Things we were not surprised to see a lot of
People
Cars
Apartments, buildings
Cool old architecture–even though it’s expected, it’s still awe-inspiring
Metro, buses–we did expect the metro, but we’ve been very impressed with the system. So easy to get anywhere. Although I will never again take bus 146 downtown on a weekend or holiday; it was absolutely packed.
Real Madrid soccer fans
Kids playing soccer in the neighborhood soccer courts
Olives of many varieties–usually like a whole shelf at the grocery store
Ham–Spain is famous for its jamón ibérico (unique to Spain) and jamón serrano (white pig not unique to Spain)
Things we were surprised to see a lot of
(I didn’t take time to crop images, sorry.)
Ham accessories–we didn’t know there existed such a kitchen gadget as a ham-leg-holder aka jamonero.
Dogs— we haven’t seen any stray dogs, but we are so amazed with how many people have pet dogs. They are everywhere, and of all varieties. And many times they are not leashed, especially in parks, which surprisingly is not a problem; the dogs are fine staying near their owner. (And yes, I was the weirdo discreetly trying to take pictures of random dogs on the street.).
Elderly people out and about–I have nothing but admiration for all the elderly people we see out and about, even stooped over, even with a cane, sometimes arm in arm with their adult child. And always dressed classy. (And yes, I was the weirdo discreetly trying to take pictures of random people on the street.)
Parks/playgrounds–it feels like on every block there is a park or playground, sometimes more than one.
Smoking–teenagers, young professionals, the middle-aged, the elderly…smoking is still common here, maybe even sometimes expected or pressured (I’m not sure, I haven’t experienced that but I can only assume peer pressure might contribute). Obviously not everyone smokes, but I’m just surprised how much there is. Professionals smoke on their work break, teenagers smoke during class break. I keep trying to remember to wear a mask when I’m walking about, because of the smoking.
Motorcycles–and they park on the sidewalks. They are everywhere. Yesterday afternoon for an experiment I took pictures of all the motorcycles I noticed on the 5 minute walk from our house to the metro:
Electric bikes, scooters. And by the way, the Spain equivalent of DoorDash is Glovo, and you’ll see Glovo delivery people on bikes, scooters, or motorcycles everywhere.
Construction–there are unfinished projects everywhere. Some projects I think have a pretty tight timeline, like the pipework/electricity work under a road/sidewalk that was on the way to school and just finished a couple weeks ago, but some projects have no apparent progress, like the building above Panaria or the pit across the street from our apartment or the metro station at Avenida de América.
Rain–multiple people said when we got here, Oh, it doesn’t rain much around here. Not so. The construction pit across the street filled with rainwater the first week we got here, then it dried over the next couple weeks, and then it filled again over the following couple weeks, and this is now:
Hair salons/barbershops–one on every corner.
Grocery stores–one on every street, of multiple brands. Small but adequate. Carrefour, Supercor, Dia, BM, Mercadona are just a few. Also Lidl, Aldi.
Restaurants with sidewalk seating–everywhere. And always busy–constant low din of conversation and dish clinking from like 1pm onward past midnight.
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One Response
Where do people have enough space to keep such big dogs in little living spaces?
OH MAN, have you folks watched motorcycles, bikes, scooters all racing the cars around the rotaries in the city???? That is a nightmare to drive in but fascinating to watch for how crazy it is!!!!
I really like the variety of people and architecture that you have captured in your photos. Imagine papa and I dressed up hobbling down the street or shuffling our feet just to get to the panaderia.