If you are like me, you eat both breakfast and lunch at your desk. You may even skip meals all together and instead graze a little throughout the day, all the while working, never pausing to actually enjoy ‘meal-time’.  Once in a great while, when I indulge and leave the office for 45 minutes or so, the computer is never left behind. Along it comes to accompany me at a nearby lunchtime destination. It is not so much that I fear I will miss some ever-important work-related email, but more of just a habit to continue working on through the day. I am so used to  constantly ‘doing’ something, that even at home I have a magazine or some other reading material with me at the dinner table. And this is only when I am in fact at the dinner table, having dinner, instead of snacking in front of the Tv.

I, like most Americans I suppose, am accustomed to the lifestyle of go-go-go all day long, never pausing to take a break, enjoy a meal or the company of another. Anything other than that feels wrong, like if I stop or slow down, I am slacking off somehow.

So, imagine the state of shock and awe I found myself in during my recent first visit to Europe, immediately upon arriving at our destination in the south of France, and sitting down to an elaborate 2-hour lunch, complete with multiple courses (and multiple bottles of wine). And this was just the beginning. Every meal in France was long and leisurely, and afterwards everyone would just return to going about their day.

And then came Spain. Ohhhh Spain, where everyplace from the sleepy villages along the Mediterranean coast to the bustling streets of Barcelona, virtually shut down between the hours of 1:30 and 4:30. The beaches, the streets, restaurants and bars, even banks and supermarkets are all deserted in favor of this wonderful phenomena, the ‘siesta’. Everything closes so that Spainards can return home to relish in delicious food and the company of loved ones, and then- this is the best part- retreat to a mid-day nap before returning to finish the work day!

At first this lifestyle seemed so odd and unusual. But believe me it did not take long to become accustomed to it, as you can observe from the photo above. And then to realize how right-on it is! Europeans sure have a sense of what is important in life. It is taking the time to enjoy it, rather than rush though it like a mad-man (woman).

I don’t know if there is anything that could change the fast-paced American work ethic, but I hope that one day we learn to embrace some of what the Europeans could teach us. Until then, I have to work on the small ways to integrate some of that into my hetic lifestyle. I would love to hear some suggestions from those of you who have found ways to indulge in your own sense of ‘siesta’.

Book of the week: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I should call this the ‘book of the summer’ because it took me that long to read it in its entirety, but if you enjoy long stories that you really become invested in, this tale that takes place in the 1100′s will suck you right in and even leave you wanting more!