Top 5 Favorite Places in Spain Part 1 by Husband

Hello everyone!

How are you spending your Golden Week? I hope that mothers who are busy with work, housework, and childcare can take a little break.

Of course Spain doesn't have GW , but I made it myself this year! I went to Copenhagen on weekends + Mondays, Tuesdays and my children had a day off from school.

In short, it's a beautiful city! However, the prices were terrifyingly high.

As a result, the update is a little behind schedule, but today I'm excited to continue from the last time and introduce my top 5 favorite places in Spain (Barcelona)!

Today is more tense than usual. Because there was a person who bothered to leave a comment saying that the blog was interesting. Ever since I was a child, I've grown up being praised no matter what kind of failure I made.

Thank you for renting this place!

Well, last time, I introduced the top 5 things I dislike about Spain, and I wouldn't want to travel to Spain if I would step on a hole! What a thought. But this time I'm going to redeem the filth, no, the stigma! ! !

Let's start from 5th place!

No.5 There are both mountains and the sea

My life has peaks and valleys! If possible, a life in the mountains would have been better. But what about a life with mountains and seas? it's great!

This is more about Barcelona than Spain, but geographically we are very lucky. There are both mountains and the sea nearby. People often ask me, "Mountain or Sea?", but here you don't have to choose.

By the way, I was born in Ina City, Nagano Prefecture, a big city with a population of 70,000, so I'm a city person.

Imagine a day of trekking in the mountains in the morning, getting around on foot, swimming at the beach, and then having a gin and tonic (a popular gin and tonic in Barcelona) at the beach bar! It's like dating Takashi Sorimachi and Yutaka Takenouchi at the same time.

People of different generations may not understand, but when I was a high school student, the drama "Beach Boys" was popular, and I was anti-town? Takenouchi faction? How often it was talked about.

I used to admire both of them as the same man, but when Mr. Sorimachi featured that Richie Sambora and debuted as a singer with the song "Forever", and then released "Poison", the heat cooled down. It seems that there was an antidote to Sorimachi Fever.

Going back to the story, it takes 15 minutes by bus or train from the center of Barcelona to the beach, 15 minutes for easy hiking, and 1 hour for skiing.

People tend to think that the water in the sea in urban areas is dirty, but the sea in Barcelona is highly transparent and the water is very clean! The water in the toilet after cleaning by Seiko Noda, a member of the House of Representatives, should be no less.

* A long time ago, when Mr. Noda was working at the Imperial Hotel as a new graduate, before he became a politician, his first job was cleaning the toilets. There is an anecdote that Mr. Noda, who has a very high sense of professionalism, would drink the water after cleaning the toilet and prove how clean the toilet was. Or were you very thirsty from hard work? !

Even so, what kind of environment is it that the mountains and the sea are close to each other?

The answer is obvious: Barcelona is a very hilly city. Its speed is comparable to Gyoaizaka in Shirogane Takanawa. I want you to think that Gyoaizaka continues for many kilometers.

However, few people know about this minor slope.

When I was in my mid - twenties, I used to run up the slope at midnight, screaming strangely, to release my stress.

However, the slope was too steep, so after trying it three times, I had to come up with another way to relieve stress.

At the top of the hill, there was a super spicy curry shop.

The store is so stoic that it even has a sign telling you not to drink water.

15 years later, are they still in business? ! Could it be that Mr. Noda was cleaning the toilet after going to this curry shop? !

Back to the topic, Barcelona has a well-developed public transportation system because of the steep slopes (?). Within the city, it is relatively easy to get to anywhere using buses and subways. Transport infrastructure is great. You can live without a car without any problems.

On the other hand, there are many convenient scooters, and their rough driving is dangerous, and the exhaust gas emitted is the worst. I would like to expect future measures.

 

4th mild climate

This is also the case with Barcelona, ​​where the climate is mild all year round. It's like Nobita's grandmother.

Grandma has already passed away since the start of Doraemon, so she rarely appears, but she has a very gentle personality that does not blame Nobita for anything, and does not get angry no matter what Nobita says. is the owner of

I'm sure many people cried when they saw the short film "Grandma's Memories" about such a grandmother! ? It is not inferior to those who think that it is such a pleasant climate.

