Siesta, mañana and the food

In Spain, as in most Southern European countries, everyday life is celebrated. From our point of view, the Spanish believe in ‘slow‘ philosophy of life – mornings are slow, afternoons are slow and evenings are slow. Slow is also the food or meetings with family and friends.

You do not eat here the breakfast that we know in Poland. For them, before work, it usually comes down to coffee and cookie or croissant. The second breakfast though is more concrete. It must be unhurried and eaten in the company of friends from work. What do they usually order? Boccadillos – sandwiches, usually with serrano ham or Spanish cheese.

After breakfast, there is time for lunch – between 1.30 and 4 pm. Lunch is not the biggest meal of the day here, however, whether it’s a work week or a weekend, you often drink wine or beer.

Next comes the time for siesta. Siesta is a holy time, in which it is only allowed to rest and possibly to drink something cooling. Do you want to order sangria or other liquor at this time? No problem! If, however, you would like to get something to eat, there is no chance. Depending on the area and the place, the siesta usually lasts between 2-2.30 pm and 7 pm. During this time, all restaurants, shops and service points are closed. Siesta in assumptions was supposed to give employees a moment of rest and nap during the greatest heat. Although many of the premises are air-conditioned and there are no longer any grounds for further practice, the Spaniards remain faithful to it.

One could say that siesta goes perfectly with mañana that I would describe as a state of mind. Mañana manifests itself in the common ease, smile, joy and already mentioned unhurriedness. The Spaniards have a light approach to time and duty. You may be surprised by the lack of information about the opening hours of the restaurant, a 30-minute wait for the waiter to approach the table or a lack of rush in returning to work from a break. For them, it is normal.

After the siesta, it’s time for dinner, at the earliest at 9 pm. The dinners are huge! There must be a starter, there must be a large, warm main course and of course, there must be wine. Duration of such dinner? Let’s remember the philosophy of slow life – the celebration usually lasts about 2 hours. While walking in the evenings around Valencia, more than once we have seen people with glasses of wine in hand, discussing or dancing on the streets, and their children playing closeby with a big smile on their face.

I have a scooter as well

Valencia is a city where getting around the car is quite problematic. Narrow streets, few parking spaces and heavy traffic means that Spanish people often choose scooters instead of cars. Increasingly, however, they decide not to purchase a vehicle, and use scooter sharing option instead. Blinkee.city was warmly welcomed in Valencia not only by tourists, but mainly by locals!

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Beaches

The inhabitants of Valencia are lucky people. In addition to great weather, delicious food and unique green areas in the old Turia Riverbed (Gardens of Turia), they also have access to great beaches. Can you imagine having an option within a dozen or so minutes to find yourself on a beautiful sandy beach at the weekend? And what do you say about this option in the middle of the week? For us those are dreams, for them, it’s everyday life. The closest to the centre of Valencia are located two beaches:

• La Malvarosa
• Patacona

Both are sandy and wide with a good base of restaurants and bars, as well as a car park.
If, however, you prefer more secluded and wild places, we would suggest going south. The locals strongly recommend the following beaches:

• Playa del Saler
• Playa de la Garrofera
• Playa de la Malladeta

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Academic city

Valencia is an academic city with four universities. The largest of them is Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) and Universidad de Valencia founded in 1499. An interesting fact is that UPV is the university with the largest number of foreign students in Europe, all due to student exchanges under the Erasmus program. The crowds of foreign students come here to change the surroundings, polish the language and enjoy all the advantages of this city. It is not surprising, because in addition to great universities, friendly campuses, the City of Arts and Sciences and many sports facilities, they can also enjoy true Spanish hospitality.

 

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