The old town
Most Spanish cities have un casco antiguo (also called casco histórico): the old quarter, often inside medieval walls, with narrow streets, squares and fountains.
| The streets of the old town are very narrow. | Las calles del casco antiguo son muy estrechas. |
| Yesterday we strolled through the old town of Toledo. | Ayer paseamos por el casco antiguo de Toledo. |
Same word, new meaning
| you know | in town |
|---|---|
| la manzana: the apple | the block (of buildings) |
| la fuente: the source | the fountain |
| el valor: the courage | the value |
| volverse: to become | to turn around |
A manzana is the block between four streets, so you can count distances in manzanas:
| The museum is two blocks from here. | El museo está a dos manzanas de aquí. |
In a square, with water, a fuente is a fountain:
| In the middle of the square there is a gorgeous fountain. | En medio de la plaza hay una fuente preciosa. |
Things have valor (value); brave people have valor (courage). Objetos de valor are valuables:
| The buildings of the old town have great historic value. | Los edificios del casco antiguo tienen un gran valor histórico. |
Turning around, and familiar faces
With an adjective, volverse usually means "to become" (se volvió loco). In everyday Spanish in Spain it also often means "to go back", with or without a place: me vuelvo a casa, yo me vuelvo ya. With hacia + someone, para + an infinitive, or when you hear or see something behind you, it means "to turn around":
| I heard my name and turned around. | Oí mi nombre y me volví. |
Familiar means both "familiar" and "family" as an adjective: un restaurante familiar is a family-run restaurant.
| His face is familiar to me. | Su cara me es familiar. |
| Yesterday we ate at a family-run restaurant in the old town. | Ayer comimos en un restaurante familiar del casco antiguo. |
