those who are especially hired or appointed to give it. The personal
service of the railroads, with rare exceptions, is ungracious and
careless. One must be sure to ask about all the details he wants to
know, for these are seldom volunteered. There is a main office (called
Despacho Central) in each city, where you may buy tickets, order an
omnibus for the station, make inquiries, etc. At the one in Toledo I
presented our circular tickets for stamping, on departure, and asked
several questions about the train, which showed the agent plainly what
line we were going to take. When we reached Castillejo, I found that, in
spite of all this, he had allowed us to take a road on which the tickets
he had stamped were not valid, and we were forced to pay the whole fare.
Neither will conductors be at the pains to shut the doors on the sides
of the cars; passengers must do this for themselves. I had travelled all
night in a compartment, and in the morning, wishing to look out, I
leaned against the door, and it instantly flew open. As it was on the
off-side when I got in, it was at that time already closed; but I now
discovered that the handle had not even been turned to secure it. The
superficial way in which people do things over there is seen in the
curious little fact that, from the time of leaving France until that of
our return, we could nowhere get the backs of our boots blacked, though
repeatedly insisting on it; the national belief being that trousers
conceal that part of the shoe, and labor given to improving its
appearance would therefore be thrown away.
The demand for fees is in general not so systematic or impudent as in
England; but when one intends to stay more than a day in a place, better
attendance will be obtained by bestowing a present of a franc or two,
although service is included in the regular daily rate of the hotel.
Finally, the Spaniard with whom one comes most in contact as a tourist
is peculiarly averse to being scolded; so that, whatever the
provocation, it is better to deal with him softly.
_Hotels, Diet, etc_.--The Spanish hotels are conducted on the American
plan; so much a day being paid for room, fare, light, heat, and service.
This sum ranges commonly from $1 50 to $2 00 a head, except where the
very best rooms are supplied. The foreigner, of course, pays a good deal
more than the native, but it is impossible for him to avoid that.
Sometimes coffee after dinner is included in this price, but coffee
after the mid-day breakfast is charged as an extra; and so are all wines
except the ordinary red or white Val de Peñas, which are supplied with
both meals. Nothing is furnished before the breakfast hour excepting a
cup of chocolate, some bread, and, possibly, butter. One should always
see his rooms before engaging them, and also be particular to ask
whether the price named includes everything, otherwise additional items
will be foisted upon him when the bill is settled. Confusion in the
account may be avoided by paying for all extras at the moment of
obtaining them.
Those who are unaccustomed to the light provend furnished for the
morning will do well to carry a stock of beef-extract, or something of
the kind. Cow's milk is difficult to get, and such a thing as a boiled
egg with the chocolate is well-nigh unheard of. The national beverage is
the safest: warm chocolate, not very sweet, and so thick that it will
almost hold the spoon upright. Coffee in the morning does not have the
same nutritive force; indeed, quite otherwise than in France and
Germany, it appears to exert in this climate an injurious effect if
drunk early in the day--at least, a comparison of notes shows it to be
so in summer. Rather more attention should be given to diet in Spain
than in the countries above named, or in England and Italy, owing to
peculiarities of the climate and the cookery. Whoever has not a hardy
digestion runs some danger of disturbance from the all but universal use
of olive-oil in cooking; but, with this exception, the tendency is more
and more toward the adoption of a French _cuisine_ in the best hotels of
the larger cities, and various good, palatable dishes are to be had in
them. The native wines are unadulterated, but strong and heavy. Owing to
something in their composition, or to the unpleasant taste imparted by
the pig-skins, they are to some persons almost poisonous; so that a
degree of caution is necessary in using them. Water has the reputation
of being especially pure in all parts of the kingdom, and of exercising
a beneficial influence on some forms of malady. It certainly is
delicious to drink.
There is much greater cleanliness in the hotels, taking them all in all,
than I had expected; but the want of proper sanitary provision, omitting
the solitary case of the Fonda Suizo at Cordova, where everything was
perfect in this respect, leads to a state of things which may be
described in a word as Oriental--that is, barbarous in the extreme, and
scarcely endurable. On this point professional guide-writers are
strangely silent. A wise precaution is to carry disinfectants. A small
medicine-case, by-the-way, might with advantage be included in the
equipment proper for travel in the Peninsula.
