How do the Spaniards do it?

I went to Barcelona to visit a Spanish friend I met whilst studying abroad in France a few years ago. Every night I was there, we were still eating dinner at restaurants until 2 in the morning, and dancing until 6 or 7. Which was excellent and fun and thrilling, don't get me wrong, but how do they keep that up as a regular lifestyle??

I asked my friend and he responded "oh, it's fine, you just sleep til the afternoon and you're good to go!" Yeah, unless your massive hangover lingers until it's dark outside and then your weekend days are gone, gone, gone. But there's the rub: weekends aren't for day-dates and productivity, they're for resting up for the next party.

I even asked one Spanish girl,
"Oh, so did you go out last night?"
"No, no."
"Oh, you didn't? So what did you do?"
"Well, I just had drinks with friends until about 3 in the morning."
Me, laughing: "Wait, you don't consider that going out?"
Spaniards, laughing: "Ay, Americanos! No, that's not going out!"

Unless you see the next day break, it's nada.

We saw Hot Chip DJ one night at the beautiful Apollo theatre, converted to a dance party for the evening.

We danced at the Fellini club another night, which is just along Las Ramblas, the iconic boulevard off the Plaza de Catalunya where the tourists and locals gather to amble along and gawk at each other. Go there, and get lost in the labyrinthine alleyways that spread out like dozens of fingers from the main drag. These alleyways unfold what seem like secret treasures: tiny chocolate shops, vintage stores, independent jewelers, and candlelit restaurants quietly packed in alongside each other like the olive-oil soaked sardines served in tapas spots.

A don't-miss of Barcelona, before you get to the partying, is the MACBA contemporary art museum, in walking distance of Las Ramblas. They have rotating exhibits but also an interesting permanent collection that includes an Antonioni film and some great Bruce Nauman pieces, one of my favorite artists.

Grab a table at Lolita, a lovely small spot near the Sagrada Familia where one handsome waiter rushes around to serve all 15 tables himself. Relax, head there around 11pm, the standard "going out to dinner" time, and match your wine to the lipstick red walls.

Il Negroni bar off Las Ramblas is one of what seems like a billion tiny box bars packed along the maze of tiny streets, but has cool coke-bottle lamps and a glass bar illustrated with funky sharpie doodles.

Just make sure not to forget to take your disco nap.