January 2008 Archives

Here I am in Madrid, Spain. It's nearly 4pm and I'm watching a Spanish movie, "Adosados" (1996) after a lunch of pasta with green olives and Ribeiro white wine.

The thing is, the sun is getting a little lower now, over the building being constructed across the street. But I still have the sun shining into my living room. And all the windows are open. Don't get me wrong. It's not really warm. Well, "warm" for me is a relative term. I don't know the temperature but I know that I'm perfectly comfortable in my jeans and sweatshirt. There's no wind. Definately no rain. There's no clouds in the sky. And there's almost no wind. It's an absolutely perfect day for me, but....

... IT'S JANUARY 24th, 2008!!! AND THIS IS WINTER!!

Last year at this time I certainly had all the windows closed and was bundled up for cold weather and cloudy skies. Okay, maybe there wasn't a cloudy sky, but it was certainly cold! Wasn't it? Maybe there is something to this whole Global Warming, Climate Change thing which the US Government has denied...until recently.

Yesterday was the same. I had a meeting downtown on Gran Vía at noon and then met a friend at the Plaza Mayor at 2pm. From there we walked to lunch on the Calle de Santiago for a wonderfully delicious and filling 8.50€ Menú del Día. After that we had a walk around the Madrid de los Austrias - and I wasn't wearing my jacket, but had it draped over my shoulder bag the entire time. What's wrong with this picture?? My British friend even remarked about how clear and blue the Madrid skies were. I could only agree.

While having a coffee in the historic Café del Nuncio (photo) on the Calle de Segovia I was perusing the different historic photos of Madrid hanging on its walls. I always love the old Madrid photos but one in particular caught my eye. It was a 1920 photo of the Río Manznares at the Puente de Toledo - a lesser known bridge to tourist due to its location - and saw that there was about as much water in the river then as there is now!

I always attributed today's lack of river water to the over-development of the villages UPstream but maybe I was (partially) wrong. Maybe the river's ALWAYS been like this. I wonder why then the river expanse is so wide? Maybe for the potential, possibility for flooding over the Manzanares' banks? Hmmm.. I'm guessing no. But WHY would the original architects build the river walls so darn high then? That's the question.

In the Plaza Mayor there were a number of terrazas open for business. Sure, I've seen terrazas open on FREEZING COLD days in Madrid and Barcelona, catering to the tourists whom have come to Spain from arctic countries expecting tropical climates only to find this, and having gas burning heater poles over the terraces to heat the incoming tourists expecting such warm naturally. I guess I can't blame them. Spain has the image of being warm all year 'round but it really isn't - until lately.

Currently, there's a constant inversion later settling over Madrid city. Today, they said it was "African Dust" - whatever that is. But they recommended people stay indoors and NOT do outdoor exercising - even though the temperature and weather conditions are perfect to do so. What's going on here??

I'm hesitant to complain about the winter weather here in Madrid because I absolutely LOVE IT. But realizing this is not altogether natural makes me pause. I saw some movie which took place in Madrid during the time of Spain's Civil War and there were several scenes where it was snowing - IN MADRID! SNOW! How has the climate and environment changed in the past 60 years? ONLY 60 YEARS!?

There's a slim chance that I might STILL be around 60 years from now. (we're all "long livers") How will Madrid be then?

I JUST got back from grocery shopping ("la compra") in the neighborhood. I also went to the snack shop (they ONLY sell snacks) for "supplies" for Sunday's NFL Football playoffs. And since it was 6pm I also decided to stop for MERIENDA.

I had "café con leche" - coffee with milk - and toast with olive oil and salt. My favorite. Total tab: 1.80€. It's so incredibly cheap that today I asked the bar guy if it was the correct price. I said something like, "That's for BOTH the coffee and the toast with olive oil?" and he said, "Yes. Why? What's wrong?" and I said, "Nothing. I thought it was more," not wanting to admit that I thought the price was cheap. I would've been happy paying twice that amount!

