Okay, we are live now. I have a general question for each of you. I will
give you about two or three minutes to answer. It's related to the proposal
that you had to write by the end of last month and that we have already
assessed and reviewed over the last few days. And the general question for
all of you is this. Do you think that tourists coming to your city or your
town or the place that you live in have any idea about what to expect, have
any idea about your culture, have any idea about the customs of your
locality? Or is it the complete opposite case? They don't know anything
about it and they go for a very specific purpose that has nothing to do
with, for example, tourist enrichment in your area. That's the question for
each of you. As I say, I will give it in turns of about two or three
minutes. You may answer. I will ask you something about what you say and
then we change person. When we finish that round, we change subject.
Agreed? Okay. Okay, so let's begin with Lucia, for example. Are you there,
Lucia? Yes, I'm here. Go ahead, Lucia. Okay. Well, my name is Lucia. Now I
am living in Pamplona, but I am from La Rioja. And in La Rioja, we have a
lot of tourists because we have a lot of interest points. For example, we
have a very good wine and I think that most tourists came to La Rioja
because they like the wine. And I think that most tourists came to La Rioja
to taste the wine and also to know how is the process of the wine. And I
think that that culture, tourists know about that before coming. And I
think that it's important also that they know that we also have a lot of
gastronomy cultures. And on the other hand, I think that, for example,
tourist companies should have more information about things to do in La
Rioja because, for example, there are companies who offer tours by bike to
visit places where wine is elaborated. And, for example, there are a lot of
tourists that don't know about that activity. They only know that in my
region, wine is very typical, but that's all. So I think that it's a point
that tourist information centers invest in. And if you found someone in the
middle of the street one day and they were from abroad and they didn't know
too much about your area, what would you say exactly about what I have just
talked about? For example, about winemaking. Would you know how to give
them some guidelines on what to visit or to give them some general
orientation on how to act if they are for only a few days, let's say two or
three? Yes, I would recommend to that person one typical cellar to visit
and to know more things about wine. We have a lot of places, but I would
recommend to that person only one or two to visit in one or two days
because with that time, it's enough to learn about our culture. Do you
think that the climate of the region could put some people off? Yes, of
course. Do you think that the climate... I think that we're going to
disconnect. I'm sorry, I lost sound for a second because she's typing. I
was saying, do you think that the weather in your region could put some
tourists off and they would prefer, for example, sun and beach instead of
culture and wine? And how could you revert this process? Well, for example,
in winter we don't have too many tourists because, as you said, they prefer
beach or other warmer regions. But I think that in summer months we have a
lot of tourists. We can change this, for example, with more adverts in, for
example, websites. Maybe our region could... could put more adverts to
encourage tourists to come and visit us. Okay, fantastic, Lucia. Thank you.
Let's welcome Jennifer. Hello. We are talking about... Don't worry. Maybe
you had some problems to access the video conference. I understand. We are
taking turns to give a short speech about our area and the tourists who
usually visit it and to specify... the customs that they know before they
come, the habits that they usually share with the population and also
certain aspects related to the management of local tourism. For example,
your observations about the behaviour of those tourists who come to visit
your area or the programmes that are funded publicly, for example, to
attract more people during the summer but also during the winter holidays.
Now it's Marisol's turn to talk about Valencia, I imagine, or Madrid.
