Epicurean Diaries Vol. 2

More of the good stuff.

Club Habana Ron

El Perro Verde was out of 43 and didn't have Ronmiel, so I ordered a rum and Coke. The waiter asked me which kind of rum since they had a lot. All I needed to hear was Habana and I ordered it. Sure enough, he comes out with a fifth bottle of Club Habana Ron "El ron de Cuba" imported from, yep, Cuba. Our usual waiter is quite nice and makes the drinks half and half, so it was quite the strong mixture. The allure of it being banned in the States was all I needed to enjoy it. As a rum, it was good enough. Spiced. Nothing terribly special about it but definitely wasn't cheapo stuff. Sells for about 11€ in the stores (for reference 43, which I am in love with, sells for the same).

Coca Cola (normal)

Simple. It just tastes better here because of the pure sugar cane and not the crappy high fructose corn syrup. Coke is my life blood. You can get a 2 liter or so bottle in the store for 1€ but less than half a liter at McDonalds (where everything is supposed to be dirt cheap) costs 1.65€.

Hamburguesa (McDonalds)

From the "Euro Ahorro" menú (Save Euros, basically our dollar menu). 1€ for the worst hamburger I've ever taken a bite out of (which is all I had). Didn't even order it. Just wanted a Coke but the cashier ended up tacking on a hamburger too. Idiot. The "beef" patty is about 2mm thick (invisible in US units). Definitely not ham nor burger. Nor food.

Capricho Francés (McDonalds)

So I fell for the advertising on a bus stop for this French burger on ciabatta bread. Looked delicious (but doesn't it always?). And only 1.75€ (when a Big Mac or a McRoyal Deluxe is around 5€)! So of course I was hungry after class today and it was still two hours away from lunch. Capricho here I come. After waiting for my burger for a good 10 minutes (note: there were no customers there, like everything else in Spain, even the McDonalds is ungodly slow), I nearly swallowed mi capricho whole in three bites. Very small, the same tiny tiny patty from my euroburguesa but with some lettuce and "French" sauce on it. Not horrible taste but the burguesa pretty much ruined it. And the size. Damn Europeans.

Domingos a la Plaza de Cervantes

Sundays in Alcalá, and I would assume the rest of Spain, are very subdued. Every one is still recovering from that crazy night in Madrid (a few friends returned at 8am today from going to the gay discos). Shops are all closed. Calle Mayor becomes the hot spot for gypsy and Asian tourates to display their cheap goods to the few foolish tourists who actually come out to Alcalá, to see what I'm not exactly sure. The restaurants are open on the street with I'm sure jacked up prices for the Sunday. 

Went to McDonalds because Monica and Kristine wanted to use internet (our normal café was closed). Ordered a Coke. Received a Coke and a hamburger. A very tiny, thin, not-really-sure-this-is-actually-meat hamburger. That cost 1€. The Coke (half liter) was 1.65€. Started a composition due in class tomorrow but was far too bored with that. Wrote half. 

So what do people do on Sundays besides sleep in and go to mass (la misa)? La Plaza de Cervantes. Parents bring their children, old folks come to smoke, and americanos like my friends and myself come to people watch. The children dance and play around the statue of Miguel de Cervantes and trade toys and make us laugh. The parents just sit lazily in the shade not really paying attention to their kids. The old men just chain smoke their cigarettes. We point out the hilarious things the children are doing and talk in English (Heaven forbid parents could understand us making fun of their children).

Watched this one girl, Inez, go from child to child basically stealing their toys (and making more than a few children cry). New toy comes, she's off to commandeer that one. We sat doing this in the Plaza for three hours. Yes, I can easily adjust to the Spanish lifestyle. Talk about lazy Sunday. Next time bring a bottle of wine or something and sit there and enjoy the afternoon. Spain is shaping up to be a pretty awesome place.

Tiempo para la cena.