What is Merienda? According to the Wikipidia page on Merienda:

Spanish: "La merienda es la comida que se toma antes de la cena, a media tarde. Suele tomarse una pieza de pan con embutido, pastas o bollería, acompañado de alguna bebida, fría o caliente, como café, batido, chocolate caliente o leche, entre otros."

English: "Merienda is the mid-afternoon meal taken before dinner. Some eat a peice of bread with hams, sweets or rolls, and often acompanied with a drink, hot or cold, like coffee, milkshake, hot chocolate or milk, among many."

Merienda is definitely an acquired custom. But if someone is having lunch at 2pm and dinner at 10pm - like ANY good Spaniard would - a light mid-afternoon snack is a necessity at around 6pm.

Children nearly ALWAYS have merienda upon leaving school at 5pm or thereabouts. You see them being led by their parents with one hand while with their other hand they're munching on a small sandwich or drinking from small plastic bottle. Crummy faces they have or liquids dripping off their chins while on their way home.

Older people also have merienda in the late afternoon. You see groups of (mainly) older women in their 70s and 80s walking very (VERY!) slowly down the sidewalks, SIDE-BY-SIDE 5 abreast, on their way to their favorite bar. For these people bars with tables, space to move around, and an accessible toilet is a must.

It's the merienda time when these older Spaniards get together to socialize, have an excuse stretch their legs, and to have a small snack - FOR CHEAP. Sometimes I find myself at a bar at 6pm and I've always seen these older people sitting there with their coffee and churros/porras or toasted bread with olive oil - "pan tostada con aceite". They're absolutely in NO hurry - NOR should they be in a hurry. Sometimes they're sitting there NOT talking to one another, sometimes they knit, sometimes they watch TV. They're there for 1 to 2 hours. Total bar tab: 2 Euros per person. Wow. These bars are cleaning up! hehehe...

It's a charming scene seeing these older women all together, chit-chatting, this possibly being their only opportunity to see their friends or to leave the house each day. These are all retired women, housewives, or widows. Men less commonly go out together for merienda - or possibly because men tend to die younger or are less mobile at this age and are less likely to leave the house.

What you DON'T usually see in bars having merienda is/are...... ummm.. PEOPLE LIKE ME! hehehe.. By that I mean that A) it's less common to see foreigners having merienda. And B) people between the ages of 20 and 70 are too busy at this hour to stop for a casual coffee and snack. They're working or at home watching TV.

I really think, or fear, the merienda custom will no longer exist after this older generation passes on. I can't imagine today's busy 20, 30, 40, 50, and even 60-somethings will be going out with their friends for coffee at the local bar once they reach retirement age. I hope I'm wrong. But particularly with today's 20 and 30-somethings whom are breaking all the rules and customs, those whom are truly transforming the "typical Spanish life" what with all their distractions of television, computer/internet, and videogames to keeping them indoors at home. Imagine how the world will be in 30 or 40 years when these people are "pensionistas"!

Let's enjoy the custom of Merienda while we have it - at least those whom CAN enjoy it. (like me!!)

Europeans in general can be partially credited for the "invention" of the balcony. Most of these appear in HOT countries like Spain, Italy, Greece, and even southern France.

To me it's amazing to see thousands of balconies around Madrid city and rarely ever see anyone ON them! Why not? I imagine it's a privacy issue. What a waste of good space and freedom. I guess a balcony is ONE thing but a terraza is quite another. On a terraza you can have your meals, sit and talk with friends or family, or just take a nap in the sun. On a balcony you can do little more than lean out over the street and pedestrians below.

Now it's wintertime in Spain and the temperatures are cool to cold. In Madrid, now after midnight, it's downright cold. BUT I LOVE IT because I'm "a hot body". I'm dreading the arrival of late spring and summer. Ugh.

My balcony and my kitchen are my two handy escapes from the (gas) heat of the house or just to take in some fresh air. The kitchen is handier because in there there are no radiators, no heaters. Only the gas appliance itself is present and the kitchen window must be kept ajar to allow the light gas fumes to escape.

