Spain has a wonderful cuisine based upon an abundance of fantastic ingredients. To start their day a cup of strong cafe con leche or strong hot chocolate and a sweet roll. By midmorning a tapas of Iberian ham or some other savoury to tide them over to comeda, lunch, which is eaten at 2-3pm. From what we saw lunch can be a large meal and on the weekends the restaurants were packed with families and extended families out for a large elaborate lunch meal. Dinner is eaten at 9 or 10. I think this meal schedule is the result of very hot day time temperatures and siesta late in the afternoon for a couple of hours during the hottest part of the day. This traditional daily schedule has been tempered somewhat because of the business schedule of the world but the smaller the community the closer they adhere to the old ways. That said it is difficult to eat on a North American schedule in Spain. Often the earliest dinner reservation at the best restaurants is 8:30pm and you will dine alone until 9:30pm........oh well. So if you are starting dinner at 9 or 10 your not done until 11or midnight......... It looked to me that commerce began by 8 or 9 am, I think the whole country is sleep deprived. Spain as with much of Western Europe is deadly serious about eating and drinking and the traditions surrounding it. This is a country with a million bars and restaurants, each specializing in some unique traditional cuisine of Spain. Superior quality wines, sherries and beers are produced through out the country. They are deadly serious about their Iberian ham, every Tapas bar had dozens of cured legs hanging from the ceiling, each with a stamp to show its origin and providence. The "black leg" is considered the primo as the animal only ate acorns as it was being fattened and finished. These cured ham legs are the sliced as thin as paper and the slices are eaten at every meal, it's a national obsession........why not it is fantastic. Spain runs on oil.........olive oil,it is used liberally on everything. You can find shops that deal exclusively in olive oil, displaying dozens of different varieties at all different price points. Olive oil is on the table as a condiment, to be used instead of butter on bread, on you salad, on your soup........."olive oil, it's not just for breakfast anymore". As a note there are no other condiments on the table, never saw salt or pepper.........never missed it either e erything was always delicious, maybe that's what comes from always eating 2 hours later than your stomach is telling you. The Spanish equivalent of champain is called cava. It is very popular and from my observations the Spanish would consume much more sparkling wine than North Americans, probably on par with the French.......cava before every meal, it's my new regime. The Spanish are big seafood lovers and why not it is abundant and fresh even in land locked Madrid. Squid, octopus,anchovies, sardines, hake, shrimp, prawns, lobster all prepared beautifully.