tomassocroccante

<<it is a well-known fact that restaurants open late, but tapas served in bars are there to tide you over.
>>

The English have tea, the Spaniards tapas, and the Italians pizza. Who doesn't like a bite to slake our hunger sometime before dinner?!

Clifton

Have to admit I don't have a huge amount of experience with either Spain or Mexico (once to Spain, a couple of trips to Colonial Mexico - Puebla and Guanajauto areas). But in those times, I didn't find that much that was similar either, outside of language and older architecture.

I didn't find much in the way of food I cared for in Spain, despite trying the things I'd researched. Love the food in Mexico. Haven't found the shops to hold the same hours or the people to be friendly in the same way, or dining habits to be similar either. Of course, both are big countries....

I think roussillon's remark about finding Spain in Mexico, but no Mexico in Spain was right on the money as far as it matches my experience so far.

artlover

Girlspytravel,
I'm afraid I'm going to feel the same way, but there are people in Fodors that really like it, and by January I'll sure be needing a sunbreak, and we don't like Palm Springs or Arizona, and have been to Hawaii so many times and wanted something else, so we'll see. If nothing else, it should be a sunbreak, right?

We loved the food in Spain, especially last trip in Barcelona, though not as much as in Italy and France, though I hear the Basque area is way up there and we hope to find out in a Spring trip.

It's funny to me about the dining times in Spain. Here in the States I like to eat an early dinner--6:00-7. But last April in Spain we actually ended up closing a restaurant down in Barcelona--started dinner at 11 and left at 1! It was our last night there and I guess we didn't want it to end.

Aduchamp1

If someone does not like Spain, fine. It was the uneducated comparison that was the rub.

And that if that person does not want to return, that means one more vacant hotel room and am open table at a reataurant. I just did not want the traveler who has not visited Spain to either go or not go because of that representation.

As far not adjusting to the customs of another country, it is the height of self-indulgence not to be informed and to infer the country is unaccomodating.

This should be followed by temper tantrums and cancellation of tomorrow's play dates.

Neil_Oz

"I still feel bad for the poor lady who had the temerity to post a less than glowing review of southeast asia on the european board (the idea being that, as a regular traveler to Europe, Vietnam, et al weren't for her). She was verbally eviscerated for her honesty--"

Not sure that analogy helps Parrothead's cause much, Cimbrone. The person who wrote the Vietnam report was given a richly deserved serve, and if anything got off lightly. It wasn't because she didn't like Vietnam - horses for courses, after all - but because her report was grossly distorted, portraying a lovely country and people in uniformly negative terms. "Glowing" I can live without, but balance is important when your report can influence others. If she felt eviscerated her ego is too fragile for a public forum.

Cimbrone

Neil, I'm glad you remember that thread. You took issue with that lady, but did it in a way that wasn't abusive. Because you have class. I remember pointing this out on that thread. Others beside you take great pleasure in making fellow posters feel like idiots, hurling insults, being generally nasty. I just don't get it...

RodAndCarrie

Well... I think that maybe a little research could have made this trip enjoyable. Each time I travel to Europe, I spend months researching and planning. That is almost as fun as traveling. But, I must take a moment to reply to the ignorant remark that one post makes about Iowa. I have lived in Iowa all my life. Have you ever been to Iowa ? Yes, that lady's complaining was anoying. But, you are ignorant for taking a cheap shot at Iowa.

MademoiselleFifi

<<annoying in that nothing opens until 10 AM>>

Just curious: where are you from? If you're from the US, then 10am in Spain would be the middle of the night back home, so what's the rush?

rfbk50

Hey Parrothead - Give your trip some "time." I was in Spain two years ago with a friend (we are two middle-aged women) We always rent a car and drive around on our own and neither of us speaks a foreign language but we manage. We also experienced the "siesta" time problem when it came to touring and eating. We drove from Malaga to Granada, Iznajar, Ronda, Arcos de la Fronterra and Seville.

