Cómo los españoles comen tapas (How Spaniards eat tapas)…

Last night, I got to do something inherently Spanish for the first time: Fui a tapear (I went to eat tapas)…Now, what exactly does that mean???…Let me explain…

A tapa (or pincho)is a small apertif that could be anything–paella, pasta, assorted vegetables, etc.–and typically served with a drink…Something like this…

Una bola de patatas y atún, con salsa y pan (A ball of potatoes and tuna, with sauce and bread)…

Now, according to legend, the tradition of the pincho was started by King Alfonso XIII (1886-1941) while on a trip to Cádiz (a region/city in Andalucía, the southernmost region of Spain)…While stopping at a tavern in front of the beach, he requested some vino (wine)…The waiter also brought along some slices of jamón (ham) along with it…Suddenly, the wind started to blow, and there was a cloud of sand…Thinking fast, the waiter covered the king’s glass with the ham, which served as a tapa (from the verb tapar, which means “to cover”)…The King liked the idea so much that after drinking his wine, he requested another tapa…

Now, people normally eat tapas in a bar de tapas (easy enough to understand)…To get pinchos, you just go up to the counter, point to the server which ones you want (along with drink)– and there you go!!…

In the larger cities, like Madrid or Barcelona, pinchos are more expensive (shysters), but in less touristy regions/cities (like Salamanca), they are significantly more reasonably-priced…In fact, I got 1 pincho and a drink for less than 2 Euro!!!!…