They even asked if I wanted to join in on the next hunt!
The most famous dinner in Spain, hands down, is paella. This dish is served in a massive pan that can reach up to a meter in diameter, depending on how many people are eating. Traditionally, this dish is cooked over an open fire with orange tree and pine branch smoke that adds extra flavor to the rice.
Nowadays, most people use a stove to cook paella. Because Girona is so close to the sea, most people here order a seafood paella, but the flavor depends on the environment of the comunidad autónoma, with more landlocked areas choosing meats like rabbit or beef.
The best part about dinner is sobremesa, which directly translates to "over the table." This is a special time for family and friends to spend a few hours talking and laughing together after finishing their meals. At this time, many people order tapas (similar to appetizers), which are small portions of food to share as the conversation continues on. For this reason, Spanish dinners can last up to four hours and typically leave everyone smiling and cheerful at the end of the night. It's lovely.
A day-to-day snack here is typically a mandarin or some cubes of cheese. That being said, one of my favorite things about grocery stores in different countries is wandering through the snack aisles.
