(A sign I saw in a restaurant)
Henry’s comment on the “Killing time” reminded me of something that happened on our 2022 Camino. We were in Astorga having breakfast. The place had an “English breakfast” which included eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, fried tomatoes, orange juice and coffee. The bill for two was €7.60. I left the change, two euro coins and two 20 cent coins, as a tip. The waitress picked it up and went back behind the counter and looked at the tray. And then looked over at me. Then she called another sever over and showed it to them and pointed me out to the other server. They were not noting my generosity. It was clear that they disapproved and were maybe even insulted. I wanted to crawl under a rock and I kept thinking about it for days afterwards.
The point being that tipping standards are quite different in Spain. There have been threads on the Camino forum saying roughly the same thing.
Two ruminations that didn’t really fit in anywhere, but since you had breakfast at this bar, this is as good a place as any.
The first is “coffee.” There are so many types of coffee. First there is espresso and its basic cousins: restretto (super strong espresso [finer grind, less water], literally “narrowed down.”), Americano (expresso with water added to make it weaker; known in Austria as a verlangeter, literally “stretched,” and isn’t particularly associated with Americans), and macchiato (expresso with a wisp of foam, literally “stained”).
Then there is cappuccino and its variations: latte (cappuccino with more milk), cortado (espresso with steamed milk, and just a touch of foam), flat white (first ran across this in England [it’s also popular in Australia; some websites claim it was invented in Sydney] — sort of a larger, more milky cortado).
Of course, there is good old (actually bad) American coffee, the old standby at diners, your parents Mr. Coffee, and places like Dunkin’ Donuts.
And then there is the traditional breakfast drink in France: cafe au lait. Usually served in a big cup, made with French press or filter coffee (up until recently there weren’t at-home espresso machines) and lots of warm milk.
So, NOW THE BIG QUESTION, when you order a cafe con leche in Spain at a bar, what exactly are you getting?
Rumination 2: When I got up at 6:00 this morning and stepped outside to get the morning newspaper, there was a lovely crescent moon visible in the east, just as the sky was getting light. Of course, the same scene played out in Spain this morning, but you might not have been up to see it. So question 1 (a set-up for question 2): what time does the sky lighten/sun rise in Spain? Spain really should be on the same time zone as England, but for business and historical reasons it is on the same time as France, Germany, Italy and central Europe. So the sky probably lightens a 7:00, not 6:00 (and it stays light later in the evening). Which brings me to question 2: what time do the two of you get up? And do you get breakfast before you start your daily walk, or do you walk a few miles and then look for a bar to have breakfast at?
Hi Henry. Interesting questions . I’ll answer some and maybe let Charlie answer some. The cafe con leche here is espresso with foamy milk. It’s very much like an Italian cappuccino, except the milk isn’t quite as foamy.
Charlie just looked up and the sunrise here is at 7:44 a.m. We have been getting up around 8:00 although this morning we got up at 7:00. Maybe we are starting to get over jet lag. You are right. The time zone is crazy here. It’s the same as Italy. That may go back to Franco’s ties to Mussolini. It really should be the same as the UK.
It varies when we have breakfast. This morning we got up and walked an hour or so before we stopped for breakfast. That was because there was no breakfast place near our Airbnb and no place to shop for food to prepare in our Airbnb. But also we enjoy doing that. Tomorrow we are going to have breakfast in our hotel because they have a buffet breakfast that sounds good. I think generally we prefer to walk an hour or two and then have breakfast because we both like walking on an empty stomach and it makes a good break. But sometimes it doesn’t work out to do it that way.
I would also prefer to take my daily first thing in the morning, and then have breakfast, preferably on the back deck when the weather is nice enough. But Moira is a “breakfast first” person… and this is not an arguable issue in our house.
Sounds like either a cortado or flat white or somewhere in between, It depends on how strong the overall drink is. Of all the variations, I think cortado is my personal favorite for flavor and strength.