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Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

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Re: Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

#161

Post by Oletros »

faragon wrote: post #157
Oletros wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least, before writing your usual biased diatribe you should read the original link in that shitty article. In no place is mentiioned Spain and the article talks about rationalizing the shops schedule. But don't let pass any opportunity to show your hatred > I forgot to add that Catalans, myself included, have a lot to learn from other Spanish regions: e.g. in Madrid there is commercial freedom, so shops can chose…

> At least, before writing your usual biased diatribe you should read the original link in that shitty article. That was just my opinion. > In no place is mentiioned Spain and the article talks about rationalizing the shops schedule. My point was because the only sector that matches the schedule the article was speaking about was the shops, as the three hours pause is very rare except for the shops and some services…

> That's separatist propaganda:

> That's separatist propaganda:

That was not an opinion, it was just a plain lie.

> If someone puts a region as example of something, you can expect other put examples of the opposite, specially if you live there.

Nobody has put anything as example.

But as I said, don't let pass an oportunity to fight your imaginary enemies.

> I'm in favor of social democracy ("center"). And that's compatible with willing to have freedom for shops and business to operate at their will

No, it is not compatible, social democracy is against unregulated capitalism

Re: Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

#162

Post by leipert »

jorgemf wrote: post #21

This is a non-sense of article as other spaniards have commented. The only companies that close 3 hours in the middle of the day are the shops, usually small shops. They do it because for long part of the year no one goes to the street from 2pm to 5pm, because it is so fucking hot. So instead, our culture close the shops at those times but keep them opens until 9pm or later. It is very common to see shops full of peo…

Yup, it's really crazy that you have the same timezone like Germany. The most Western point of (mainland) Spain is at -9.25 Longitude, and time would be correct at +15 Longitude, that's more than 1.5 timezones. Even Barcelona at around +2 Longitude is almost a whole timezone off.

Re: Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

#163

Post by kilroy123 »

jordigh wrote: post #4

This is also part of Mexican culture, sort of. In Mexico City, we would break for lunch around 13:00-14:00 and just take our sweet time, no pressure at all to go back into the office. The workday would end around 18:00-19:00. I think this has its pro and contra, you get a nice big break in the middle of the day, time to enjoy your meal, but also you end up staying in the office way too late. Commute times of one hour…

American living in Mexico City. I still can't get used to your eating schedule. Luckily, I work remote and can still eat like a gringo.

Re: Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

#164

Post by Moru »

valuearb wrote: post #124
mrkrabo wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try to go out with 45 degrees, with direct sunlight, etc. Some people will even faint within minutes. Because remember you don't get teleported to the shop, you have to walk.

It was 48 degrees in Phoenix a couple weeks ago. We all walked around outside successfully without fainting.

I congratulate you to a good health. Here in sweden people drop dead when temp goes above 25 C. All depends on your health...

Re: Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

#165

Post by mipapage »

eloff wrote: post #116
davidw wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Small shops manage to operate in, say, Arizona during those hours. That said, I think Spain's hours are a more natural adaptation to the climate than Arizona's.

Arizona is in the car-centric USA. You walk straight from your car with AC into a shop with AC via the shortest path possible. Spain, like most Europe is a lot more pedestrian/cyclist friendly and I'd imagine that traffic drops off a lot during the heat of the day. I live in Canada which isn't anything near as hot as Arizona or Spain and I walk/cycle everywhere and I specifically avoid going anywhere from 11am-2pm in…

Okay, I'm a Canadian living in Spain and can tell you, from 1200 - 1900 in the summer the sun hurts, and yeah, a lot of stuff is done locally = walking or biking (usually walking).

It is much easier in local towns and villages to walk around and get what you need rather than take a car, often a more difficult thing to do given parking scarcity, and really not necessary given that there are many options for going local. I have two supermarkets within a KM of my home, 16 (!) cafeteria/bars/restaurants, and most other services are covered (banks, dry cleaner, gas station etc). In larger cities (Barcelona, Madrid and smaller cities) the neighborhoods tend to have most things. You really only do the long drive to hit larger supermarkets or to go to a mall or something.

