Traveling in Spain

An RV passes the ancient Roman Aqueduct in Segovia.

“The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.” The phrase keeps going through my head. For now, as I begin writing this, I am aboard a high speed Spanish train, crossing the dry plains between Madrid and Gijon, at about 200 miles per hour.

In the last two weeks, I have visited Madrid, Barcelona and beautiful Segovia, with its magnificent castle, cathedral and 2,000 year old Roman aqueduct, under which each day a thousand Spaniards and foreign visitors sip Sangrias and dine on Suckling pig at outdoor cafes. In Spain, dinnertime begins at about 10 p.m., after the sun has set and heat subsided. Shopkeepers close between about 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., for their “Siesta.”

Independence Square in Madrid

Barcelona is a gorgeous city, with narrow, winding streets unsuitable for all but the smallest cars and motor scooters, which are the vehicle of choice for many of the locals. Outdoor cafes are everywhere. Mom and Pop shops sell everything from fine goods like jewelry and clothing to tacky souvenirs — tee shirts, refrigerator magnets and snow globes featuring animated flamenco dancers.

Madrid, the nation’s capital and largest city, is also magnificent, but not nearly as lively as Barcelona nor as crowded.

Dining by Roman aqueduct in Segovia

Half of my trip is over. Now, I'll spend the last two weeks in Gijon on the Altantic, where the pace will be slower. Frankly, I need to slow down. I am worn out. My iPhone app “Moves” reports that I have been walking about six miles day, which is a lot for me.

Lodging has been challenging — an non-air conditioned room in Madrid arranged through AirBnB.com, on a noisy street where the nightlife was loud until 3 a.m. and sleep therefore nearly impossible. In Barcelona, my hotel room's shower was smaller than in my motorhome. It barely dripped water, and not always warm. Only in Segovia, was the hotel wonderful — right in center of the ancient, walled city with a view out the back patio of the castle Alcazar.

I have kept my eye out for RVs but seen few. A half dozen were parked together outside Segovia, but I was unable to find them later to talk to the owners. However,  as I saw later today, there are plenty around as I witnessed in a packed RV park in Gijon.

While most restaurants and shop keepers know some English, they are not fluent, and often know almost none. My high school Spanish has come in handy.

RV park along the ocean in Gijon.

I believe that everyone should travel abroad given the chance. It is important to see how the rest of the world lives. To me Americans who have never left their home country lack an appreciation the World and its cultures compared to those who have explored it.

That said, after a trip like this, I always am happy to return home. And even now, as I explore this wonderful part of Europe, I dream of being in North America in my RV, where there are no tickets to arrange or timetables to observe, no security checks and no suitcases to pack and unpack.

I love my trips abroad and plan many more. But if I had to choose between traveling the World or traveling my country with my RV, I would chose my RV.