The frustration we experienced has subsided with time and we really only remember the beautiful views from our parador balcony, the extremely tight village roads we encountered and the unexpected meals we were served when we could not read the menu, just pointed to something and ate what was delivered.

I will also say that we both think tapas are overrated. We were on a tapas bar crawl in one town and were really not too impressed. BUT we cannot say enough about the great HOT CHOCOLATE they serve for breakfast.

Our most memorable night was at a great B&B/apartment in Iznajar. It was pouring down rain and the only restaurant in town was completely booked. We met an nice English couple staying at the B&B who hadn't eaten either. We drove to town in the storm, found a little grocer who was still open. We bought some eggs, bread, ham and wine. The B&B provided a little kitchen area with a fireplace for guests to use in a separate building. We lit some candles, the English man prepared our meal and we sat till late at night talking, drinking and listening to the rain.

Those are the kind of memories I have of Spain and the not very good ones have softened with time.

argos364

rfbk50, I don't see how tapas -as a whole- can be overrated, underrated or rated at all. Tapas are not a kind of food, tapas are a way of presenting food. Anything can be a tapa, a tapa can be good, bad or mediocre. You can have tapas at the dirtiest bar or at a 3 michelin star restaurant.

If you ever go back to Spain, give tapas another opportunity, a tapas bar crawl in one town is not enough to build an opinion.

traveller1959

Tapa means "cover". Originally it was a little something - slice of sausage, slice of ham - to cover the glass with your drink.

Eventually the tapas grew and grew. Warm tapas were added. Today, a "tapa" might be a regular, yet smaller dish - meat, seafood, vegetables, or a combination. This means, you can get a full meal just by ordering tapas. So, no need to get starved in the early evening.

Indeed, tapas are greatly varying - from simple and greasy to finest gourmet cuisine.

rfbk50

Good grief - you don't have to get so technical or specific. You know exactly what I meant when I said tapas. We went on a bar crawl and each place served what was their specialty - hot, cold, greasy or not. It was a promotion put on by the town as a way of bringing in tourism during November, which was a slow month for them. We also tried tapas in Granada and Seville. As I said, I was not that impressed. I just would not put Spain in the top of the list for countries where I liked the food. (But I do like Mexican food.)

suze

wouldn't a slice of sausage fall into the glass? i thought it started with a piece of bread.
;-)

PalenQ

Wikipedia says, of the origin of tapas:

According to The Joy of Cooking, the original tapas were the slices of bread that sherry drinkers in Andalusian taverns used to cover their glasses between sips. This was a practical measure meant to prevent fruit flies from hovering over the sweet sherry. But soon, enterprising bartenders were putting small snacks on the bread, and the lowly tapa (derived from the word tapar, "to cover&quot became as important as the sherry.

Aduchamp1

Tasca hopping or going from tapas bar or another is a common daily occurence in Spain.

Tapas or pinxos (Basque word)are the smaller portions, while raciones are the larger portions.

Of course they vary in quality from place to place although they are an elevated culinary art form in San Sebastian.

Not everything can be a tapa since it is more than the size. And usually you get tortilla espanol at almost any time of day in many bars. For the uninitiated, tortilla espnaol is a large omelet cut into servings and has nothing in common with a Mexican tortilla.

aeiger

Hi
Just as a sidebar to Audere, the McCanns were in Portugal not Spain.

argos364

both are in Iberia aeiger...

travel_buzzing

a catalan told me:
tapas came from when drinks used to be served with a saucer over them to prevent flies getting in etc. Tapa, as in cover/lid/top/whatever.
after a while, the customer started saying "well why dont you put something on it for us" .
hence the nibbles.
now they are on the menu, not free, apart from occasional places in Bcn and lots of south of spain.

mikelg

Donīt mistake tapas for pintxos, and donīt ask for tapas in the Basque Country...itīs pintxos and they are another thing.

Aduchamp1

What do mean that pintxos are another thing from tapas?