El corte Ingles
View from El Corte Ingles in Barcelona
My personal shrine to shopping: El corte Ingles (which translates to The English Cut, it started out as a taylor that made English-style clothes).
The only shop even my husband likes because they always have an excellent bar at the top, with cold beer, polite waiters in little suits and free wifi.
And more dresses than even I know what to do with. They have a Corte Ingles in every major Spanish city. The one in Barcelona has a great view (see pic) and does excellent granizados, the one in Malaga is nice and has good parking, the one in Madrid has so many different types of ham it’ll make your head spin.
They go berserk on fancy dresses in th spring because it’s boda-time, aka wedding season. Spanish weddings are a Big Thing, brides are allowed to be as bridezilla-ish as they want and everyone has to shop up in a fancy frock. You can display as much cleavage as you want, get as drunk as you want, and snog as many groomsmen as you want, as long as your shoes match your bag.
Yay!