Either of the two. Okay. Well, I think the person... the tourists... Let's
begin with Marisol and then we'll move on to you, Jennifer. Sorry. Don't
worry. Well, I think that... Yes, Marisol, you go say it. You mean, it's my
turn, I understood, is that okay? Yes. Sorry, I don't listen very well, but
I think that the tourists that arrive to Valencia, they have learned in
advance about our culture and everything in Valencia. Many of them arrive
just coming after Madrid or Barcelona because they are in Spain and they
decided to go to a different place. But I think that most of them arrive to
Valencia thinking in good weather, good beach and good food. But when they
are here, it's good, I think, that they should take a bus. For example, a
tourist or a guide around Valencia and visit also the downtown historical
places, different tourist locations. We have many attractions in Valencia
because we are not only beach and good weather. We have many, many
different attractions in Valencia. You mentioned food. I think the
government is taking... Sorry? You mentioned food. What would you recommend
those tourists you were mentioning apart from going to the beach? Yes. The
most famous is... It is the paella, rice. Many different dishes made with
rice. But there are also another different wines. We have very good wines
also. Many different fish dishes or many sweets. There are a lot of
different, not just the paella which is very well known, but there are
many, many different Mediterranean food that are very good, I think. Now,
one of the complementary or supplementary contents that we added to Unit 2,
which is the one that we are commenting on in this web conference, was
spending some time in a foreign country on a budget. If we had to spend a
week in Valencia on a budget with a very limited budget, what could we do?
The beach is the cheapest one. You can go to the beach and you don't have
to spend any money. So it's a very good, I think. The beach and the water
are still free. Yeah, but also you can take a bicycle, for example, which
is very cheap, and go around. There are many beautiful mountains, woods,
and other different places, not just beach, which is a very low budget. All
right, thank you, Marisol. We have another person. Hello, can you hear us?
José Luis, your turn. For example, Madrid at the moment is the main
tourist Spanish city because there are a lot of international visitors from
Latin America and Asia. These visitors arrive in the airport, in Barajas
Airport, and they take the underground to the Ministry of the North. Then
they take a lot of suitcase, and they are on the way. cheaper hotels or
tourist apartments in the city center like Callao or Lavapiés. The main
reasons are cultural tourists to take or eat a good food, especially Puerta
del Sol and Callao. I believe there are a good tourists Because many shops
and many restaurants increase their profits and it's supposed to create a
lot of employment. But the negative cause is to the rabies. There is a lot
of rabies in the streets and the noisy, especially in all areas cities in
Madrid. Many neighbors have a lot of complaints because many tourists...
speak a lot and then they don't sleep very well. I think the government
should watch more these situations and to put a law to limit this type of
tourists. For example... The city-town of Barcelona put a limit to control
this type of tourists. I think it's good to have tourists, but the
government should control or to fix a limit to avoid this type of tourists.
Because it is supposed a negative aspect in the rest of the countries.
Thank you, José Luis. We'll go back to this topic in a moment. Now,
Eloisa, you're also from Madrid. If you had to organize together with José
Luis, for instance, a trip for the seven of us who are around you in these
talking head boxes, what would you plan for just one day? We arrive, as
José Luis said, from Barajas airport and we have to leave the following
day. So what do we have actual time to do? Sorry, if it's just one day, I
think the best option is to show them the city centre, going to the Plaza
Mayor, Palacio Real, walking around Madrid de los Austrias and having a
typical food there in the city centre. What's the typical food? For
example, a bocadillo de calamares in the Plaza Mayor or eating tapas,
because for a foreign tourist it's quite different from what they have in
other countries. So they are always surprised about this. Now for the
cultural part of the trip. We have already suggested that they could have a
bocadillo de calamares, as you mentioned, but what about the cultural part?
Because it's difficult to book a visit to the Royal Palace if you haven't
done so well in advance. So if they decided that they had to go that day
and they had to go that day, and they never planned anything, what could
they do? They're in the spot. Well, yes, there is an option. Nowadays there
is a good option to book for a guide tour. So there are some people
offering you a guided tour around the city centre. You can choose one
specific area of the city centre in Madrid or you can book a tour around
the city centre. Or you can plan, or you can book in a customised way. So
you can explain to them about the culture, the historical information of
Madrid or even of Spain with this kind of things. Everything can be booked
online. And it's quite flexible, so I think this could be a good idea to
show them in this short time. José Luis and Eloisa, do you feel confident
enough about your knowledge of Madrid to volunteer to be a tour guide for
one day? I think it's a good idea. If I was a volunteer, I'd try to show
the city center, especially the area between Puerta del Sol and Plaza
España, because there are a lot of shops where tourists can go. You can
buy a lot of things, and it's supposed to increase the benefits of this
area. I believe this is the best area because there are the best shops in
Madrid except Serrano Street. I think if I was a guide, I would try to show
the most restaurants and shopping, and try to give an explanation about
this area is the best of Madrid. Now, this is a very curious point, and I
think we should insist on it. What kind of knowledge okay? What kind of
qualification do you think a tour guide would need? In a very large capital
or in something very concrete, such as an archaeological discovery in a
small Spanish town. This is open for anybody to answer, so raise your hand
or just start talking, and let us know about your comments. For example, I
have a degree in tourism. So, as you said, a degree in tourism and also
knowledge about the history, right, so two different aspects. What else?
