Pictures from my latest trip to Southern Spain

hollydolly said:
Thanks Annie I love those too...I wish we could get them here.. :D
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They may not be the same colours as per your photo but you can buy pots up to 130 litres in the U.K. specifically for growing trees and shrubs in.
 

hollydolly said:
Thanks for that Bee I've never seen them...perhaps if they are not coloured I could paint them.. :D
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Yes quite possibly., there are several places on the internet where you can buy them.............for myself though they are a tad expensive, the ones I've seen.
 
Bee said:
Yes quite possibly., there are several places on the internet where you can buy them.............for myself though they are a tad expensive, the ones I've seen.
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I'll have to have a google for them, I haven't ever seen them, and I won't be at all surprised if they are expensive unlike Spain.

I was mad on this trip at the difference in price of things ..I've been looking for a certain style of rattan garden furniture here in the Uk for the last year and I can't find it any cheaper than around £900 for the set which I'm not prepared to pay ...last week in Spain the exact same set was 199.99 Euros...I couldn't believe my eyes.
 
Waited til the last pic to say how much I enjoyed looking at all the scenes in Spain.

You did such a good job of choosing the scenes and an excellent job of shooting them.

You and they are SO beautiful. Thanks a bunch.
 
Nice pictures, but tell me a little about their culture. What types of food do they eat? Do most of the people have a car or use public transportation? What is there income like? Are there many rich or more poor Spaniards? I have always been interested in other countries culture, but Spain never came to mine to look it up.
 
oldman said:
Nice pictures, but tell me a little about their culture. What types of food do they eat? Do most of the people have a car or use public transportation? What is there income like? Are there many rich or more poor Spaniards? I have always been interested in other countries culture, but Spain never came to mine to look it up.
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oldman said:
Nice pictures, but tell me a little about their culture. What types of food do they eat? Do most of the people have a car or use public transportation? What is there income like? Are there many rich or more poor Spaniards? I have always been interested in other countries culture, but Spain never came to mine to look it up.
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Well I used to live in Southern Spain, so I can answer some of your questions about that part of Spain . The average Spaniard is like the average Italian there are many similarities. In many Southern villages ( of which I have a home still)...There are many little what appears to be quiet villages where each casa looks like it is dark and tiny with only one little door leading from the narrow village street,..but the surprise comes when you open the door to the Casa or finca..and find that behind that street door is a Huge courtyard with many doors leading off it, where la familia are all very well ensconced. Some are very lush and clearly they are quite wealthy with marble courtyards, and lots of Gilt and gold even though the outer shell of the Casa looks old and unkempt, and other Casa courtyards are just getting along in life as many others do, but always with the help of a close knit family.

There are a myriad of different housing in Spain I could be hear all day telling you the different types...from Cave houses in the mountains and I've been in a few..Fab!! to Large luxurious Villas and everything in between..

Spain is similar to any Western country in that the Cities are metropolitan and everyone seems to either work in Banking, the medical field , the legal field and Real estate or Retail

In the villages especially the remote mountainous villages (where my daughter lives) they work mostly on the land, growing tomatoes, Melons and kale Olives , and Almonds..or working as Mechanics in a one car workshop..or Herding Goats !! There are lots of Goatherds

Of course Spain relies heavily on tourism so many people are employed in hotels , restaurants , cafe's and Bars.

The culture is again similar to Italy and other Mediterranean countries in that there's a lot of red tape and bureaucracy for everything..and also a lot of corruption, it has to be said... and there is never any urgency about anything regardless of how important it is..it's always manana and of course we all know Tomorrow never comes.

As for what they eat..I'm surprised Oldman as a pilot you never got to go to any Spanish country...but yes they eat paella ( a lot)...and lots and lots of Fish ..swordfish, Octopus, Squid, Langostine....very fatty cheap cuts of meat ( both in the cities and countryside) usually Pork and chicken...and tons of veggies..but like all of us in the larger towns and cities there are Huge Supermarkets which sell ready frozen processed foods too..
beef and Lamb is verrry expensive..in the whole 10 years I lived in Spain and travelled widely I never saw a single cow or sheep..plenty goats tho'..

