Suggestions about Spain

[sknepper]

Hi guys,

I'm going to Spain in a week to study in Valencia for the summer, and was wondering if anyone from Spain had any suggestions that would be useful. Specifically what the dress is at clubs, should I get a eurail pass, is there anything I have to see, how/if you tip at restaurants, or any other cultural things that you think might be helpful.

Thanks a ton and I really appreciate it!

[Tomisimo]

Well there's a few folks from Spain here, so they would be the right people to answer this. Let's wait and see what they have to say.

[Iris]

I'm sorry but I've never been to Valencia, so I cannot help much. I can only answer one of your questions. We do tip in restaurants in Spain. We also tip cab drivers and hairdressers, but only if we feel like it. And you can tip as much or as little as you want.It depends on the quality of service, your generosity...

[sosia]

Specifically what the dress is at clubs, should I get a eurail pass, is there anything I have to see, how/if you tip at restaurants, or any other cultural things that you think might be helpful.

dress at clubs... it depends the level of the club.
eurail pass..... If you travel a lot, it's really useful, but you must check how many lands do you want to visit
is there anything I have to see .... lot ofs, but we're are you going?
how/if you tip at restaurants..... Not mandatory, yes if you're happy with the service
http://www.enplenitud.com/nota.asp?articuloid=10295
saludos

[poli]

You will only be in Spain for a week. Europass would not be a smart choice. If you plan to visit other cities in Spain, RENFE offers high speed trains to many destinations. I'm not sure if Valencia is served by AVE or AVIA (the fastest trains) If so, you could get to culturally rich Madrid or other principal cities in just a few hours. If you book your train ride on RENFE's website a few weeks in advance you will get a big discount. The website naturally is in Spanish, but I think it's fairly simple. You won't notice that the discount applies until you get to the final page of the transaction.

Lunchtime is much later in Spain than it is in the rest of the world (about 2 PM weekdays, but sometimes later). Siesta goes on til after 4PM. That means many shops and business are closed in the afternoon. Valencia
is in a region of Spain where rice is grown. I've never been there, but I would bet that paella is their specialty.

[sknepper]

Para clarificar, llegaré en una semana, pero estaré allá hasta medio augusto. ¡Grácias por su ayudo, es muy apreciado! Estaré en Valencia para la mayoría del tiempo, pero voy a tratar a visitar tantos lugares como posible. También, mi familia me juntará el julio por un par de días en Barcelona.

[sknepper]

No sé cómo voy a comer a las cuatro, moriré de hambre.

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by sknepper

Para clarificar, llegaré en una semana, pero estaré allá hasta medio augusto agosto. ¡Grácias por su ayudo ayuda, es muy apreciada! Estaré en Valencia para la mayoría del tiempo, pero voy a tratar a de visitar tantos lugares como posible. También, mi familia me juntará el vendrá a estar conmigo en julio por un par de días en Barcelona.

A few small corrections...

[sosia]

Poli, your suggestions were good.
you have only two months, so no need of Europass, with Spain is enough.. You can visit Barcelona (Sagrada Familia), Madrid (Museo Prado), Toledo (parte antigua), islas Baleares, Granada (Alhambra), Córdoba (Mezquita), Sevilla (Giralda) and Zaragoza (Expo 2008, Basílica Pilar). You can also try Sanfermines (Pamplona, 6-14 Julio) but you will have to live "in he wild",all must be already booked. You can also try summer music festivals.
La comida es a las dos, la siesta es a las 4

[poli]

No tienes que esperar las cuatro. El almuerzo empieza al las 2 (mas o menos) Frecuentamente los restaurantes ofrecen un menu del día que incluye un antojito,un plato fuerte y postre con una bebida (puede ser una botella de vino, soda, o cerveza)tambien por un precio muy razonable.
Buen viaje. Chequeas Renfe.com para viajes a otros sitios en España.

[sosia]

precio razonable? en España?? donde ??
OK, if you look you find, but remember:dollar is weak now.
a normal menu 10 € --> 15 $
welcome

[poli]

Tienes razón, Sosia. No quería recordar que el dólar se puso debil ya no es la baratilla que era antes.
No obstante, el menú del día parece una buena idea y lamento que no
lo tenemos aquí en Nueva York donde un almuerzo comparable costaría $25.00 +. Por eso, salgo ahora a comprar una rebanada de pizza con agua mineral.

[sosia]

comiendo tan mal, debes estar muy delgado.
Menu español: primer plato, segundo plato, postre y vino/agua
por eso necesitamos luego la siesta

[sknepper]

Grácias amigos por el consejo y las correcciones!

Se me olvidé a mencionarles que viviré con una familia hispana, así no debe costarme demasiado.

[María José]

Me gusta eso de antojito para el primer plato. ¿Se dice en Sudamérica o es de tu propia cosecha?

[poli]

Originally Posted by Gemma

Me gusta eso de antojito para el primer plato. ¿Se dice en Sudamérica o es de tu propia cosecha?

No es mi invento, pero gracias por el complimento. Se oye esa palabra en latinoamerica. No se cual pais en particular, pero hasta en algunos restaurantes en Nueva York se la ve en el menu.

[María José]

Originally Posted by poli

No es mi invento, pero gracias por el piropo. Se oye esa palabra en latinoamerica. No se cual pais en particular, pero hasta en algunos restaurantes en Nueva York se ve en el menu.

Maybe the word complimento is South American, over here it doesn't exist.

[Rusty]

Antojito es una palabra que procede de México. Me encanta lo que encontré en internet mientras buscaba información sobre su uso:

Antojitos son aquellos alimentos ricos en vitamina T (sí, vitamina T):
Tamales
Tacos
Tlacoyos
Tortas
Todo lo que engorda con maiz y grasa

[María José]

Gracias por la información, Rusty. Aquí en España, cuando los niños se tiran al suelo algunas personas mayores dicen: No importa, le viene bien la vitamina M. No es muy educado, pero...

[poli]

Originally Posted by Gemma

Maybe the word complimento is South American, over here it doesn't exist.

Complimento is certainly Spanglish, and probably not used in South America. Piropo, however, isn't a good choice in Latinamerica, because
the term is used (to my knowledge) exclusively for flirtations. Piropos
are sometimes clever rhymes men use to catch the ear of women they
are attracted to almost like a serenade. It would be fun to read some. Is there anyone in the forums who can come up with an example? Are piropos, in this form used in Spain by people other than immigrants?
Ecuadorians and Peruvians make use of piropos.

I have to ask around to find out a commonly used term for compliment--
maybe halago.