About Spain: January 2008 Archives
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:
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!!)
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."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.
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."
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 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.
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.
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.
Blogarama