Summer is certainly hot, with some days going up to 35 degrees. However, since there is no humidity, it is rather pleasant to be in the shade. However, the Mediterranean sun is unusually strong, so caution is required there. I want to take measures with a hat so that I don't end up like Meursault.

* Meursault, who appears in Camus' masterpiece "The Stranger", commits murder because the sun is dazzling.

As I was writing this, my wife muttered from the side that I read only Keigo Higashino, but don't talk about French literature with a pompous air. You're right. But the Gentile has really read.

In winter, on the other hand, there are not many days when the temperature drops below 10 degrees, so you don't need a thick coat. It never snows in Barcelona, ​​but if you want to play in the snow, it's just an hour's drive north.

It's just the climate, but it's the climate. Especially in my case, having moved from the frigid New York, I am grateful for the difference. It's a climate that makes me want to go outside at any time of the year, and I'm especially happy that my children can play outside all year round.

Especially in the summer, it is bright until 22:00, which contributes to the comfort.

The northern part of Spain has a lot of rain and is relatively cold, while the southern part of Spain gets hot in the summer, reaching nearly 40 degrees Celsius.

 

3rd Low cost of living

According to the most recent data, Spain ranks 29th in the cost of living ranking by country, and Barcelona ranks 299th by city, both of which are not high.

Luxury goods aren't cheap, but the things you need to live in are much cheaper than in big cities such as New York, London, and Paris, and even cheaper than in Denmark, where I visited this time. Now that the yen is weak, it may be said that it is not so when converted to yen, but I feel that it is cheap compared to this Quality of Life .

The reason why the cost of living is low is because the wages are also low.

Of course, compared to other European powers, the economy is weak, so it's not a good thing, but from the point of view of the people who live there, it's still a relief.

Also, the self-sufficiency rate of food is basically very high, so the act of "eating", which is probably the most essential part of life, does not cost much. The high self-sufficiency rate of grains, vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, and dairy products is top class in the world.

Perhaps the first thing that surprises tourists is the cheap prices of drinks.

In a casual bar, draft beer is 2.5 euros, bottled beer is under 2 euros, and coffee is 1.5 euros. A glass of wine is also 2-3 euros. Recently, a visitor from New York told me that when he saw the price and thought it was wine by the glass, he ordered a bottle.

Certainly, the price of New York wine by the glass and the price of this bottle wine is about the same.

Chinese-owned bars can sometimes be cheaper. Over the last few years, Chinese capital has been buying up bars all over the city, and in some areas most of the bars are owned by Chinese. I think they control the cheap distribution system.

Most of the bars around the famous football stadium, the Camp Nou, have actually been bought by the Chinese. The name of the bar is the same as the old one, so it's Spanish and you can't tell at first glance, but when you go inside, the staff are Chinese. Even though it's an ordinary bar, you can eat fried rice and dumplings. Their vitality that allows them to live anywhere is as great as Osako.

I digress a little, but many of the convenience stores in Barcelona are owned by Pakistan. These convenience stores are commonly known as ``paki'' and are popular with citizens because they are open even on Sundays when other stores are closed.

Land prices are also cheaper than other big cities. A family of four can probably live in central Barcelona for around €1500 a month. In NY, it costs at least three times that, and I think London, Hong Kong, and Singapore are the same. In Japan, Minato Ward, Shibuya Ward, Setagaya Ward, etc. will be more expensive than Barcelona at least.

Around me, there are Americans, Germans, Dutch, etc. who work remotely, but I live in my home country only at the salary level, and I live with the standard of living in Spain, so I live very comfortably. Urayama deer.

Infrastructure, security, food, climate, etc. are all in place, and at this cost of living, I have no complaints.

Well, it's getting long. Most people probably left without reading to the end. So I will write more next time.

Who will shine in 2nd and 1st place?

Please write your predictions in the comments section. For those who answered correctly, I will never sleep with my feet facing up.

Finally, today is the last day of the GW sale. Some items are out of stock, so don't miss this opportunity!

husband