I stayed in a small town in the maseta at a hostal. It included a family restaurant. While my son & I ate there the owners discovered that one of their guest's was having a birthday. They brought out a large pastry for it and we all had an impromptu party. The local wine was flowing (delicious - and smooth - toooo smooth
) and also a red liquer (wish I knew what it was) - served in small ceramic cups. The son played his flute for entertainment and we had a late night blast - - - However, in the morning when I went to pay, the proprietor just charged me for the room - I told him that we had dinner and drinks - he asked how much. In my happy state the night before I had no idea - he asked his son who was passing - and he charged a fraction of what I thought I should be paying - when I said so - he waved me off - I felt like I was ripping them off but someone else there (with better language skills than mine) informed me that they "provided" much of the party. Of the additional stuff, it was traditional for the customer to keep track of what they spent and let them know... I did a better job after that so when I was asked what I had, I was ready. There was no "check". BUT, I found as I entered cities they were a little better at keeping track - - - Now, finally my question: Was this a regional tradition? - Would it be a dying one based on the influx of tourists - and the inevitable rip-pffs that would occur with such an honor system?
Side bar:
I loved the casual and warm interaction that I had with some rural folks and their business establishments. One restaurant had a motherly cook come back from the kitchen concerned that my son hadn't eaten enough! (One of those high volume menu del dia's that you can run across... 3 courses, including local wine or other drink, for around 6 euros)
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