Food, Drink and Community
The Boozer Blog travel has been locked down with the rest of us during this crazy time of a global pandemic. I had hoped my first post to be about my now canceled trip to Valencia and the surrounding area. I love Spain and seeing the horrific pictures of make-shift morgues and empty streets hit me hard. The greatest concern of course was with the tragic deaths, but also, I understood the impact of shuttering a beautiful culture that celebrates community. The similarities with Italy, also tragically impacted, are easy to see.
The evening stroll is common to both. The time of day where the sun is giving way to night. The citizens take to the streets to stroll. Kids meet up
with their friends at the fountain or the play lot off the square. The adults greet each other and chat or maybe grab tapas or arancini and a glass of wine. There is no rush. No where to be, other than in the community. Dinner will come, but first, the stroll. It’s a scene that plays out each evening, this informal coming together of neighbors. It is a beautiful sight, and important to the understanding of culture.
Why is dinner time so late in Spain? The stroll. Why tapas and Italian street food? The stroll. There are similarities in other countries, but Spain and Italy do it best, in my opinion. I think part of why I love Spain as much as I do, is the clear priority that they place on community. It’s hard to imagine pedestrian only areas in our cities in the U.S. It just isn’t what we prioritized when we built our cities. If our cities weren’t specifically built around the car, they were certainly retrofitted for the car over the years. Our culture reflects that design. We are always running late. In a hurry to get from point A to point B.
After visiting a dozen towns and cities of different sizes in Spain, I realized the design was intentional. I know that may seem obvious, but as a visitor, you sometimes overlook the obvious. They could have changed their city centers. These squares and pedestrian malls are not immovable. Cars could be allowed. But this would impact community. The priority is clear.
So now we wait. Hopeful that Spain and Italy emerge stronger. Hopeful that our travel adventures will start again soon. Hopeful that we have a stronger sense of our own community. Stronger with the knowledge that we rely on and need each other. Hopeful that soon we can all come together with food, drink and community.
