By James Dempsey in Spain — Oct 9, 2023

Not Slow, Present.

For me, Spain is about the lifestyle that surrounds food.

We all hear of the siesta, and anyone that follows European politics knows of the disdain that busier countries have for the laid back Spanish way of existing. And I think we're all missing the main message.

Spanish life isn't about moving slow - it's about being present. It's about being in that moment instead of forecasting the next. Dinner time in Valencia really underlines this.

Tonight we took my mum to a beautiful tapas spot (see highlights) and were lucky to grab a seat. We order our bottle of wine and chat about how great our beach day was. I wave down the server to put in our food order, but the chef hasn't even arrived. She looks confused. Are we not enjoying ourselves? We've ordered a nice bottle of wine and we want to rush into food?

We ended up sitting for just over 2hrs and it was such a lovely dinner. The food was exceptional and we had really deep conversations.

Another great lesson in being present.