We touched the nadir of dirt and unsavoriness, as you may say, in our
first night at the Fonda del Norte, in Burgos; and there the maid who
ushered me to my room warned me, as she retreated, to be careful about
keeping the doors of the anteroom closed because, as she said, "There
are many rats, and if the doors are open they run in here." But luckily
the rest of our experience was an agreeable decline from this early
climax. There is another hotel at Burgos, the Raffaele, which, as we
learned too late, is--in complete contradiction of the guide-books--clean
and pleasant. On the practical side, that voyager will achieve success
who plans his route in Spain so as to evade the Fonda del Norte at
Burgos, which is the stronghold of dirt, and the Hotel de Paris at
Madrid, which takes the palm for extortion. Naturally, in exploring
minor towns or villages, one must be prepared to face a good deal of
discomfort, since he must seek shelter at a _posada_ or _venta_, where
donkeys and other domestic beasts are kept under one roof with the
wayfarer, and perhaps in close proximity to his bed and board. But among
the inns of modern type he will get on fairly well without having to
call out any very great fortitude.
_Expense of Travel_.--From what has been said about circular tickets and
hotel prices, some notion can be formed as to the general cost of a
Spanish expedition. Housing and transportation should not be reckoned at
less than six dollars a day; and allowance must next be made for guides,
carriages, admission fees, and so on. Altogether, ten dollars a day may
be considered sufficient to cover the strictly necessary outlay, if the
journey be conducted in a comfortable manner; but it is safer to assume
one hundred dollars a week as the probable expense for one person, and
this will leave a margin for the purchase of characteristic articles
here and there--a piece of lace, a little pottery, knives, cheap fans,
and so on. This estimate is made on the basis of first-class places _en
route_, and of stops at the best hotels. It could be materially reduced
by choosing second-class hotels, which is by no means advisable when
ladies are of the party; and, even with the better accommodation, if
small rooms be selected and a careful economy exercised in other
directions, sixty dollars a week might be made to do. To dispense with
the aid of the local guides is no saving, if the design be to move
rapidly; because, without such assistance, more time has to be spent in
getting at a given number of objects.
_Mail-service, Telegrams, Books, etc_.--The mails are conveyed with
promptness and safety, it appears; although at Malaga I observed a large
padlocked and green-painted chest with a narrow aperture in it, lying on
the sidewalk in no particular custody, and learned that it was a
convenient movable post-office. Furthermore, it is bewildering to find,
after painfully travelling to the genuine post-office (the _Corréo_),
that you cannot buy any stamps there. These are kept on sale only at the
shops of tobacconists, whose trade likewise makes them agents of the
governmental monopoly in cigars, cigarettes, etc. The tobacconists'
stores bear the sign _Estanco_ (stamp-shop); and, after one is
accustomed to the plan, it becomes really more convenient to obtain
one's postage from them. To weigh large envelopes or packages, however,
the sender must resort to the _Corréo_. International postal cards may
be had, which are good between Spain and France, and other rates are not
high. Those who intend to pass rapidly from point to point will do well
to have all correspondence directed to the care of the American consul
or vice-consul--or, if in Madrid, to the legation there. There is no
difficulty about letters addressed in English, provided the writing be
plain. At the first city which he touches the tourist should ascertain
from the representative of his nationality the names of all
representatives in the other places he expects to go to, so that he can
forward the precise address for each place, and himself be informed just
where to apply for letters or counsel. In cases where there is no time
to take these measures, the plan may be followed of having letters
addressed _poste restante_ at the various points; but they must then be
called for at the post-office, and at each town orders should be left
with the postmaster to forward to some farther objective point any
mail-matter expected at that town, but not received there. In requesting
any service of this kind from consuls, do not forget to leave with them
a proper amount of postage.
Telegrams may be sent from all large places, in English, at rates about
the same as those which prevail elsewhere; but if it is intended to send
many messages by wire, a simple code ought to be arranged with
correspondents beforehand, to save expense. Telegrams have to be written
very carefully, too; I attempted to send one from Granada, but made a
slight correction in one word--a fact which caused it to be brought all
the way back from the city to my hotel on the Alhambra hill, with an
imperative request that it should be rewritten and returned free from
the least scratch or blot.
