places. I also ventured into rural costa rica last summer for an internship. Ohhh, there are so many places I want to go visit/live in in my life time, it gets me all excited:) That said, really Spain is the only European country that really interests me, I dont know why, but i dont feel that same desire to visit the other really touristy european countries (ie France, Italy, etc). I want to see, live, or at least backpack Latin America, and I also have a very strong interest in Africa. Now if only i had the money to do all that...... maybe after grad school?
Kelly

Hello Bill, if you want travel to Spain a second time I recommend you go to "La Tomatina", it's a tomato battle fiesta in a small town of Valencia, it happens 1 time each august.
It's a must, at least 1 time in your life, the battle is between thousands of people almost of all the countries of world, and plenty of journailsts. It's crazy and fun.

If you want visit other country I recommend you Italy for sure.

pippo

My second trip to Spain starts in the last week of this September. But you are right I have to make it a goal in my lifetime to visit Spain during festival and it does not have to be during Easter.

Bill

Yes, this is an interesting post! I travel to many places but return to Spain again and again. I think this is because I lived there for 13 years, put down roots, married and had my children there, had the job of my dreams, a beautiful home, and expected to live there forever! It feels, very simply, like home. I feel more comfortable living in Spain than in the US. I've thought about this a lot, and I've come up with a theory. Once you've been in Spain long enough to really understand the Spanish people and their culture (and that does take a long time to be a genuine understanding), there are few surprises. Spain, in general, is quite homogenous when you compare it to a country like the US, which has an extraordinary diversity of peoples, cultures, mindsets, approaches to life, etc, etc. In that respect you could almost say that living in the US can be more fascinating than Spain because the diversity of people is so rich, anything could happen. If you're looking for a simpler life without a lot of surprises, where people generally think alike (note the word generally!! Of course there are exceptions!!) Spain is easier, and that makes it comfortable - for me. Yes, I have family and friends to visit there, but what makes my visits so special is that feeling of coming home to a place I know well. If I would want to visit a place that's new and challenges what I know about life, I'd have to go somewhere else - something I think is good for everyone!

I've lived in South America and have traveled to a number of places in Latin America. It just doesn't thrill me. Northern Europe (where much of my family is) doesn't either. I haven't been to Asia or sub-Saharan Africa yet. But anywhere around the Mediterranean Sea fascinates me. I'm not sure why. To me the Mediterranean Sea is the center of the world - and Spain is just one of its beautiful lands. (I love Italy, too! And I've started to get to know Egypt - there's another fascinating place.) My dream vacation would be to travel to all the countries around the Mediterranean over several months and really get to know them.

I took a school trip for Spaninsh class in 1973. After visiting as a tourist several times in the next 25 years, a chance meeting in 1997 led to a friendship that has been very rewarding to this day.

Now, I travel to Madrid 3 or 4 times a year, mostly to visit and hang out with my Spaninsh friends. While I try to visit at least one obscure museum or cultural activity, the majority of my time is spent hanging with friends and relaxing. I have been blessed with many unique opportunities including cooking and bartending in a tapas bar, visiting family homes and attending small town festivals in Galicia and generally seeing things that few tourists will ever see. Carnaval in A Veiga and the pulpo feira in Viana do Bolo, along with chuletas, churasco and chimichurri in A Gudina have been highlights. There is nothing like sardines grilled over oak, empanadas and wine from the barrel served in the municipal truck garage in a small Galician mountain village!

One friend still has his grandmothers house, at least 300 years old, next to the modern home he lives in, in the village of Valdin. It was quite remarkable to see this perfectly preserved house with it's ancient tools, kitchen and grain storing and milling facilities. The best part was, this was no museum, but a working home.

I could go on all night, but I need to get planning my next trip! (25th or 26th, I'm not sure)

Bill wanted to know also where us spaniards travel and why. In my case I take at least one trip abroad a year. I spent 15 days in China in August and that helped me realize how different us westerners are from the chinese (even more than I expected). Last year I spent almost a month travelling around Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. My goal there was to enjoy nature and important historic sites. I got it, I loved it.

I read Diana's post and it was pretty weird. All she felt about Spain and the spaniards, that is, spaniards being pretty homogeneous and life in Spain being simpler its just the same thing that I felt about the US. I lived in Michigan, and with my host family we did travel down south, all the way to New Orleans (what a great city it was) and also to the East Coast, that is Washington, New York, Boston... The thing that surprised me the most was how incredibly homogeneous the country was, from my point of view. Same thing with the amerincans. Yes, of course there is a lot of people from all over the world, yes, it's true that in New York you can get lost and suddenly think you are in China, but most of the US is really homogeneous. People live, act and think pretty similar.

I'm sure what I'm writing here may surprise most of you americans, just as much as it did surprise me reading that Diana thought us spaniards are pretty much the same. For us, actually, people from Catalonia and people from Andalucia are very different from each other, both in traditions, way of life, etc. Same applys to people from Madrid and people from Asturias, for example. Maybe, what happens is that when a foreigner looks at us it's easier to see what we have in common, which it's a lot. Same thing may happen when a foreigner looks at the US. It's easy to see you have more in common than you think.