Real Spain? (1 Viewer)

Aug 18, 2011
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it's like saying London or maybe Brighton is real England
Well they must be,,they are both in ENGLAND and its todays society,, Probably not the England of 20 years ago but thats in the past,,they are both England at the present time as is Benidorm Spain today,,BUSBY,,
 

TheBig1

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Well they must be,,they are both in ENGLAND and its todays society,, Probably not the England of 20 years ago but thats in the past,,they are both England at the present time as is Benidorm Spain today,,BUSBY,,
I was born in and live near Bournemouth but that too is no longer typically English. Full of foreigners and tourists enjoying the "fake night life". The locals see it as alien to our culture and everyday life

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Aug 18, 2011
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I was born in and live near Bournemouth but that too is no longer typically English. Full of foreigners and tourists enjoying the "fake night life". The locals see it as alien to our culture and everyday life

Think Bournemouth has been full of tourists since the late 40s,,Can remember it full of French students in the 50s. It is a holiday resort and its prosperity depends on it..But like it or not it is REAL ENGLAND 2019,,Everywhere evolves.BUSBY.:)
 

Chris

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Think Bournemouth has been full of tourists since the late 40s,,Can remember it full of French students in the 50s. It is a holiday resort and its prosperity depends on it..But like it or not it is REAL ENGLAND 2019,,Everywhere evolves.BUSBY.:)

I was in Bournemouth when Elvis died funnily enough.

I was 11 years old and bang in the middle of buying a new skateboard when it was announced on the store tannoy.

It ruined my purchasing experience:(

I don’t think I had heard of him either but my parents filled me in.

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Sounds like this might have originated in a Spanish Tourist Board campaign to get people visiting other parts of the country rather than just the most popular costas!

It seems it is now a shortcut to express the wish to experience a genuinely Spanish culture rather than just transporting UK life to a more sunny and warm location (like dragging Skegness to Benidorm).

In the 70s and 80s the Spanish bent over backwards to welcome UK holidaymakers who wanted to feel completely at home but enjoy the warmer climes, hence offering UK food and UK beer and speaking English.

Times have moved on and, while there are still some who want to consume exactly what they do at home, the majority want something different. The most adventurous want the 'complete, true Spanish experience'; the majority, I think, want a 'taste of Spain' i.e. some true Spanish culture alongside some more comfortingly familiar things from home.

Personally, I don't have a problem with that. I don't see it as snobbishness, just people wanting different things from their interactions with Spain.

What does become more clear to me each time I return, is that their is in fact no single Spain. Touring the nation, the regional differences are marked (Catalonia, Galicia, Valencia, Basque country, etc.) it's like saying Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland is one homogenous culture.
 

TheBig1

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many many years! since I was a kid
Think Bournemouth has been full of tourists since the late 40s,,Can remember it full of French students in the 50s. It is a holiday resort and its prosperity depends on it..But like it or not it is REAL ENGLAND 2019,,Everywhere evolves.BUSBY.:)
but there always has been the Bournemouth seen by the holiday makers and the rest of the town that services that part and has grown rich from the visitors. We also have a university and numerous foreign language schools. But they are absolutely not part of our culture nor representative of REAL England
 

estresao

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I would say, for example, Norwich is more real British than (London).

Don't know whether you guys have been at south Tenerife, in Canary Island. This spot is so unreal Spanish you can not order a coffe in Spanish.... despite it's in Spain.

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jumartoo

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I would say, for example, Norwich is more real British than (London).

Don't know whether you guys have been at south Tenerife, in Canary Island. This spot is so unreal Spanish you can not order a coffe in Spanish.... despite it's in Spain.


Norwegian??? We were there some years ago and everything was in Norwegian. Although I suppose it's not really any different from the Brit areas in other parts of Spain. We once took some Spanish friends to a carvery that they wanted to try (alicante region) and the staff there couldn't understand/speak Spanish.

We also left Spain one year via the Val d'Aran and the last village/shops were French speaking only!
 
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Aug 18, 2011
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I would say, for example, Norwich is more real British than (London).

