How to talk to a tourist

After having walked 10 km along the beach between Elviria and Marbella Spain, on one of the sunniest and warmest days this winter, I wasn't only thirsty (yes I had water but) and hungry. All I wanted, for some reason, was a hamburger (or hamburguesa) and beer (cerveza). I got to a point where I didn't care where I got it - from a shack on the beach or a fancy sit-down. The first that came up, upon entering Marbella, was a beachside resto. But I entered from the wrong entrance. "Tienes hamburguesas? (you have hamburgers?) I said as a waiter approached me. "Yes," he immediately switched to English. But, he said, I had entered from the wrong entrance. I had to go around and enter from the main door. "That is how we do things here." A little annoyed by his attitude, I responded, "Oh, the main entrance!" in an exaggerated tone. I considered doing exactly that but then thought "screw it." First, I was put off by the waiter's immediate conversion to English when I asked him something in Spanish. Sure, it happens all the time on the Costa but perhaps his slightly aggressive tone made it annoying. So I continued walking and turned up a block to the main drag, Avenida Ricardo Soriano, named after the main developer who brought post-war tourism - and a lot of foreign money (including infamous Russian oligarchs) - to this destination mecca in southwestern Spain. I walked a couple of blocks and spotted a small cafe across the street. A waiter, as typical, was standing outside. I asked "Tienes hamburguesas?" "Si." No switching to English, he just asked what I'd like on it. I got the "completo" and said "si." I doubt he even knew a word in English. Same with the young waitress. And everyone around me - on the patio and inside - was a local and some were regulars. Ah, I sighed, perfect. No one attempting to speak English to me and taking me literarily at my word, as much Spanish as I had. 

Unfortunately, as beautiful and elegant as downtown Marbella is, I fear the city centre might be hollowing out. The first sign was spotting what used to be a delightful local bakery (photo above), pastry and sandwich shop, undergoing renos when I was here last year. And now I know the reason: it has been turned into - aghast! - a Five Guys hamburger joint. Then, walking further along the street I noticed two storefronts completely empty. I may be jumping to conclusions but indicators like this don't portend well, even for an otherwise exquisite city.

Last week (March 10) I booked a "multi city" air fare from Windsor to London, and returning more than a month later from Berlin to Windsor. I was going to wait on booking it but the Iran War and warnings of gas price hikes made me decide to book early. I paid $1194.26. Just for the heck of it, I decided to check last Friday if the price had skyrocketed. Just the opposite. It had gone down to $1083.25 for the exact same flights. And today I checked again, the price now up to $1383.52 but that included one checked bag!

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller