Married A Horn said:
Her family is in Boadilla del Monte. Out west of town.
Even in a large city, Spaniards are the most generous and trusting people you will meet in Europe. Sunshine helps. But they just don't seem to have a chip on their shoulder while retaining a sense of pride. Their idea of a thug is probably a Ricky Martin sized teenager with a Sean Penn scowl. Not exactly intimidating.
I stay in the neighborhood near the Plaza Santa Ana. On my first trip years ago, I was really just hitting up favorite drinking spots of Ernest Hemingway, and wanted to drink at the Cafe Aleman. As fate would have it, it's still an excellent spot. Very much the relaxed pace, old world Spain with professional wait staff and narrow streets. It's also close to the Prado Museum.
Weirdly enough, the collection of Spanish Art at the Meadows Museum in Dallas(SMU) is similar and impressive. Do yourself a favor and see it first, as a reference point perhaps. It will warm you up to the Prado museum. It's rare these days, but the personality of Spain is alive and well in it's art and the Prado is a good starting point.
But see the Cafe Aleman if you can. They've kept photos of Hemingway on the walls. The wait staff is almost elderly and the food is worth it. Plus the view of the Plaza is worth a few hours. Or days.
The city is...sprawling. And flea markets are cool if you can find one. But taxes, the economy, the Euro, I remember thinking this whole damned town is one big black market. I smoked Cuban cigars and drank rum until I realized I was gaining weight, hahah!
But I recovered to discover the excellent wine and jamon! . Make that a high priority. Their food is worth the trip alone. I brought back a lot of trinkets and stuff years ago, but my most memorable item was a Spanish cookbook. I still use it at least once a month, especially now that saffron is easier to obtain. In particular, soups, shaved ham, tortilla espanola, are staples. You can live quite well for cheap in Spain but outside of futbol, you can forget a career. Only the land wealthy and working expats seem to live well.
There are sort of sensitive, almost taboo topics to avoid when meeting Spaniards. No Inquisition, no Franco. In fact, the church itself is largely viewed as corrupt, as the Priests were silent throughout much of the past century. Or outright involved in murder. Their Episcopal(Reformed) Church and the Anglicans were my original guides. They sit outside the history, I owe them beyond measure.
I'm adventurous when I travel Europe and I will do more work there again. But the truth is, Spain is most like Texas. Sunshine, nice people, relaxed. I'll visit all the others, but it's Spain that you'll probably like the most.
And did I mention, cheap?
Ask her families opinions on their country, generic topics, etc. They'll tell you plenty.
