kbl: That is a GREAT mental picture! One thing that has always puzzled me is that you can TRIPLE park pretty much wherever, and instead of calling the poli, the boxed-in car will stand and honk the horn until you realize it's YOU that needs to move. Knowing that you're the offending party is a skill, as you're usually ten floors up in a piso visiting someone.

I recently saw this move all over Madrid!

When you see someone standing outside their car laying on the horn sit back and watch the fun as several heads poke out of piso buildings and when the offending driver finally appears he gets echar'ed la bronca!

Leche

I feel really sad about these things of Spain, there are a lot of people without any respect for others, there is a total abuse from some drivers against pedestrians, they leave the car anywhere, they don't stop on pedestrian ways, even people who parks on second line and doesn't care when the driver of the other car, that can't leave because of his car on second line .....
I think we need a little more civilization in this aspect, at least in Madrid..

Madrid certainly has no monopoly on rude drivers (read: LA). It's only sad when you're the guy waiting to get out. Other than that, it's hilarious!

I remember a Seat 1500 almost running over my toes as I stepped into a "crosswalk" in Segovia. I gave his rear quarter-panel a thump with my fist, and he stopped to "have it out with me". When he got out of the car he noticed how much larger than he I was and thought better of his decision to mix it up with me. This, of course, leads to another generalization: In the U.S. people are more physically aggressive and tend to back things up, even if they're the small dog in the fight. In Spain I've noticed that by showing some aggression, you can back most everyone off (being about 4" taller than most men in Spain doesn't hurt either, I suppose.)

Here's another fun one: How many of you have enjoyed the "fruits" of some dog's labors while out walking the streets of Madrid? I've noticed that compared to all the walking I do in my own hometown, the incidence of "land mines" or "meadow muffins" is higher in Madrid. Is cleaning up after your pet less of an issue in Madrid than it is where I'm at?

Well, I think that cleaning your pet gifts is growing a little bit, now maybe a 0,1% of the people do it. It's more normal although not so good to take your pet to a park, so it don't leave the gift on the street

Geez! Another myth destroyed! I thought the Mercedez-Benz emblems on the derrieres of Spanish ladies was a Levis competitor, not the results of being hit by a passing motorist

Watching a Madrid policeman direct traffic has always reminded me of someone trying to herd cats.... but that's another story



Wolf

This post is made in good fun:

I've noticed that the departamento de obras públicas in Spain (in general...not just Madrid) has some serious competition when it comes to how many loafers there are in the gruop of construction workers. I have a photograph of FOUR "workers" watching ONE ACTUAL WORKER digging a ditch in Valladolid.

I thought that was pretty funny until I moved to Southern California in '94. Out here they actually have a word for paying five union guys to do the work of one: CALTRANS. In the Spanglish vein, the local Hispanic population no longer uses the term "perezoso", but rather "caltransiente".