BigRuss

The wife is urging a trip to Spain this year, and we would take our little hobbit with us, who will be 3 at the time of the trip. Two questions:

(1) Have you ever traveled with a halfling and kept to normal Spanish dining hours (i.e., dang late -- 9 pm and beyond).

(2) If so, what measures have you taken to help adjust the little tacker to the eating schedule and staying up later (and the commensurate readjustment upon reverting to your home schedule after the trip)?

One note: he's not a big napper and we're not likely to go during the "must have siesta" season in the summer when we would desperately need to duck the heat.

Thanks in advance.

Robert2533

Typically, the main meal of the day in Spain is lunch, served from 1:30 to 4:00, later on Saturdays and Sundays. Dinner is taken later in the evening partly because of the summer heat and partly because of tradition and is generally a much lighter fare.

Spaniards tend to eat more often, spreading their dining throughout the day, smaller portions, having some tapas or pintxos before lunch and again in the early evening, from around 7:30 to 9:00. Some also take a mid-morning break. Dinner is served earlier in the countryside, but later in the cities.

StCirq

I actually never got the hang of the hours in Spain myself, despite several trips there. We didn't take the kids to Spain until they were 8 and 11 because of it, and even then it seemed one or more of us was always tired or hungry or both. Spain is the country personification of jet lag for me. In fact, I do much better with jet lag. The last time we were in Spain was for almost two full weeks and I still hadn't gotten in synch with the hours.

Of course, you can make a meal of tapas, and if I were going to take a 3-year-old that's probably what I would count on doing, skipping dinner and then going home and everyone go to bed at the usual time. If you're going to be in a big city hotel, just make sure your room is a quiet one. Spaniards seem to enjoy noodling about loudly until very late at night.

BigRuss

SC -- that's kind of my concern. Of course, the smallman will eat just about anything, so the tapas suggestion is pretty solid.

jubilada

I'd consider an apartment so I could cook an deat when i wanted if i were going to Spain with kids.

rialtogrl

I agree with jubilada, get an apartment. Sometimes it is hard to get tapas, even, before 8 or so. Where are you planning to go?

BigRuss

I fully plan to get an apartment. Likely Barca and Madrid.

StCirq

Get a quiet apartment. I swear I never had sleep problems so bad as we did in Spain, with people out until all hours of the godforsaken night yelling and clicking high heels on slick pavements and whatnot. Maybe it wasn't even Spaniards; maybe it was drunken Englishmen. I dunno, but it did me in. And I'm normally a really good sleeper.

If the smallman is a good eater, the tapas will work just fine.

Aduchamp1

Spain is a surprsingly modern country where food is available with the exchange of money.

There are many restaurants and food stores in Barcelona and Madrid that are open all day to accmoodate tourists and the changing life styles of the Spanish.

And when in trouble go to the nearesr department store called El Cortes Ingles which have restaurants and depending on the store large fodd sections.

http://translate.google.com/translat...teingles.es%2F

In tiny, tiny towns there are often limited restaurants and stores that sell food but it will not be a problem in Madrid and Barcelona.

Robert2533

"Spaniards seem to enjoy noodling about loudly until very late at night" an interesting observation, but we'll leave it at that.

hanl

We're off to Spain (Andalucia) at the beginning of June with our daughter, who is 22 months old.

We'll be staying in apartments as being able to prepare/cook/store our own food will be a big plus.

But we plan to adapt somewhat to the local hours - i.e. having lunch a bit later, hopefully getting our daughter to have a nap, and then going for tapas in the early evening.

Whenever I go to Spain (have been there many times), I tend to make tapas into my evening meal anyway. Most places have enough of a variety to be able to construct a pretty balanced meal, plus you can keep on ordering things bit by bit, in small quantities (handy when you're not sure what your child is going to like or dislike!).

If we do eat in restaurants (rather than tapas places), we'll go for lunch rather than dinner.

And yes Spain can be a noisy place - I've discovered that it can be helpful to have an electric fan going in your bedroom at night (you don't have to have it blowing air towards you) as the white noise helps to drown out any rowdiness from the streets.

Having said all that, I cannot wait to take my little girl to Spain, as most Spaniards absolutely adore children and I know they will make a huge fuss of her!

Anais08

In 7 days, I was able to visited placa Catalunya ( this placa is well known for it´s festivities).
Selva del mar is located in the North of barcelona, and it a very beautiful beach. In this period, the sea is cold.
Arc de triomph is situated near the Parc de la Ciutadella, a fantastic park.
In Barcelona there are a lot of dogs, approximately 95% of Spanish people have one.
Life in Barcelone is very diferent, people start work earlier in Paris than in Barcelona, but they work later in Spain.
There are a lot of turists and a lot of restaurants to taste the various dishes of Barcelona.

alexislovesspain

kids and Spain .. a perfect match. Don't stress it ... I have taken the girl when she was 1 and we went back this fall, when she was 6 and the boy was 4. We did not stay in apartments, in fact we traveled much of Northern Spain and into Southern France. We have a carefree style and the kids have been traveling from birth .. if you don't make if feel complicated, then the toddler will adapt just fine. Tapas are great for kids and the Tapas bars are so lively that you will not have to worry about your little one wanting to go to bed early.

Have a great time and do not take a stroller .....

littlejane

Yes brought the little one, and our strategy was: feed her when she is hungry, probably around 7 or so, with whatever we could get her to eat.

Then, we did bring a buggy with us, and went out to dinner ourselves 9-ish, she sat in her buggy and gobbled some of our food and promptly fell asleep while we ordered more wine and enjoyed the rest of our dinner. We found having our own buggy invaluable because we could recline the back, pull down the hood so it was DARK in there for her, and she went straight to sleep.

BigRuss

We have a really light stroller, which we use rarely for him; if he's not walking, he usually rides on my shoulders.

padams421

Unless you have your "smallman" on a very tight, regimented schedule at home or he sleeps a LOT (12 hours at night and 3 naps a day), he will probably adapt quite nicely. Children are often more flexible than adults on time changes and schedules. After all, does he even know what time it is right now? Probably not, but you do. We adults look at our watches or phones to check the time. We know we're six hours off our regular schedule. Young kids- not so much.

You can try in the week or two before your trip to adjust his lifestyle to a more European time table by changing his nap and bedtime schedules. I'd probably just go on the trip and hope for the best.