One more thing… (Corpus Christi Cookies)
Before I sign off completely for the night, I want to let you in on one more interesting experience I had while touring through the Center of Madrid. Like I said previously, this and many other interesting historical landmarks throughout Madrid are easily accessible through the Metro, all you need to do is arrive at Sol. Although I may admit, some landmarks (such as the Royal Palace in Madrid or the remains of the old Arab Town Wall which is said to date back to the Paleolithic age!) are particularly easy to scope out. The one I’m about to tell you about may actually be a little more difficult if you are not from the area and do not have a tour guide.
Down a very narrow alley, one may find a low-key convent. The only way to be granted entrance is to speak with one of the nuns over intercom. Admittedly, it can be a little intimidating since there is a surveillance camera conveniently placed two feet from your face, but once led into the building you will be pleasantly surprised. Most of the rooms are naturally lighted by open ceilings and have an architecturally Mediterranean vibe with brightly colored stucco walls. As the beaming sunlight floods in from above us, we are relieved by the cool air that remains calm in the convent.
The rest of the tour and I cram ourselves into a much smaller and darker room. There are no windows, no open ceilings, just and deep opening in one wall which contained a contraption that resembled a Lazy-Susan. Although no one can see on the other side of the Lazy-Susan-like object, I can hear an old woman’s little voice squeak out from behind it. She speaks quickly in Spanish so I cannot understand her, but to the side of the opening in the wall there is a table with prices. This I also can’t understand, but I can recognize the descriptions of things, such as “Made with chocolate- 9 euros”, “Made with orange- 6 euros” and so on. We were asked if we would like to buy some “Corpus Christi Cookies”, one woman from the tour was eager and pulled the currency from her pocket and was instructed to put it inside the Lazy-Susan compartment that was facing toward us. With a spin of the object, the compartment was now facing the small voice from the other side of the wall. Within seconds the Lazy-Susan was spun again and out came a box of cookies and the woman’s change.
The story behind the Corpus Christi Cookies is this:
In the Center of Madrid, there is a convent of nuns who do not show themselves to the public. It may seem ridiculous or impossible to those who find themselves enjoying the outdoors often, but it is true. All their days and nights are spent inside the convent, and no one is allowed to look upon them. In fact, the purpose of the Lazy-Susan compartment is to allow human interaction in the form of selling a product without being seen… ever.
What’s interesting is that these women never leave the convent and do not make much interaction with the outside world, but they do make their money and continue to live solely from the money they bring in from selling their cookies. Yes, homemade, delicious cookies made by a little old woman who you will never see the face of. They’re titled “Corpus Christi Cookies” and yes, I would describe the cookies as “heavenly”. With no processed ingredients or additives, there’s sweet little all-natural cookies are pure and the proceeds go towards a good cause.
