Dia de la Hispanidad

Yesterday was “Día de la Hispanidad”, the national day of Spain. People took the day off from school and work, there was a parade on Gran Vía, and military planes flew overhead. “If you can manage to stay in all day that’d be good”, a Spanish friend advised, a tad facetiously, “The city will be over-run by out-of-towners”. Mindful of this, and given that I had a lot of work to do, I moved to my own beat. I enjoyed some tea and the sunshine over my morning reading; I ignored the military bombers. Then I found my way to a plate of my favorite paella in Lavapies, in a cute corner café that only serves paella on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s. It’s always humming with customers, and the bartender is very sociable. It’s becoming a Wednesday/Saturday tradition. From there a friend and I meandered to El Parque de Buen Retiro, one of the biggest and most beautiful parks in central Madrid, where we spent several hours sitting under a tree. I read, and she wrote a letter. We listened to music and watched the world go by.

Later, on our way back to the metro, we passed the Ministry of Agriculture, which was hosting an open house in honor of Dîa de la Hispanidad. They even boasted an exhibit on “the Mediterranean Diet”. “Let’s go!” I said to my friend as we passed the entrance. She looked at me as though I was a little crazy. But I wandered on ahead, we scanned our bags, and found ourselves in a beautiful, palace-like building. “What is this again?” my friend asked.

Inside, there were security guards and makeshift barricades to guide us through only certain hallways. These hallways were mostly empty, though adorned with paintings of the Ministers of Agriculture, dating back to when they went to work wearing swords slung at their hips. We walked onward, and soon found ourselves in the Mediterranean diet exhibit. A kind of public service situation, it gave advice on healthy eating with a tie to Spanish cultural norms. Resisting the urge to eat the artesian bread exhibit, we each obtained a pin featuring a picture of some fresh tomatoes, and left the building.

So this week I have a thought, a challenge, and some advice: follow your nose, heart, and intuition. Sometimes it’ll only take you as far as the Ministry of Agriculture, but it’ll always be an interesting ride.