In Spanish 2 For Travel we added “Where …” questions – if you’re looking for the bathroom, a pharmacy, a bus stop, or the subway or railway station, a bank , an ATM or the Tourist Information.
Asking such questions in Spanish – especially if you’ve practiced your pronunciation a bit – may let your conversation partner assume that you understand Spanish quite well.
The result will be an answer and a stream of words that’ll fly right by you.
So asking the person to speak more slowly could be your first reply in such a case: “¿Podría hablar más despacio por favor?”
And it would be good to also know some basic directional words and phrases in Spanish – left, right, straight ahead – as the typical answers may well include them.
The Next 13 Spanish Phrases
Why These Phrases?
In Essential Spanish 1 and 2, we listed greetings and typical “where is…?” questions. Even if you’ve never studied Spanish before, it’ll be useful to learn and practice saying them.
In Essential Spanish 3, there are only two sentences you may want to practice saying: “Could you please speak more slowly?” and “Many thanks for your help.”
The other 11 phrases and sentences will be useful to understand as you receive answers to your “where is…?” question. You still may want to record yourself saying them, so you can confirm, what you thought you understood – and – you’ll also remember them better that way.
Food, Drinks, Restaurants
Finding a recommended restaurant, Café, or bar has been made much easier with GPS-equipped smart phones and mobile devices.
And finding a good restaurant in Spain has to be part of your travel adventure.
Once you have arrived at the place, you may have to ask for a table and the Menu, place an order and then ask for and pay the check.
Knowing a few key phrases in Spanish will make all this much easier.
You’ll find them among the next 14 Phrases in Essential Spanish 4.
(Check back with us in a few weeks!)
If you are used to the 15-20% tips, generally expected in US restaurants, you’ll be pleasantly surprised: In Spain, as in nearly all West-European countries, tips are included in your check.
But for good service 5-10% tips are always welcome.
We don’t know whether it’s the case in all of Spain: But in Barcelona, all through Andalusia and in Madrid, when we asked for the check (la cuenta), the waiter always went back to get a printed check slip, often a second time to bring the change. Never once did he or she add up the total at the table.
When paying with a credit card, the transaction occurred at the table with a handheld device, as customary in Europe.
(European visitors are always amazed, and appalled, that in the U.S. we let a waiter disappear with our credit card, with ample time to copy the card specifics, to then return after a few minutes with paper slips to sign.)