This is another installment of Vicki B & 10-year-old Ben on the road
Alicante, Spain
by Vicki Baublitz
We are enjoying the food here.
Ben’s lunch today is squid on a bed of caramelized onions. He has really taken to the slow eating lifestyle here.
Unlike America, where we gobble our food in a rush, always on our way to somewhere, here they take an hour or two for the meal, savoring the flavors and the company.
Ben slow eating, checking out his squid.
Waiters are paid a good wage and don’t need to turn tables quickly. They expect diners to linger for an hour or better. This suits Ben just fine. He likes to examine everything on the menu and discuss it before deciding what to order.
We’ll order an espresso for me and a sparkling mineral water (his new favorite thing) while we take our time deciding what looks good. (This would drive Steve crazy, he likes to eat and run.)
The food is a lot less processed, and I swear it’s easier to digest. Maybe because we’re not shoveling it in mindlessly.
After our meal, we’ll try a dessert, or maybe we’ll walk for a bit and find a gelateria.
Then we’ll order a scoop of gelato and sit and enjoy that for another half hour.
It seems like we’ve eaten our weight in gelato, but my pants are feeling loose and I’m going to need to buy a safety pin for them soon.