Truffle Festival & Culinary Delights

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December 10^th was Anatolijus’ birthday so for his birthday weekend, Dec 8-9 we indulged in a number of culinary delights.  On Saturday the four of us drove 1 hr and 45 mins south to the small village of Sarrion which holds an annual International Truffle Festival.  These black truffles are cultivated and harvested by dogs and pigs.  In the small pavilion there were booths representing all different parts of the process and produce of the truffle industry.  We tasted cheese infused with truffle, truffle sausage, truffle liquor, olive oil infused with truffle and a lovely onion and truffle marmalade.  Anatolijus bought one of each and then realized his dream of buying his very own truffle and truffle cutter.  We did not spend a long time in Sarrion but came away with many delicacies.  The next day Anatolijus and I made our first Truffle Risotto which was ‘fenomenal’!!!  Anatolijus also made a peppercorn and rosemary encrusted beef tenderloin and we paired it all with a bottle of Sangiovese a friend brought from Italy.  As a starter, we made a terrine of foie gras with tarragon and granny smith apple (a recipe of our good friend Marc).  What a feast!

On Sunday Grace, Tessa and I made Anatoijus a very special birthday cake.  Tessa is obsessed with watching YouTube videos of Betty Crocker kitchens and Nerdy Nummies which teach you how to make and decorate amazing types of cakes.  So inspired by Tessa we undertook to make the “Hamburger Cake”.  The candies we needed are not here in Spain so we improvised and were delighted with the results.  Take a look!!

Lastly, after all this cooking I then proceeded to spend the next two days in the kitchen baking traditional Canadian Christmas treats for, ‘Cathy’s Canadian Christmas Coffee Party” (CCCCP in short).  I invited a number of moms from the school and prepared fresh scones, Nanaimo bar, decorated sugar cookies, banana bread and scotch shortbread.  There were a few hiccups with some people not able to come and some coming late and others leaving early – however overall I was very pleased!

Now time to get ready for Christmas and do a bit more baking, cooking, grilling, tasting….

Sarvise in Pyrenees

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On the weekend of Nov 16-18 we spent a wonderful weekend in the Pyrenees with our good friends Eduardo and Sira, and their children, Edu and Claudia.  We rented a lovely Casa rural which was grey stone and looked old but in fact is a new build so has all the heating and plumbing of a modern home.  It had two separate apartments and a lovely yard.  We arrived at night and could hear sounds and realized it was cow bells from the pastures surrounding us.  In the morning we were in for a treat, we opened the curtains and the mountains were aflame with yellow, orange, red, green and brown.  The autumn colors are particularly spectacular this year due to a warmer and longer fall.

On Saturday morning we started with a great crepe breakfast then went for a short walk down the road to where the horses were.  We all saddled up, for a wonderful one hour trail ride by the pastures, through the forest and down by the river.  This was Tessa's first time on a horse and she was a little nervous, however with a little encouragement she was hoisted onto her lovely brown mare and she was at the front of the line with the man walking leading her horse.  It was so wonderful to be in the mountains surrounded by beautiful nature, this is something we miss living in a desert.  A highlight for the girls was the four week old kitten that came to play; he basically kept them entertained the whole weekend.  One funny thing is that the kitten’s name was socks because of its white feet, and in Spanish the name is calcetines – not quite the same feeling as the English word.

In Spain Comida is the main meal of the day and it is at approx. 1:30pm - our lunch but they always have a proper hot meal.  On Sat we planned to make a big Comida as Eduardo enjoys cooking very much just like Anatolijus.  We were given the use of a chimney, literally a metal shaped structure we could build a fire in with a chimney.  You then put your food on grills that sit in the fire and cook.  Our menu included: fresh artichokes, tomatoes and large green onions cooked right in the fire, sausage, steak and teriyaki chicken wings.  We also did skewers of mushrooms, red pepper, cherry tomatoes and onion in balsamic vinegar.  WOW!!!  Anatolijus' new favorite thing is fire roasted onions.  To wash this great meal down we enjoy a number of good Spanish red wines – Protos and Priorat, to name two.  We now completely understand the Spanish siesta and its importance after drinking and eating that much in the afternoon.

On Sunday we were able to drive into Ordesa National Park which is fabulous.  It has beech tree forests that are beautiful with their white trunks and colored leaves.  There is a lovely river which we walked along and although there is a famous 4 hour walk/hike we weren’t prepared for that so will go back in spring or summer to enjoy more of the beauty of the Pyrenees.  

