Spaniards practice their night life very hard. It starts about 9:30 to 10 pm and goes on to at least 2:30 am. The sidewalk cafes open around 10 pm and all they serve is coffee, wine and some liquor, although I have yet to see tonic water, so I do not know how they serve the Gin and Whiskey. I do not think that it is served straight up. The street vendors also set up their booths at this time. Lots of jewelry, some very nice, some the standard street type, clothing and anything else you think somebody will buy.

Fireworks are very popular. Big displays, not the home variety. Why they do them, when they do them, we have not figured out yet, but they are always at midnight. Middle of the week or weekends, it makes no difference. They usually last about 10 minutes, everybody claps and cheers, then life goes on.

They are out hot and heavy in the outdoor cafes. The first night we had one stop by our table on the average of every five minutes. The first six were different guys, then they started repeating themselves, just in case you changed your mind. Apparently the restaurant owners have to let them stop at tables, because none of them chased them away.

They also wander into the outdoor cafes. They play about three songs, then pass the tambourine around, then move onto the next cafe. They are not annoying, like the flower vendors and are usually good musicians..

A lot of the restaurants/cafes have pictures either in the menus or on boards in front of the restaurants/cafes. If you ask, or if you look non-spanish, you can get a menu printed in Spanish, English, French and sometimes Cantonese. Water is something you always ask for, as the local water has yet to be worth drinking. But a liter bottle is usually only $1.50, so it is less expensive than in US restaurants.

Most restaurants/cafes offer a fixed menu. At lunch it usually costs about $8 to $10, for three courses: appetizer, salad and main course. Wine and/or water, may or may not, be included. Dinner fixed menus are five to six courses for around $18 to $25, again wine and/or water, may or may not, be included. If you are hungry, the fixed is definitely a good deal. But, be hungry, as the servings are generous!

There are no parking rules in Castelldefels, even though there are no parking signs and parking lines, they mean nothing, except in front of driveways. People double park EVERYWHERE, even on corners. As you can see, there are 4 cars double parked on a corner! The police did not pay any attention to the parking situation.

Yes, the beaches are topless. Thongs are also very visible. But, as on beaches all over the world, some sights are breath taking, some are not. You also do not want to be on the beach on Mondays, as the waterline is covered with cigarette butts from the weekend crowds.

I think there are only three people in all of Spain that do not smoke....Ok, maybe five. Smoking seems to be a requirement for citizenship. They smoke EVERYWHERE, I am no longer in California!

Most hotels, apartments and condos all have metal shutters on the windows and sliding glass doors. They provide security and block the sun. They do have small holes in them to let air come through. If you leave the shutter open when you leave your hotel room, the maids will close them when they clean your room.

Even though we always registered as two people, the hotels will only give you one key card, unless you ask for a second one. As you enter your room you need to put your key card in a slot in order to turn on the electricity and air conditioning. Some US hotel have started using this system to save money. In some hotels another money and energy saver is that when you open the sliding glass door the air conditioner turns off. The Europeans are very energy conscious, and try very hard to use solar, wind, and thermal energy, as they are free, per se, instead of oil which is not free and is expendable. I wish our government would pay more attention.