Whatever books you may wish to consult on the journey should be provided
at the very start, in America, London, or Paris: ten to one you will
not find them in Spain. It is pleasant, for example, to refer on the
spot to an English version of "Don Quixote," or the French "Gil Blas;"
or Prescott's "Ferdinand and Isabella," and the "Columbus," the
"Conquest of Granada," and "Tales of the Alhambra," by Irving. Théophile
Gautier's "Voyage en Espagne" is another very delightful hand-mirror in
which to see your own observations reflected. But none of these are
obtainable except, possibly, in Madrid and Barcelona; and even there it
is not certain that they will be found. These two cities are the
head-quarters, however, for such Spanish books as may be required.
_Bankers and Money_.--Little need be said on this point, beyond
suggesting the usual circular letter of credit, except to forewarn all
persons concerned that they will be charged and must submit to very
heavy commissions and exchange at the houses where their letters entitle
them to draw. Another particular which it is essential to note is the
uncertain currency of certain silver coinage in Spain, and the
prevalence of counterfeit pieces. Strangers must fight shy of any kind
of _peseta_ (equivalent to a franc) except the recent and regulation
ones, though there are many dating from earlier reigns than Alfonso's,
which will pass anywhere. The small money of one province frequently
will not be received in another; and it happened to me to preserve with
great care a Barcelona _peseta_, which I found unavailable everywhere
else, and had accepted by an oversight in Sevilla, in the confident hope
that I could get rid of it at Barcelona itself; but I discovered that
that was exactly the place where they treated it with the most contempt.
Hence it is best, before leaving one province for another, to convert
your change into gold pieces of twenty-five _pesetas_ worth, or into
silver dollars (which are called _duros_), worth five _pesetas_ each.
Here, however, let it be noted that the one infallible course to prevent
deception is to ring on some solid surface of wood or stone every gold
or silver coin you receive at the hotel, the banker's, or anywhere else.
If it give a flat sound, no matter what its real value may be, great
trouble will be had in passing it; hence, you must in that case refuse
to take it. For example, a five-dollar piece was given me which failed
to yield the true sound; and though it was perfectly good, having merely
become cracked, I could do nothing with it, even at the Madrid banker's;
finally getting its value in silver, by a mere chance, from a
professional money-changer of more than common enlightenment.
Never give a gold piece to a waiter or any one else to be changed,
unless the transaction is effected under your own eye; for, if he
carries the coin away out of your sight, a substitution will very likely
be made, and you cannot then get rid of the uncurrent money which will
be forced upon you. The precaution of ringing or sounding money, on
receipt, is so general that no one need feel any hesitation at
practising it, however it may seem to reflect upon the person who has
proffered the coin. Spanish gold pieces in small quantity may with
advantage be bought in Paris. On the other hand, it is well to carry
more or less Napoleons with you, because French gold is trusted, and
passes with slight discount. The traveller should be provided with both
kinds. Always and persistently refuse Spanish paper.
