What is the essence of Spain? I’m talking about physical things you can see, hear, touch, things that are unique to the landscape of Spanish life. If we were talking about the UK for example, I might think of starched white grass on frost-bitten mornings, newsagents, PG Tips tea, carpeted living rooms, gastro pubs, billowing green trees, light rain, the M25… things that just say: The British Isles.
By the same token, what is the essence of Spain? What are those unique physical and sensory pointers that combine to let you know This is Spain, not France, Britain, Australia, or anywhere else… just Spain.
Here are a few of the things that come to my mind:
The Menu del Dia
Distant sawtooth mountains
Dry meseta plains
Cola Cao
Appartment buildings
El Pais
Cafe con Leche
Langostinos
Bumper to bumper driving on motorways
Waiters in waistcoats
Bright blue skies
Small dogs
Children playing in warm Plazas at midnight
The noisy front-line of bodies and parasols on hot Mediterranean beaches
I really want to develop this list: What would you add?
Notes from Spain by Ben Curtis 