Drinking in Spain

For much of the past month in Spain, we have rented apartments.   I would forget about the inconvenience of not being able to simply order tap water in a restaurant. The days and evenings have been busy with sight seeing ... and often by night, I would be exhausted ... a little bottle of water not on my mind at all.  Truly, I did not give it a thought until the next time we went out to eat.  Last night, I was dinning out in Madrid and noticed that the family next to me had a carafe of water and this vessel was refilled upon request.This morning, my final day in Spain, I took the time to clarify that I should have been asking for agua del grifo.  Without that amplification, ¿Puedo tomar un vaso de agua del grifo, I was asking for a sealed glass bottle and adding a couple of Euros to our bill. 

Another small inconvenience has been coffee ... if in a cafe, I would ask for black coffee - cafe solo, and I received a demi-cup of espresso.  Again, in the rentals coffee pots were provided so, most often, I happily had my leisurely western fare of caffeine.  If I would have requested café Americano, my order would have produced a full sized mug of coffee - much weaker than the espresso - but more like what I am used to. 

There has been no language barrier in asking for vino.  Although, I have not figured out how to order a half of bottle (nor have I taken the time to learn).   What is that saying?  Man cannot live on wine alone ... so sometimes I need water and coffee.  Oops, I guess I misspoke,  the noun is bread, isn't it?  Let me quote Henry David Thoreau instead:  " A man may acquire a taste for wine and so lose his love of water."  I will miss Spain.  (Thank you Robert.)

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