K & L's Travel Blog

Madrid, 18 January 2024

Some things are harder to adapt to than others.  Like not keeping one hand in my lap during a meal.  Here in Europe it is considered rude to keep one hand in your lap while eating. Some throwback to medieval times when you might have had a knife under the table.  But after 60 plus years of hand under the table while eating my muscle memory & superego win out. Another weird thing is that they keep the bread directly on the table, not on a plate.  It shocked me the first time the waiter politely placed my roll next to my plate.  That one has been easy to adapt too.  They also use the bread to push the food around.  I love that but at home I can’t imagine shoving the food up on my fork with the bread. Lorena says she can.

The hardest one for us is trusting the cars to yield at the crosswalks.  Here pedestrians have the total right of way. People stride across the roads without even looking.  Well, Lorena and I stop and look at the cars until it is clear they are stopping.  This pisses off the drivers.  They have to stop longer as we linger peering at them.  And if we peer too long the drivers think we are not crossing, which makes it more dangerous, not less.  I keep screeching at Lorena “Go!” because she is so cautious.

The fun part of the street crossings is that some of the lights feature same-sex couples (like in Vienna & Berlin). So far, we’ve spotted gay and het. We are looking for lesbians. But no stopping in the middle of the road to take pictures!

Today we shopped and explored our local market Vallehermoso.  Lot of fresh produce stalls and little fast food stands.  Of course, I am flummoxed once again in buying fish. Today I ended up with two chicken thighs.  Besides actually picking something out there is all the drama of getting served.  People crowd around and getting a turn is an art.  Some stalls have numbers which is great.  Got that.  But some you have to sing out, “Who is next?” then you have to declare your spot behind that person.  This is instead of lining up because they don’t do that.  

You cannot touch the produce.  When you do get a worker’s attention and it’s your turn, you tell them what you want and then they come down out of their stall around to the front and they feel and pick the produce for you.  Most are very kind and I don’t feel taken advantage of, but I am always aware of how vulnerable we are.  

We are in an area with very few tourists.  Sometimes when servers are stand offish I can tell they are scared of us because of the English.  Lorena is doing great with her Spanish but sometimes we still can’t communicate our needs or slips into German or French.  A couple of days ago we were looking for a toilet. Lorena had regressed to German, “die toiletten?” The woman seemed so confused and unwilling to help.  Finally, I mimed squatting and Lorena crossed her legs. “Baños!” she surmised and the biggest and warmest smile broke out on her face as she rattled out five minutes of instructions on how to find the tucked-away toilet.  

Today we ate at a more upscale restaurant that Lorena had reserved from home, Lakasa.  We struggled with the menu but ended up ordering well.  They always start you out with a “amuse bouche.” It’s one little very flavorful bite.  I want to try this out at home.  This one was potatoes with some sort of cheese.  Yummy.  We next had a razor clam and scallop.  The clam was good but the scallop had anchovies on it.  I can’t seem to take to anchovies.  For our main, I had squid and Lorena a pork dish with mole. Lots of deep-smoked flavor and well prepared.  To finish off, Lorena ordered a cheesecake made with gorgonzola based on her experience in Barcelona (Fresca Restaurant).  I got expresso.  This cake was super rich and ripe.  Lorena could not begin to finish it as it was like eating a hunk of strong, melted cheese. 

We stroll slowly back to the apartment and enjoy a couple more episodes of “Breaking Bad.”  I am sipping my wine and thinking, “Boy this wine does not have much kick.”  I finally get up and look at the bottle: 0% alcohol.  I bought a bottle of 0% alcohol!  That shows you how handicapped I am by not having the language.  We got a good laugh out of it, and I am well-hydrated.  And we’re getting used to it.