Living a dream: Extreme Sailing Series Nice

Pictures from the event are here

Videos from the live race is here

Nice promo video is here

Bliss. 25 degrees and torquoise water.  Light Mediterranean breeze caressing the palm trees that welcome a small group of visitors to the airport. Welcome to Nice!

Exactly one year ago we saw that the Extreme Sailing Series of Formula 40 catamarans was coming to Almeria, Spain. Unfortunately we weren't able to go. At the same time our interest in  being a part of this exciting event was peaked so we immediately checked the schedule for 2012 and booked a hotel in Nice, France, the closest venue to Spain.  To put some context around the importance of this event one must go back to 2001.  At that time Anatolijus was a keen sailor of HobieCats and in 2001 at one of the starts of the Swiftsure race he saw a Formula 40 catamaran called Dragon Fly and a dream was born: one day to sail on one of these.  As with many of his dreams, he put it on paper and....

So we got to Nice, weather was amazing. We got a very nice hotel with a little balcony several tram stops away from the Promenade Anglais (main promenade of the city on the sea) where the racing event was to take place.

The amazing thing about the Extreme Sailing Series is that their main purpose is to promote extreme sailing and bring it to the masses.  The event is free to watch from the shore and the stadium style racing allows spectators to see and hear the action, take pictures and make friends.  At the same time, the event is televised and is streamed live over the Internet.  We were very excited to see the event up-close.  Of course, getting onto one of the boats was not possible, because, according to the event site, you had to buy a hospitality suite (I believe they were starting at about 7k) which included one sail on the catamaran.

As we arrived on Thursday, we anticipated the first event but it was cancelled due to too much wind.  The next day there were races planned in the morning and afternoon, but we decided to take a train to Monaco and Monte Carlo to maximize the morning.

In Monaco we saw the harbor with a million massive yachts, we saw the Ponant cruise yacht coming into the harbor (the yacht is famous as in 2008 it was hijacked by pirates), visited the Royal Palace, which is a very nice place to visit and has an excellent audio guide, went to Monte Carlo to see the casino and admire Lamborghini, Bugatti, Bentley and Ferrari exhibits in the street.  I am not sure why we always imagined these places to be much bigger, but they were much cozier and had a very friendly, rich feeling...

We got back to the Promenade Anglais for the second set of racing and enjoyed the spectacle.  The race included several crashes we could see and hear which took 2 of the 8 boats out of action.  They  both had to go back and make repairs for the next day's sailing.  In the meantime, my head was full of thoughts on "I need to find a way to get on one of these!" so following the philosophy of "if you never ask you never win" I dialed the UK number of the event hospitality organizers to see if there is any way to buy a "ticket" to get on a boat.  A lady answered, but she had no info on this and said she would get back to me.  In the meantime, we went to check out the Extreme Sailing gear that was being sold at the racing village on the promenade.  There I asked one of the people working at the store if there was any way to get on one of the boats.  He said that I should talk to the woman who is the event coordinator.  He introduced me to Priscille and she was very energetic and excited about me being excited.  She said: “so nice to see fans that love this sport” and was very surprised we flew in just to see the event.  So I asked if there was any way to get onto one of the boats and she said "there may be", she just needs to check if there are any VIP tickets available.  Just as I am talking to her, my phone rings and I am getting a callback from the UK number from a different woman to whom my message was forwarded.  As we are talking we realize we are standing about 10 feet away from each other.  She tells me she got my message about tickets and was calling back to let me know there was a POSSIBILITY!!!! So I was standing there with the two very nice ladies telling me that Cathy and I could have VIP tickets for the Saturday hospitality suite which would include one live race on a Formula 40, spectator trips on zodiac inflatables to watch event from the water and full day access to the hospitality suite which is right on the edge of the promenade overlooking the race course.  At that point the price didn't really matter, as how can you put a price on living a dream!  So we said we are in and the ladies were very happy to have their new, extremely excited VIP guests.  To add to the excitement, Priscille told me that she would also try to see if she can get me onto two sailings on Saturday.  We finalized the details sitting in the VIP lounge sipping a drink and tasting what our future held.  Needless to say it was hard to fall asleep that night.

