Service

In my travels over the west end of the Iberian peninsual (Portugal, and Galicia in Spain), I have not seen ANYONE using a travel mug or in any other manner transporting a cup of coffee or tea.  My old Galician friend Belen says "I tried it once when Erin was visiting from Canada.  But I had to tell her 'Stop! I cannot walk and drink my coffee at the same time!'".

Belen suggests that the fact that waiters and waitresses get paid a decent salary explains why the service is so good in this part of the world, from the smallest cafe to the grandest restaurant (not that I've sampled many of those).  No "Hi, my name is Oscar and I'll be your waiter."  Instead, just people who understand what you want, bring it, and clear it away, always without comment and always at the right time.  The other component to this beautiful service culture is the customers themselves, who occupy every cafe or restaurant freely and respectfully, as if it were their own home.