Lo que pica, y lo que non

As we make our way through our last month in Spain, I can't help but think about things that I will miss, and those that I will not miss.  Here are some.

Things I will miss

Chocolate con churros (porras, actually), friends here in Spain, regular access to jamón serrano, The Real Academia de la Historia (an archive), The Biblioteca Nacional, cochinillo asado, the history seminar at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, cordero asado,  having my big meal in the middle of the day and siesta afterwards, one sunny day after another, living within a 10 minute walk of three world-class museums, Picasso's Guernica, the Plaza Mayor in the early morning, being on sabbatical, the sun setting very late in the evening, my tertulia on Tuesday nights, Velázquez's Las Meninas, Las Lanzas, and everything else he painted, the Bismallah Sweet Shop and its fresh samosas, Goya's Tres de mayo, palmeras con chocolate, Goya's Dark Paintings, Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, romanesque art, Breughel's The Triumph of Death, El Greco, the tarta de membrillo at the Horno América, bread from the Museo del Pan Gallego, scones from the bakery on Calle de Leon, reading El Pais in print, the Museo Cerralbo, Lavapiés, La Latina, sweets made with yema, the cathedral in Toledo, fat Spiderman, the Mezquita Cristo de la Luz in Toledo, not having to mow a lawn, the view from our balcony, Restaurante El Labriego, traveling in Europe, the Plaza Santa Ana, having lots of good restaurants within 5 minutes walking of my house, the Buen Retiro park, Can Punyetes restaurant, knowing the city is still very much alive, now mater how late I go to sleep, walking my son back form school, not having to drive, high-speed trains, the clock tower of the Telefónica building, the Café Comercial, the Plaza Canalejas, asadores, the Café Gijón, music & theater in Madrid, calçots, coffee with fellow researchers in the cafeteria of the Biblioteca Nacional, my walk there along the Paseo de Recoletos, the Plaza de la Cibeles in the evening sun, the clock with bells and dancing figures down the street, day trips to amazing places, the reading room at the Ateneo, coffee at the Ateneo (best in Madrid).

Things I will not miss

The euro, life on a single income, being far from family and friends, overpriced restaurants with bad food, mediocre air conditioning, government bureaucracy from hell, the big hunk of meat, not being able to get certain books I need b/c the Biblioteca Nacional does not own them however important they might be, mediocre mail service, my not very comfortable IKEA bed, crowds in the Puerta del sol, the douche-off, IKEA furniture in general, bad customer service, needing a passport-sized photograph for everything,  needing a sello.