An Assault on the Bastion of NUN COOKIES 11-3-25

As I have frequently mentioned there are many days that go a little sideways and, for us, the key is to be able to turn the roadblocks into exploration opportunities. Today was another example as we had planned to tour the main cathedral, but suffered a little impediment. We caught a bus down close to the cathedral and arrived with time to spare, but when we passed through the security and got right to the ticket confirmation the young woman gently showed us that the tickets are for tomorrow 😏. So we had to swim upstream to get out of the queue and into the street, oops.  On top of that we are now faced with going to the Alcazar and having only 2 hours to visit before we have to cross the square and enter the cathedral.  So it will be a taxing morning.

But just across the street is a covered passage leading to the Plaza de Cabildo, a small crescent shaped square that is pretty much hidden from the hustle and bustle of the activity around the cathedral.  It is a little oasis of peace and quiet. But even better, it’s the location of a tiny shop that sells NUN COOKIES! And not just the product of one convent but offerings from very many convents. Now to be fair it lacks the charm of walking into a dark alley sort of place and getting something illicit from a little window with a revolving slot. Where you murmur what sort of temptation you want and put money that disappears, but is followed shortly by a box of said temptations.  On the other hand none of the proferred convents was included on my list, even though the shop is, so it turned out to be a bonus, A veritable bastion of goodies and there

was another wall that had just as many offerings as the one above.  We came away to two boxes, one a box of little biscuit shaped cookies that are mostly marzipan, and the other a box of orange and almond thin cookies that have the consistency of short bread.   As we left the little shop of cookies we spotted an open antiques shop and greeted the owner as we entered. He had really nice things to tempt us too, but unfortunately the things we’re drawn to right now are a bit too bulky to carry along, like the beautiful tiles that are all over the city. To assuage our sorrow at not getting into the cathedral we decided to go to lunch. Our captain/guide mentioned that a place called “Dos de Mayo” was a very good restaurant and we had located it previously so we decided to walk over to see if we could get lunch.  It has Michelin Guide citations from 2005 up to 2025 so it’s very popular.

When we got there the outdoor tables were all full, so we put our name on a list and stood around looking forlorn and trying to guilt the other diners into rushing to finish.  Not really, but we did just stand and wait for probably 15-20 minutes until a table came available and it was our turn. We perused the menu and made our choices, bacalao fritters followed by sea scallops for Deb, and croquettes of bacalao and spinach followed by Salmorejo and a grilled seabass for me.  The one thing we have yet to learn is how to pace our ordering so that everything doesn’t arrive at the same time because that happened again today.  As we ate I heard a waiter tell another group that it would be a wait of up to an hour for a table. As I said very popular.

I had suggested a return to the art museum but Deb said she was too tired after having had a less than restful night.  We’re both still adjusting to the fact that she had her knee replaced in July and has made such phenomenal progress that I tend to overload the activities. We walked back to the apartment to get a little rest.  

On the way I remembered that we have another convent that is practically a next door neighbor and that they sell NUN COOKIES! I tried a few days ago but the main door was closed and I could find no hint of where one might purchase them.  Today when I went back the door was still closed but on a guess I decided to walk around the convent via another little street.  And there it was a little gated carriage way entry to the convent.  I found the sign that allowed as how one might buy sweets, but their opening time was still about 45 minutes away.  So about an hour later I returned and everything was still buttoned up tight.  I fidgeted around and finally decided to push the gate bell and see if in fact they were still offering things.  A little voice came on and said yes they were still selling goodies, the gate buzzed and I pushed it open and looked for a door just inside, no door.  Only an open door next to the imposing main gate, I was nervous about just barging into

the heart of the convent, and I finally went through into a much larger courtyard. Looking around I could find nothing that would hint at a vending area.  I finally went further into the courtyard and saw and open door with a grill work and a little nun behind the grill motioning me in.  I went in and through the grill work she showed me all the products on offer.  I finally picked a box contains an array of their cookie offerings and paid her.  All of this was conducted in Spanish and she was very patient and cheerful.  When we were finished I asked if I could take pictures and she said yes. So I went out and she actually came out of her area to suggest where I could make them.  She also may have been concerned that I might get lost on my way out because she accompanied me over to the door to the outside courtyard and pushed the button to open the metal gate. A lovely woman and such a positive interaction.