Napolitano or croissant con chocolate?

Hostal Persal, Panaderia, 24hr Paneria, cafe bar, cafe restaurante, Mercado Central, Pasteleria Santa Catalina, Alcoy dorm cafeteria, Movellan - all names of places that have provided me with some amazing and interesting croissants while in Spain. My first encounter with this flaky goodness was at the first hostel in Madrid, Hostal Persal, which came with a breakfast buffet. A limited amount of mini chocolate croissants, mini Napolitanos, were found here, with both chocolate on the inside and with chocolate sprinkles on the top. It tasted great but upon further reflection, I wonder if it tasted great because of my jetlagged hunger that morning or was it an actual good piece of bread? One of the best deals in Madrid for breakfast bread was in front of the second hostel called 24hr Paneria - even though it is not truly a 24hr pastry establishment. 1.50 € for a cafe con leche and a croissant! Many cafes and bakeries in Spain have better deals for a coffee and pastry than in the United States, a more common breakfast here than at home. One of the strangest interactions I had with chocolate croissants was in the cafeteria of dorms of the University of Alcoy. They had the regular tostadas with butter, marmelade, and tomato sauce, yogurt with granola, and pastries in plastic wrap. The croissant in plastic has the same energy the plastic wrapped pastries 7-11 and CVS sells near the cash registers, specifically the weird cinnamon rolls my elementary school cafeteria used to serve. It is interesting, though not surprising, that even Spain’s standard of school cafeteria food tastes better than the US’.

As my journey through Spain continued, the size and style of the chocolate croissants fluctuated. Some got bigger and wider, others had chocolate sprinkles on the top, others are simply croissants with the ends dipped in chocolate (these are just croissants con chocolate). Unlike the United States, not many cafes default to giving you your coffee and bread in a to-go cup and paper bag, or even have this option. It makes sense that Spanish cafes, with a national culture that stretches out breaks and meal times, would want their customers to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and croissant. The United States has a fast-paced culture, one where we want things now in order to move on to the next thing that attracts our attention. As students in this program, we have brought a small part of this culture to Guardamar, especially when we are running late to morning sessions. The cafe restaurant Movellan has great food but it also has to-go coffee cups that make it easier for me to pop in, buy a coffee, and run off to wherever we are meeting that morning.

- Michelle