More else, to speak three languages. For example, Spanish, English and
Chinese. It would be ideal, yes, I think I agree completely with you. I
think perhaps German and Arabian. Arabian. Arabian language, perhaps. So
German, Spanish, Chinese and English. That's a very good tour guide. Yes.
That's a polyglot. Yes. Marisol, do tour guides in Valencia speak Russian?
I suppose, I don't know exactly but probably because there are many Russian
people in Valencia, mainly in the south, in Alicante. They are very
foreigners, mainly from United Kingdom and Europe. Right. But also from
Russia. Probably, yes, there are many. Consuelo and Carlos, have you ever
been in a visit or have you ever visited a place abroad where you had to be
guided by a tour guide in a different language? What language was that and
did you have any difficulty to follow the explanation? Well, I was, for
example, in the southwest of England in a city called Plymouth. And I went
to... I went to visit a castle in the coast of the city. And the guide was
an English woman who was from there, from a place very near of that area.
And I could understand the... the most of the things she said. It was very
easy because she had a very good English. She didn't have a local accent.
It was very easy to understand her. What about the personal characteristics
of the tour guide? What do you think is essential in someone who has to
deal with the public daily? Well, in my opinion, the languages, the guides
need to be able to speak several languages. And I think that they need to
have skills about the history of the place. Yes. I think that this... Those
things are the most important things for a tourist guide. Lucia, one
question for you. Have you ever been in your city and overheard a group of
tourists with a tour guide talking about the history of the place or about,
I don't know, the names of the streets? Have you spotted any errors in that
conversation? Well, I live in a little town and we have one tourist in
front of us. And I know that there are visits, but you need to be a group
and you have one guide to explain to you the most important parts of the
city and the culture of the city. And I think that this guide, apart from
what my classmates said, is very useful. And I think they need to be very
kind with people and also to be very patient. Because, for example, in
these groups, there are very different people. And, for example, Chinese
people, a lot of time taking pictures to every place that they visit. Do
you think that you should enjoy the moment rather than photograph it to
enjoy it later? I'm sorry, can you repeat this? Yes, of course. What do you
think is more advantageous? Hello, welcome. We will be with you in a
moment. Wait a second, we are in the middle of a question. I promise I will
go back to you. So, Lucia, I was saying, what is the ideal situation? To
take a picture of something that you really enjoy so that you can enjoy it
later or to take the most you can from the moment you're there and then
remember it as an experience? Because you were mentioning the time spent by
tourists or by Chinese tourists in your town taking pictures rather than
enjoying, talking, sharing the moment with the group of people who were
with them. Well, I think that it's very important to take pictures because
when you finish your... your trip, you can remember that trip in every
moment if you have a picture. However, there are people who take too many
pictures. So, I think that... Too many? How many is too many? I don't know.
More than three pictures from the same situation, I think. If you were a
tour guide, would you impose... a limitation on the number of selfies that
the group can take so that it can move from point A to point B in the set
amount of time? I think it's a good idea to administer your resources
appropriately. Yes, for example, if you are doing a tour, I think that it's
more important to pay attention to what the guide is saying and if you like
the place, when you finish the tour, you can go back. And take pictures and
spend the time that you want but not lost the time to the rest of the
people, I think. All right. Thank you. So, hello and what's your name? Hi,
my name is Gloria. Hello Gloria, I have you in the list but I didn't
recognize the M. Now we're talking about tourism and visiting new places.
