When was that meal, again?
Just one of the expectations that we found ourselves tripping over in Spain. Apparently mealtimes are . . . different there.
For example, the conference organizers really had trouble convincing the hotel that we wanted to eat at 12:30. And as for eating in an hour - I gather they flat-out refused to try. The compromise of an hour and a half was - long for the conference, but actually kind of tight by the time we had salad and bread, a couple of courses, dessert, coffee, and whatnot.
And then we went out for dinner. And the restaurant opened at 9!
Apparently the "traditional" cycle of eating in Spain would involve working in the morning, then eating at about 2 or so - for a while! Then siesta until 5 or 6. Get up and do a bit of work in the early evening, then eat the evening meal at about 10ish. Off to bed, and get up tomorrow and do it again.
The evening we went for a banquet, the restaurant had beer and wine at 9 in the gardens. Gathered us in at about 10, sat down and ate, and the flamenco dancers started . . . maybe 11ish? Then roll us back to the hotel stuffed.
I'm not sure about eating late like that on a regular basis. The noon meal, okay, I can slip that a couple of hours without any real problem. But if I eat and then go right to bed, I feel bloated. And if I stay up enough to avoid that, well, then I'm not sleeping.
Interesting to watch the reactions. The Americans pointed out that lunch should be at 12 and small, while dinner really should be earlier. At least some of the Europeans remarked that their mid-day meal was the big one (as used to be normal in Japan, and certainly was in the farm country of Ohio when my father was growing up).
Those little hidden assumptions. What exactly was nuncheon again? And when? How many meals does a person eat during the day, and when?
For example, the conference organizers really had trouble convincing the hotel that we wanted to eat at 12:30. And as for eating in an hour - I gather they flat-out refused to try. The compromise of an hour and a half was - long for the conference, but actually kind of tight by the time we had salad and bread, a couple of courses, dessert, coffee, and whatnot.
And then we went out for dinner. And the restaurant opened at 9!
Apparently the "traditional" cycle of eating in Spain would involve working in the morning, then eating at about 2 or so - for a while! Then siesta until 5 or 6. Get up and do a bit of work in the early evening, then eat the evening meal at about 10ish. Off to bed, and get up tomorrow and do it again.
The evening we went for a banquet, the restaurant had beer and wine at 9 in the gardens. Gathered us in at about 10, sat down and ate, and the flamenco dancers started . . . maybe 11ish? Then roll us back to the hotel stuffed.
I'm not sure about eating late like that on a regular basis. The noon meal, okay, I can slip that a couple of hours without any real problem. But if I eat and then go right to bed, I feel bloated. And if I stay up enough to avoid that, well, then I'm not sleeping.
Interesting to watch the reactions. The Americans pointed out that lunch should be at 12 and small, while dinner really should be earlier. At least some of the Europeans remarked that their mid-day meal was the big one (as used to be normal in Japan, and certainly was in the farm country of Ohio when my father was growing up).
Those little hidden assumptions. What exactly was nuncheon again? And when? How many meals does a person eat during the day, and when?