Tapas

On our last night we headed out with the intention of getting a drink. It was about 8:30 and the city seemed deserted. We turned a corner on a small street and came upon a throng of people spilling out into the street from a bar. We gently pushed our way inside to find people drinking cuartos and eating immeasurable quantities of fresh potato chips that the bartenders were frantically frying in the small kitchen in back.

We ordered our drinks and waited for the chips... but none appeared. We eventually ordered a media ración and received more chips than we could ever eat.

Having eaten our fill of warm, shiny (well, greasy) chips speckled with red pepper powder, we left the bar with no particular destination in mind.

But just around the corner was another place, again with people spilling out onto the sidewalk. We got our drinks (dry rioja in bulbous glasses) and our tapa, thin ham on bread.

We continued in this manner well into the night, finally ending up chatting with the bartender at one of the cafés. He gave us something special to try... cow's tongue. And, it wasn't bad at all. Maybe it was the long night, or the comforting cushion of bread that supported the thin slice, or maybe the fact that it was smoked. I suspect it tasted good, though, because receiving it at all was a friendly, unnecessary gesture on the part of the bartender.