Old People Walk Slow
The old phrase holds true, "God love 'em." And I do too, that's the fact, so my patience-level is generally high when I encounter them on the sidewalks and standing in lines. There's no denying it, old people walk slow. But then again, they're never in a hurry, either.
Here in Spain you can't help but notice the quantity of octogenarians walking the streets, playing cards in bars, going shopping and out-in-the-public. This sharply contrasts to the older folk in the United States where older people, and many others, 1) live in houses outside of the downtown, and 2) don't leave home as often because to do so they'd have to drive - and maybe they can't/shouldn't.
AVE Train Madrid-Barcelona
The high-speed AVE train between Madrid and Barcelona opened in 2008 and has been making travel between the two Spanish giant cities fast-and-easy ever since, creating real competition with the airlines. Or has it?
Not so long ago, the trip between Barcelona and Madrid would make any traveler cringe with the thought of a slow, 8-hour ride trip with the countryside going by at a not-so-fast rate. It was cheaper to go by train then, however. Now you have no choice for the train; it's the AVE or nothing. They don't even have the slow, overnight train anymore.