_Buying Bric-à-brac, Lace, etc_.--Those who wish to purchase
characteristic products of the country, ancient or modern, need not fear
that opportunity will be wanting; but the most obvious means are not
always the best. The interpreters or guides attached to hotels are in
most places only too anxious to aid in this sort of enterprise; but it
is because they wish to dispose of some private stock of their own, for
which they will surely demand double price. By courteous but decided
treatment they may be led to make most astonishing reductions from their
first demand; and this channel is accordingly, if properly handled,
often as good as any other. Guides in Cordova will offer an assortment
of old hand-made lace, and introduce you to the silversmiths who there
manufacture a peculiarly effective sort of filigree in ear-rings,
shawl-pins, brooches, and other forms. Cordova is the best place in
which to get this kind of ware; but if lace be the object sought,
Sevilla or Barcelona is a much more advantageous market. Machine-made
lace, which is now the favorite kind among Spanish ladies, and has been
brought to a high degree of delicacy, can be obtained in the greatest
variety and on the best terms at Barcelona, where it is made. Many
foreigners, however, prefer the hand-made kind; and these should explore
Sevilla in search of what they wish, for they can there get it at
reasonable prices. In this connection it is to be premised that the
assistance of some personal acquaintance among the Spaniards themselves,
if it can be had, will always effect a considerable saving; and, when
time can be allowed, the best way always is to make inquiry and prowl
around among the stores for one's self. There are few professed
antiquarian and bric-à-brac salesrooms out of Madrid; but one can often
pick up what he wants in out-of-the-way places. Perhaps the best towns
in which to buy the peculiar gay-colored and ball-fringed _mantas_, or
mantles of the country, and the equally curious _alforjas_ used by the
peasantry, are Granada and Valencia. In Toledo there is a very peculiar
and effective sort of black-and-gray felt blanket, with brilliant
embroideries; that city, like the two just mentioned, being a centre of
textile industry. The purchase of costumes in actual use, from the
peasants themselves, which is something that artists may find useful,
can be accomplished after due bargaining, and by the intervention of the
professional interpreter.
The pottery and porcelain of Spain exhibit a great variety of beautiful
shapes, many of them doubtless Moorish in their origin; and some kinds
are invested with a bold, peculiar coloring, dashed on somewhat in the
Limoges style, but very characteristic of the climate and landscape in
which they are produced. The abundance of unusual and graceful forms
constantly suggests the idea of making a collection. I shall not attempt
to specify the localities most favorable for the carrying out of this
idea; because, so far as my own observation went, there seemed to be
material worth investigating almost everywhere. The common unglazed
bottles and jars made and used by the peasantry in the South, however,
are especially attractive, and are met with only in that part of the
country. They are likewise nearly as cheap as the substance from which
they are made. At Granada, too, there is manufactured a heavy
blue-and-white glazed ware, turned with refined and simple contours, of
honest elegance. Formerly barbers' basins moulded on the Spanish
plan--that is, with a curved piece cut out at one side--were made of
porcelain; and these may still sometimes be picked up in Madrid
junk-shops or antiquarian lairs. They are not always good specimens of
decorative art, but they are curious and effective. Part of an extensive
collection I saw, which had recently been made by an American gentleman;
and I could imagine that, when hung upon the wall by his distant
fireside across the Atlantic, they would form an interesting series of
trophies--a row of ceramic scalps, one might say, marking the fate of so
many vanquished dealers.
Old furniture, heavy with carving or marvellously inlaid according to
traditions of the Moors--monumental pieces, such as were to be seen in
the loan collection of Spanish Art at the South Kensington in 1881, and
are sparsely imported into the United States--offers larger prizes to
those who search and pay. Many relics of ancient costume, dating from
the period of courtly splendor; rich fabrics; embroideries; sacerdotal
robes and disused altar-cloths; and occasional precious metal-work, may
farther be unearthed in the bric-à-brac shops. With due care such
objects will often be obtained at moderate cost. But it is to be
remembered that the price paid on the spot forms only one item.
Transportation to the final shipping-point and the ocean freightage are
very high; amounting in the case of cheap articles to far more than the
original outlay for their purchase.
_Seasons for Travel_.--A question of very great moment is, what time of
year should be chosen for a sojourn in Spain? The answer to it depends
entirely upon the organization of the person asking, and his object in
going. For a simple trip in search of novelty, the voyager being of good
constitution, it makes little difference. From the first of June until
the first of October the heat, in almost any spot south of the Pyrenees,
will be found severe. From the first of October until the first of June,
severe, cold, treacherous changing winds, snow, and ice will be
encountered, save in a few favored localities hereinafter to be named,
under the head of "Climate for Health." Of the two extremes, summer is
perhaps to be preferred; because the voyager at that time knows
precisely what he has got to prepare for and can meet it, whereas winter
is a more variable emergency. A person of good constitution,
understanding how to take care of himself in either case, and with an
eye to local habits as adapted to the season, may go at any time. Autumn
and spring, however, are obviously the ideal seasons for a visit. From a
comparison of authorities, and from my own observation of a part of the
summer, I should advise going during the period from October 1 to
December 1, or from April 1 to June 1. A tour involving more than two
months' time, of course, must pass these limits. For hardy and judicious
travellers there is no objection to a sojourn including June and July;
although it must be said that sight-seeing at the South during these
months is more in the nature of endurance than of recreation. I
encountered no serious local fever or other ailment due to hot weather,
excepting a kind of cholera referred to in one of the preceding
chapters, called _el minuto_ (the minute), at Sevilla. By beginning a
trip at the southern end of the Peninsula and gradually working along
northward toward France, four months from March 1 or April 1 could be
utilized without any unusual discomfort.
