Spain is a country known for art, culture, and exploration. It is known for its delicious food, flamenco dancing, bullfights, and party lifestyle. Travellers come to Spain to visit its historical sites, beaches, and museums since the country is full of history and has much to offer. You can find many vacation destinations in Spain. It has 6 regions, each of which has its own cultures, languages, and traditions. Spain is one of the most visited countries in the world, so getting a good grasp on how you’ll spend your time there can go a long way toward making your trip go more smoothly.
Things To Know Before Visiting Spain
Locals Are Known to Eat Late
Spain is one of Europe’s most visited countries, and it’s no surprise that tourists often choose to arrive in Spain via Madrid. However, once you arrive in Madrid, you may find that culture shock sets in people eating very late, and the streets are a little strange at first.The locals eat lunch beyond 1:00 pm, and Dinner is usually eaten from 9:00 pm. If you visit Spain, you need to adjust your meal. This is the reason why the majority of the restaurant will start serving meals very late.
When traveling to Spain, the last thing you want to worry about is whether or not you’ll be able to get dinner. People in Spain are known for eating very late, and meals last hours, so you’ll always be eating when the locals do. However, you don’t have to worry about being hungry in Spain as there will always be delicacies that will always be available.
Spain Has 5 Official Language
Spanish isn’t the only official language in Spain. In fact, Spanish is the most widely spoken language in the country, with approximately 94% of the population speaking the language. While Spanish is the lingua franca of Spain, the country has a total of 5 official languages, which are Castilian, Catalan, Galician, Basque, and Aranese.
When you visit Spain, you will want to spend time immersing yourself in the culture and learning some basic Spanish words along the way. Spanish isn’t necessary for visitors to enjoy their stay, but knowing a few words or phrases can go a long way. Even though it is hard due to the difference in language, there are ways to solve it. Employing Spanish translation services will make it easier for you to understand Spanish culture and overcome the language barrier.
Some Traditional Foods Are Hard to Find
Many people travel to Spain to experience the city of Madrid, the beaches of Barcelona, the amazing culture of Madrid and Seville, and the beautiful countryside of Valencia and Granada. Those who are familiar with Spanish culture know that Spanish people are very passionate about their food. When traveling to Spain, traditional Spanish food is often what tourists look forward to the most. After all, it is one of the most exciting culinary innovations in Spain. However, many of these dishes are not available everywhere, and depending on where you are visiting; you may not even find them on the menu.
Do Not He Confuse of Flamenco as Traditional Dance
Spain is famous for Flamenco. Flamenco is a dance from the Spanish gypsy community. Originally, it was a yodeling dance but became improvisational. It’s known for its fusion of Andalusian and Berber dance, combined with Andalusian music. But, Flamenco, the country’s traditional dance, is not one of them. Flamenco is Spain’s national dance, but it’s far from Spain’s traditional dance.
The Flamenco art form originated in Argentina as a mixture of Spanish and African dance. Since its beginnings, it has developed its own unique style that has begun to spread across countries around the world. The dance style itself consists of interpretive music, quick steps, knee bends, and leaps.
Public Transport Is One of Its Best Feature
Spain is a beautiful country to visit, and it is easy to travel around the major cities. When visiting Spain for the first time, the public transport is good and easy to navigate. There is no need to worry about getting lost as the public transport system is well signposted. Spain’s public transport, known as the metro or tram, is as efficient as it is beautiful. With an excellent rail network and large bus system, there are many advantages to using public transport in Spain.
Spain offers some of the best and most inexpensive public transportation in the world. The metro system in Madrid is one of the best in the world. Trains in Spain are fast, clean, and reliable. And, if you like to rent a car, you will find most international car rental companies represented at the airports in Spain. So, go ahead, and experience the best that Spain has to offer.
Siesta Time is a Unique Tradition in Spain.
One of Spain’s many unique traditions is siesta time, and while most people only know about it, they don’t really sleep during siesta time. Traditionally, farmers would go into the fields during the heat of the day and take a nap, and they would all gather around noon to eat. However, most businesses don’t close down during siesta time, which means some businesses won’t close until later that evening.
