Theme of the week: Nostalgia
When I received notification of this week’s theme only one image sprang immediately to mind. This photograph was taken last year in the city of Almería, Spain while on holiday with the family. This particular typically Andalusian standing-room-only café on the main shopping street, El Paseo, was where I would go early in the mornings as a very young child to have the local breakfast speciality Churros and Chocolate (made the proper traditional way – big savory spirals of deep-fried batter-mix dipped in thick hot chocolate). For any southern Spanish child that is total heaven, and a treat to trump all treats (except for the Andalusian pastries!). This place has been a favourite haunt of my Spanish family since it opened in 1969, and still has the same familiar canopy and neon lights that I remember from the 1970s.
In the afternoons it would double as an ice-cream parlour, extra treats!
It was closed when I was there last year with my own children, as is typical of most Spanish shops in the middle of siesta time.
I was particularly pleased with the way this image turned out, most worthy of my wall that houses a gallery of many of my best and most memorable travel photos 🙂
IshaiyaFreshlySqueezed 
I enjoyed your memories, both written and by photo. Thanks for sharing.
janet
Oh thank you so much for stopping by and for your lovely comment, it’s deeply appreciated 🙂
Ishaiya
One of the things I love about Europe are the outdoor cafes. We’re getting more of them in the States, thankfully. They’re great for feeling like part of the neighborhood life, for being outdoors even in the city, and just relaxing.
janet
It’s just a different way of life over there in Spain, one I miss very much. When I was 4 years old I moved back to England, so the cafe in the photo holds very fond memories.
Ishaiya
Churros are good.
It may seem a little sad, granted, but one of my best x-mas presents last year was waking up to freshly made churros, made from an authentic Andalusian recipe, and authentic Spanish hot chocolate, beautiful.
Not sad at all. But churros for breakfast? If they’re the same churros i’m thinking of (the one’s here) that’s a crazy way to start the day. Good, tasty, but insane just he same.
Proper Andalusian churros may be deep fried, but they are traditionally savoury, unlike the rest of Spain or the world for that matter. All the sweetness is supposed to be in the dipping chocolate, which isn’t that sweet either. Still a mad way to start the day, for me it would mean not eating for a good 12 hours after! I don’t do big hips!
Ahhhh, ours here are fried then dowsed in sugar and jammed full of hot melted chocolate. Delicious!
Jumping jehosefat! Enough to give you a coronary just thinking about it!
Cinnamon sprinkled on top is another favourite.
Sounds delicious! What wonderful memories!
Delicious indeed! Thank you 😉
Lovely recollection. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you Eric, it’s lovely to see you here again 🙂
I really dig the wide pavements, and the table and chairs.
That real as well as mental image defines continental Europe like nothing else, Portugal, Spain France and all the other Med countries.
One is unlikely to have ‘sunny ‘ memories of England. 😉
Nice post.
yeah.. ‘sunny’ memories of England… now there’s a funny thought. Mind you I’m quite lucky that I now live in the only part of the UK that has it’s own micro-climate, people around here always have a year round tan because more often than not the weather is very clement and the sun is shining – even when the rest of the country is encountering floods of biblical proportions, monsoon winds, or six foot under snow. We always seem to miss the worst of it. I guess they don’t call the it the English Riviera for nothing!
But, I have an especial fondness for the street cafes and life of Europe as you say, it’s an experience that gives me warm fuzzy memories; where I fit in and belong in many ways. No one looks at me over there like I’m a foreigner, and that is an altogether different and enlightening experience I can tell you.
Thanks for stopping by Ark 😉
My folks live up in Chester, which I always believed had reasonable weather; I grew up there. But you are right, if tales from the folks are to be believed the weather of late has been quite atrocious.
My sister lives somewhere in Wales at the moment- she moves on a fairly regular basis – and was snowed in for two days a few months back and couldn’t get to the hospital where she works – she’s a big wig nurse technician thing or something?
I’ve been in Johannesburg the best part of 30 years and it has snowed twice!
My brother’s a photographer and lives in Sydney and he has never complained about grotty weather either.
But up here in Jo’burg it is bloody cold at the moment. I can’t stand June/July.
John says its even cold where he is,Brazil.
Aren’t we the Cosmopolitan Lot then? LOL!
Instant ‘Pen Pals’ Don’t you just love it?
Hehe, ‘Pen Pals’, yes I suppose we are! LOL
Says a lot about the folk we mingle with on our own turf then doesn’t it?
The summer is slow in getting going over here on the south-coast, but the day is looking promisingly warm with the sun already shining brightly. I’m still planning my getaway though, haven’t decided where to go yet, hopefully somewhere much much hotter than here and replete with that wonderful nectar called beer that I hardly ever drink anymore!