Sunday in Spain

Sunday is a day of recovery, a day to relax, a day to unwind from all the semi-pressue of the past week.

It seems kind of odd that the Spanish needed a day like today. Because life here is kind of slow. There is no feel of rush. People aren´t pressed for time. If you´re late, then the store is just going to open a little late. You don´t put in a full day. You put in two half days, with a nice little break in between.

Sunday used to be for the religious, and while 80% of spainiards still claim Catholocism, smaller numbers concern themselves with the traditions. Sunday is a break. A time-honored, well practiced, well coordinated break.

Nothing is happening on Sunday. Especially a rainy sunday.

It starts with getting up late, having a lazy morning. Then its time to head to the city center to buy a paper. You hit the cafe around 11, and on a rainy day like today you order a crissont and "un chocolate;" a hot chocolate so thick that it´s probably really just chocolate pudding heated up. You read. Everyone reads the paper. And its not one of those where a family will buy one paper and share the sections. No. Everyone has their own paper. Even the kids. So you read your paper until 1:30, when all the cafes close.

And the restaurants open. Time for lunch. Lunch is the big meal of the day in Spain. So on Sunday it´s the big event of the day. You gotta show up.

Lunch is followed by a nap. A nap is followed by some reading. Then its time to get some dinner, and rest up for the week ahead.