For that reason, Spaniards have learned to take a nap during the day, but they’ll stay up until later in the evening, so they can finish work and go out to dinner. Most people don’t actually sleep during siesta time. It’s from 11 am to 3 pm, so most people get about 2 to 3 hours of siesta time. It’s more like taking a nap. This results in the locals in Spain working for a much longer hours.
Conclusion
Visiting Spain can be one of the most memorable trips of your life, but taking the time to learn about the country before you visit will help you get the most out of your visit. Spain is a popular vacation destination, and many visitors are surprised to learn how much they enjoy the country. Not only do they appreciate the culture, the cuisine, and the history, but Spain’s sunny weather also makes it an excellent vacation choice. But there are many things to know before visiting Spain.
BURNS LAKE, B.C. – A 6-year-old girl who had been missing from her community in north-central British Columbia since Thursday has been found safe.
Resources from across the province were enlisted in the search to find the child who lives in a small community not far from Burns Lake.
The girl, who is on the autism spectrum and non-verbal, was found on Sunday night around 6 p.m.
Police say she was in a forested area that had already been searched between her home and the First Nation band office.
They say searchers believe she was likely moving around during the time she was missing, so she may not have been in the area when it was first searched.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Joshua Smith says her discovery was the outcome they all had hoped for, and everyone searching remained dedicated to bringing her home safely.
The girl was last seen outside her home wearing a red-and-blue-plaid dress, leggings and pink socks. Police made no mention of a coat in their description of the girl and temperatures had dipped below 10 Celsius overnight in the Burns Lake area.
By Saturday, police said crews from the RCMP, BC Wildfire Service and search and rescue were helping those who had volunteered for the search.
A helicopter, police dogs and drones were also being used to help find the girl.
“We are thankful for the support of all our partner agencies and volunteers who worked day and night to achieve this outcome,” Smith said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2024.
MAINEVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Lydia Ko extended her amazing summer run when she turned a two-shot deficit into a rout by closing with a 9-under 63 to win the Kroger Queen City Championship for her third LPGA Tour title of the season.
Ko won for the third time in her last four starts, which includes her Olympic gold medal that gave the 27-year-old from New Zealand enough points for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
It also includes another major in the Women’s British Open, this one at St. Andrews.
“It’s been pretty surreal,” Ko said after her five-shot victory at the TPC River’s Bend over Jeeno Thitikul, who closed with a 70 and simply couldn’t keep up.
Thitikul was two shots ahead after eight holes of the final round. Three holes later, the Thai was chasing the hottest player in women’s golf.
Thitikul made bogey on the par-4 ninth. Ko made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole to tie for the lead, and then pulled ahead by two shots with a 12-foot eagle putt on the par-5 11th.
Ko seized control for good with a pair of two-shot swings — she made birdie and Thitikul made bogey on the 13th and 15th holes.
Thitikul two-putted for birdie on the par-5 closing hole to at least finish alone in second, one shot ahead of Haeran Ryu (67).
“It’s just like insane — it’s super insane. Her putter was on fire today,” Thitikul said of playing alongside Ko. “I respect her as like my older sister, as a legend, and also as my role model. It was such a really good experience watching her in my eyes on the same tee box, on the same greens, just like VIP seat.”
Nelly Korda, the No. 1 player in women’s golf who still has a comfortable lead in the Race to CME Globe with her six victories this year, had a 68 and tied for fifth, nine shots behind.
Ko, who finished at 23-under 265, now has 22 career LPGA victories. It was the fifth time she has at least three wins in the same season on the LPGA, her biggest year coming with five wins when she was 18 and reached No. 1 in the world.
Ko also won the season opener in Florida in January, but there were times early in the summer when she wondered if she would ever get the final victory needed for the LPGA Hall of Fame.
She took care of that with Olympic gold in Paris, won at St. Andrews for her third major and, after a three-week break, picked up as though nothing had changed.
“I had the most unbelievable three weeks in Europe. And now after having another three weeks off here, not entirely sure what it’s going to be like,” Ko said.
