De Brevitate Vitae

"It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested."


-Seneca the Younger

Seneca, the Roman philosopher was born in Cordoba, the quote is from "

On the Shortness of Life"

The Spaniards invest in eating. You might think we're talking about the famous ham, the fresh bread, the succulent oranges or the vino. . .or the Jerez. . .or the cerveza. We're not. We're talking about how they eat. 


The Spaniards sit. They eat. They talk. They drink. All very. . .slowly. Every day,  in the middle of the day.


At first we squirmed and fretted and all of us felt a bit of dismay at just how long lunch (or late dinner) goes on. And then we got used to sitting and talking and sipping and waiting in joy (not impatience) for our food. The typical Spanish lunch is what in the State's we'd call a four-course meal. Think of when you've had one of those and how special it felt.  Lunch (and dinner) feel special every day here in Spain.


Oddly, the more you do something the less special it tends to feel. The opposite has been true with meal times here; the more we eat the Spanish meal the more special it feels. The first time we were told the 'menu del dia' (the menu of the day) we quite literally collapsed in laughter because we couldn't make sense of it. 


There are about 5 options for the first and second course and just as many dessert choices. Did we mention the bottle of wine that is standard? The strongly brewed coffee that is a must after dessert? Today we were even brought sweet liqueur after the dessert and coffee. Yep. (as my friend Susan would say) This is a totally different experience being in a country that does not know a whiff of 'fast food' (Rick and I have traveled a fair bit and we'd say next to France, Spain has the fewest number of McDonald's we've ever seen).


Squid is not fast. (Some may also argue it's not food!) Here is what Tata had for his second course:





Today, Gigi had 'Oranges the Ancient Way' for dessert, at lunch. They were as beautiful as they were delicious. They were oranges, cinnamon, sugar and olive oil. Here's what they looked like. Sorry. Wish we could send taste in a blog!

The other thing we notice is presentation. The Spaniards have neat vessels for food that makes things taste better and look great. That's J having free-range pork that he made everyone take a turn cutting because it was SOOOO delicate the knife just fell through the meat. Word was it was delicious.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves because we haven't even mentioned the tapas- the heartfelt passion for the appetizer category that Spaniards own. They appear mysteriously at your table, deposited with little fanfare by your waiter. Curious, beautiful small plates of food to whet your appetite.

Here's the tapas plate Gayle and Mac made at our cave when we cooked Paella.

It's a small fact but one we think makes a difference. You dress your own salad which is really a communal plate from which everyone serves a portion. Most of the Spaniards just eat off the same plate of tapas and salads. It's intimate. It's slow because you're sharing and choose carefully and there's just something different about pouring your own olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper--- it's what some adult's might call, mindful. Tata grew up doing this in Chile and I swear every day he lights up when they bring him the goods---here he is concentrating on the job at hand.

The meals aren't always fancy. In fact, the simple meal below is one we had in an Orce restaurant that was a gem (Mariano's I think was the name). Here's Gigi's meal:

Here's the local lamb renowned for its tenderness.

It was cooked two feet behind our table on the hot coals that seemed to be in every restaurant in Orce. The wood was olive and almond. The taste? You guessed it. 

Although we've had homemade flan nearly every day, last night Tata had a chocolate one that was the most decadent, divine dessert EVER! Today we sampled a Cordoba specialty that was a pastry stuffed with sweet squash- it was great despite the contents!

The kids have gads of pictures from probably every single meal we've eaten; the food is something that moves all of us. It's so homemade, it's so succulent and delicious and somehow so full of life. Another day we'll write about how Siesta time makes this kind of eating and cooking possible. But tomorrow, at two o'clock imagine stopping for at least an hour, maybe more and eating. Really eating. The kind of eating you do at Thanksgiving where you look. You taste. You ooh and ahh because it is beautiful and nourishing and special all at the same time. 

Today I watched a youngish couple have at least a two hour lunch and savor every drop of their bottle of wine, what caught my attention is that they were so much like an older couple I observed on our second night in Spain in Malaga. They shared. They talked. They drank. Here's what they looked like- Gigi thought it would be rude to ask them for their picture so I took it through the window. It was 7 in the evening and they made time seem like it would never end.

Seneca goes on to say in his essay that, 

"We learn not in the school but in life."

Thanks again to the kids' terrific teachers for supporting the idea of the trip- without your enthusiasm and genuine attitude and words that this would make a difference in their lives we wouldn't be here.