Spanish Meals and Spanish Time

It’s common knowledge that people eat dinner late in Spain, especially compared to Americans.   Dinner starting at 10 pm leaves us wondering how on earth they do it.   What no one mentions is that the whole day shifts forward in time.   And there are reasons.

Three weeks in Spain in the winter have given me a little insight into how things work.   To begin with,  there’s no daylight until after 8 in the morning, so why rush to get up?   It’s dark and chilly and nothing is open.  Well, true, there are some people who have to get to work by nine or so.  We saw them on our way to the train station one morning.  Otherwise, looking out the window of our apartment, storefronts remained shuttered and pedestrians sparse until close to 10 am.

At our favorite breakfast spot in Seville (8 tables, 4 stools at the bar, and help yourself to the olive oil and tomato), we went early the day we were leaving – around 8:30 am – and did encounter a few other customers.   But usually we got there around 10 or 10:30 for breakfast and sometimes couldn’t get a seat.  At the places with outdoor seating, lots of people seemed to be relaxing over breakfast around 11 or 11:30, just about when French waitiers would be setting out the lunch couverts and giving you dirty looks for having a mere coffee.

Of course lunch in Spain doesn’t really start until 2 pm.  Foruntately you can have tapas before that, and before that 10 pm dinner as well.

So, while in France you’d be hungry waiting for lunch (and waiting for dinner), the Spanish have solved it by just adding in a few extras meals.  So what if you’re ready to go to bed at dinnertime.  With no effort, you can nibble your way through the day as follows:

Breakfast – whenever you get up

Second breakfast – when you find a nice café in the sun

Tapas – with a nice glass of Rioja

Lunch (if you’re hungry)

Merienda – afternoon snack, preferably with pastry, to fill in those hours (in Granada, this is also time for chocolatta con churros)

More tapas – for as long as you like

Dinner  (if you’re still awake)