…And now I really want to date through Madrid! 😂😂😂

  10 views  

Well this is a little peek into the way my mind works. I was just writing a post on one of my other blogs about Madrid, specifically the protests that have been caused by the eviction of that 87 year old disabled lady. That particular situation is totally heartbreaking and it is my prayer that the event, plus the outrage and protests it provoked, will prove to be a turning point for the Spanish housing crisis. [Edit, it appears that this prayer has been answered very quickly, and the Government is already introducing measures to curb evictions, crucially the elderly lady in question can now go home. Thank You Jesus!]

So, as I was writing the post, a thought occurred to me: “Wait, Madrid is the capital of Spain, isn’t it?!” (Turns out it is, but for a while I’d been thinking that Barcelona was the Capital. My knowledge of capital cities is a lot weaker than I imagined; I was stunned a while ago to discover that the capital of Switzerland is “Bern”, which I’ve barely heard of; I had unconsciously been thinking that it was both Geneva and Zurich at the same time!)

So anyway, I quickly googled, and Google’s AI confirmed that Madrid is indeed the capital as well as the largest city in Spain. And then as the helpful AI does, it suggested follow up questions. Would I like to know about top landmarks, local food, or the best time to visit Madrid? I am apparently feeling somewhat hungry now, and there is a very good reason for that – I’ve not had a real meal all day, so I typed in “local food”. And oh my goodness, just reading the descriptions: hearty, warming stews, tapas…authentic Spanish churros makes me want to just run and board a plane to Madrid!

And then it occurred to me: I would actually love to date to share this with someone! Now here’s the thing: I make a real song and dance on this blog about how I don’t believe in the idea of dating to get to know someone. All the same, I still do strongly believe in the concept of dating itself, when I already know and trust the character of the person I’m dating, especially when there is delicious food involved!

So, of the meals mentioned, the ones I found particularly captivating were these:
* Roast Suckling Pig
Apparently the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world as certified by the Guinness Book of Records is in Madrid, (Botin, since 1725)! In that case if I visited I would definitely have to try its signature dish, roast suckling pig. I usually avoid pork as a meat but if we’re on holiday, we can make an exception!

* Bocadillo de Calamares
Apparently this is a crusty white baguette packed to the brim with crispy, deep-fried squid rings. Actually, I am not that interested in the baguette, but I would definitely love the squid rings, especially with a drop of alioli

Cocido Madrileno
* This is apparently a rich three-course chickpea and meat stew. Actually, this sounded OK rather than desperately compelling, perhaps because it did not seem so different from the type of food I usually eat. All the same, I guess if I happened to go there, I might as well try it!

*Tapas, specifically a tapas crawl
Now we’re talking! Off the top of my head, I’ve only ever had tapas in the UK. I can only imagine how different it would be to try authentic Spanish tapas in Spain itself. Honestly, I think I would be happy to head to Madrid for the tapas alone (especially those depicted in the videos I’ve attached above!)

*Callos a la madrilena
This is absolutely top of the list of what I would like to try, and it is apparently a slow-cooked tripe stew. Newsflash: I am a Nigerian, a Yoruba, and we proudly eat offal. I think I would require the same of my husband as I can’t bear the thought of his turning up his nose at anything I might want to try.
I remember trying a famous local tripe dish when I was in Portugal for a friend’s wedding, but that was a while ago! Perhaps the reason I am currently craving warming, hearty stews is because of the season and an instinctive desire to be cosy!

Not so keen on:
Potato omelette
Mentally, my mind defaults to the idea that potatoes just don’t belong in omelettes. Believe it or not, I have actually tried this before, and it was lovely, and I have eaten potatoes with omelette several times, but all the same my mind stubbornly clings to the idea that potatoes in omelette is just wrong!

Churros
I was not a particular fan of this when I tried this before, even though I’ve put it in the list of exciting dishes above. However when I tried it it was in the UK. I’d love to try the actual Spanish version to see whether the authentic Spanish version is more delicious. I certainly love doughnuts and I love chocolate and churros are basically fried dough like doughnuts. So even though I did not particularly love them when I tried them before, I would still love to try them in Madrid!

And when thinking of this, it occurred to me: it need not be only Madrid! We could make a thing of going to different European cities, possibly capital cities, possibly non-capitals to escape the rush, just to try out authentic local tastes. I guess we might as well see some landmarks and experience some history and culture while we’re at it! I guess we could see how much we could squeeze into a weekend in any one city. Other than for this, I don’t have any particular inclination to visit European cities!

So this then has suggested additional criteria for Mr Huggie-Wuggie: actually, I think that these already exist as criteria:
– He must love food and specifically the pleasure of eating with others, and specifically the pleasure of eating with me!
– He must be adventurous with food!

Saying that reminds me of a time when my younger self was definitely NOT adventurous with food.
We were in a school canteen, my family had not been in the UK for that long, and they were serving out what to me looked like congealed rectangles of red and beige goo. It looked utterly, utterly disgusting, a shudder passes through me just remembering it even now, and I refused to try it. Meanwhile, kids around me were exclaiming excitedly “Yay, peet-sa!” Well I had never heard of “peet-sa” and frankly from the appearance of those things I did not care to find out more about it.

Now, almost forty years later I *love* pizza, so thankfully I was eventually persuaded to try it, when it apparently looked a lot more appetising than that first experience. And then there was the time when I was tricked into eating horse, and I almost threw up on being told what it was!

So it is not like I am necessarily the most adventurous person in the world when it comes to food, but I would say I am reasonably open-minded, especially when I am told what is in it. Oh actually, that reminds me of another story: My Mum has only been eating croissants for about 25-30 years. Prior to that she steadfastly refused to touch them, no matter how much we tried to assure her that they were delicious – and we certainly tried! And then, she was finally persuaded to give them a try – she fell instantly in love, as all rightminded people do, surely, and now she is so angry with herself at the years she wasted needlessly resisting them! 😂😂😂 Ironically, my Mum is actually extremely adventurous and she has visited far more of the globe than I have!

Back to Huggie-Wuggie: a third criterion that stems from this is that he must also love offal. Not merely tolerate it for my sake, but actively love it! The truth about premium cuts of meat is that they would tend to have been eaten by affluent people, so they would not necessarily represent what ordinary, working class and middle class people in an area would have eaten. And working class and middle class people would always be the overwhelming majority in any city or region. So it is not like I dislike meals centred around premium cuts of meat, and steaks etc, but they just would not feel as authentic in representing the true historical flavour of an area as those traditional meals made with less expensive cuts and offal. You know, I would much prefer this to supposed “fine dining”. I have never understood the idea of food being pretentious, and moreover pretentiously expensive. In fact, the idea of food being posh for the sake of it seems a little boring and artificial, like cookie-cutter pre-packaged “romance”.

So then the question remains: are you reading this Huggie-Wuggie?! Would you love to eat, laugh, philosophise and argue through different restaurants in different cities with me, where people before us have eaten, laughed, philosophised and argued for decades, or even hundreds of years?! I’m thinking perhaps once a month, or once every couple of months as budget might permit? I mean, arguing over the internet is great, but somehow I think it would be more fun if there was food involved!

Another factor to this is that I have never actually dated in earnest. I’ve probably been on fewer than 10 dates with men in my entire life. I sometimes think “OK, I’ll take myself out on a nice solo date!” While that would be nice, and I have certainly done that before (not included in the dates total above), it is not the same as when you’re sharing that experience with someone else, someone that you feel comfortable with, and also making an effort with your appearance. It is a way of celebrating life, and just being in the moment.