She was two shots behind Thitikul going into the final round and was expecting Thitikul to keep going strong. The Thai did, but she fell back with bogeys on the ninth, 13th and 15th holes and Ko was on her way to another victory.
Ko had the low round of the week at the TPC River’s Bend, which was used this year while Kenwood Country Club goes through some course improvements.
“To have a round like this to cap off a win is pretty special,” she said.
Ko next week heads to South Korea to play in the Hana Financial Group Championship. It will be a chance for her to reach 30 career titles worldwide, including victories on the Korea LPGA, the Ladies European Tour and the ALPG Tour in Australia.
Savannah Grewal of Mississauga, Ont., finished at 9-under overall after a 71 on the day. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s Alena Sharp closed at 5-under overall and shot 72 on Sunday.
Edmonton Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch was happy with his team’s start to exhibition play, especially considering not a single player in his lineup on Sunday played with the club during its lengthy recent playoff run.
Defenceman Cam Dineen scored the overtime winner and added an assist as the Oilers started NHL pre-season play with a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
Sam O’Reilly and Raphael Lavoie also scored for the Oilers (1-0) who are coming off their devastating loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final against the Florida Panthers.
“A lot of guys played really well,” Knoblauch said. “The defensive corps, all six of them played really well, obviously highlighted by Dineen.
“I can go through the lineup and I thought a lot of guys played really well.”
Making a strong first impression with his first goal was O’Reilly, who the Oilers traded up to select 32nd overall in the 2024 NHL entry draft.
“I tried to come in with a good mindset, to stay positive and stick to myself and what I do, but obviously going out there and seeing all those people, you get a little nervous,” O’Reilly said. “But you have to shake it off and just play hockey.
“It gave me confidence getting that first goal pretty early. It feels good and I will try to keep building off of that.”
David Gustafsson and Dominic Toninato scored for the Jets, who dropped to 0-1-1 in exhibition action.
“Both teams dressed some younger lineups and it’s great for them, we got to see last night, I think we had six or seven that had never played in an NHL game and it’s great for them to do that,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel.
“It was sloppy at times, some of the execution was off, but at the end of the day, it came down to an OT game for the fans and it was fun.”
Winnipeg scored on the game’s first shot just 17 seconds in, as Gustafsson tipped a Logan Stanley point shot past Oilers goaltender Olivier Rodrigue.
The Oilers responded with a goal on their first shot of the contest as well, as O’Reilly took a stretch pass from Dineen and split the defence up the middle before beating Jets starter Eric Comrie, the goal coming 3:23 into the first.
The shots were only 6-4 for Edmonton through the opening 20 minutes.
Collin Delia, who spent last season with the Jets’ AHL affiliate the Manitoba Moose, came in to replace Rodrigue in the Edmonton net midway through the second.
There was no scoring in the second period, with Edmonton leading 19-9 on the shot clock heading into the third.
Edmonton finally broke the deadlock midway through the third on the power play as Lavoie sent a one-timer from the top of the left circle past Comrie.
That lead only lasted 10 seconds, however, as the Jets knotted the game when Kevin He sent the puck out in front to Toninato and he hammered it past Delia, eventually sending the game to extra time.
Edmonton scored the winner 1:17 into overtime after a big hit by Vasily Podkolzin created a two-on-one and Dineen lugged the puck down ice before cutting across and sending a snap shot past Comrie.
NOTES
Both teams dressed squads extremely light on NHL experience, most players having spent all or the majority of their time in the AHL last season … A pair of veterans on the Oilers roster were both of their players on personal tryout offers, forward Mike Hoffman and defenceman Travis Dermott. … The Jets were playing for the second night in a row, having lost 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday in the Manitoba capital. Kaapo Kahkonen made 23 saves in the loss in his Jets debut. … Comrie, an Edmonton native, made his first start in a Jets jersey since May 1, 2022, as he auditioned for a backup role with the team. “I just want to battle as hard as I can,” Comrie said. “The special word here is compete and I want to make sure I compete as hard as I can and do what I can to make the decision (on backup) as hard as I can (for coaches).”
UP NEXT
Oilers: Play home-and-home split squad games against the Calgary Flames on Monday.
Jets: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2024.
