Page:A Handbook for Travellers in Spain - Vol 1.djvu/29

Rh question in such out-of-the-way places is rather, Hay posada, y donde esta? (Is there an inn, and where is it?) than Which is the best inn?

Spanish inns are generally clean; the best are kept by Italians or Swiss. Water is generally abundant, and Spaniards drink very freely of it, but it is apt to disagree with foreigners, until acclimatized. The common table-wine is wholesome and palatable, when care has been taken not to bottle it in hogskins, which give it a taste of leather, and often of the common spirit (aguardiente) of the country, with which the wine-skins are prepared. Most of the first-class hotels have tolerable red and white wine on the table. A better wine is the Valdepeñas, which can be had for an extra charge of 4 reals per bottle.

The charges of the native inns are not exorbitant; generally 20 to 40 r. (6s.) a day are charged for bed and board, according to size of bedroom: this includes breakfast, and dinner with wine. If the guest comes too late for dinner, or goes before dinner, a half day is usually charged. In Sevilla, Barcelona, Cadiz, and Madrid, the charges are dearer, and in all places where establishments are set up on what is called the English or French system, foreign prices are demanded; but travellers are advised always to inquire at hotels in Spain what they are to pay. This observation especially applies to the first-class hotels at Madrid, which are very expensive. Travellers should also be warned never to set foot in any boat or carriage or omnibus before it is distinctly understood exactly how much they are to pay for the conveyance of themselves and all their baggage, and that the sum named includes carrying the luggage into and out of the conveyance. They must not trust to the word “Tarif,” for it often encloses a small footnote, which states that if passengers or luggage are conveyed to any domicilio, the charge is double. If not certain of the hotel, it is a good plan to leave the luggage at the public office; and when the hotel has been chosen, send for it.

Those who propose remaining more than a night in a town may make their own bargain with the innkeeper as soon as they have been shown their rooms: a question as to the usual charges of the hotel (which always include everything en pension), politely asked, will ensure an immediate rejoinder, and the traveller may be then satisfied that he will not be overcharged: if he intends to make a long stay, he can make special terms, or he can go into a Boarding-house, “Casa de Huespedes,” where he will have the best opportunity of learning the Spanish language, and obtaining an idea of the national manners and habits. These establishments are constantly advertised in the local newspapers, and the houses themselves may be known externally by a white paper ticket attached to the extremity of one of the window balconies; for if paper be placed in the middle, it only means “unfurnished lodgings to let here.” The traveller will always be able to learn from the consul or his banker, or from any respectable inhabitant, which of these boarding-houses enjoys the best reputation, or he may himself advertise in the papers for exactly the sort of thing he wants.

Mosquito-nets are indispensable during June, July, August, and September. The bedsteads in first-class inns are usually furnished with them, but not in the country inns. The linen is generally clean, but it is always well to be supplied with Persian powder during the sum-