Definitely closed for business.

Today began with a visit to the bread shop where I had my €0.80 ready to pay for my loaf. However, the panadera told me that today the loaf cost €0.85 because today is a “día festivo”. Of course, Easter Monday! How long has that been a holiday here? I thought that was a British invention. Besides, how can the price of a loaf vary from one day to the next? I have come across that variation before, of course, as the price goes up the same way every Sunday. That doesn’t make it right though. 

Back in the UK, Easter Monday is celebrated by many in the great commercial cathedrals such as The Trafford Centre or Meadowhall, where people go to shop ‘til they drop. Not here, of course! Vigo has been as quiet as quiet can be. 

We had a list of things to do: 

      recharge the dongle so that we can have internet access in the flat – Vodafone 

     put some credit on the Spanish mobile phones – Telefónica 

     pick up a cable to connect one of Phil’s gadgets to the computer, the original having been left at home by mistake – MediaMarkt 

     buy some food – Mercadona, Froiz, Eroski, in fact any supermarket would do. 

Vodafone, Telefónica, MediaMarkt, the supermarkets: all closed! 

I had to go back to the breadshop for a carton of milk. 

Even the chess club has been closed for business today. 

On our fruitless walkabout, however, I came across this poster for a concert by comedian Carlos Lastre. I just had to take a photo. 

Here’s a link to a website selling tickets for his show. 

 I googled Mr Lastre. One of the things I found out is this: “Se hizo muy conocido por sus imitaciones en el late night Crónicas Marcianas de Telecinco de diversos personajes” - he became famous for imitating various celebrities on the TV show “Crónicas Marcianas. (That’s fine but just who decided to refer to a TV show as “un late night”?) But since he is apparently such a famous impressionist who mimics well known politicians as well as other famous people, I can only hope his ungrammatical English is intended to be ironical. 

Anyway, we ended up having lunch out today as well as dinner last night. I can highly recommend the “calamares frescos a la plancha” at the Nuevo Derby on Calle Urzáiz. 

The Nuevo Derby also has some very interesting coffee cups with pictures of ancient coffee grinders and information about Brazil becoming a major coffee producer in 1920 and the United States creating instant coffee during World War II so that their soldiers could easily have coffee wherever they happened to be fighting. 

And thus perhaps began the Starbucks empire!