Egg dishes are very popular throughout all of Spain and are typically paired with tomatoes, potatoes or both! Here in Girona, they're famous for Xuixo (pastries pronounced shoo-sha), which are like croissants filled with delicious, buttery cream called crema catalana (catalan cream). Legend has it that the pastry is named after a famous Catalunyan acrobat, el Tarlà, who fell in love with a baker's daughter. One day, when the acrobat was visiting her, the father came home early. To avoid being discovered, el Tarlà hid in a bag of flour, but the flour made him sneeze! To avoid angering the father, he jumped out of the bag and offered the baker a pastry recipe in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage. Xuixo is supposed to sound like the sneeze that betrayed his hiding spot.
Lunch here in Spain comes pretty late in the day and is a special time for relaxation. Many companies here shut down for two to three hours of siesta (nap). From around 3–6 p.m. each day, most stores are closed while the owners take a moment for themselves to relax and recoup. I love this aspect of living here because it allows me to slow down and be intentional about my day.
At work, I typically make myself a bikini sandwich, which is pretty much a glorified grilled cheese. Many people here like to add Iberian ham to their bikinis, as Spain is famous for its wild boars. I once stumbled upon a group of Catalunyans gathering sticks in the forest so that they could roast the wild boar they'd caught the day before.
