Siesta

When I first encountered siesta, it was in Spain and I was somewhat chagrined at being forced either to eat or to do nothing for two or three hours. I consoled myself by doing the former, lunching on scrummy tapas and a big gin and tonic (after the gin and tonic, I happily passed the rest of siesta in a tipsy haze).

Coming from a country moving very rapidly to a 24/7 culture of opening hours, I had to work really hard to see the rationalisations behind such a tradition -- avoiding too much activity during the hottest part of the day? The ability to spend time more time with the family, as you're together during both lunch and dinner? Enjoying some free time with some real daylight? (As opposed to starting work just after the sun rises and finishing work just before the sun sets, which was more or less the norm in Perth, at least when we aren't on daylight savings time.)

But after nearly a year of siesta in France, I now find I'm pretty addicted to it, and I don't mind at all being mildly inconvenienced at times, or having to plan a little bit in advance to get things done. Even now, although I'm in Prague where opening hours are much more liberal than in France, I inexplicably find myself heading home to make lunch and chill out for a while, or if not, strolling lazily (or sitting or most often lying down) somewhere shady and cool. Once you siesta, you find it's the best-a!

(What on earth will I do come the middle of August when I start work?!)