It's either Consuelos or Jennifer's turn. Jennifer, are you there? I'm from
Cáceres in Extremadura. It's a really nice city to visit. There are many
tourists. Where are you from or which place would you like to visit and how
would you like to visit it? It's a small... I try. I don't know if you have
visited this town before. But if you don't visit, it's a really great
chance or opportunity to do it. Cáceres is... It's a small town but there
is a big... ...heritage? Human heritage? Oh, sorry. Sorry, it's Patrimonio
Nacional. I don't know. Patrimonio Nacional? What is...? Thank you. There
is a great national heritage. A heritage site. And there are... Lots of
history. ...monuments about Viva VIII. And it's a great opportunity to know
our history near. And as I said, it's a small city and you can walk around
the city all the time. And you don't need to take a bus or... ...or another
transportation. And it's... ...it's not stressful for you. There are
different guide tours in the city center. In the... ...sorry, in the...
sorry part Antigua asian area historic center but sometimes they speak
German in English Portuguese because very common term that is applied to
any there there are many tourists that they are for Portuguese people and
there are a lot of restaurant and with high quality food or with different
dishes and the coast is is cheaper in comparison for example with Madrid or
Barcelona and people can eat good for a low cost can you repeat the
question please what would you what would you describe as a good hearty
abundant rich cathedrists meal ok sorry sorry the typical meal of castles I
don't know if I can repeat in the same order but I will try is for example
what would you describe as a rich hearty abundant and delicious I didn't
repeat in the same order sorry meal that is typical of cathedrists sorry
long time ago poor people eat this meal because it's cheap is made with And
with a kind of pepper, chorizo, I don't know if, yes, with a lot of
kilocalorite. But it's delicious. It's a heavy dish. Yes, so it's not
precisely a low-calorie diet, is it? Yes. Yes, energy for visiting the rest
of the city, working, by working. It is a heavy dish. And you were going to
walk the whole day because you didn't need a bus or you didn't even need a
bicycle to see the rest of the historic center. So it's a good idea, too.
And this has potatoes, baked potatoes with a sauce sheet that you can, I
don't know, wet your bread. I think that it's better that you stop because
you're wetting all our appetites and it's almost time for dinner. Thank
you. We'll come back to you, Jennifer. Now, Consuelo, are you there? Yes, I
am here. Hi, Consuelo. Tell us a little bit about your area. I live in
Madrid and have my partner, Aaron, explain. In this city you can find
different cultural places to visit, a lot of museums and also... What about
the outskirts of Madrid or small towns around Madrid? Would you recommend
anything that is not to the centre or anything that is not the capital?
It's possible to visit Escorial, or if you want a short trip, you can go to
Toledo, which is near, and also Segovia. It's typical to visit this place
when the people have more than one day here in Madrid. And I think that
it's nice to go to Escorial or the other place, because it's less crowded
and there are amazing places to visit, and no more. Do you agree with José
Luis about what he said? I was saying, do you agree with José Luis that
there should be some kind of restriction to the number of tourists? of
tourists that can visit a specific area, maybe on specific dates or
throughout the year? Are you still there, Consuelo? Sorry? I will repeat
the question once again. Can you hear me well? I can hear you well. Okay.
Can you repeat the question? I was saying, do you agree with José Luis's
idea of restricting the number of tourists that visit a specific area? Or
on certain dates throughout the year? I don't think that it's necessary to
restrict the number of the tourists. I think that our city is big to the
different tourists, and I don't think that this is a good idea. Because,
for example, big cities like New York or San Francisco, they don't have a
lot of tourists. Or Singapore or Korea. Oh, sorry. Korean. Sorry. And
Madrid, and they have a lot of tourists in these places. And the... I don't
know. Politicians don't take this type of laws because it's not good for
the countries and the cities. This is a good way for the economy and our
country needs this type of politics for the economy. I think I don't agree
with this type of political restrictions. Now Carlos, Eloisa and Marisol.