Don't know whether you guys have been at south Tenerife, in Canary Island. This spot is so unreal Spanish you can not order a coffe in Spanish.... despite it's in Spain.
Bit like saying The Falklands are not like England,,BUSBY,
 

estresao

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Norwich... at Norfolk... East Anglia LOL

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estresao

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But they'd speak English wouldn't they?
Never been there.

Whole south america, but Brazil, speack Spanish, and these countries are not real Spain at all.

In Hong Kong Eglish is spocken and they are not real Great Britain.
 
Aug 18, 2011
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Never been there.

Whole south america, but Brazil, speack Spanish, and these countries are not real Spain at all.

In Hong Kong Eglish is spocken and they are not real Great Britain.

Bit of a clue,,real England is England 2019..Real Spain to me is Mainland Spain 2019,,,Its no good reminiscing about years gone by,,the real time is now.BUSBY:):)
 

estresao

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I see, but when we say "that's not real Spain" means the culture nor the place. For example, a proper British pub serving Adnams pints with a carpet in the floor, and no one speaking Spanish.... that's not real Spain. Benidorm streets doesn't looks like real Spain' streets because it"s a city prettt foreing tourism oriented.

That is not bad nor good, it's just not the real Spain.

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Aug 18, 2011
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I see, but when we say "that's not real Spain" means the culture nor the place. For example, a proper British pub serving Adnams pints with a carpet in the floor, and no one speaking Spanish.... that's not real Spain. Benidorm streets doesn't looks like real Spain' streets because it"s a city prettt foreing tourism oriented.

That is not bad nor good, it's just not the real Spain.
Not many real places left then is there,,Most towns in SPAIN and UK have Chinese,Italian,Indian and American take aways and restaurants in them,,,Where is REAL?? You see Coca Cola signs in villages in the middle of the Amazon,,BUSBY.
 
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Never been there.

Whole south america, but Brazil, speack Spanish, and these countries are not real Spain at all.

In Hong Kong Eglish is spocken and they are not real Great Britain.
Suriname speak Dutch, Guyana speak English and French Guiana speak French and they're all part of mainland South America. I'm just being pedantic now!
 

Chris

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Not many real places left then is there,,Most towns in SPAIN and UK have Chinese,Italian,Indian and American take aways and restaurants in them,,,Where is REAL?? You see Coca Cola signs in villages in the middle of the Amazon,,BUSBY.

I think in fairness France has stayed pretty real France.

I can’t stand the place but that’s just me.

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estresao

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I think in fairness France has stayed pretty real France.

I can’t stand the place but that’s just me.
Same in Spain, there are places with lot of caracter... but I agree we are getting more and more global.
 
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Gibraltar is a bit of Olde England (not).
Perhaps if you are country born (rural), you may feel at home in rural Spain like Estramadura. If you are a Townie and would miss the shops, perhaps Benidorm is your forte.
Real Spain has a lot of sunshine and suntan lotion. That's what real Spain is!
 

estresao

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Nope.... if you like shoping Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, etc... is much better.

I grew up in Extremadura region, in a snall city called Zafra (around 15000 inhabitants) and my childhood was not rural at all, it was just the uban life you an have in a small city.

I bet many of you already did, but if don't I would suggest you guys to discover other places like Toledo, Salamanca, Granada, Cordoba, Pamplona, Santander, Seville, Santiago de Compostela, etc, etc, etc....there are many places plenty of history and, something very important for Spaniards, really good food.

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jumartoo

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Nope.... if you like shoping Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, etc... is much better.

I grew up in Extremadura region, in a snall city called Zafra (around 15000 inhabitants) and my childhood was not rural at all, it was just the uban life you an have in a small city.

I bet many of you already did, but if don't I would suggest you guys to discover other places like Toledo, Salamanca, Granada, Cordoba, Pamplona, Santander, Seville, Santiago de Compostela, etc, etc, etc....there are many places plenty of history and, something very important for Spaniards, really good food.

We've been to all those places, some of them by bicycle when we rode the Via de la Plata, including Zafra! (It has a good car wash, ideal for washing muddy bikes :LOL:).

We loved that route because Spain changed so much as we rode through the different regions.
 

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