Order this instead of a sangria to sound like a local in Spain (and other tips).

I love to do a ton of research before I go on a trip. It’s part of what gets me excited. I watch vlogs, follow Instagram pages, listen to podcasts, and devour Lonely Planet guides. Before I went with my son to Spain at the beginning of August, Instagram knew (as it always does) and sent me Spain content on the daily. What to drink and how to order it seemed to be a common theme-and I was here for it.

One of the topics was on sangria. I don’t know about you, but I always associate Spain with sangria. Well apparently the locals order tinto de verano in the summer and not sangria. So of course I ordered un tinto de verano, por favor, at our first dinner there. As someone who doesn’t really love sangria, I loved this local, refreshing drink.

I have traveled all over the Spanish speaking world, so I am pretty proficient at ordering 'una cerveza’. In Spain the locals actually order una caña. This is a draft beer, served very cold in a short glass. If you want a full-size beer, apparently, you’d say una copa, but I am good with una caña. I also love how a beer order here always seems to come with a little snack. Heck, even my agua mineral came with the best olives of my life.

The other cultural tip I was glad I saw in advanced was about iced coffee, café con hielo. Even though I knew it was going to happen, I still chuckled when I ordered un café cortado con hielo and got a beautiful hot cortado in one cup and a single, giant ice cube in the other. Standard. It actually tasted really good. Another thing to note is that ordering an iced coffee in Spain is not a year round thing like it is at Starbucks, it is only a drink served in the heat of the summer. I will say that in big cities that are accustomed to foreign tourists iced lattes are available. I was very excited to order on in Valencia. Proudly pictured below.

A couple other musings on ordering while I was with my son in the tiny town of Vinaròs:

-They would not serve paella at dinner. It was only available during the long lunch hours.

-Restaurants don’t give out glasses of water. If you order a water, you will most likely get a glass bottle of water.
-I didn’t see a single egg on a breakfast menu. It was customary to see pan tostada (a toasted baguette) with thinly sliced jamón and/or grated tomato. Sometimes you would see tortilla Española. You could always find bocadillos, which are baguette sandwiches with jamón y queso. I never thought I’d like a sandwich for breakfast, but despite the carb overload, they are really good.

-Since they eat dinner SO late, it seemed everyone was gathered in the early evening drink cañas and meriendas (little snacks) or have gelato with their families, before having dinner at 9pm or later.

I love cultural nuance and learning while traveling. Do you, Sunshine?

¡Salud! Bree