Things I love About Spain (Part II)

There are a lot of storefront churches in Valencia. There is one right next to one of the cafes that I frequent. The other day I saw a woman come up to the outside, walk-up window of the café, order a glass of wine, knock it back, and then walk into the church for service.

-Pork is something of a sacrament in Spain. I joke with people here that there must be a planet somewhere in the universe where pigs have bars with human legs hanging from the ceiling. If you haven’t been here before, the first thing you notice is that almost every bar has dozens of hams, hooves and all, hanging from the rafters. I saw a stall at a flea market selling women’s stockings that had mannequin legs hanging from the tent poles displaying the product. I wish I had my camera that day because it looked kind of like my parallel pig universe.

-Ham flavored potato chips

-Imagine baseball, football, and basketball rolled into one sport. Then throw in mom, apple pie, and hot dogs. That is soccer in Spain.

-When you order a glass of wine or a beer they will give you a little something to nibble on to go with it. This custom isn’t as popular in Valencia as other parts of Spain.

-Bars always have newspapers lying around. This is great for students of the language. I read at least one newspaper every day, sometimes three or more.

-Olives. I cannot do justice to this precious fruit, and certainly not in this entry. Suffice it to say that it is impossible to overestimate the place of the olive in Mediterranean life.