adrienne

I envy your stamina - 10 to 12 hours of sightseeing with only 2 15-20 minute breaks. I couldn't do it. I look forward to sitting down at lunch until I recuperate!

kimhe

Clips from a couple of the very popular bocadillo places in Plaza Mayor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JnKI3_zECs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBU5_BALvnY

And of course, El Brillante: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAy2O1j4gTs

mamamia2

...Thanks for all the posts, I appreciate the barrage of info and ideas....

We do spend time for dinner in restaurants, but we're not the gourmet-food lovers... I will always remember the heavenly taste of chestnut crepes, late October, at a tiny creperie stall in a park in Paris... This was Autumn, 1975... How romantic!

Cowboy1968

You can also try the local chains Pans & Company or Café&Té. The former is more like Subway (just that the crisp Baguette-style bocadillos come in many styles), and the latter is more like Starbucks, but usually with table service (and free WiFi). Both have dozens of outlets in each city.
OTOH, you can pop in almost any bar (which does not mean bar in the English sense), check out the (cold) tapas on display on the counter (or add hot ones from the menu) and get your lunch break done in 20mins or less.

mamamia2

BTW, we always try to choose B&B for accommodation rather than hotels... we want to experience their breakfast, and get to know the locals, how they live, what they eat, what they say...

IMDonehere

B & B's are relatively new in Spain although there was tradition of the pensiones. In Spain breakfasts are usually light affairs usually some coffee and some pastry or a slice tortilla espanola. But some do have churros and chocolate and some quarters they will have a wide selection of tapas.

http://www.travelinginspain.com/hotel.htm

I am not sure how instructive a B & B is to how people live and think. It is a controlled environment dedicated to making a guest feel fulfilled.

ribeirasacra

Imdone... Nice link which explains a lot of things well. But I ahve to say, because this is the part of the industry I work in, that the Rural thing is not right.
I would say the following:
Rural accommodations
Country houses (similar to B&B's) are found in small villages and in the countryside.
These are called Casa Rurals. These can be broken into several subsections.
First one being the nearest thing to a Bed and Breakfast. This is where one can rent accommodation on a room by room basis. Breakfasts can sometimes, oddly enough, cost extra. Sometimes evening meals are available.
Another subsection is also called a Casa Rural where one rents out the whole house and no meals are included in the price. These are usually rented out in minimum period of whole weeks.
The last subcategory of this group is agrotourism. Agrotourism means staying on farms and usually a guest can take an active roll in the chores of the farm.

Cowboy1968

"Experiencing the breakfast" means: A cup of coffee and pastry or tostada at the bar next door before walking to the metro. It's a matter of 2-10 minutes. And often a very inexpensive "meal", as many bars of cafés have special rates for that quick bite (almost on the go).

If you allow for sweeping generalizations, families in Spain lead a slightly, different more outdoors-oriented lifestyle. The kids, I'd say from school age on, spend there free time outside. Playing ball with friends till 8 or 9 at night in areas which Rick Steve would not go to without a money belt. And then head home for dinner. Which is more the closing of the day while in the US it resembles more the beginning of the evening that people spend within their own four walls. After dinner, kids go to bed (sooner or later), and the parents may consider a glass or two in the next square's bars.

So if you want to get to know the locals, go out after dinner at 11 and have a few drinks at the many nice "not-so-touristy" places in Barcelona, like the squares in Gracia district.

IMDonehere

No problem Ribi, first hand knowledge is always a welcome and needed addition.