Hospital visit and a tabanco

It was a beautiful sunny day today. Had an enjoyable half hour walk to the hospital and hung out with Brad for the day. I had downloaded a few Netflix shows to my iPad, so we were able to watch a few episodes of the latest season of F1.

On the way back to the hotel, I stopped off at the convent that I learned about on the walking tour a couple of days ago. It’s a cloistered convent and the nuns run a bakery. (Because Brad will likely be discharged tomorrow, I thought it would be nice to bring some treats to the nurses.) There’s no bakery counter. There’s a list of items with prices and a cubbyhole with a revolving platform. You speak through the wall to place your order, put your money on the turntable and wait for your order to appear. Pretty cool.

In the evening, I met Betty at a tabanco for dinner. “Tabancos are a combination of traditional shop selling wine in bulk and a traditional sherry bar with heaps of character. The wine is often served straight from the barrel, accompanied by homemade tapas, and where a flamenco performance may start up at any time.

“Its name comes from merging the words “estanco” (a shop selling state-controlled goods) and “taberna” (a bar or tavern) and dates back to the 17th century.”

Spaniards have late dinners so the one we were going to didn’t open until 7 p.m. We were waiting behind the door as they opened. Betty had sherry, I had wine and we both had tapas.Read more