_Routes_.--The topic just discussed necessarily has a good deal to do
with the selection of a route, which, from the position of the country,
must be made to begin from the North or from the South.
Let us notice, first, the general lines of approach from different
quarters.
From New York direct, for example, one may sail for Cadiz in steamers of
the Anchor and Guion lines, or in the Florio (Spanish) steamers, which
last I have heard spoken of in favorable terms by authority presumably
good. From London there are two lines of steamers: one, Messrs. Hall's,
leaving weekly for Lisbon, Gibraltar, Malaga, and Cadiz; the other,
Messrs. MacAndrew's, leaving London three times a week for Bilbao and
the principal ports on the Mediterranean. For any one wishing to visit
Spain alone, these form the cheapest and nearest means of reaching the
country. To go by steamer from London is, however, very obviously a
slower way than to take the rail from the English capital to Paris and
thence to the frontier, either at Irun and San Sebastian, or at
Barcelona by way of Marseilles and Perpignan. So that, where speed alone
is the object, one may take a fast steamer from New York to Liverpool,
use the rail thence to London, and arrive in Burgos, for instance, about
fifty hours after leaving London. The through train from Paris for Spain
leaves in the evening. Voyagers from the East and Italy, designing to
pass through Spain on their return westward, can embark on the
Peninsular and Oriental steamers, or those of the Messageries
Imperiales.
When one passes through France, on the way, it is possible to buy a
Continental railroad guide, which gives all the trains in Spain and
France, and the connection of one system with the other across the
boundary. This is to be recommended as an exceedingly useful document.
It may as well be remarked here that the information ordinarily given in
books about the coasting steamers from one port to another along the
Mediterranean coast of Spain is as untrustworthy as it is vague. The
precise date of departure from any given town on the coast for the other
ports to the north-east or south-west is not very easy to ascertain,
except in the town itself. One or another steamer, however, is pretty
sure to sail from Cadiz, Malaga, Valencia, and Barcelona two or three
times a week; so that one can scarcely fail of what the Germans call an
"opportunity." There is undoubtedly a difference in the various lines,
as regards comfort and swiftness of progress; but it is not true, as the
guide-books assert, that the French steamers alone are good, and that
the Spanish are dirty and comfortless. We personally inspected two boats
in the harbor of Malaga before making choice; one was French and the
other Spanish, and we found the latter much the more commodious and
cleanly. But, then, it is possible that some other Spanish line than
the one we selected may be inferior to some still other French line
which we did not see. Everybody can satisfy himself, by simply viewing
whatever steamers happen to be on hand for the trip, before engaging
passage. The accommodations on all of them seem to be of a kind that
would not be tolerated for a day in America; but they compare well with
those of the best boats on the English Channel, being fairly on a level
with the incomplete civilization of Europe in respect of convenience,
privacy, and hygiene. The cabins become close and unwholesome at night,
and few staterooms are provided. These last are built to receive from
four to six persons, who may be total strangers to each other; hence,
any one who wishes to be independent of chance comers must betake
himself to the deck at night, or else make special arrangements to
secure an entire room before starting.
Again, on the railroads, many journeys have to be made at night; and it
is seldom that one can secure a sleeping-coach. On much-travelled lines
these are usually bespoken a week in advance. Failing to get the
_wagon-lit_, as the sleeping-car is called, after the French fashion,
one may sometimes engage a _berlina_, which is simply the _coupé_ or end
compartment of a car. This, being made to seat three persons instead of
six, is allowed to be reserved. It costs about two dollars for a
distance of one hundred miles.