Would you like some SUGAR with that? Azúcar por favor

It seems as if every single beverage here is served with a side of sugar.  Just in case you need a little bit more sweetness to your fresh squeezed juice..add some azúcar.  Don't forget to throw in the "thhhh" sound  and not the "s" sound when you say it because this is Spain people. ;)


Served with sugar:
-Orange Juice (fresh or not)
-fresh squeezed carrot juice
-Yogurt (sweetened or natural)
-Milk that was requested for my 1 year old daughter. Served with sugar every time!


With that said - you never see a container of sugar just out and available for use.  Not in any of the local cafe's, bars or restaurants.  Except for Starbucks.. I think they have sugar laying out there. Hmmm..

Christmas Fair

Today I dropped by the Christmas Fair by the Cathedral. My friend Lina mentioned it as the place to go if I wanted to see Catalonia Christmas trees and decorations.

She specifically mentioned el Caganer, which are basically little pooping figurines. From what I've read having one of these is supposed to bring prosperity in the new year.

I had to see for myself and boy it was more interesting than I imagined. You had a pooping Flamenco dancer, Hello Kitty, Darth Vader and even a Jesus squatting and wishing prosperity to you.

Of course I just had to buy one.

The Pooping Log aka "Tio de Nadal"

Here in Cataluña and also in Valencia, Spain, they have normal Christmas but they have added a tradition that I find so funny! It is called Tio de Nadal, (in English "christmas log"). It's nickname is Caga Tio! This tradition involves a smiling log that on Christmas day, children order it to poop and they sing a little song.

Then children in Cataluña tap this log and apparently it poops candy but this doesn’t just happen over night. The family cares for the log by putting a blanket over it and feeding it food each nite! All over Cataluña you can buy one or the whole family of pooping logs! This tradition is celebrated by almost everyone in Cataluña and Valencia A This really makes things alot more exciting for everyone! These are the little things about Spain that I love!

A Slap on the back of the head!

My new haircut!

Here in Spain there is a very wierd but funny tradition,it is everytime you get your hair cut people are allowed to slap you on the back of the head.

My experience with this came just last week!I got my hair cut and went into school the next day not expecting much more then a few "Oh you look diffrent" comments but no it was "Oh you look diffrent" SLAP, Hi! SLAP Buenas días! SLAP,Bon día! SLAP Que Tal? A slap here a slap there.Everyone was slapping my head.Honestly a thought it was a practical joke.So me getting annoyed I had to ask apparently it is a tradition in Spain,i felt so stupid.I mean even the teachers were doing it. Of course everybody slapped me lightly but it got to a point were I was irritated.
This is a little thing that makes Spain all the more fun!

Cheap vs Pricey in Spain

Curious about what is expensive and what is cheap compared to the States?  Here you go.  I'll add more as I notice them!  Anything you are curious about?  Comment below and I will let you know.


Cheap here compared to San Francisco

• Medications - Prescription medications are just a fraction of what they cost in the states.  Even with insurance you can pay $3-$20 for prescriptions in the States.  No insurance can cost a lot more and sometimes over $100.  Here in Spain we have paid .60 cents to 1.75 euro for basic prescriptions.  I should also mention that simple things such as antibiotic eyedrops or eardrops  are easy you don't even need to see a doctor.  So far, I have not spent more than 2 euro for a prescription.  On the other hand the farmacia sure charges a heck of a lot for other necessities (see below)

• Groceries - Very inexpensive. I should have kept better notes on the cost per item but it's very common to get a bag of groceries here for about 6-12 euro.  This is a huge discount from my usual WholeFoods which cost about $30-$50 per bag. 

• Lunch - "Menu" lunches are quite popular here.  They usually come with a drink or coffee, main dish and dessert all for 6-9 euro at local cafe's. A delicious deal!

• Bar Drinks - 2 euro beers, 1.75 Irish coffee's.  Let me get back to you on mixed drinks.

• Rent - Rent is a bargain here.  You can easily rent a nice 2 bedroom for 800-1000 euro.  Rent in San Francisco is famously high in the city unless you want to live in the TL.

Expensive here compared to San Francisco

• General Farmacia products - Let's start with Hand Sanitizer.  The little mini ones you see at every Walgreens or grocery stores back home are just .99 cents and cost 4 euro here.  4 EURO!  A larger version which is more like a medium bottle is 20 euro.   Binkies cost 5-6 euro for 1 and 8 euro for two.  Quite pricey.

• Oragnic Products and Hoity Toity Meat - Damn, I miss buying free range hormone-free chicken breast for a reasonable cost.  Just one piece of free range hormone-free chicken breast that I saw yesterday was 11.80 euro which is $16.05 in dollars. So I pass on that and buy regular meat which I am sure is just fine.  There are plenty of organic marts here too but they are sparse inside and a bit pricier.

• Utilities - Crimony!  Water is crazy expensive!  Our first water bill was 275 euro for 2-3 months.  That equals $400!!  So then we monitored our water intake and the bill I received today was 175euro--still very expensive!  Electricity and gas is also very expensive.