welcome to spain, we're closed

...and our Metro hasn't been cleaned in days either. But wait - that sounds like I didn't like Spain at all. Au contraire, I loved it and will definitely go back someday. But the fact that the cleaning crews for the Metro were on strike didn't give a very good first impression. The kindly announcements that apologized for the garbage made it just a little better. I'm just glad I didn't encounter any oil the strikers poured on the ground in front of the turnstiles - the news showed people slipping all over the place.


Honestly, the only things that were unexpectedly closed were the St. Teresa sites in Ávila, stores during siesta, and the convent that sells dulces (via a lazy susan so you never see the nuns) was closed until after the holidays. Unexpectedly, the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid was closed on New Year's Eve, but we could find no sign explaining this. Alas, Picasso's Guernica will have to wait for another trip.

As much as I don't like the fact that Rick Steves' tells people they don't need to learn a language to visit a country, he did have some good suggestions on restaurants and places to stay. We ate good food and rented a room from a sweet abuela y abuelo in Madrid. If Mr. Steves doesn't speak Spanish though, I don't know how he managed to stay with them himself. Perhaps he secretly travels with someone who serves as an interpreter. He is right, you can visit a country without speaking the language, but you will feel much more comfortable if you at least know your numbers and basic greetings, and your hosts will be more amiable. How can I be a language teacher and endorse this way of thinking? Besides, how can you truly know a country without meaningful interaction with the locals?