Good country, exhausting tourist industry

Spain is a genuinely beautiful and interesting place. Plaza Mayor is worth every superlative thrown at it. The jamón ibérico is legitimately excellent. vibrant nightlife gave the trip real depth.

What I struggled with: the tourist infrastructure around the headline sites in Granada is relentlessly commercial and pickpockets in Barcelona is a genuine friction point. You can feel the gap between authentic Spain and the packaged version sold to tourists. The authentic version wins, but you have to work to find it.