Hi Everyone,
Two days and counting till my flight. I'm thinking I need to buy this, but that... For example, some clothing items, sunscreen, soap. Do you think I can get these items easily in Barcelona, and maybe less expensively, or should I do some last minute shopping here in Los Angeles?

Gracias.

sunscreen????? unless you go to the snow you won't need it in december, I think.

Sunscreen??? You can get it here in summertime no problem but it is a it more expensive than it is in the USA.

I am gonna pretend you did not ask if you can get soap easily here

Clothing items? TRUST ME, you will want to shop here. Fashion is light years ahead of 99.9999999% of the US.

Saludos,
jer...

Gentlemen, come now...the sun shines everyday, no?
So, better for me to buy most things there... good pair of walking shoes? Clothing items... you think they are less expensive...okay, I will take your word for it.
Happy Thanksgiving

I’ve been twice to the US, with our local currency (the peseta then) weaker than dollar, not like the euro is today. In those times, I just only found two things cheaper than in Spain: chewing gum and photo film.

With regards to the soap issue, I can recall something I’ve been told by an American: European condoms are worse than American ones. Besides that in this side of the pond we have laws stating the minimum quality standards they must meet, which are over any standards all over the world,... I think now: if they are so bad, how on earth do we, Spaniards, have the second lower birth rate in the world? Maybe we don’t have sexual intercourse because we do not use soap ;-)

Take it easy,... Jer’s been living in Spain for years; i.e., Americans can survive in Spain. This is not a third world country.

Just one last thing,... how many of you have used your umbrella in Madrid in the last seven days? I did a few times, but trying to protect myself from the rain, not from the sun: usual weather in Spanish winter :-D

Spain is different from the topics! I hope you enjoy it when you visit us!! ;-)

Hey cksoul, basting THE BIRD for out multimadrid THANKSGIVING right now Happy Turkey Day to you too!!!

Well, I was simply stating that you will not NEED sunscreen until summer.

You can get just about anything here that you can inthe USA so don't overpack.

You will be in shoe heaven here.

While there are a lot more things that cost less in the USA than they do in Spain than Max has mentioned, it is not anything to worry about.

Saludos,
jer...

p.d. For the record, Max, I find condoms here just as good as those in the USA.

:-D I'm afraid I can not do those comparisons ;-)

With regards to my previous post, I wanted to mean that Americans do survive in Spain, even without suntanning lotion,... and even when it may seem impossible ;-) We are welcoming people, even if I suffered this small patriotic ache ;-)

I have problems buying shoes in Madrid. Hands down they have an amazing selection and you can't beat the quality. I wear a size 9 1/2 to 10 (not an unusual size for US women) here in the states and Spanish women just don't seem to have feet that size. I also have the same problem with clothing. I won't go into the size I wear, but I can't just go into a shop and find something. The only clothing stores I could find had clothes my grandmother would wear. I'm only 29, not quite in the same style catagory as my grandma! Women in Spain seem to be smaller all around then the average women in the states. If you are a person of size, I would stock up before coming to Spain otherwise you are going to have problems adding to your wardrobe. The big plus was that I also dropped a ton of weight in Madrid. I loved it, it was so effortless. Not having a car forced me to walk everywhere and the weight just fell off, unfortunatly not to the point that I could buy clothes, I'm hoping for that this time. I call it the Madrid diet, eat what ever you want cause you'll just walk it off anyway. Not an unpleasant task as long as your in downtown Madrid. Hope this helped someone!

Hey Nanny, aaaaaahhhhh yes but all the answers are on multimadrid.

SEARCH and ye shall find ---> thread on "Women�s Shoes Large Sizes"

Saludos,
jer...

How about any shops that sell shoes for short, fat feet! I take a size 35/36, which seems to be a very popular size in Spain. However, my feet are about as broad as they are long and it breaks my heart to see all these wonderful shoes that I just cannot force my feet into :cry:

quote:

Women in Spain seem to be smaller all around then the average women in the states. If you are a person of size, I would stock up before coming to Spain otherwise you are going to have problems adding to your wardrobe.

I agree with you here Nanny, but will also tell you that lately, there have been more and more stores appearing in Madrid that specialize in "tallas grandes" for both women and men... and appeal to the larger sized younger women. I have seen several in the center of the city. If you are feeling like you have a few extra dollars (or Euros) to spend, you can also shop in El Corte Ingl�s where they also carry "tallas grandes" including from well known-desingers stateside like Liz Claiborne (the Elisabeth line).

Hola all,

I wanted to say that i wear a UK size 9(US11) and wondered if anyone knew whether shops in Marbella would cater for such sizes?

hey OGG, I am a size 11 as well and that is about a "45" in Spain.

as the spanish playground for the rich and famous, they cater to EVERYTHING so do not fret.

you will find what you need as that is not too big a size here but you will pay for it down there.

saludos,
jer...