I always keep the kitchen window open but the kitchen door always closed. It must be an odd sight to my neighbors across the way - all of whom have their windows closed - to look here and see this kitchen window open at all hours of the day and night.

There's nothing more refreshing for me to enter the kitchen, all fresh and cool, and to lean out the window at night to marvel at the strikingly clear Madrid night skies. It seems I can see every star. And yet I can also clearly see fine details of the few passing clouds. I love it. I lean out the window, take a deep breath of that cool air, look up to the sky and thank those lucky stars for bringing me here.

The balcony in my house is enclosed with a sliding glass window from waist height to the ceiling. There I go sometimes in the summer to take in the sunset or to also fill my lungs with fresh, cool air during these winter days. Again, it must be an odd sight to anyone whom MIGHT be able to see me 5 flight above street level, leaning out of his balcony on a at-freezing-temperature night.

The kitchen window gets the wonderful sunrise sun, filling the room with that brilliant glow as I make my breakfast. Sometimes it's so inviting that I actually sit and eat my breakfast there - although it's almost too small to move around. But with the window open and the sun shining it makes it all worth it.

The living room gets all the afternoon and evening sun - or at least it did until they constructed a 5 story building in my line-of-sight to the sunset across the street. That's quite sad for me. Still, the sun is wonderful until late in the afternoon.

I can't get over how wonderfully clear the skies are here in Madrid. Low humidity, I suppose. Kind of reminds me of those clear and rare cloudless winter nights in rural north central Ohio - except for the 2-feet of snow on the ground - when I'd go to the backyard and stare up to the mesh of stars hovering over our house in the country. The Milky Way seemed like a blanket I could almost reach up and touch. Just spectacular. So quiet, cool and fresh. So clean. That's when you really feel in touch with your planet.

So often when considering the possibility of buying a (larger) house here in Madrid I think I'd REQUIRE a place with a balcony, a terrace, or at least a great view of the skyline or the mountains. Those flats come at a premium price and are hard to find. I hope I can  get it someday. Having the simple ability of going "outside" from your own flat - without having to go down to the street level - really does a lot for one's peace of mind. For now, I'm so happy to have that possibility here at my home.

To say I'm a FAN of olives and olive oil would be a gross understatement.

Olives and olive oil are part of a Mediterranean diet - and certainly are part of my daily diet. It's rare if I pass one day here in Spain without eating olives and often have a dish of them with my dinner or lunch or just for an afternoon or evening snack with a can of beer. Being offered a small plate of green olives in bars is always a very welcome free tapa.

Here at home I frequently make pasta or rice dishes and one of the most important ingredients is green olives. For these dishes I'll buy the small, sealed plastic bags of green manzanilla olives "Sin Hueso" - without pitts. These olives are always from the Seville area.

I also always keep a good supply of canned green olives stuffed with anchovies. What?! ANCHOVIES? That's disgusting, right?! RIGHT! They were disgusting the first, second, and even third time I tried them. After that, I was hooked. And I don't even like anchovies! In Spanish, they're called "Aceitunas Rellenas de Anchoa". Mmmmm.... SO delicious. And I can't think of a healthier snack!

Growing up in north central Ohio we usually had cans of California black/ripe olives in the cupboard and jars of green Spanish olives in the refrigerator. The latter were always stuffed with red pimento. Pimento? Yes, it's a kind of sweet red pepper cut, folded, and stuffed into the olive. But why were they always refrigerated after opening? Like so many food items in the USA, I guess, it carried the labeling, "REFRIGERATE AFTER OPENING". And like the green olives, the black olives were usually only eaten when added to salads or just on a relish tray for "picking".

Olive Oil. Now I put olive oil into everything including soup broth, pastas and rices, and use it when frying anything like eggs, meats, and broiling chicken and pork steaks. It's always applied to salads along with vinegar - the ONLY way make salad dressing in Spain.