The next morning we got a call saying we needed to be at the race village at 10 and my first sailing was on!!! So we got there, I got into my sailing gear and we headed off to the harbor.  Cathy also came to go on the zodiac to be the official photographer of our first sail.  We got to the boat, got our instructions, met our crew-mates (guest sailors and crew). Our boat name was ZouLou skippered by a French skipper and we were off.  We got to put up sails, winch some sheets and steer a bit.  There was not much wind in the morning but we did manage to fly a hull with full sails and spinnaker deployed, it was amazing.  The nice part was meeting several very interesting (and I later learned, important) people.  We later had a nice time in the VIP lounge, exchanged info and I was able to send them video and photos I took with them.

After the sail they asked us if we were interested to go in the media zodiacs to watch the race from the water, to which we said yes (of course).  So we spent about 2 hours watching the races up very close, chasing the boats to get best views and shots.  It also allowed us to get a good perspective on how fast Formula 40s are...

As we were flying around, I was told I was slotted to go on the Formula 40 during the 3rd race of the second set.  When it was time the team zodiac came and picked us up, I handed over the photo equipment to Cathy and then I was delivered to the sailboat.

I got to ZouLou and boarded.  The crew was surprised to see me again, sailing for the second time.  Later I found out that there is a max one sail per VIP and that day, after my race they cancelled guest sailings due to conditions being too windy and dangerous.  So I got on, got my GoPro video cam setup and got ready for the pre-start sequence.

Things were different from the morning sail.  Things were intense before the race even started and it was interesting to see accomplished sailors concentrating, adjusting, counting and getting their mental state set to WIN.  The race started and the work began.  Pulling, jumping, hanging on the edge, tripping, avoiding the boom hitting me on the head.... Even without having to actually do anything for the boat, I was busy keeping out of the way and acting as the "rail meat" to provide some weight once the boat was flying the hull.  I also have to say that with all the adrenalin, coming to a near collision (you can see it in the video at about 5min 40s mark when The Wave Muscat came within inches of crashing with us) the race seemed to last an hour versus the 15 minutes it really was.  We finished the race, I thanked the crew and we went off to the VIP lounge.

At the VIP lounge upon our return at about 5pm, they served champagne as we finished watching the final races of the day.  We met lots of people from the event and many sponsors: SAP, Oman Air, Extreme Sailing and media.  Priscille and the others continued to be excellent hosts throughout the evening.  After the races we got invited to the staff BBQ that was happening late at night, which ended up being amazing.  All in all we felt like VIPs and the experience was truly unforgettable and worth it!

The next morning I went to the harbor where the boats were moored to get my team shirts that crews had promised me the evening before (things you cannot buy in a store) and said goodbye to my new friends.  Then we went to the real French flower market, had breakfast and headed out to the airport.

While at the airport we could see the boats lining up for the final set of races for the Sunday.  My dream was accomplished and we were very happy to be heading back.  Our plane got delayed an hour, but after an experience like this I was just sitting and quietly smiling to myself... My blue suitcase nicely matching my Extreme Sailing shirt I was wearing.... An experience we will both never forget...

Look at me now!

El Pilar Festival

In Zaragoza the most important day of the year is October 12^th, the celebration of the virgin of El Pliar.  In 2009 a record 450,000 attended the festival and this year saw many people come again.  The central activity is the ‘Ofrenda’ (offering) in which thousands of people in traditional dress process with flowers that are placed around the figure of the virgin which is sitting 40 feet high with a structure around it to hold the flowers.  The people who come with the flowers are dressed in traditional outfits from their city, or village or country and belong to a group that participates every year.  This year Anatolijus wanted to do more than just watch the procession; so he and his colleague Nacho borrowed traditional Aragonese outfits and through a woman at work were able to join a national police group, process and offer flowers to the Virgin.  Anatolijus looked very ‘authentic’ in his traditional dress called Baturro and is now considered ‘Mano’, which is a person of Zaragoza. 

During the festival, the town bull ring is open and there are 12 days of bullfights planned out.  This year one of the special events was the return of Juan Jose Padilla, the bullfighter that last year was gored in the eye and almost lost his life.  We had best seats for the event and watched this incredible bullfighter brave yet again those 1000+ lbs bulls.  On one hand this seemed very brave, on the other hand…

What was most amazing was the fact that he regained all of his motor skills and put on an amazing show exactly one year later after his injuries.  He ended up getting 2 ears (best ever performance gets you 3) and he was carried out of the ring on the shourlders of his friends.  As a special gesture, he dedicated one of the bulls to the doctor who saved his life.  We were told that this doctor only specializes in bullfighter injuries and when the bullfighter enters the ring, he first looks if this doctor is there, to feel more assured for the fight.

