The Royal Disease

Tapas in Spain are kind of like the English's tea time. The closest example in the U.S. would be "snacks". This summer in Barcelona, Spain, we had delicately crafted tapas in the late afternoon each day. All of the necessary ingredients of a "healthy well-rounded diet" were available from the many finger-food tapas. Some were meaty, some sweet, others loaded with veggies or fruits and some resembled jello pudding.

I just looked at a website http://www.arrakis.es/~jols/tapas/indexin.html that tells a short history over the origin of Spanish tapas dating back to the Spainish King, Alfonso the 10th, who had a disease requiring him to eat small sized portions of food between meals. He thought this would be a great solution to having his people drink their empty stomachs to the point of being full and suffering malnutrition and drunkness. This mid-afternoon heavy "snack" led to the next cultural tradition of siestas (naps). What a wonderful combination toward the pursuit of happiness each day!