Daedalian Adventures

The road ahead is rarely straight…

By Lynelle Barrett

Mijn Verjaardag

My Birthday

My friend Jan had a heart attack while driving. He drove off the road and into a tree. He was not a young man, but it was still shocking news. Out of respect to Jan and his family, I spent my 44^th birthday at his funeral. This is not what most people would consider an ideal way to celebrate a birthday, but you can’t always plan these things.

I found the funeral service a bit strange. Jan’s two sons told stories of growing up with their father (which I could mostly understand in Dutch). Then an entire piece of classical music was played while we all just sat there. No one spoke. You could hear the family members cry and sniffle. Because it is hard to listen to people cry, soon more people were sniffling and wiping their eyes. It was excruciating. I didn’t pray for Jan’s soul, but for the music to stop.  I always thought funerals were to comfort the living, but this ceremony seemed to be going for maximum dramatic effect. When his widow (a very strong woman) finally broke down, I couldn’t even stand to look.

Then a group of us took the flowers from the ceremony to the place were Jan drove off the road. You couldn’t park along the highway, so we trekked along the highway to the tree that witnessed his demise. We placed the flowers at the base of the tree and the family took photographs. Photographs. Why would anyone want to preserve this memory? My best guess is that the tree is something that still lives though Jan does not.

The next day I flew to Madrid to really celebrate my birthday. The universe was already balancing the karma for having spent my birthday at a funeral. I got bumped up to business class. Instead of a cold cheese sandwich from a plastic wrapper, I dined on Lamb in tajine sauce with couscous, sweet pepper and mozzarella brochette, olive salad, blueberry cheesecake and a nice Tempranillo wine. I was feeling more festive by the minute!

Food ended up forming the core of my trip to Spain. Madrid is all about food, drink and socializing. The daily schedule is designed to maximize time spend with friends and family and to enjoy life. The Spanish do work, but it just doesn’t seem to be top priority. Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to affect customer service. Since they value quality of life, it extends to you too. Somehow it all works…as long as you understand that you cannot get anything done between 2:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon. You simply must accept the mentality and take that 3 hour lunch (or a 2 hour lunch and a nap). This is not difficult, since you probably have had the Menú del Día (Daily Menu). This is the way Madrileños can afford to go out to lunch every day. Most restaurants offer them and they include a starter like a huge plate of salad with some sort of fish or meat or a full size plate of paella (which I would consider a meal by itself!). Next you have a main course. Something like a whole fish, a steak or lamp chops accompanied by potatoes and vegetables. Then you have dessert. It could be flan, ice cream or spears of pineapple. The menu also includes bread and something to drink. All this can usually be had for 10-15 euros (approximately $14 to $21).

At 5pm the city comes back to life, as all the folks exodus from the restaurants and terraces on the squares. The stores open again and the Spaniards are ready to work for a few hours. But soon it will be time to socialize again. Since dinnertime won’t be until after 9pm, you can go to a tapas bar to have a glass of wine or beer and a little bite to eat. There are trendy looking tapas bars, but the places crowded with locals have stark fluorescent lighting, smoked animal parts on the counter and a floor covered with cigarette butts, toothpicks and napkins. The best thing to do is enjoy all the flavors and don’t ask too many questions.

Around 9 or 10 o’clock, it’s time to start thinking about dinner. The squares get crowded again with people and will stay that way until the wee hours of the night. And the kids are there too. They are part of the social life and one square I saw had a whole pack of kids playing and being entertained by a magician.

I was traveling with my Lonely Planet guidebook and I read about a couple of bars where the Flamenco artists hang out and jam. At about midnight, I decided to check them out. The first one wasn’t even open yet. To get to the next place, I walked nervously down a dark alley. I found myself in a narrow place lit with surreal greenish lighting. Only a handful of interesting looking characters were there. The bartender was friendly and wanted to practice his English. He told stories of the great Flamenco artists that have played there. Of course I was at the bar too early. The artists don’t show up until AFTER 4 in the morning. It sounded exciting, but I just couldn’t wait up for it. At about one o’clock I took the metro back to my hotel. I hate to admit it, but I guess I am just too old to stay out that late!

Lynelle Barrett lives in The Netherlands, but really thinks she could get used to the Spanish lifestyle. Although, she would need more naps to be able to stay out late. Check out photos and notes of her adventures on her website at: http://lynelleinholland.spaces.live.com