About your area or in general, do you agree with Consuelo's views? Yeah, I
agree. Well, in Gijón, I would agree with her. Sorry? Continue. I speak
first or...? Yes, Carlos and then Marisol. Carlos first, then Marisol and
then Eloisa in the middle. Okay. In Gijón... ...the number of tourists is
not a problem. It is not necessary in Asturias to restrict the number of
tourists. They aren't too much. In my opinion, they shouldn't restrict the
number of tourists in every place, in any place. For example, when I was
abroad in touristic places... ...for example, the Netherlands, Amsterdam or
Belgium, Brazil or London... ...there aren't restrictions for the number of
tourists and there aren't problems. There are a lot of people and there
aren't problems. In my opinion, they shouldn't create new laws that say
that there is a restriction for the number of tourists. And, of course, in
Gijón it is not necessary. Your turn, Marisol. I agree that it is not
necessary only in case, for example, that happens in Galicia or a place
like... they are a resort or a place that should be protected in that case
yes you should i think it's good to read to make restriction but in general
no i don't think it's necessary and also in many big cities they are not
doing it how she said so why do it here no i don't think it's necessary
maybe in some historical so thank you now um you were mentioning the
natural reserves and although historical places in those cases perhaps you
cannot possibly admit more than a number of people at a time so what's your
point of view eloisa i seem to have problems with the connection there jose
luis back to your initial discussion thank you you repeat the question
please i don't yes uh a good point that you made that uh none of the other
people mentioned was noise pollution um perhaps not enough space to move
around the city center uh not being capable of booking a visit to a very
well-known place how could you first persuade the others that a limitation
would be required i think that is a question of mentality if you are a
person who travel a lot in my case i usually visit barcelona two twice a
year and i know the situation and i'm not sure i live uh how the city
center uh has a living uh degradation because barcelona for example uh have
a good or have a good model of tourism the last years, but at the moment
the situation is not good because the type of tourist is very good or sorry
bad for the city because this type of tourist is not good for the city in
Barcelona because the local people don't see benefits, they suppose a lot
of expenses and many neighbors don't agree with this type of tourist and
it's supposed to increase for example the price of the houses in the city
center. I think... That's precisely the point where I wanted to... The
point that I wanted to reach. Gloria, do you think that the effect of
tourism is positive to a certain extent but it also means that different
forms of management are necessary for example this phenomenon that is
called gentrification in very large cities meaning that the center becomes
so expensive that nobody can pay rent. Yeah. And the fact that it can move
further and further outwards affects certain Spanish cities or not
necessarily capitals. I don't know how to explain but I'm aware that it's
very negative, the gentrification in some areas, for example, I live in
Barcelona near San Pablo. San Pablo Hospital that it's in India Sagrada
Familia. So... Mm-hmm. ... think that it's not positive for the people that
live in Barcelona. I think that only a few people is taking a benefit from
the high quantity of tourists that visit the city so the people that live
in Barcelona it's suffering the effect of so many quantity of tourists
visiting the city I don't know if that it's what... Does it relate to the
extent to which public services can assume the pressure of tourists and
residents or is it also related to the kind of activity that tourists force
certain areas to to boost? For example around Sagrada Familia you always
have, it doesn't matter what time of the year, you always have lots of
tourists speaking lots of languages so there is an opportunity for business
and that's one point but at the same time the area becomes very expensive
for the same reason because you can charge more for services that perhaps
shouldn't be as expensive. Then that also connects with what today has been
called the high cost of living. So what is the effect of this new form of
collaborative economy? We could call it renting flats through online
platforms for example so that you visit a town and rather than go to a
hotel you go to someone's flat. The same goes for car sharing etc. What
kind of effect do you think these new forms of let's say collaborative
economy have had in the last few years? I think that it's not very positive
because for example near where I live there are some flats that are rent to
people that is visiting the country through platforms, through different
platforms and normally that type of flats the visitors are a little noisy
so it's a little negative for the people that share that live near that
type of floods, so from my point of view it's very negative because it's a
little difficult some nights for us to sleep due to the... Okay, Carlos and
Jennifer, do you think that collaborative forms of economy have two sides,
one that we have already described and a different one that might create
new opportunities? Yes, in my opinion, on the one hand it could be for a
few businesses in the area, but in... On the other hand, it could be worse
for the neighbors because the noise, the pollution, the prices of the
floods and the rents of the floods. In my opinion, they shouldn't restrict
the number of tourists, but I think that... Okay. ...other things could be
done, for example, put limits in the prices of the floods or maybe a
solution like that, but I don't know how you can restrict the number of
tourists in the center of a city. For example, I know a place here in
Asturias. It's a very big forest. It's a very big forest called Moniello's.