On Saturday we decided to go for a day trip to Olite which is 1.5 hours from Zaragoza and has a fabulous castle that is not very well known.  Olite is surrounded by vineyards (Navarra region, famous for its rose and red wines) and has a number of bodegas right in the town.    The castle has been restored and rebuilt in a number of projects but the space to explore is huge and there are at least 4 or 5 towers to climb for incredible views.  The next day my legs were a little sore as the spiral staircases never seemed to end!   One of the main reasons for going to Olite was: we tried to visit last May when Edita (Anatolijus’ mom) was with us but it was raining so hard we couldn’t even get out of the car.  So when she returned this October we went back on a beautiful sunny day that showed off the interesting landscapes and geography.  We packed a picnic and ate it overlooking the Puenta le Reina which is a bridge that brings the two paths of the “Way of Saint James” together as pilgrims then make their way to the famous Santiago de Compostella.    The bridge is in a small town of Gare and is about 30 mins from Olite and while we were there a number of pilgrims passed by on the bridge.  It was a very ideal place for an afternoon picnic.

That evening, to say our goodbyes to the festival of el Pilar, we went downtown without kids to see the Rosario de Cristal (crystal rosary), which is a procession of people, dressed in traditional costumes, carrying candles, floats made of glass and chanting the entire rosary.  We had a cerveza nearby and finished our evening at an amazing vegetarian restaurant called Baobab.

Then was Monday.  Back to reality, which takes a couple of days getting used to.   

On a separate note, just before the Pilares, we had our very good friends Alma and Evaldas visit us from Lithuania.  We had them only for a few nights, but managed to cover Spanish cooking, Spanish wines, some key tourist attractions and just catch up.  It was very wonderful to see them again and speak some Lithuanian.

The City of Lights!

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In the summer of 2010 when we told Grace and Tessa we were moving to Spain we promised them we would take them to Paris.  On September 15th we made good on our promise and spent 3 days in the City of Lights.  There is a Ryanair flight that goes directly from Zaragoza to Beauvais airport which is one hour and fifteen minutes north west of Paris.  There is a direct shuttle bus into the city so it was very easy and then we took the metro and had to walk 10 mins to our 'hostel'.  We were very fortunate to find out about a Catholic hostel that is in the heart of Paris, 1.5 blocks off the Champs-Élysées, and is reasonably priced.  Adveniat is the association and they provide you with sheets and we had two rooms with private bathrooms.  The place is very modern and nice with friendly helpful people.

The first morning we headed out and walked 25 mins along the river to the Eiffel Tower.  It has been a while since we were all very excited to see something and we were not disappointed.  We bought 'skip the line' tickets and had a great guide who made it very interesting.  Did you know Gustave Eiffel had to pay 80 percent of the cost to erect the tower for the World's Fair and then as a way to recoup his money he made a deal that he would get the revenue for the next 20 years?  (By the way, the tower was supposed to be taken completely down after the fair of 6 months)  Interestingly he made all his money back in the first 6 months!  The day was sunny and clear so the views were spectacular and Anatolijus took amazing photos.  Grace and Tessa were a little nervous when we took the elevator to the sommet (summit) but the view from the very top was incredible.

Following our time at the Eiffel Tower we took a taxi down to the Latin Quarter where a former colleague of Anatolijus now lives.  She and her partner had invited us to their apartment for lunch and it was so lovely to be 'in' a neighborhood and not just looking at it.  The lunch prepared by them was amazing and by far the best meal we had in Paris, thanks to our friends.  After eating we went for a walk to Pont Neuf and then to Notre Dame, it was Sunday and a Mass was starting so we were able to enter for free to look around.  We walked through the Latin Quarter and the girls each got gelato which was scooped to make a flower - lovely and tasty.

On our second day we headed out walking once again but this time we went up to the Champs-Élysées around the Place de la Concord and then through the Tuileries Gardens to the Louvre.  We had not planned to go to the Louvre but the line-up was short so we went and hit the highlights of Mona Lisa, Venus di Milo, Winged Victory and some of the Egyptian display (Grace's choice).  After our whirlwind tour we had to walk very quickly to the George's Pompidou Centre where we had reservations for lunch at the roof top restaurant.  The lunch was very nice the sun came out just as we were eating and we had great views of Sacre Coeur, Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame.  One food reviewer described this restaurant as “The food was amazing.  I do not remember what I was eating because of the view”.  It was true.  We were then ready for another 2.5 hour stint viewing the history of Modern Art which was fabulous.  The girls really enjoyed it as well and interestingly Grace said she liked the feel of Pompidou better than the Louvre.  At the end of our time we went to the children's gallery where they had an interactive display about funny things children say when they are little.  Grace and Tessa each wrote and drew their example and then they got to videotape their examples which are shown in the exhibit!   The museum then emailed it to us they will be included in the videos that are playing in the gallery - very cool! So you could say our girls were displayed in a museum J.

