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Spain

Description: Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: España, Reino de España), is a country located in Southern Europe, ... more

Spain ... with two small exclaves in North Africa (both bordering Morocco). The mainland of Spain is bounded on the south and east by Mediterranean Sea (containing the Balearic Islands), on the north by the Cantabrian Sea and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean (containing the Canary Islands off the African coast). Spain shares land borders with Portugal, France, Andorra, Gibraltar and Morocco. It is the larger of two sovereign states that make up the Iberian Peninsula — the other is Portugal. Different cultures have settled in the area of modern Spain, such as the Celts, Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, and Moors. For just over five centuries, during the Middle Ages, large areas were under the control of Islamic rulers, a fragment of which survived as late as 1492, when the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragón completed the 770 years long process of driving the Moors out. That same year, Christopher Columbus reached the New World, leading to the creation of the world-wide Spanish Empire. Spain became the most powerful country in Europe, but continued wars and other problems gradually reduced Spain to a diminished status. The 20th century was dominated in the middle years by the Franco dictatorship; with the dawn of a stable democracy in 1978, and having joined what is now known as the European Union in 1986, Spain has enjoyed an economic and cultural renaissance.

Newest Review: ... 1492. Despite somewhat lower air and water temperatures, the northern coast of Spain, stretching from the Galicia region to the Basque country, has its avid fans as well. Unlike the mostly barren southern part (forests which used to grow in the southern territories disappered almost completely during the era of great naval expeditions and geographical discoveries, when large quantities of ... more

... wood went to shipbuilding), the north is covered all the way to the ocean with beech and oak forests and kilometres of lush green meadows. The ocean in the north is also much more stormy than in the Mediterranean, which attracts many surfers. A must see...more

Read Reviews for Spain

Spain: From Fiesta to Siesta (1074 words)
by - written on 02/11/08 (Very useful, 127 readings)
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The city of Madrid with masterpieces housed in the Prado museum: Barcelona with wonders of architecture designed by Antonio Gaudi; thousands of kilometres of coastline and two archipelagos, the Canary and Balearics islands - all these make Spain one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. The whole is made complete by a rich culture, fascinating history, and exquisite cuisine. According to the strategic guidelines of the Spanish tourism ministry, the major tourist attractions that make Spain a worthwhile destination include sunny beaches, culture and cities, conventions and team building trips, leisure activities and sports and vacations in the ... Read the complete review

Earn a nice life. (622 words)
by - written on 03/04/04 (Very useful, 79 readings)
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Normally Spain is associated with a country of a beautiful landscapes, good food, sunny weather, total fun and endless fiesta. Well, that’s the way I know Spain as wellJ No wonder that many people want to move to live in this country. Here are some useful information about possibilities of work in Spain (in order to support your funny life there). In order to work in Spain you would need two things: 1. more or less intermediate speaking and comprehensive level of Spanish (the appropriate level of it is possible to archive in about two month in any language school) 2. a work permit (permisso de trabajo) LEGAL ... Read the complete review

Spain: SPAIN: Siestas and fiestas in SEVILLE! (436 words)
by - written on 07/08/03 (Useful, 297 readings)
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Sevilla, in the heart of Andaluicia (Southern Spain), is a city not to be missed. This city is the hottest city in Spain - and I'm not just talking about the weather! At first glance, it is filled with the usual touristy shops and attractions, but there is a lot more to this city..... I lived in the city for a month whilst a student at CLIC language school and fell hopelessly in love with the place. The Spanish who live in the south are notoriously laid-back and chilled out. Like clockwork, the city shuts down every afternoon for siestas. People gather in the PLazas for drinking and partying before catching a couple of hours sleep before the ... Read the complete review

Celebrating New Year the Spanish way (421 words)
by - written on 20/01/02 (Somewhat useful, 191 readings)
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For the last few years I have spent New Year in Spain, and although the celebrations are much more low key than Edinburgh or central London, the atmosphere is welcoming and friendly. My first experience was a disaster; a New Year’s Eve to forget. This was in one of Spain’s most vibrant and largest cities where I assumed that the casual visitor would be well catered for. But virtually everywhere was closed and I have seldom seen the streets so quiet. I finally gave up at 11pm, went to bed only to be awoken an hour later by a fantastic firework display (mind you by the time I was fully conscious it was all over!) Although virtually every town will put ... Read the complete review

Spain: spain! (332 words)
by - written on 15/11/01
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This summer I went to Spain for the first time, when I got there and had been there about a week I started to really realise how different Spain was to England, there were so many differences and a lot of things done differently from the English way of things. Firstly and the most obvious one is that the Spanish speak, well… Spanish but I found that a reasonably large present, specially the owners of the shops can in fact speak English although they are impressed if you at least give a good go at speaking to them in there own language. The working hours and shop times- In Spain it is two hot to work during the mid day sun so they have a ceaster in ... Read the complete review