Unemployment currently is high at around 25%..
 
Sounds like a place I may want to visit. We are going to Europe later this summer. We will be in London, Paris and Frankfurt and "maybe" Hamburg.

What I do wonder is how do the people afford such extravagances with marble courtyards and gold? Some must be very rich, yes? So, what is the average paycheck like? (In dollars, please.) And you left out the food. What types of food? Am I asking too many questions?

I have never flown internationally. As a pilot, we have to bid on our routes. Remember, we are union, so everything is by seniority and also, I flew Boeing 767, which does fly international routes, but if I were to fly overseas, I would prefer one of the larger jets, like a B-747 or a B-777, or better yet a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. My farthest flight has been to Hawaii.
 
Sorry, I do see that you mentioned the food part. Also, 25% unemployment is not good. Do they have unemployment to live on like here in the U.S.? Or, perhaps something like welfare?
 
I lived in Frankfurt too for a while was back in the late 80's it wasn't the most friendly place to say the very least ...I've visited Paris several times ( extremely expensive even more so than London) , and of course I live in Greater London.. I hope you enjoy your trip.



Yes there are some very rich Spaniards altho' many do there best to keep it well hidden but also there are Ostentatious Spaniards like anywhere else with great big houses and Land..

The average Paycheck is much lower than the UK or the USA...

Here's a link to give you an idea.. but as I said, there's a lot of corruption..not only from officialdom but also from your average Senore Y senora jose and maria not paying taxes etc...there's also a lot of wealth brought into the country from Russians who seem to be the ones who are control of the many ladies of the night in the cities.. and they also along with the big farmers and expats own some of the Biggest properties and businesses.


http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-spain-salaries
 
oldman said:
Sorry, I do see that you mentioned the food part. Also, 25% unemployment is not good. Do they have unemployment to live on like here in the U.S.? Or, perhaps something like welfare?
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Yes they do have unemployment benefits, but it works differently to here. they have to be employed for at least 1 year and have dependents in which time the employer and employee contribute to a social security fund ( or have worked for at least one year in the previous 6 years and contributed to the fund) Unemployment benefit is only paid for a relatively short time, typically a third of the length of time the person was employed and the amount is on a sliding scale depending on their previous earnings . However last year it was announced that when people have run out of eligibility for benefit payments and have no money whatsoever to live on they will be given a Guaranteed monthly payment of around 500 USDD..as an emergency payment for a maximum of 6 months...sadly I have no idea what happens to them after that!! ..believe me there are a lot of beggars in the cities...a LOT, although they are not permitted to aproach you, they must sit or stand quietly with a homeless sign and a permit.. no harassment!!
 
Thanks very much for the information. I am usually more interested in a country's culture and economy than the touristy stuff, like my wife. She has to visit everywhere she has read about and wants to see so much. Because I traveled a lot, and I do mean a lot, I am not so inclined to be out running here and there when we travel. So, sometimes she will go it alone with a tour group for safety reasons and I will stay at the hotel by the pool reading and speaking, (or, as my wife says, annoying), the guests. Some do like to talk and some don't. I can generally tell pretty quickly which ones would prefer to just be left alone.

Spain's economy does intrigue me as to how people can seem to live so well, but not make so much money. Is stuff that much cheaper than in the U.S.? Like for instance, how much would I pay for a 2-bedroom home, say maybe 1500 square feet?

After flying for almost 34 years, I have seen most everything here in the U.S. Maybe not close up, but I have flown over it. I had the non stop flight from Chicago to Honolulu for a year and a half, but I was gone too much and my wife didn't like it, so I was able to get a job flying from the east coast to west coast with a few in between flights.
 

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