One Giant Asador

Hola Mundo!
It's B, writing for the first time this vacation.
One of our faithful readers has kindfully advised me that I have been one of the members of the family absent from the blog to this point. It's not that I haven't enjoyed myself, it's that I simply lack the effort and mental capacity to write on a daily basis. I felt it was time I made an appearance.

Here in Castille y Leon, the central province in Spain, the most popular restaurants are asadores. An asador is a roast house, usually specializing in jamon, the national food. You order the vegetarian meal, and they throw some jamon on it. The jamon is great, but it is used so frequently in meals that it loses its specialty. It is no longer a special kind of ham, and is a staple of all meals.

And let me tell you, Castille y Leon is an asador by itself, hence the title. The temperatures here are roasting (no pun intended), and it's almost 100 degrees. But we're lucky it's a dry heat, and there is a 15 degree temperature difference between the sun and the shade. But, we have to walk to all corners of Madrid, so it's still hot even in the shade.

At yesterday's lunch, we experienced a moment of Spanish failure from Dad. Dad was lacking a spoon, and right after we received our food dad attempted to ask for one:
D: "Necesito un otro sopapillo, por favor"
M: "It's a good thing you were waving the spoon."
Dad, thinking he knows spanish best (he doesnt. that's my job), unintentionally asked for a fried Mexican pastry. Whoops. As M astutely noted, thank god he was waving the spoon. The waiter did understand, and dad did receive his spoon nonetheless. As someone who knew exactly what was happening, it was extremely comical, and I'm certain dad will ask for a cuchara (the real spanish word for spoon) the next time he finds himself in need of one.
Hasta la vista!
-B