It's the biggest forest of oaks in all Spain, and it is restricted. The
number of people that can go to that forest is restricted. You have to ask
for a permit several months before if you want to visit that forest, but I
never heard something like this for a city. In my opinion, they
shouldn't... ...restrict the number of tourists in a city. but maybe you
can do other things different than this I don't know how right now maybe
you can they can make laws to limit the prices of the flats sorry perhaps
it was my connection go on sorry the images stopped now can you hear me now
yes I can hear you all yes I keep speaking yes please okay I think that the
solution is not to restrict the number of tourists inside the city but like
other places different than cities for example the the mountains or
specific a national park for example you have to do it because the
environment because the pollution but in a city I don't know how you can
stop that kind of services for example for tourists is Jennifer They are
termed usually collaborative economy in general terms, but it's a business
term rather than something realistic. I don't know if these people pay
different taxes, like for example taxi drivers or hotels. or other kind of
services in in this case I think that it it will be necessary to sorry it
will be necessary to have a specific regulation or legislation about
tourists about restriction of number of tourists or about different kind of
pollution noise pollution or with for example trust or rabies or different
pollution than is tourist left or in the city or I don't know the food we
know the negative footprint that tourism the heart last you that I don't
know how do you say list place behind yeah the negative footprint and it
leaves behind precisely all right now Consuelo if you have to decide as the
mayor of your town in your case it would be the mayor of the capital of the
country so that's a very big job if you had to decide whether to invest
part of the year's budget to give a new boost to foreign foreign tourism
rather than national tourism, what mechanisms do you think would be most
suitable? Would it be a marketing campaign? Would it be contacting foreign
embassies? Would it be leading by example and treating people so well that
just what they say when they are back home is enough? Which of these
options do you think is more effective? For the people come here in our
country? Yeah, precisely. Maybe when you put a price cheaper is a good
option that the people can hear this country. In other countries, for
example, in Amsterdam, they try to put more taxes for the people for the
people. For the tourists and is the best way to the tourists or some type
of tourist don't come to your country. But if you want to this, as a select
of tourists, you need to put more taxes in the prices in the hotels or in
the restaurants. And this is a good way to put You know, I don't have
enough knowledge about this type of situation, sorry. Sorry. And probably
neither do the people in charge, and that is why certain these adjustments
tend to occur. That's probably the case. We are all amateurs when we are
confronting this kind of complex subject. Now, the last, let's call it
challenge, that I would like to present to you all is organising a trip.
You have to organise a trip. For that, you have to decide the length of the
trip, the destination, obviously, the budget and the activities that the
trip would comprise. All of this you should decide in order because
otherwise we can't listen to one another. But we have to reach some kind of
agreement in three to four minutes. Who would like to start? Marisol, here,
I know that you want to. Are you there? Gloria, then? I don't know what we
have to decide, which activities or... You have to plan a trip, but as
nothing is stated yet... You can suggest. You have to organise a trip, what
is the priorities or something like that. Yes, exactly. I think it's not
working, okay? Precisely, all of that. I think accommodation is important
also for the trip. Are we all back online? I think we froze there for a
minute. So, I will repeat the general statement so that we take it in
turns. We will begin with Gloria. Gloria will suggest a destination, a
series of activities, a medium of transport and, of course, a duration or
the length of the trip. Then you will try to agree or disagree with what
she said until we reach some sort of conclusion. Gloria, where should we
go, for how long, what activities and which medium of transport? So, I
recommend to visit Barcelona for one week. My advice is to visit the city
walking because it's the better way to know the city. There are many
cultural activities to do in Barcelona. Very nice buildings. Barcelona also
has beach so it's very comfortable to go for a walk a little near the
beach. So, it's an activity that can be personalised. I think that is...
