ANA:

There’s something to be said for bad habits, especially Spanish bad habits. One of the bad habits of Spanish men I find particularly attractive is their habit of always insisting on paying for the drinks! They do it everywhere, and if you are not Spanish yourself, it is almost impossible to foot the bill, even though you are the one who has done justice to the octopus and gobbled up most of the ham and cheese.

I’ve often wondered where this habit came from. The late Enrique Tierno Galván once commented that for the Mediterranean people, the street is the extension of the house, while for northern Europeans the street is a means of getting from one place to another.

So, when a Spaniard is on the street, he still feels bound by the rules of hospitality: he is the host and you are the guest. That’s good news for the Irish, English, Welsh, and Scots, but bad news for the economy of our Spanish hosts. Long live bad habits!