Por: through and around
You know por for moving through a place. With a whole region it means around or all over; before a unit, as in por noche, it means per. Dar una vuelta por is to go around a place, on foot or by car.
| Shall we go for a walk around the center? | ¿Damos una vuelta por el centro? |
| There are a lot of budget hotels around this area. | Hay muchos hostales por esta zona. |
| The budget hotel costs forty euros a night. | El hostal cuesta cuarenta euros por noche. |
El puente
When a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, many people in Spain also take the Monday or the Friday off: hacer puente. The long weekend that results is un puente, like the one in early December.
| This long weekend we're going to the coast. | Este puente vamos a la costa. |
| Are you going to make a long weekend of it? | ¿Vas a hacer puente? |
Where to sleep
Un hostal is usually a small, simple hotel with private rooms, rather than a backpackers' hostel with dormitories (un albergue). El camping is the campsite; ir de camping is to go camping.
| This summer we're going to go camping. | Este verano vamos a ir de camping. |
Tickets
La ida is the outward trip: un billete de ida is one-way (you know de ida y vuelta), and a la ida means on the way there. Directo means with no changes.
| On the way there we went by train, and we came back by bus. | A la ida fuimos en tren y volvimos en autobús. |
| Is there a direct train to Madrid? | ¿Hay un tren directo a Madrid? |
El viajero, el turismo, la agencia
El viajero is anyone on a journey; announcements at Spanish stations often begin señores viajeros. El turismo is a huge industry in Spain. La agencia is any agency, travel or news, and tourist offices hand out free folletos (brochures).
| This village lives off tourism. | Este pueblo vive del turismo. |