We were all tired after our long day so we had a coffee at a cafe looking at the modern Art museum, the building is 'inside out' and very fun to look at.  We then got subway sandwiches and took the Metro back to our hostel.  At 8:45pm we got ready and walked 10 minutes down to the river Seine to see the Eiffel tower lit up and then at 9pm on the dot the whole tower sparkled for 5 minutes - muy bonito!  We ended the evening sitting in the lounge of our hostel checking Internet and reading children's bedtime stories.

The highlight of our last day was visiting San Chappelle which is a small chapel where Louis IV kept the relics from the Holy Land (supposedly the actual Crown of Thorns!).  The amazing thing about this chapel is that the whole thing is stained glass.  They are in the process of restoring the windows and the process is incredible.  People who love puzzles and have an amazing attention to detail are good candidates for that job.  The rest of the day involved Anatolijus needing to be on a three hour call with work and the girls and I buying Eiffel tower t-shirts and necklaces.  Our flight left at 7:05pm but with catching the shuttle bus and needing to be there early we finished touring at 3pm retrieved our luggage and had a stress free journey home.  We all thoroughly enjoyed our time and all of us are keen to go back again.  We will watch for deals on Ryanair and a cold, rainy February weekend may be the perfect time to go and explore the Musee D'Orsay, Invalides and Versailles.

Festes d'Algemesi

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On return from Canada vacation, we headed down to Algemesi, close to Valencia, where our friends Katia and Vicente invited us for the fiesta de la Madre de la Salut (Mary mother of health).  This festival last year was declared an UNESCO World Heritage event and we got to experience it in from row seats, literally.  On the Friday night when we got there, Katia arranged for us to have seats in the street through which the processions were passing, and because the streets are so narrow, there is no place to stand for tourists, unless you know someone and have reserved seats along their houses.

Just as last year in their fiesta of the bulls (which starts two weeks after this fiesta) we were overwhelmed.  The procession started at the city square, main Cathedral and City Hall, where they start with muixerangas, which are pyramids built of humans, who are dressed in colorful costumes.  Blue ones are the traditional muixerangas, where previously only men participated (that is so Spanish!) and the green ones are relatively recent alternative muixerangas which developed as a movement to include both men and women.  In fact, the green ones are much more advanced as they push the limit of height and risk.  In one of the pyramids the next day they had the child on top of the pyramid grab onto a black scarf lowered from the 4th story of a building and the greens on the balcony pulled him all the way up.  You can only imagine the crowd at that moment, truly incredible!

So on Friday night we had our seats and experienced the procession with muixerangas and dances.  After a nice Spanish dinner we went to the procession at about 10pm and the procession went till about 1:30 in the morning.

The processions start with muixerangas teams walking through the streets and building different kinds of pyramids every block.  At times multiple pyramids are built simultaneously, and some have layers of multiple rings of people on top of one another while others are a single stack of people up to 7 or 8 high with no support other than the bottom.  Typically a child climbs to the top and when there he or she stands on one foot and with hands horizontally to the sides.  And sometimes in the process they fall.... Of the entire thing tumbles... In any which way, it is a spectacle to watch and see...

Then they have special dances where men and women dance with batonettes (which are wooden sticks) and brass cymbals, which they clang against one another in a very specific pattern to their traditional music.  The dance is very intense and quite hazardous if your face or arms get out of sequence, because you can get clanged right into your face.... In fact, many men feature blistered and bleeding hands after 3 days of processions... I am sure some refreshments keep the spirits and the flesh high for the duration of the processions.

Women do same dance, though not as violent, but still with enough force and attitude to command the respect of the spectators.  Their costumes are blue (men's are red) and the hats are adorned with colorful peacock feathers.

In the midst of the processing dances there are groups of children performing theater acts to raise money for their clubs, special traditional dances with tambourines, and the Valenciano artichoke dance, where kids dance around a pole with ribbons attached to the pole.

Of course, no fiesta in Valencia would be complete without valencianas, which are men and women dressed in traditional Valenciano costumes and dancing a traditional dance with castonettes.  Definitely one of my favorite dances, as it is so graceful and Spanish, and full of emotion and feeling that is so common to the Spanish south.