We almost never had olive oil back home in Ohio. We always used vegetable oil for cooking and frying eggs and bottles of  Thousand Island or Ranch dressing for our salads. I think we started having olive oil in the cupboard when I was in high school but it was used sparingly as it was so expensive.

It was after my first visit to Spain in 1995 when I began taking on a more Mediterranean Diet. And WHAT are the staples of a good Mediterranean Diet? That's easy. Olives and Olive Oil.

I first started buying olive oil in those little 12 ounce bottles at my local Kroger grocery store in Columbus, Ohio. I remember it was expensive and they only had two brands - and ALL of the brands were of ITALIAN olive oil. The was a default - and still is in the American Olive Oil Market. I guess it doesn't matter to anyone that 60+% of the "Italian" Olive Oil comes from SPANISH olives and then blended with local olive oil in order to put the "ITALIAN" on the label. THAT'S marketable. Imagine if they put bottles of SPANISH olive oil on the shelf next to the ITALIAN olive oil in your local supermarket. NO ONE would buy the Spanish one. Or would they?? Quick answer is NO. Read on, MacDuff!

It's my understanding that one of the reasons why the Spanish olive oil industry doesn't market its olive oil abroad is because of the long-term agreements they have with the Italian olive oil industry. The Italian industry is set throughout the world and, possibly, the Spanish olive oil industry find they make more money in selling directly to the Italians than the possibility/probability of losing money in marketing, unsold olive oil, and the like.

While Italy enjoys a reputation as the bottler of the world's best olive oils, too few Americans take note of the products' origins, said Jeffrey Shaw, marketing director of Foods From Spain. "Spain is the No. 1 world producer of olive oil ... And Italy is our best customer," Shaw said. About 60 percent of Spanish olive oil is exported to Italy, and much of it is used by Italian brands, he said. (2004 source)

Since the Italian olive oil was the only and cheapest olive oil available - and STILL very expensive - and because I was using it in greater and greater quantities I started buying the large CANS of olive oil. It was cheaper to buy it in larger containers, maybe $30 per can, and still Italian. I'd always have to ask one of the clerks to take down one of the cans from on top of the display racks because NO ONE bought those. In my last few years before moving to Spain, my local Kroger supermarket started carrying olive oil from Spain and, unfortunately, the local latino market stopped carrying the Spanish olives. Oh well. Soon was I was to be IN Spain anyway.

After a few visits to Spain and as I was in my self-prescribed-process of Spanish-izing myself for my hoped-for move to Spain, I found the local Latino Products supermarket was carrying Spanish Olive Oil AND Spanish Olives - both of the GOYA brand. They were expensive but I was just happy to be able to consume products from Spain. The delicious and popular anchovy-stuffed olives were a whopping $2,99 per can. OUCH! I'd buy 4 at a time and save them for a special evening when I'd have my weekly "Spanish Tapas at Home" dinner which usually consisted of cheese, the olives, a poorly made tortilla de patatas, some chorizo, baguette bread, and Spanish wine. I would even make flan for dessert.

Final thoughts: A number of NON-Europeans choose NOT to use olives or olive oil in their diets because they're high in fat. That's totally true. But don't forget that olives and olive oil has healing properties as well!

The beneficial health effects of olive oil are due to both its high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and its high content of antioxidative substances. Studies have shown that olive oil offers protection against heart disease by controlling LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels while raising HDL (the "good" cholesterol) levels. (1-3) No other naturally produced oil has as large an amount of monounsaturated as olive oil -mainly oleic acid.

Olive oil is very well tolerated by the stomach. In fact, olive oil's protective function has a beneficial effect on ulcers and gastritis. Olive oil activates the secretion of bile and pancreatic hormones much more naturally than prescribed drugs. Consequently, it lowers the incidence of gallstone formation. (source: HealingDaily.com)

FYI: Right now I'm eating anchovy-stuffed green olives to inspire me for this blog entry. Mmm...