Re: Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

#166

Post by valuearb »

wavefunction wrote: post #159
valuearb wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Arizona has always managed its water supply far better than California. And a flyover is misleading, most houses have natural yards and the lawns are all special summer grass adapted to the heat.

>special summer grass adapted to the heat. My point is how much water does it take even for that. If what you were saying is true, I'd expect to see that grass growing all over Phoenix and it would be green rather than red.

It does consume water, but again we manage our water well. I think most people are under the mistaken impression that fresh water is in short supply. The problem is that our water supplies could easily be a free market while still being ecologically friendly. They could easily limited to reusable and naturally refreshed sources, and not drain rivers like the Colorado below safe levels. Market prices would ensure water was used efficiently.

But instead California gave away massive free water rights to landowners who use it to farm in their deserts. Over 90% of their fresh water is given to farmers to grow crops a little cheaper than farmers in other states who aren't raping water supplies, and so bad farming and water usage drives out good.

Re: Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

#167

Post by mipapage »

mcjiggerlog wrote: post #46
icebraining wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Open 'till 9pm? Where? Every time I'm in Spain (mostly in Galiza) it seems like the stores still close at 7-8pm, despite only opening at around 4:30pm.

I'm in Madrid. Independent shops are usually 0930-1400 and 1700-2030/2100. Chains are open about 0900-2100.

Similar in Alicante, though chains here, and often nearby shops, are open until 2200.

Re: Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

#168

Post by irrational »

eloff wrote: post #116
davidw wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Small shops manage to operate in, say, Arizona during those hours. That said, I think Spain's hours are a more natural adaptation to the climate than Arizona's.

Arizona is in the car-centric USA. You walk straight from your car with AC into a shop with AC via the shortest path possible. Spain, like most Europe is a lot more pedestrian/cyclist friendly and I'd imagine that traffic drops off a lot during the heat of the day. I live in Canada which isn't anything near as hot as Arizona or Spain and I walk/cycle everywhere and I specifically avoid going anywhere from 11am-2pm in…

Is 11-2 really the hottest part of your day? That may be when the sun is highest in the sky, but usually the hottest temperatures of the day are closer to late afternoon.

Re: Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

#169

Post by vram22 »

franciscop wrote: post #36

I am sorry but this is totally backwards. As a Valencian Spaniard I want to set the record straight. First, siesta is not dead. However, it is considered mostly a holiday luxury or reserved for small shops. It is normal in the extremely hot summer, after lunch we stop for 1h or so. While I do not do siesta, I would say about half+ of the people I know do it (holiday times). I would also say it is highly coupled with…

I'm guessing that's olives, wine and groundnuts (peanuts) on the table. That bread looks good.

Re: Say Goodbye to Spain's Three-Hour Lunch Break

#170

Post by CydeWeys »

mrkrabo wrote: post #94
hueving wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the invention of air conditioning and an abundance of solar power during the desert day, it's pretty stupid to let the weather dictate your behavior. People exist in Chicago despite the fact that it would be completely inhospitable without heating sources. The only difference is that air conditioning is a newer invention so people like you view it as some kind of opulent luxury rather than a technological tool l…

Try to go out with 45 degrees, with direct sunlight, etc. Some people will even faint within minutes. Because remember you don't get teleported to the shop, you have to walk.

As they say about Phoenix, "it's a dry heat". It's near 20% humidity during peak sunlight during the day. I've been there in really hot summer weather and I was surprised by how really high temperatures didn't feel as hot as I was expecting. To give you an idea of how much this matters, in a gentle breeze, 39.5 C at 20% humidity feels like 57.3 C at 90% humidity.

People definitely don't faint within minutes in a typical Phoenix sunlight. The biggest risks are sunburn and dehydration, both of which take a lot longer.

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