Patting the Bear Butt

I arrived in Madrid on a Sunday afternoon and after checking in at my room strolled around the central park nearby, which is massive. I would soon discover that there are many massive central park areas in Madrid. The main one could give NYC Central park a run for it’s money.

 I sat and had a cup of coffee near a large water fountain, a huge statue of a man on a horse and another bronze statue of a bear eating from a large fruit tree.

It was Sunday so many people were out in the park enjoying the day with family. There was a line in front of the statue with the bear and photos were taken and everyone who walked by would reach up to pat the bear’s butt. If they were short, they would jump so they could reach it.  Some one even lifted a child up on his shoulders to “pat the bear butt”.

I was not overly impressed and did not feel the need to follow this tradition but wondered if it was like throwing a penny into the water fountain. After a while I got quite the chuckle watching person after person reach up to touch this bears butt and then move on. I eventually lost count of how many times that bear had his butt patted.

I later googled “patting the bears butt in Madrid “and did not really find anything about that but did find out about the bear. The use of the bear as a symbol of Madrid occurred in 1212 when King Alfonso VIII used it as a seal to sign a decree between the state and the church. He was impressed with the courage of the bear and the fruit tree, know as a strawberry tree is thought to have medicinal properties and used at one time against the plague.

Europe has all the charm, art and history and Spain is no exception. From King Ferdinand, Queen Isabelle to Christopher Columbus, to Miquel Cervantes who wrote Man of la Mancha. Once the most powerful nation in Europe it fell gradually after the Spanish American war in the 1800’s and their own civil war in 1938. And before all this the Greeks, Romans and Celtics entered the area in 200 BC and added their imprint on the culture.

The outside cafes are always full, even in this cold weather people sit outside in coats and scarfs and eat and drink. My eating schedule is upside down as the cafes open around 10 for breakfast, then everyone eats lunch around 2, after work around 5-ish everyone stops for Tapas and drinks, then on to home for dinner around 8 or 9.

Tapa hopping is my favorite time and I skip dinner just to go from place to place for a small bite- a hamburger as big as a half dollar and a glass of Spanish wine, then on to the next place for a bite of this or that and another glass of wine. I went for a coffee and eggs one morning around 11:00 and an older couple next to me, in their 80’s, ordered red wine and scrambled eggs. I think I found my country. I want to live in Spain!!

TRAVEL IS THE ONLY THING YOU BUY THAT MAKES YOU RICHER

“IF I HAD A PRAYER IT WOULD BE THIS: GOD SPARE ME FROM THE DESIRE FOR LOVE, APPROVAL OR APPRECIATION.”