#1 Los Horarios

You have probably heard about famous siesta, haven't you?

If you are ever in Spain you should really pay attention to the time you want to go out. Nothing will ever be open before 9AM, it's a fact. And that doesn't even mean they would open at 9AM. In Spain there's no such thing as a rush, people don't worry about the time very much, they're very flexible. That also refers to the times they open the shops, cafes, train stations (that are closed for the night so I would not recommend you to plan your hitchhiking trip with a sleepover at the station)....

Around 1PM-130PM begins the break, sometimes called a mediodia. At that time the shops close. Everything closes. Everything. My first experience walking the town was horrifying, it seemed like an abandoned plane because everything was closed!! Of course big supermarkets and some of the cafes will remain open, in big cities like Barcelona you will even find 24h small little shops but usually everything is closed. This is the time the Spanish people have their break for lunch aka el almuerzo. That means you stop working for 2-3 hours, go home or go out to eat and then come back to work around 5PM. This works in schools too. Children have clases starting from 9AM THE EARLIEST and at 1230PM go home for lunch only to come back to school at 3PM again. Sick.

IMPORTANT! This break is not a siesta!!! Siesta refers to the nap you take after lunch. This confused me the most at the beginning. I used to call this 'break' a siesta which often finished with people laughing at me because in Spain siesta refers only to the little sleep you can take during the day. Makes sense in the amazing summer weather when it gets really cold but during, what they call a 'winter', it was extremely hard to get used to.

Shops remain open till about 9PM. In Lleida there are no night stores so majority of the people does the groceries around 1-2PM when they get off of work, just before they prepare the almuerzo for themselves or their families. Cafes also close before 10PM, bars and clubs are a different story though, for another time! Besos,
xoxo