Travelers of the Vine,
I’m not sure how many of you have ever been to Spain, or have driven a car around the country, so I wanted to write about a few of my own experiences and give you tips for navigating from and to the airport.
First of all, for those of you that have driven a car around Spain I commend you for your fearless nature. It’s certainly no easy task, especially when leaving and entering the country’s larger airports. For example, Barajas Airport in Madrid is probably one of the biggest nightmares to navigate. Just ask my dad (joe@spanishvines.com) and he’ll be glad to translate a few Spanish curse words he’s spun off his tongue while trying to get to American Airlines in terminal 4!
If you’re flying into the airport, when you land you want to look for the following signs:
“Reclamo de Equipaje”- Baggage Claim
“Salida” – Exit
“Alquiler de coches” – Car rental
“Aseos” – Bathroom (just in case…)
When your trip to Spain is over and you’re heading back to the airport to go home, even if you have a GPS you still may not arrive at the correct terminal. All I can say is that when it comes to Spanish airports in general, don’t assume that the silhouette airplane figure that we Americans always see on the big green interstate signs will take you to the public airport. In the States, you know you’re safe, but in Spain you really have to pay attention; otherwise you may end up at one of their military air bases!
My biggest suggestion is to bus it. No other company is worth your time than ALSA. ALSA is great. They can be found in some of the country’s most rural cities of which the times are usually very flexible. But if you insist on renting a car, definitely pay the few extra dollars to get the GPS.
In conclusion- good luck! The Spanish airports are very hard to navigate, and can be a hassle to deal with at the beginning or end of your trip, but the beauty of Spain and what you experience in between your arrival and departure makes it more than worth it.
If you have any other tips that you would like to provide, then please post as a comment to the site! Next week I’ll discuss driving through Spain- a bit different that driving up and down the east coast on I-95.
Recipe of the week: Brought to you from the region of Catalonia!
“Bread with Tomato” or “Pamb Tomaquet”
serves 6-8
-8 slices of artisan bread
-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut in half
-2 very ripe tomatoes, cut in half
-TBSP of extra virgin olive oil
-Salt and pepper
Directions:
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Toast bread on both sides
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Rub warm bread with garlic
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Rub bread with tomato and squeeze juice onto bread
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Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper
This is a great recipe for just hanging around the house or when guest are just arriving for a dinner party- the perfect tapas!
Entender es Disfrutar!
~Josh
