At the airport right now on our way back. Even though Spain in general was not a cheap destination, the frugal traveler will always try to get the best bang for the buck. Since people love to eat out there, there were many affordable meals to be found.
Here’s what we had for lunch one day at a white-tablecloth restaurant. First course, second course, dessert, and a glass of wine. Try to guess the cost of this meal, before reading further.
All of this cost €8.70 = $11.25 per person, including tax and service (tip)! These days you can barely get one entree for $10 at TGIFridays.
You can usually find a great fixed-price lunch in many neighborhoods for under $15. Lunch is often the biggest meal of the day in Spain, and when we ate one of these we usually just ended up having a few assorted tapas for dinner.
The only catch is at the non-touristy places you have to be either fluent in Spanish/Catalan or be okay with making a fool of yourself… You should have seen the look on the guy’s face when I misremembered and asked for a plate of fire (fuego) instead of octopus (pulpo)…
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Looks like the wine was too strong; the slant of the photographs increase with each course 🙂
Did Rick Steves guide book help? What places did you visit? Any tips of finding cheap airfares and hotels in spain?
I would have been interested to see the result had that miscommunication not been cleared up. Charcoal on a plate? Baked alaska? A glass of burning alcohol? Talk about “well-done”…*grins*
Oohhh… either you’re traveling in a more expensive part of Spain than I’ve spent time in, or I’m waaay out of date in my recollection of prices – I was guessing $4-5! I was spoiled by doing so much travel when the dollar was so strong….
Those Americans, always ordering a plate of fire. 🙂
‘Misremembered’?? That’s a new one. Sounds like you’re translating Spanish to English.
Enjoy those prices while you can. With the US & European governments printing monopoly money they way they are now, all these prices will be super-inflated as soon as recovery get’s afoot in these economies.
Definately sounds like you found a good deal. I hope you enjoyed your trip and brought back many happy memories.
I am sure you were asked several times during your stay…”Parla Catala?” That is a much harder language to learn then spanish.
That is why they take their siestas after their long big lunches. People in Spain eat their suppers very late at night.
I have a cheaper method for meals in Spain: I stay with my relatives;)
The most expensive meals I had in Spain was going to various bars in Seville for tapas (individually not so bad, but by the end of that night’s journey, I discovered that we had spent quite a bit). However, it is nice to splurge once and a while.
Wtf is going on with your hand (assuming that’s your hand in the top picture)?
Its a shadow from the wine glass.
Although the white shirt, white table cloth, and crooked pictures make me feel like this is out of that best seller Cooking With Your Cult.
Spain is a cheap destination. One of the cheapest in western Europe. If you found it expensive, (even with the weak dollar), you weren’t as much of a budget traveler as you could have been. As I said in a previous comment, I would have offered tips on how to do it cheaply.
I’m surprised you thought it was expensive even after all the free stuff you got with your reward points.
I don’t think I’ve drank that much red wine ever in a week. Wine was much better than the beer, in my opinion. Some of the fixed lunches just leave an entire bottle at your table. Talk about siesta-inducing!
Small glasses of beer and wine are 1 euro every where. Add in the splendid public transportation, makes things much more fun 🙂
Rick Steve’s remains my fav book for Europe. We hit most of the must-see type of places in Barcelona and Madrid. Day trip to Toledo as well.
Spain is less expensive than London or Paris, but I wouldn’t call it cheap compared to all the other places out there like Eastern Europe, much of Latin America, China, or SE Asia. For most things, it is comparable to the US. No 25 cent bowls of noodles there! 🙂