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We interviewed sixteen Spanish people who live in Spain to get an insight in the true culture of this popular holiday destination. To start with, we asked them to translate their favourite Spanish saying for us. Their responses included a couple of familiar ones, such as "You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs", "there is always something good after something bad" and "the past is past". A typically Spanish proverb they mentioned was "when the toreador is bad, he complains about the bull". The one thing all proverbs had in common was that they encourage a positive attitude, even while acknowledging that life isn't always easy. A young man in his twenties summarized them all with "A beber y a tragar, que el mundo se va a acabar" - eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow the world will end."

Naturally, our second question was what we should eat and drink when in Spain. Their favourite dishes included gazpacho, tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelette) and paella. They said that eating churros (fried dough pastry) and tapas is essential if you want to taste authentic, Spanish flavours. Their favourite tapas dishes were patatas bravas (fried potato chunks in a spicy tomato sauce), Jamon Iberico (Iberian ham), Jamon Serrano (Serrano ham) and octopus. When it comes to alcoholic beverages, they recommended Sangria, Vino Rioja and Agua de Valencia (a cocktail made from a base of cava or champagne, orange juice, vodka and gin).

If you have booked flights to Palma and are looking forward to a truly authentic holiday, of course you need to know about the local habits, gestures and traditions. When we asked the Spanish about this most of them answered that it's very common to greet everybody with two kisses, even for boys. Spanish people are warm, friendly, spontaneous and love physical contact. "People are very kind to tourist," said a young man, "tourist should try to join the traditions and do what they see."