Day 3: December 27 ... a day in still life

After a marathon day on December 26, and still feeling a bit jet lagged, I decided a day of rest was in order.

This was breakfast.

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The breads are good here, and the mandarins are plentiful ... and mouth-watering sweet.

I took a long walk in the afternoon and explored the neighbourhood.  I could best describe it as a healthy mix of people from all walks of life, including North African and Middle Eastern immigrants and students.  There is a university within blocks, so it is alive, yet calm.  There are lots of halal stores selling meats and middle eastern sweets.  There are doner kebob shops and cafes and small produce retailers and barber shops where EUR 7 will get you a haircut.

The park across the street is always active with people ... walking their dogs (within the park, dogs are allowed to run without a leash) ... exercising and strolling about.  There's a ping pong table within view of my apartment, and today it was active.

Click here to view ping pong video

My impression of Madrid, if one can truly have an impression after only a few days, is quite positive.  It is organized, clean, orderly and safe.  People are friendly, but not too much so.  In many ways, Madrid reminds me of Toronto ... except for one important asset.  I only wish Toronto had a public transportation system to rival Madrid's, which is vast, multi-modal (subway, train, bus) and very efficient.

To my surprise, I stumbled upon a Carrefour supermarket 3 blocks away.  There's much you can tell about a society by the food they eat and how that food is marketed.  Carrefour pretty much sets a high standard here, as it does in many places around the globe.  There's an entire section dedicated to cured hams.  The selection of cheese and yogurt is enormous and reasonably priced.  The produce is meticulously displayed, and it is of the highest quality, as are the meats.

Frederic was mentioning that French farmers are complaining because the French market is being flooded by produce from Spain.  I guess that makes Spain the Florida, California or Mexico of the EU.

I bought a sandwich in the carry-out area ... a mini baguette with tomato and goat cheese.  I couldn't wait to get back to the apartment to bite into it.  First bite ... mmm mmm good.  Second bite ... hmmm ... didn't think goat cheese tasted like that.  Third bite, what is that salty fishy flavour?  I wish a camera had captured the expressions of doubt as I progressed bite by bite.  I opened the sandwich up and found anchovies which I surgically removed and flushed down the commode.  A little bit of anchovy goes an awfully long way ... but I'm keeping an open mind ... one day, my taste buds may crave them.

I shopped.  A litre of orange juice ... a slab of cheese (similar to swiss) ... 8 mandarins ... a baguette ... a jar of plum preserves ... instant coffee (no coffee maker in this apartment) ... a healthy serving of couscous with chicken ... a 4-pack of yogurt.  EUR 11.74.  Et voilà ... the proof.

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A day in still life.