This week we’ve been having terribly good weather.
By this I mean that it’s really sunny that in fact that it feels more like summer than spring.
Something that goes well with the weather is a glass of sangría! Or better a tall pitcher to be shared among new-found friends.
After our Spanish class on miercoles, Carolyn, Dita and I went out for some drinks and tapas. We ended up in Calle Huertas where there’s some bars with terrazas, those that offer outside seating (also known as al fresco dining). We all prefer to be seated outside, the weather dictates so.
Since we have a pitcher of sangría to finish, we needed some solid food in our tummies. We decided to order raciones. A glass of wine or beer comes accompanied with a tapa, a small portion of food, but a ración is a bigger portion of food which is the usual serving size.
We ordered raciones of patatas bravas, chorizo, tortilla de patata and queso manchego. Finally I have tried this cheese that hails from Madrid. I was expecting it to be really smelly but taste good. I was wrong with my first assumption. I don’t know where I got this information that it’s smelly. It’s not one of those cheeses that stink. Moreover, it not only passed my taste test it totally won my heart. I now declare it my favorite cheese! 🙂
I loved the tapas culture in Spain. It all started when a wise king of Spain, Alfonso X, ordered that for every wine served that it be accompanied by a bit of food so that the alcohol wouldn’t go straight to the head. What a very very wise king e? Fat chance of this happening in my country. *smirks
Another legend goes that a Spanish king was outside for a drink but since it was windy, the waiter served him the wine with a piece of meat, probably chorizo, by the rim of the glass serving to cover the wine from dust.
More sunny days ahead. I’ll be sure to enjoy them with a light alcoholic drink by a terraza with some savory tapa. ¡Así es la vida madrileña! That’s life in Madrid.
Positively Somewhere 