Today, the 5th of January 2008 - in fact, RIGHT NOW - the annual Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos de Oriente are passing down the Paseo de la Castellana and Recoletos to the Plaza de la Cibeles. It all started at 6pm local time.

One can watch LIVE online on internet TV via the TeleMadrid link on MadridMan's Live Radio, TV, Music, and Movies page.

Magic Kings Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar are passing down the Castellana of Madrid, tossing thousands of kilos of tiny candies to the awaiting hands of tens of thousands of children. If the children have been good all year the Reyes Magos (a.k.a. "The Three Wise Men") will come to their houses tonight and leave presents. If they've been bad, a big lump of coal will be their only gift.

I left the house at about 5:45pm to go see my local neighborhood Cabalgata de los Reyes, all buzzing with childlike anticipation. The closer I got to the street down which the Cabalgata travels the more people I was passing - GOING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION!! ARGH!! I MISSED IT!!

Kids were looking down into their bulging bags of candies, spying the ones they were going to eat and those they were going to trade. How disappointed I was. AM! Oh well. At least I have the LIVE, Madrid Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos to watch on TV - which I'm doing now. But I was really hoping to see the small-scale, local Cabalgata in person. What a shame. I usually go with my friend Rafael, a local, whom I meet just before the parade. But this last year Rafa moved to another part of Madrid so... Well, I should've checked when it started. My mistake totally.

As already stated, tomorrow is Reyes Magos. So what do families do after ripping open all those wonderful gifts brought by the Magic Kings overnight? Pues, eat a delicious slice of Roscón de Reyes. Inside each Roscón is a tiny toy, usually a small ceramic or plastic doll or figurine. As the rule goes, WHOMEVER gets the toy in their slice - careful not to swallow it!! - that person must buy the next year's roscón. But the truth is, no one ever remembers WHO got the figurine the previous year.

This morning I went to the local bakery at 9:30am and walked inside to find about 30 people waiting in line including the local bar owner, called Paco. I said hello to him and then called out, "Who's Last?" I called out. "I am!", came a voice from afar but I was able to spot him and put my front to his back. More people came in the door, packing us in like sardines. The bakery, already warm, was getting hot!

Finally I got up to the front of the line and I asked for a Roscón de Reyes. "Sorry. We don't have any more for today. But if you come back at 1:30pm we may have one left." Apparently, most intelligent people, knowing it's a busy time, come days in advance to order them and then come today to pick them up - like the bar owner Paco was doing. He walked out with 10! But I wasn't about to go back at 1:30pm with the HOPE of getting a Roscón de Reyes in time for tomorrow - the day of REYES! Dejected, I left, disillusioned and frustrated. NOW WHAT?!

Walked down the sidewalk a little and saw Paco, the bar owner, waved me inside his bar. I entered and told him there were no more Roscónes for sale at that bakery. He said, "Why don't you go across the street to the frutería? They sell them there and they're good. I've had them before." So I thanked him and did just that.

Wow. Had he not given me the tip I'd have simply gone to the next closest bakery to likely find similar lines and get a similar response. So at the fruit store I bought one, a medium size, filled with whipped cream, and had part of it for breakfast. It was so good that I bought another one this afternoon after doing my last-minute shopping, but this one without whipped cream - just in case - for tomorrow morning's breakfast. Still no figurine found!

Tomorrow's Reyes Magos. Hope you all get want you wanted - and NOT a lump of coal.

The village of El Escorial is an easy daytrip from Madrid. It can be done by bus or by car. The 16th century royal palace and monastery there, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, was built by King Philip II and is one of true jewels of La Comunidad de Madrid. It's also where past - and future - Spanish royals are buried.

Yesterday, 4 Guys from 4 Nations visited the nearby (to Madrid) village of El Escorial by car. We were 1 person from Spain, 1 person from Denmark, 1 person from England, and 1 person from the United States. Talk about your international representation - all ambassadors for our countries in El Escorial. We tried to behave ourselves.

