La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
WE RETURNED TO KOCO BISTRÓ (click here) for lunch in Mijas Pueblo. It was so good the first time and there’s so much on the menu we’ve yet to try. I had a variety of tapas and San Geraldo chose a spinach salad. We weren’t disappointed. Since the sun had already moved around by the time we arrived, the umbrellas had been stashed away. The service was again excellent.
The host appears to speak whatever language is needed. Last week, we heard him speak Spanish, English, French, and even Finnish. This week, I could swear I heard him speak Dutch at a nearby table. I was so grateful he spoke Spanish with us.
I often find that although we always speak Spanish to people we meet, they respond in English because they hear us speaking English to each other. Often, it’s because they enjoy speaking English or they’re trying to be helpful; still, it can feel at times insulting. It usually doesn’t happen when I’m alone — not because my Spanish is so perfect, but because, although I have an accent when I speak Spanish, it doesn’t give me away as a native English speaker. I love that I have to be asked what language is my mother tongue. For some reason, I got side-tracked on language today. Enjoy the food photos and descriptions. More from Mijas Pueblo is still to come.
I had another driving lesson this morning. I don’t want to talk about it. I didn’t kill anyone. But I received an awful lot of corrections for someone who’s been driving for at least two generations. “Look here. Look there. Mind the bus. Mind the car. Mind the pedestrian. Signal the turn. Signal the lane change.” “I’m doing it! I’m doing it!” (Oh well, I guess I talked about it.) So, when we got home, San Geraldo bought me M&Ms and a chocolate bar. And I ate it all, goddammit!
.
REGRESAMOS A KOCO BISTRÓ (haz clic aquí) para almorzar en Mijas Pueblo. Fue tan bueno la primera vez y hay tantas cosas en el menú que aún tenemos que probar. Tuve una variedad de tapas y San Geraldo eligió una ensalada de espinacas. No nos decepcionó. Como el sol ya se había movido cuando llegamos, los paraguas estaban guardados. El servicio fue excelente nuevamente.
El anfitrión parece hablar el idioma que se necesite. La semana pasada lo escuchamos hablar español, inglés, francés, e incluso finlandés. Esta semana, podría jurar que lo escuché hablar holandés con clientes en una mesa cercana. Estaba tan agradecido de que hablara español con nosotros.
A menudo encuentro que aunque siempre hablamos español con las personas que conocemos, ellos responden en inglés porque nos escuchan hablar en inglés entre nosotros. A menudo, es porque les gusta hablar inglés o porque intentan ayudar; aún así, a veces puede resultar insultante. Por lo general, no sucede cuando estoy solo, no porque mi español sea tan perfecto, sino porque, aunque tengo acento cuando hablo español, no me delata como hablante nativo de inglés. Me encanta que me pregunten qué idioma es mi lengua materna. Por alguna razón, hoy me desvié del lenguaje. Disfrute de las fotos y descripciones de los alimentos. Más de Mijas Pueblo aún está por llegar.
Esta mañana tuve otra lección de conducción. No quiero hablar de ello. No maté a nadie. Pero recibí una gran cantidad de correcciones para alguien que ha estado conduciendo durante al menos dos generaciones. “Mira aquí. Mira allí. Cuidado con el autobús. Cuidado con el coche. Cuidado con el peatón. Señale el giro. Señale el cambio de carril .” “¡Lo estoy haciendo! ¡Lo estoy haciendo!” (Oh, bueno, supongo que hablé de eso). Entonces, cuando llegamos a casa, San Geraldo me compró M&Ms y una barra de chocolate. ¡Y me lo comí todo, maldita sea!
• San Geraldo odia las aceitunas. ¡Más para mí!
• San Geraldo tenía ensalada de espinaca fresca, peras caramelizadas, piñones, croutons, tomate cherry, y vinagreta miel y mostaza.
• Ham croquettes.
• Fried camembert cheese.
• Choriso with chimichurri.
• Las escaleras que tomamos después del almuerzo.
• La vista de regreso a la Plaza de la Virgen de la Peña.
• Lo mejor que San Geraldo pudo encontrar en la pequeña tienda de abajo. Estuvo bien.
• Dudo cree que necesito una siesta, con él.
Never refuse a cat’s request….or else! lol
Haven’t had tapas in years and yours looks delicious.
Really liking Mijas Pueblo.
Maybe the instructor was having a bad day and you were his vent.
…same sentiments when I took lessons for my Italian drivers license 2 years ago. Yes !!!! And you know I’ve been driving since I was 12. Sooooo, how many decades ago?????!!!!!!
Hint: I drove a white Lancia Appia in NY
Giu?!?
Send me email, please! I couldn’t find your phone number. Email kept bouncing back. You had to get a new Italian license 2 years ago?!? You’re a better person than I!
