Spain

Spain

Spain is located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

Eating habits:

A typical Spanish breakfast usually consists of just a quick drink of orange juice, chocolate milk or a cup of coffee occasionally accompanied by a pastry such as a croissant.
Lunch is a big deal in Spain and often lasts over an hour. 
Spanish restaurants are required to provide a "menu del dia " which is a 3 course menu at a fixed price and is very economical compared to the actual menu itself. 
An evening meal can start as late as 9 or 10pm at home.

Food:

Paella: There are three widely known types of paella: Valencian paella, seafood paella and mixed paella but there are many others as well. Valencian paella consists of white rice, green vegetables, meat (rabbit, chicken, duck), land snails, beans and seasoning. Seafood paella replaces meat and snails with seafood and omits beans and green vegetables. Mixed paella is a free-style combination of meat, seafood, vegetables, and sometimes beans.

Tortilla: A tortilla is a type of omelette. 

 *"La tortilla de patata" is likely more typical in Spain than "la paella", even though this is better known...

Entertaiment

Carnivals: Carnival time in Spain varies from year to year according to when Easter Week falls due. The  festivities include huge street parades with all the participants wearing fancy dress costumes.

Bullfight: Spanish-style bullfighting is called corrida de toros ( "running of bulls") or la fiesta("the festival"). In the traditional corrida, three matadors, each fight two bulls, each of which is between four and six years old and weighs no less than 460 kg . Each matador has six assistants—two picadors ("lancers on horseback") mounted on horseback, three banderilleros – who along with the matadors are collectively known as toreros ("bullfighters") – and a mozo de espadas ("sword page"). Collectively they comprise a cuadrilla ("entourage").                

Music

The music of Spain has a long history and has played an important part in the development of western music. It has had a particularly strong influence upon Latin American music. The music of Spain is often associated abroad with traditions like flamenco and the classical guitar but Spanish music is, in fact, diverse from region to region. 

Vasiliki K.

Antonia D.

B1, 21/02/2013