Siesta In La Nucia

Between 2.00pm and 4.30pm every Spanish town,village and to some extent city looks like this. Devoid of all life due to the siesta and of course lunch (La Comida).

The Spanish are fantastic people with lots of appealing characteristics. Timekeeping is not one of them. The basic rule when meeting a Spanish friend is to agree a time then turn-up around an hour later. If you insist on being British and turning up on time then bring a good book with you. You learn to live with it and after a while you join in. Lunch and siesta is a different matter altogether.

There must be something in every Spaniard's genetic code that tells them that they must eat at around 2.30pm. Hence, all of the restaurants fill up at exactly the same time. If, God forbid, you find yourself in somewhere like IKEA at lunchtime and fancy some Swedish meatballs you will come across a scene not unlike a war-zone refugee camp with people clambering over tables and chairs and food queues leading all the way out the door. My top tip for travellers in Spain is this. If you want lunch get a table at around 1.45pm then relax and watch the fun.

Of course it goes without saying that, unless you're a masochist, you should NEVER visit IKEA anyway.