De Málaga a Murcia: American Adventures in Spain: tapas

Since coming to Aguilas I have to confess I have learned more French than Spanish thanks to my French roommate and his friends who often come to visit. Sadly, the phrases I use most are ferme ta gul (no idea if I spelled it right) and je suis sul (likewise). To save my reputation I'll let Sarah translate. My Spanish has improved a bit, however, since these kids all learned "proper" Spanish, or the Iberian variety, while I stick to manejar instead of conducir and aca instead of aqui. Earlier, when I commented on Sarah's post that I'd jumped into Castillian Spanish I didn't realize how deep the water was. So much of what I say gets my point across but sounds foreign and awkward to Spanish ears. I would never know this had it not been for my French comrades who constantly correct me; if only I had a euro for every time I heard no se dice eso en España (you don't say that in Spain). Merci bokou!
While my Iberian Spanish progresses step by step, my gastronomic adventures go by leaps and bounds. The short list of some crazy foods I've tried in the last few weeks:
Duck pate
Pig head pate
Pig body pate (God bless the French and their creativity with blended meats)
Fried fish testacles
Octopus (or squid?)
Not to mention all the normal Spanish food, tapas of every variety: potato omelet, potato sandwich (yup, just bread and potato, I love starch!!), pork and pepper sandwiches, jamon serrano and cheese, mushrooms (this is experimental for me), "salad" (which can be a mix of any kind of food, vegetables or no), chorizo and other sausasge varieties, and all kinds of fried fish and seafood. Thank god "mas por favor" is the same in every Spanish speaking country!

Hello! Here I am again, back at the portátil (laptop computer) for another fun-filled entry on the goings-on in Castilla-La Mancha. I like to think I've mostly settled in to the way of life here in the Castillan meseta region, but, of course, some things still seem very foreign to me.

A perfect example would be in everyday food and diet practices. Particiularly

interesting is this business of enjoying a later-in-the-day, two and three course luncheon and thus only holding a very brief milk and toast breakfast at the start of the day, and a short, apertif of an evening meal around 10. Not that I disparage this Spanish routine, rather I enjoy it quite heartily-- the Spanish are really quite adroit in their culinary leanings and craftsmanship-- it's just that from a purely ideological standpoint it clashes with my in-borne desires to have a big bowl of cereal in the morning, a nice-sized sandwich at lunch, and a proper dinner with salad and hearty main dish at night. Left to my own devices then, I usually come home from school by 3 and prepare myself a nice sandwich with cream cheese, lettuce, tomato, what have you or a tuna melt and at dinner, another light and simple meal. My Spanish roommates are beginning to think that everything I eat is the same.

That said, I reiterate that I reeeeeeally like the food here. Especially the tapas-ing (o decirlo en español, tapear). These little morsels of food are not always so little. They can range from sizes as acceptable for accompanying any beer, wine, or any other drink you may like to enjoy, to sizes and complexities that rival starter salads or even the most innocent looking of entrees. And many people here, either at

lunchtime or dinnertime, can be seen at the numerous tapas bars in town, dipping in for a bit of food and conversation, and then floating over to another neighboring bar, sometimes only just next door to the one they were just in. If done right, you may spend your entire, very gracious three-hour siesta time frame (from roughly 2:00 PM on through 5 or 5:30) tapeando y chatting with amigos.

And in Ciudad Real, that way of dining is very affordable. As two of my English friends and I were looking around city center the other day for somewhere to take in a nice lunch, we noticed that proper entrees on most lunch menus cost about the same as three decent-sized tapas dishes (called raciones). What's more, in Ciudad Real, as in many other towns like in throughout Spain, you can get one ración free with the purchase of a drink (usually the house beer, or caña, but sometimes any soda or juice drink as well).

Suffice to say, I won't die for want of food here. Nor, it happily appears, from want of ice cream, which is in good supply here in town. Most anyone who knows me knows of my obsession, nay, endless love of ice cream, and so it is no wonder that I should take just a few moments here to speak of its wonder and Spanish permutations.

There are two homemade ice cream joints in the city, both within a 10 minute's walk from my apartment, and both with distinct enough personalities to make me begin to see just how much of an ice cream connoisseur I have actually become. The first, Farggi, serves ice cream that has a very American look and texture to it. However, with offerings like nata con almendra chocolateada or avellana de piamonte and the flavor to match, there is no doubt about its very euro-italian roots and taste. The other, Helados Moran, is clearly ice cream in the Italian gelato mindset, where both the texture, choices, and flavors are carefully chosen, beautifully concieved, and wonderfully executed. Both are exceptional places to grab a cup or cone, though sadly-- unlike in Argentina-- neither offer the option of selecting two flavors for the price of one nor the luxury of bringing home a custom-chosen combination of flavors. These being the only fallbacks, both Farggi and Moran bring delight to anyone looking for a good afternoon or evening treat for relatively little cost.

....ah... I seem to have stumbled on to quite the tangent, haven't I? (and now I really want some ice cream).

Well, now that I've thoroughly saciated your need for any and all information regarding at least the Manchego dining customs and then some, I'll stop here and offer a few photos to show you what's been taking up my time here besides just food-related issues. hehe.

Chau for now, y ¡salud!

-Nick