And then the procession features the most special dance of men dressed as medieval white soldiers holding very long tapered sticks.  It is a very primal looking dance, maybe resembling a mating call or some very intense and emotional struggle, where at one moment the long sticks get thrown very high into the air in a hope of catching them again.  Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't.  I figured it is better not to look up when they do this, as a 2 meter stick falling onto you from 4 stories high cannot be a good thing.  But all of us were fine, standing in awe of this spectacle....

And then people processed with candles in their hands... Hundreds of people, mostly women, even thought in the recent years men started to join... People make promises, not unlike our New Year's resolutions, and march to demonstrate their commitment.  We tend to eat more turkey and have an extra glass of champagne.

And the grand finale was the Mary herself.  Ushered in by several white kings with humongous candles, cities' dignitaries, the Mary float, while not as large as some of the ones we saw in Seville during Easter processions, was still very impressive, being carried by about 20 men and women of the town.  Everything goes quiet and it creates an opportunity to make a promise, say a prayer or think about those who we value and who we care about. And then it was over.

The next day we were invited to another home with balcony views of the procession, where we saw the event from a different vantage point and in daylight.  I got to see the president of the Comunitat Valenciana, standing at the main entrance of the chapel where Mary stayed overnight.  With my massive photo equipment looking like paparazzi I had no trouble getting into the middle of the famous... So took advantage and snapped away...

After the procession we went to the Casino, which is a spectacular restaurant in an old city casino building.  Lunch lasted only about 3 hours and included about 5 courses, culminating in a dessert featuring but the Mary herself in chocolate and gold!  The girls and Cath and I had an extensive discussion on how to handle the dessert without being sacrilegious: should we start with the baby Jesus' arms, Mary's crown or go for her legs... In the end we worked around the vital parts and no saints were hurt during the lunch in Algemesi.

After lunch we were packed and drove to Cullera, Katia's beach home and spent Saturday afternoon and most of next day on the beach, with about 34 degrees, more Spanish food and fun...

With another wonderful and unforgettable experience under our belt, we returned back on Sunday with anticipation of the children starting school the next day.

Summer in Canada

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On July 10^th Cathy and the girls arrived in Victoria after a fabulous flight that only took 15 hours from Barcelona to Victoria, you cannot do it faster!  Grandma and Grandpa were waiting with open arms and bouquets of flowers for the girls.  The first order of events was to celebrate Grace’s 9^th birthday on July 13^th with a bowling party with our close friends.  It was lots of fun and wonderful for Grace to be with her Canadian friends for the special occasion.  In July we went to our cabin at Cowichan Lake every weekend and were able to have our dear friends Ale, Steve, Sebastian, Daniel and Matias up for a day.  A highlight for us was going to Chemanius Theatre with mom and dad to have lunch and see “Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat”.  It was a wonderful production and we are still singing the songs.  The rest of the month was filled with playdates, dinners with friends, visits to the park.

On July 30^th Anatolijus arrived and we had three great dinners that first week with friends and then went to Cowichan for the long weekend and had wonderful, hot weather.  The next week Anatolijus was able to play some golf, we met our good friend Duncan for coffee who had just arrived from New York and enjoyed a lovely evening with our friends Kathreen and Bill at our old favorite Canoe Club.  We were then off to Vancouver for our traditional sushi feast with the Jenkins and then we headed to Shuswap lake for our 2 week family vacation.  This year the weather was absolutely perfect so lots of time was spent boating, swimming and relaxing.  Anatolijus and Dad did a big job rebuilding the front steps and Susan and Dad painted the deck and stairs – everything was looking spiffy!  In addition to the fish fry with the Bassermans and Lyons we also had a visit from our friends Cathy and Paul Unger who are missionaries in the Solomon Islands but are spending a furlough year in Salmon Arm.  What are the chances that friends living is Spain and the Solomons could meet in Salmon Arm?  Very high apparently, they came with their 5 children on the hottest day so it was great to all be in the water.  Anatolijus and I also spent a night away down in Naramata wine touring, we met our friends Rob and Tara and had a great time!  On our way back to Victoria we stopped in at our friends Sharon and Dan in Abbotsford for lunch and a lovely visit and made it to the ferry in time to see a spectacular west coast sunset.

We then had only three days left before returning to Spain and wondering where all the time had gone.  We feel so blessed to be able to come home to BC to so many friends and family who we love and feel so connected to.  Now we will rely on emails and skype to stay in touch as we continue our adventure in Spain!