We'd arrived at about 12:30pm at the gate to enter the "park" of Valle de los Caídos. There was a short line, not moving. We asked what was happening and the guard told us they were removing ice from the access road and putting down salt and that we should go into El Escorial and come back later. Okay. Fine. No problem.

It was a cold day, very cloudy, and rained lightly at the beginning of our visit to the large village. 2 of our group went into San Lorenzo de El Escorial and gave themselves a self-guided tour while 2 of us went walking into the village. I was a walker and not a tourer of the El Escorial Palace because I'd seen it just last summer as had my buddy Steve. Steve and I took to the streets and visited the numerous belénes or nativities throughout the town, finally stopping at a back-street bar for a coffee. While chatting and sipping our drinks, a waiter passed us with a large ceramic bowl of sopa de marisco or shellfish soup and had to ask for a small bowl to hold us until lunch. Very good. Tasty. And HOT.

Back to the streets, up and down, back and forth, looking over the nativities, some rather comical, others more traditional. We finally got the call from the other half of our party to meet them at the exit gate of San Lorenzo de El Escorial so we made our way there and did some "shopping" at the monastery gift shop while waiting. They arrived a few minutes later, satisfied with their tour, and we four headed back through the city to see more nativities and to find someplace for lunch as it was already about 2:30pm.

We found a bar with a small dining room which had a good Menu del Día and sat down, ordered, and at our lunches along with a large, shared order of Patatas Bravas. Mmmm.. So good. We ate briskly as we needed to get back to the Valley of the Fallen before the last funicular went up to the foot of the cross at about 4:30pm (at this time of year). We paid, drove to the entry, waited in line with our car, and the guard at the gate remembered us and waved us through without paying. Wow. He was nice! It's typically 5 Euros per person for NON-European citizens so I was ready to pay. But apparently since two of us were European citizens, one was a Spanish resident, and one didn't have any documentation whatsoever - but was wearing a LONDON sweatshirt - he just waved us through.

We buzzed up the winding hillside access road, about 5 minutes or so, and parked at the funicular parking lot and apparently made the last or the second to last car going UP to the foot of the cross. It was 2.5 Euros per person.

The area around the tall granite cross, apparently the tallest cross in Europe, was impressive and the views from up there were even more impressive. We walked around somewhat quickly because the last funicular going down was in 25 minutes. The clouds parted for us as soon as we arrived, giving us some blue sky overhead as the sun set just behind the hills on the other side of the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Cruz and monastery.

We took the funicular down after snapping a few photos and went walked quickly to church, the tomb of General Francisco Franco and José Antonio Primo de Rivera - the founder of the falange. NO PHOTOS ALLOWED. Inside the tomb, which is built into the mountain (see photo above), is an impressive structure for its architecture. The tombs themselves are nothing to see, flat slabs on the floor surrounded by red velvet ropes. Above is a beautiful mosaic dome, probably the nicest part of the entire "Church". Apart from that and the fact that it's built into the mountain, I felt surprisingly nothing while inside. Knowing what I know about the Franco dictatorship I didn't feel the religion surrounding the tombs of the people responsible for tens of thousands of murders. The counterintuitive hypocrisy of this religious monument seems to remove any sensation of God. Often I walk through cathedrals in Spain and I feel something important. Here, I felt nothing - except anger.

The monument was built BY and FOR General Francisco Franco - a monument to himself and to all those who died on the fascist, winning side of the Spanish Civil War. I understand the current government will take steps change its use, making it more of a monument to ALL those who died in the Spanish Civil War, representing BOTH sides.

MANY MANY Spaniards refuse to visit this monument as it represents something which hails fascism, murder, and the division of a country. I can't say I blame them. I think many tourists choose to visit it because it represents a part of Spain's history. And it does. But I also believe few tourists understand that it only represents one side and not the other. The stone cross and the tomb is worth visiting. But be informed before going. Realize that many Spanish prisoners, political prisoners whom were incarcerated long after the end of the Civil War, died during its construction.