Certain things characterize Catalan culture- Pa amb Tomaquet (Bread with tomato), Cava, el Caganer etc.
Below are some images of the celebration we attended in the Placa de la Catedral. Below the older folks are dancing the Sardana.
Below are the members of the Colla, a group of friends who build Castells together. There are also some giants. Someone stands inside and twirls the giant about making it dance to music. On the far right there is a "dolphin" it is pushed around spits water out its mouth.
Below are some images of the Castells. They are quite spectacular to watch, but potentially very dangerous. The video below shows the entire building of the Castell.
Below are some pictures, some newer and some older, of food and friends.
Teo, a coworker and friend, made the empanada below for my parents when they arrived to Spain. Below is the dinner we had.
Teo and Sole- two teachers that I tutored in English invited us over for a special lunch at Sole's house in the countryside. It was a really nice day. Thanks girls!
These three pictures are of the second empanada that Teo made, her cutting it and then Sole setting the table.
Last weekend we had a long weekend for Pentecost. We decided to spend some more time in Galicia, the province just north of Portugal and one of my favourite regions in Spain.
We had two main goals- See the Botafumeiro and hike on Las Islas Cies. Luckily, we were able to accomplish both and then some!
The boat we took to the Islas Cies- an archipelago in the Ria de Vigo, also a beautiful national park.
Lunch time! Empanada de Pulpo (Octopus hot pocket) and an excellent view of the interior lake and the sand beach.
A great view of the water and the other islands in the ria.
Galicia gets a lot of rains so moss and ferns tend to grow all over the place.
Spectacular views of the landscape- we were lucky that it didn't rain that day. This is a view from a bird watching area.
After seeing the Islas Cies we drove to Santiago so that we could attend mass the next morning and watch the Botafumeiro.
Dinner! It was the seafood platter- Mom and Dad would be so proud! I hated seafood as a kid, but I really got into this plate of razor clams, regular clams, crab legs, shrimp, percebes (goose barnacles in English) amongst other things.
The Cathedral of Santiago Apostel at night time.
Below- My video of the Botafumeiro- a large censer that weighs 53kg and reaches a speed of 68km/h. Its original purpose was to perfume the air in the cathedral- the pilgrims were (and some still are) quite stinky. It is still used today on special occasions, like Pentecost, when we were there.
This is the cute little casa rural where we stayed in Finisterre. Below is the view we had from our room!
The small port of Finisterre.
Finisterre- the End of the Earth in Latin, really it is supposed to be the western most point in continental Europe- apparently they were wrong and the actual point is a bit farther north.
The lighthouse on the "End of the Earth" Beautiful views from on top of the mountain!
Before leaving Galicia we had a great meal. Caldo Gallego and some more Percebes- Goose Barnacles. The percebes resemble a finger, and to eat it you hold on to the "nail" and then peel off the skin and eat the fleshy part underneath. I would say that it tastes like the sea. Yum!
This was a funny sign with warning that I actually needed... :(
Thank God for emergency-breaks!
Este fin de semana cogimos un vuelo barato a Rumanía. Fuimos a Targu Mures- una ciudad en la provincia de Transylvania. En total fuimos a tres lugares distintos, pero todos dentro de Transylvania. Aunque no había una larga distancia entre los pueblos dura mucho tiempo para viajar de un sitio a otro por las malas condiciones de las carreteras.
Las primeras fotos son del casco viejo de Targu Mures
This past weekend we caught a cheap flight to Romania. We went to a place called Targu Mures- a city in Transylvania. We went to three different towns all in the same region. Although there wasn't much distance between the places it took a long time due to the poor conditions of the highway. The first pics are of the old town in Targu Mures.
El palacio de cultura con un techo de azulejos de colores The cultural palace with a roof of colored tiles.
Una iglesia ortodoxa An orthodox church
Después fuimos a Sighisoara y finalmente a Sibiu. Mientras conducía veía muchas escenas curiosas- como esta abajo donde se ve la gente con carro y caballo. También se veía gente en la carretera con carro y caballo (en la foto siguiente), parece ser que Rumanía es un país atrasado comparado con España o Canadá, y por eso tenía mucho encanto. We went to Sighisoara afterwards and then finally to Sibiu. As I drove I saw a lot of interesting things- many people riding in wooden wagons pulled by horses on the highways. Also, people working in fields using horse carts. It would seem this country is still quite backward compared to Spain or Canada- and this was part of its charm.
Aquí estoy con gorra del equipo de fútbol de Rumanía en una de las tres plazas mayores de Sibiu. Here I am in one of the 3 main squares in Sibiu- sporting a cap with the Romanian soccer team.
Una iglesia de Sibiu y abajo la bandera de Rumanía y los edificios de una de las plazas. A church in Sibiu and below the Romanian flag and some buildings in one of the plazas.
Las tres siguientes son fotos de un museo al aire libre que se llamaba Astra- era un museo que demostraba la manera en la que la gente vivía antes en ese país. Abajo se ve un granero, y varios molinos- uno de agua y los demás de viento. The following three pics are from an open-air museum called Astra- its purpose was to show how people lived and worked long ago in Romania. Below there is a barn, and some windmills and a waterwheel.
Otra escena desde la carretera- una ovejas y un perro en un prado y al fondo, un camión con cajas con colmenas. Another view from the highway- sheep and a dog in a field, and in the distance a truck with boxes for bees.
Cinc Sentits es un restaurante con una estrella de Michelin. Nos invitaron dos amigos para cenar la semana pasada y hicimos todos el menú de degustación, ¡era un pasada de buena!
Cinc Sentits is a restaurant with one Michelin star. Two friends that were visiting here invited us to eat there last week, we all did the tasting menu and it was fantastic!
Aquí se ve una tela con información sobre el restaurante A cloth with some information about the restuarant.
Un entrante- aceitunas, piel crujiente de bacalao y almendras. An appetizer- olives, crunchy cod skin and almonds.
Un chupito de nata, sirope de arce de Canadá y flor de sal. A shot of cream with maple syrup (from Canada!!) and fleur de sel.
Foie y nueces encima de una coca y puerros.
Foie and nuts on top of a crusty pastry and leeks.
Guisantes con una flor de ajo Peas and a garlic flower.
Bacalao, ravioli de gambas, y una ostra reconstruida. Cod, shrimp ravioli and a reconstructed oyster.
Lechón asado. Suckling pig.
El plato de quesos The cheese plate
El primer postre- granizado de limón con fresas. The first dessert- lemon snow and strawberries.
El segundo postre- sándwich de chocolate, un trocito de pastel y un caramelo. The second dessert- chocolate sandwich and a piece of cake and a caramel.