Tale of Two Weekends

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 A (short) Tale of Two Weekends and an Update

Weekend One

People are often surprised to learn that Spanish people are interested in sports other than football (soccer).  Currently in Spain, Argentina and Chile many people are crazy about Padel and clubs and courts are being set up to satisfy the demand.  Padel is a combination of tennis and racquet ball and the court looks like a small tennis court.  The racquets are similar to racquet ball in that they have short handles, large heads and are thick.  One thing that makes Padel particularly fun is that you can play off the walls so even a winning smash can be retrieved once it bounces off the wall.  Also Padel is played with two aside so you are working as a team moving from the net back to the wall covering all the space. 

Anatolijus and I learned about Padel as soon as we moved to Spain because we have a Padel court in our complex.  Santa brought us each a racquet the first Christmas and in the Spring I was invited to join a friend and start taking lessons.  One thing I love about the game is from the very beginning you can play well enough for it to be fun, and then as you improve the game can be much more difficult and challenging.  Anatolijus also started lessons last fall and we have enjoyed having friends over to play on the weekend while our children play in the garden.  It is the first time I have been able to utilize the benefits of meeting people and making friends through sport.

So when Anatolijus told me his work, HP, were organizing a Padel tournament for the staff we were first in line to sign up.  On June 2^nd we arrived and there were 42 teams (a great turnout of 84 people) and we were divided into ‘Pro” and “Amateur” divisions, we were in Amateur.  It was a hot day so we got started early and we were pleased to see in our first few matches that our play was at a competitive level.  In fact after 6 matches and being undefeated we found ourselves in the final!  By this time it was 3pm and 39C, but we had been drinking tons of water and PowerAde and Grace and Tessa were our devoted cheerleaders who ‘hung’ out for the whole day supporting us, so we were ready.  We played the best out of nine and if came down to 4 games to 4 and after reaching deuce and advantage about 8 times I served an ace down the middle and Anatolijus and I were the winners!!!!!!  I don’t know who was more excited us or the girls, Tessa was shouting ‘We won”!  It got even better when we were presented with a silver cup (Copa) with the date and event inscribed on it.  This was definitely a first for Anatolijus and I and we were thrilled to have done so well.

Weekend Two

On the first weekend in June we went back to Cullera to visit our friends who have hosted us a number of times.  This time we were invited for a beach weekend which means sitting on the beach, swimming, walking a little, eating, sitting and eating some more.  The weather was perfect, 33C with a breeze and the water was so warm!  For the first time since we went to Spain we didn't visit one castle or cathedral or museum, we just hung out at the beach.  The girls loved playing in the sand and the waves and swimming at the pool and the two days felt like a 5 day holiday - wonderful.

Grace and Tessa

Click on this link to see pictures of this blog

The past two weeks have been important in Grace and Tessa’s school life so we wanted to share what they have been up to.  The girls attend a semi-private Catholic school that has a very good reputation and high standards.  Their school is run by the Jesuits who have been providing education in Zaragoza for 450 years!!!  To say there is a strong foundation when it comes to pedagogy would be an understatement.  Our school schedule is quite different from at home, the regular school day is 9-12:30 then 3:30-5pm.  The time between 12:30-3:30pm includes one hour of extracurricular activities such as drawing/painting, rhythmic gymnastics, basketball, football, French etc.  The second hour they have a hot Spanish lunch with has a first plate, second plate and dessert always accompanied with bread and water and the third hour is an extra course the class participates in such as theatre, computers, English, or study hall.  All of these activities cost extra so families can choose what they can afford and if they want the full schedule.  I would say 98% of children go 9am-5pm every day; my girls go two full days a week and come home for lunch the other three days.

This year Grace has been working very hard in Grade 3, she has an enormous amount of homework and is tested consistently in math, language, social science, English and Religion.  We are very proud of her as her reading and writing in Spanish have greatly improved and without any special conditions she is in the top half of her class.  Her teacher Marta has supported and encouraged Grace every step which has been a great motivation for her.  She really enjoys music class where she has learned to play the recorder and has learned about the great composers and can identify their major works.  Religion is also very interesting for her and the curriculum is very sophisticated.  In addition Grace has just completed the first year of Catechism and next March she will have her First Communion.  To mark the end of the first year the families were invited to a great service in the church and the kids demonstrated what they had been learning.  This was followed by an elaborate merienda (5pm snack) in the cafeteria.  Grace also started private piano lessons in January with a very talented young music student from the Conservatory.  Grace loves Elena and is progressing very well.  Her big event last week was her theater class’ presentation of 3 songs from the musical “Grease”.  Grace had the role of Marty and spoke her line in perfect Spanish and then did 2 dance routines.  We curled her hair for the part and have included a picture for you to see.