Thank you. Jennifer? These are the data we have so far. The proposal is
Barcelona, one week. I think that... Barcelona is a good idea but... What
can we add or subtract? I think so that it's an expensive destination.
Please don't tell me that you want Cáceres for one week. And I prefer a
different city with... Sorry, cheaper than Barcelona, for example,
Cáceres. Or near from Barcelona. Madrid, maybe. For one week we can see
the different places around Madrid like La Granja or Segovia. maybe Toledo.
I think there are beautiful cities in Spain, but cheaper than Barcelona. I
don't know if it's a polite comment, but the political situation now in
Barcelona is a little complex, and I don't know if tourism is good or not
so good. And my proposal is around Madrid. Thank you. Then let me interject
for a second. Okay, so the original proposal was Barcelona for 1%. One week
walking beach and culture, but Jennifer doesn't agree with Barcelona,
doesn't agree with beach, but she does agree with the duration of the trip,
one week going walking and also taking a car, because if you want to go
from Madrid to the outskirts, obviously you can't use the public transport
as easily. But she also agrees with the cultural side. Now Carlos,
Barcelona one week, Madrid one week, walking beach, yes or no? And culture
yes or no? Well, I like more Barcelona. I was living in Barcelona during
one year, and I like the idea of a trip. It's a very good idea to visit
Barcelona during one week, and there are a lot of places to visit. And I
think that it is not a problem. The political situation right now in
Barcelona... And my grandmother is living in Barcelona. She lives near Camp
Nou. And she told me that there are improvements there, security or
something like that. I'm agree with visiting Barcelona. It's, in my
opinion, a very good idea because you can visit the historic center and you
can go to the beach. It's a very nice place in summer to go to the beach.
And you can walk on the street. For example, Paseo de Gracia. It's a very
beautiful place. I'm agree with Gloria. Thank you. It's a very good...
Sorry. You have added summer. So now we have... We have a specific time of
the year. It's a week during the summer. Going back to Gloria, as she's a
local from Barcelona, which part of the summer would be most economical? So
that we can reach an agreement with Jennifer as she has to pronounce the
destination. Maybe May or at the end of September. May or the end of
September. Yes. And also, there is less people. José Luis, we have a less
crowded Barcelona. We can still go walking for a week during the summer or
late May, early September. That's the recommendation. What would you add or
what would you try to subtract from this idea? Well, I think the best...
The best days or the best months to visit Barcelona, for example, for me,
is May or September and October, I think. Because the cheaper... No, sorry.
The prices of hotels are... ... and you can do a lot of things, for example
you can visit the Montserrat Abbey, for example in one day and another day
you can visit for example the beach, you can enjoy the beach on the evening
because it's a good idea to watch the cottage, the cottage in Montserrat.