…sì ancora viva e sono qui!!!!
Giu:
I don’t know what to say in Italian in response (it’s worse than it was before), but I CAN understand what you wrote. Email me, please! You’ve made my day!
Jim:
I refused Dudo yesterday. He got over it. SG had a siesta with him. The instructor was actually pleasant; he simply over-instructed, each time I was about to do exactly what he was saying before he said it (or had already done so… I need to be more obvious). It made for a hectic drive in town. He’s doing his job and I’m not the typical student (nor am I ever a cooperative student).
when in doubt, get horizontal.
Just don’t squash no cats.
Urspo:
I never did get horizontal yesterday afternoon. I think I will today.
Multiple corrections require multiple chocolates.
What a great town to visit. And a yummy place to eat.
Mary:
They weren’t so much corrections as warnings when I didn’t need them. But he’s a very nice guy and that’s the job he does.
I hope you took dudo up on his offer. all that food looks so damn good!
anne marie:
SG took Dudo up on his offer. He wasn’t thrilled with me, but he did OK.
Chocolate makes everything all better, doesn’t it!
Debra:
Chocolate definitely does… even the lesser chocolate!
You eat that chocolate, Scoot! You deserved it! That instructor would’ve driven me to a five pound box of See’s and a gallon of Jamocha Almond Fudge ice cream. You’d find my tear stained, chocolate covered body in a nearby corner.
Dudo is precious, so is SG.
Deedles:
And I still have chocolate covered sunflower seeds in the fridge, a small handful a day. I hope this will all be over soon so I can stress about the next thing!
Was the instructor trying to toughen you up for the road test? Your lunch out looks delightful. I would love to take a siesta with Dudo – can you send him over?
Wilma:
The instructor I think is just so used to instructing that he didn’t even realize. It was very off-putting. The examiner will simply give me directions and let me do what I will. THAT should be much less stressful. I wasn’t going to miss anything the instructor warned me about. He simply gave me no opportunity to indicate that. He even told me when to turn OFF my directional signals WHILE I was making the turns. And I prefer driving alone to begin with! I will be so happy when this is over. Dudo does NOT travel well. You’ll have to come here for that siesta.
Yeah………I think I need to move……
Mistress Maddie:
I’ll have some ADDICTED swimderwear waiting for you.
Wait….why do I think you enjoy that part?
Mistress Borghese:
Because you’re very perceptive!
Beautiful spot, beautiful food, beautiful gato.
Forget the driving test, though minding the pedestrian is an important lesson, I guess.
Bob:
It was like a scene from Keeping Up Appearances. Richard, mind the lory. Minding the lory, Hyacinth.
Although that food does look yummy (especially those olives!), taking a cat nap with Dudo is probably more restorative!
Tundra Bunny:
Yeah, Dudo is sweet, but I tend to wake up on the wrong side of the bed… regularly. Feed me.
I use to feel insulted when I would speak French and Francophones would reply in English – same when we lived in Italy when I would try to speak Italian. However I realized that more often than not it was because they were trying to practice their English. There was the odd time when it was being done to insult but those occasions were few and far between.
And you are just trying to make us envious of all that glorious food, aren’t you? Well you succeeded! LOL
Side note – I didn’t realize Laurent was your driving instructor? One of the reasons I no longer drive.
Willym:
It’s the truth. So many people are excited to get to practice their English.
San Geraldo taught me how to drive manual transmission in 1982. He was an excellent instructor. My father tried to teach me when I was 16. It did NOT go well. I said, if getting my license meant I had to take lessons from him, I would just forget about it. They entrolled me in Drivers Ed.
Chocolate is a good solution to any problem, or at least it’s a good band-aid. At this stage of the game, I don’t think I’d be able to handle driving criticism. The food at the restaurant looks lovely.
Love,
Janie
Janie:
I’ve never been very good at criticism (nor even instruction). I’m a teach-myself kind of person. I can’t believe I’m actually moving forward with this. I really want to have my license again, but this is seriously making me ill. It will all be over soon.
Who needs M&Ms when you can have the real, European stuff?
Your posts are always delicious!
Virtual hugs.
Robyn:
We’ve got a sweet little shop right downstairs. Very convenient, but they don’t carry good chocolate. Although I still do love M&Ms.
How can anyone hate olives and LIVE IN SPAIN?!?!
Driving around with that instructor sounds a little like being nagged mercilessly by a back-seat driver. I think I’d lose my mind.
Steve:
Even SG is frustrated by it. The olives are so good here, but he’s tried enough to know there’s no chance he’ll develop a taste for them. At least he likes cooking with olive oil. Beer is another thing he hates, and he barely drinks wine. Both less than half the price of a soda!
And, yes, driving around the other day was exactly how you described it. And I don’t do well with backseat drivers. I really do need to get over myself and just get on with it.