Andalucia is rich in gastronomy © Michelle Chaplow |
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Introduction to Andalucia - Part 3
Eat your heart out
Life is relaxed in Andalucia - there is no rush to do anything. You can eat breakfast till 12, and have lunch at 4 if you fancy. Night time is when things get going - don´t bother going out before 9 to eat, or 11 to a bar. Up till the small hours? No worries - you can have a long lie-in the next day. One of the best, and most important, pastimes in Andalucia is gastronomy. It is considered essential to social and cultural life; recipes and produce are discussed with as much seriousness as sport and politics - the quality of a jamon is equally important as the players in a football team. Any village, town or city will have a variety of bars with a wide choice of tapas, from the traditional to the avant-garde, and moving from one of these bars to another to try different dishes - the tapeo - is part of life in Andalucia.
Keep it in the family
If you have children, few places are more welcoming than Andalucia. The Spanish adore children, and you can take them to restaurants without being frowned on by staff and fellow diners, who are more likely to make a big fuss of them. In Andalucia, children are not expected to sit quietly - they can run around and play, especially if you´re eating outside, which adds to the friendly, relaxed atmosphere. In terms of keeping kids entertained, besides the endless beaches, there are various waterparks, zoos and theme parks around the region. During the summer months, almost every town has an open-air public pool, often with both a children´s pool and an adult pool, and sometimes with a bar for snacks and cold drinks.
Arrivals and Departures
Travelling to Andalucia couldn´t be easier, with five airports to choose from: Seville, Malaga (extremely busy, as it´s a hugely popular holiday destination), Granada, Almeria and Jerez. If you are concerned about your carbon footprint, you can take the high-speed train, or AVE, from Madrid or Barcelona, to Seville, Cordoba or Malaga.