The beach, I think the best city for me to visit in this time is Barcelona,
I believe. Another reason maybe the communication between Madrid and
Barcelona by train, you can use the high velocity, high velocity train. Two
hours more or less. Ok, so we have a new item which is good communication
between the two capitals if you're coming from Madrid but we still have a
problem with Jennifer because she's not from Madrid and she has to come
directly from Cáceres to Barcelona, the connection is not that good. What
do you suggest in that case? I think... What? She takes four or five hours
from Cáceres to Madrid and two hours and a half until Barcelona, maybe
middle day or one day or three. So Jennifer that's more or less seven
hours, four or five plus two and a half hours. what about the journey from
Gijón Carlos to travel from Gijón to Barcelona or is there a direct
flight a direct flight from Gijón you can travel by train from Gijón to
Barcelona no problem for that you spend a whole day the whole day maybe
from maybe there are 11 hours of train yes but there is a train that goes
from Gijón to Barcelona you can read a book or study a degree going and
coming back Eloisa what can you add to this conversation that's a good idea
as well are you there Eloisa is there anything you would like to add
Consuelo yes tell me so we have a very well developed proposal by now which
is mainly agree with the destination of Barcelona but what would you like
to do are you a beach person or are you you would change the beach can you
hear me yes yes Eloisa are you still there Consuelo I am still here but I
don't know I don't remember now the question I would like to change just
the beach by another activity most focused on visiting inside not the beach
but inside the countryside but for the rest I prefer Consuelo to go on mail
and the rest is ok for me you would visit the countryside Consuelo, beach,
countryside and city are the three options possible what do you prefer I
prefer you asked me about what I prefer yes you have to well we all have to
try and decide on a trip and in this case it will be to Barcelona as we
have four people in favour and one person undecided yet but you can still
persuade her the duration of the trip would be one week and there has to be
some walking involved also some time spent at Montserrat as José Luis
suggested and perhaps rather than going to the beach as Eloisa has just
pointed out you could visit the countryside so what do you think is
preferable I prefer countryside and I would like to go to Barcelona but you
know in the centre of the city I prefer countryside and spend the time
around the I love I really love Barcelona but I really really good camping
in in this city in this country and there they are there they are very low
and very with a lot of things that you can you can spend a nice a nice time
in this in these places I think that you can have a cheaper trip when you
go to for example camping site okay thank you now Marisol we have touched
upon a very important question which is the budget one week in Barcelona in
a resort in the countryside or in the city centre or in a place that will
allow us all to reach Montserrat and the beach and the cottages, etc.,
etc., how much is it going to cost us? I think it depends. We could look
for a cheap hotel or we could look for a house or bed and breakfast. It
depends on our budget. But I think around one week, maybe at least 400
euros if we want to go around and visit the countryside and take bus and
everything. I think more or less is that. I think it's for money. It would
be cheaper if we get a car and at least, I think, yes, 400, no? I think I
never have been there, but more or less. What do you think? Yes, no? That's
also my question. Carlos, Gloria, Jennifer? Is it a realistic budget? I
think that... Because we are looking for a cheap trip, no? But she has to
come all the way from Cáceres. Remember, that is never cheap. You were
saying, Carlos? Well, I think that for me, the travel and stay there, maybe
more than 400. It depends on the hotel. I think that we can find... a cheap
hotel, and I think that it could be near. A little more than 400 euros. A
little more than 400. Gloria, how much more than 400 do you... just doing a
draft calculation? I think maybe 700 or something like that. For me, it's
not very realistic. But maybe... Do you think that meals could be included?
Yes, the meals. There are a lot of places to eat that are cheap in
Barcelona, so that is not a problem. The problem is to sleep. To find a
hotel that would be cheap. So, then Consuelo's idea of a countryside
campsite would probably be more economical and closer perhaps to the idea
that Marisol had in mind. Yes, yeah, I was thinking that. A real house or
something like that. Finally, Lucia, put together all the parts of this
proposal that we have gathered until this moment and try to present a
convincing argument for someone who, like me, has just arrived and doesn't
know anything about the whole thing. Okay, we were organizing our trip to
Barcelona. The month of the year would be May because it's a warm month and
it could be cheaper than it is. You go in August, for example. And most
people go by train, but there are other people who doesn't have train. And
I propose to Jennifer, for example, that she could go by BlaBlaCar or
something like that because it's a super way to travel and you don't
have... so many hours if you go by bus. And that's a good point to go all
together. The budget more or less could be 400 euros, but there are other
people who want to spend more money, but I think that with 400 euros you
can do a lot of things. And you can go to the beach and visit the most
important parts of the city center and also you can go one day to the
countryside. And that's all, I think. Okay, that does sound quite well.
Let's keep it in mind for perhaps a realistic exploration. So, Lucía,
Marisol, José Luis, Eloísa, Consuelo, Carlos, Jennifer and Gloria, thank
you for coming. I'm going to stop recording now, and if you have any
questions...