Sunday, September 27, 2015

Whatever Happened To Class?

Málaga's main train station (Estación de Málaga Maria Zambrano; click to learn about her) is a great place to spend some time. It's the main train station in the center of the city used for travel all over Spain and to other points in Europe, as well as a stop for the commuter trains. There are gourmet kiosks and specialty shops in the main area, plus a very nice shopping mall that includes a great choice of restaurants and cafés.

This time around, on our way to Sevilla, we noticed a new olive market. Fresh olives of every shape and size. Unfortunately, my photo wasn't pleasantly timed. The salesperson was on her mobile phone as she worked. A woman walked over and said in Spanish, "I want a taste," as she reached over the glass, dipped her fingers in one of the tubs and scooped out an olive. She licked her fingers and walked away leaving me, the salesperson, and the woman on a nearby bench in stunned silence.

I didn't buy any olives.

(Click the images for a closer look at what I witnessed.)

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO PLEASE MAY I?
IBERIAN HAM. I DIDN'T SEE ANYONE HELP THEMSELVES TO A SLICE
— OR AN ENTIRE HAM.
IF THE FINGER FOOD HAS TURNED YOU OFF,
YOU COULD ALWAYS BUY AN IBERIAN HAM PILLOW. CLASSY, HUH?


Ain't there no decency left?

24 comments:

  1. The olives look luscious and they are so big. You can tell just looking at the olive dipper what sort of person she is.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andrew:
      I shouldn't have been surprised by her behaviour, but I was. Until then, those olives looked so good.

      Delete
  2. Mitchell I love eating olives. There is a wide choice in Spian and so delicious

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gosia:
      I also love olives and am amazed by the variety here.

      Delete
  3. I love ham but I've found Spanish ham to be a bit chewy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephen:
      It all depends on quality. It's not soft like the ham we're used to (which is Jamon York here). But some of it doesn't hardly needs to be chewed; it almost melts in your mouth.

      Delete
  4. Wow. What a pig, and not the kind hanging from the hooks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bob:
      I was appalled. So, was the salesperson (who shouldn't be on her mobile while working in the first place)... Ahem!

      Delete
  5. Now you have me wondering about all those olives we bought at that market in Seville.... oh well, probably just built up our immunities ;-) Really, though... some people are just plain crude and rude.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sharon:
      I have a feeling you'll be alright. I don't think the germs gestate this long.

      Delete
  6. There goes that container of olives! Some people are just plainly uncouth!
    Not a fan of ham but people who like it, like it a lot.
    train station does sound pretty interesting....would love to spend time there staring at people...discretely of course.

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    Replies
    1. Jim:
      I love ham, thankfully. As for people-staring... Am I supposed to be discreet?

      Delete
  7. I am quite envious of that market! The olive dipper in action is not a savory image, but the brine or oil should hold any cooties at bay.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wilma:
      I THINK cooties are piojos in Spanish (at least that's the word for lice)!

      Delete
  8. I too adore olives; I prefer them as treats to almost anything else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spo:
      I was a skinny kid -- well into my late 20s. When I was at university I read that each olive was 25 calories. So, I kept a huge jar in the fridge at all times. I didn't gain any wait, but I sure did enjoy myself. Too bad I didn't know then about GOOD olives.

      Delete
  9. Being a germophobe, I would insist on covers for those olive thingys. Preferably with locks! :) That would stop her!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Snoskred:
      I'm not a germophobe, but I do have a problem with serve-yourself buffets and public markets with everything uncovered. Well... maybe I"m just a bit of a germaphobe...

      Delete
  10. Replies
    1. Walt the Fourth:
      And who knows where those fingers had been!

      Delete
  11. Okay that is just gross. Reminds me of the time, years back, when I saw a women unwrap the end of a pound of a butter at the grocery store, stick her finger in and dig out a chunk, eat it, and put the butter back on the shelf. I was absolutely stunned.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Knatolee:
      OK, that butter episode beats anything I've ever seen.

      Delete
  12. I can't wrap my head around those pillows...much less imagine laying my head on one!

    ReplyDelete

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