Things I like about Spain? First up, the weather, of course! For around 300 days a year we have sunshine, and from June until October it varies from “warm” to “the furnaces of hell”. On weather sites it seems that only Spain can describe 32C as “pleasantly warm”. In Northern Ireland that would probably constitute a state of emergency with people warned to stay indoors! There are actually storms and rain sometimes, and often of biblical proportions. Every few years we get a big one – water thunders down streets, washing away bins, cars and anything else in its path. One of the strangest kinds of weather here is called “calima”, and that’s when the air gets filled with dust particles,, most often blown over from the Sahara desert. The air turns red, as does everything it touches, filthy houses, walls, cars, patios and pools. Very difficult to breathe so always best to stay inside. This photo was taken in the middle of the day, from our verandah, last year, and is absolutely not doctored or photoshopped in any way. Very weird and a little bit freaky.
Next up – the food. Spanish cuisine is simply fabulous, always fresh, always plentiful. Although fast-food places are becoming more and more available, it seems that the excellent Mediterranean cuisine still prevails. We do much of our grocery shopping in the bigger supermarkets but for fruit and vegetables we shop in our local Saturday market when the range is wonderful and the prices much better. Every thing is seasonal, so we appreciate fruits when in season, and they are much tastier then too.
A favourite is the “menu del dia”. This is a set lunchtime menu of at least 3 courses, said to originate in Franco’s time when he wanted to ensure that workers could enjoy a hearty and affordable midday meal with a choice of starters, mains and puddings.. As an example, here’s what we often have at our favourite local restaurant…
Large tuna salad. Crusty bread with allioli. Starter of consomme with meatballs. Main course of half chicken cooked on the plancha for a wonderful smokey flavour, served with chips and vegetables. Pudding is a 3-chocolate tart, more than delicious! We always have Sprite, a large bottle of water and a jug of wine. All this, for 2 people, for the ridiculous price of €24 total. No such thing as portion control here, just as well we only have one meal a day! As we say at home ,”you couldnae bate it way a big stick!”
As you might guess, we like to eat out fairly often! The Spanish are big meat-eaters which suits us very well, though vegetarian options are becoming more available. Vegans maybe not so much – yet! There are so many great places to eat out here that we are really spoiled for choice. Everything from great little tapas bars to Chinese all-you-can-eat buffets, to great restaurants, all serving wonderful fresh food at great prices.
We rarely eat any processed food here, the husband is very handy in the kitchen and enjoys cooking everything from scratch. His favourite is Indian food, and he uses just about every spice you could think of! We’re running out of space for the spice jars in the kitchen so they’re now on glass shelving on a spare bit of wall. Well that’s some of them anyway!
My life in Spain 