Tessa, who turned 6 years old in March, is in Infantile Tercero which is the equivalent to kindergarten.  Infantile includes two years of preschool and then kindergarten, children begin at 3 years old here and many go full day.  Tessa has been blessed with an amazing teacher Marta and a wonderful class of good friends.  This is their second year together as the system here keeps classes and teachers together for 2 years in a row.  Tessa is reading in Spanish and like Grace has been speaking fluently for some time.  She loves school and thus has been very sad that she is graduating to primary leaving behind her beloved teacher Marta and the security of Infantile which is set apart from the rest of the school.   To commemorate this transition Tessa had her “Graduation” ceremony last Friday May 25^th.  It is held in the school theater and all 5 classes of Kindergarten had prepared songs to present.  They also sang all together a lovely song called,”Somos Amigos” (We are friends) and Tessa loved this song so much but it made her very emotional.  To end the ceremony they each wore a ‘cap’ (made by parents) and received their ‘scroll’ from their teacher.  It was a lovely event and we ended by having a small reception back in their classroom.  Anatolijus volunteered to take the pictures of all the children for our class when they received their scroll and he did a great job!

The following day Tessa performed in the end of the year Rhythmic Gymnastics Exhibition which showcases each of the classes.  She did very well and is no longer shy or embarrassed about performing as you can see from the photos.    So it has been a busy time but we are now on ’summer schedule’ which means the girls finish every day at 1pm and we do not go back, instead we head down to the pool as it has been 33C consistently for the past week.  The girls last day of school is June 19^th and on June 17^th our twin nephews, Rhys and Sam, arrive to spend three weeks with us before the girls and I join them flying back to Canada.  So things are going very well with the girls and we are looking forward to our return to Victoria this summer.

Semana Santa en Sevilla (Holy Week in Seville)

Click on the picture above to see the more photos



They say one of the most authentic experiences in Spain is to participate in the Semana Santa in Seville.  The processions go for a full week, day and night, and are world famous attracting millions of tourists annually.  This year our family, including Cathy's parents, enjoyed the spectacle and had an unforgettable experience.

Background
In Seville there are 60 Cofradias or brotherhoods that work all year to raise money and prepare for their procession.  These Cofradias can have up to 300 people in them and all have very long and rich histories dating back to the 15C.  In each procession the main feature is the ‘pasos’ or float that is carried by the costaleros.  One float is of Jesus depicting a scene from the Passion Week and the other one is always of Mary.  These floats are ancient works of art that have been preserved since the 15, 16 and 17 centuries and the only time they are taken out of the church is for this annual procession.  The floats are elaborate and beautiful and extremely heavy.  It is important to understand that the processions are acts of penitence so the costaleros truly suffer as they carry the ‘weight’ on their shoulders or back of their necks.  Also the many people in the processions walk for hours, some in bare feet, as their penance. The people wear special tunics that are a certain color with special emblems and belts.  Also each procession decorates the pasos with particular fresh flowers and candles and the candle bearers carry huge candles that are a specific color for their cofradia.  The tunics are very famous because the hats look like the ones the Klu Klux Klan wore.  I now know that the KKK took it from these deeply religious processions because the covering of the face was meant to hide people’s identity so their penance was anonymous, the anonymity of the KKK was needed for more sinister reasons.


Our Experience
We arrived on Wednesday evening and after having dinner on the sidewalk we bought a few groceries for our apartments and on the way back we saw our first procession as it was returning to the small church Carmen Doloroso on our street.  We had front row seats and could actually touch the float and watched it disappear through the church door. It was then we realized what great accommodations we had as on our streets, Feria and Relator, many of the processions were going to go by and we could watch those from our balconies!
On our first full day we walked to the historic town center to visit Seville Cathedral which is one of the biggest in Europe.  It is beautiful complete with a grove of orange trees in the courtyard and yes the smell of oranges blossoms does scent the air.  We also saw the tomb of Christopher Columbus which is quite impressive. In addition to seeing the cathedral we also climbed up Giralda Tower for a lovely view of Seville and the river.  After lunch we toured Alcazar Castle which is a beautiful example of Muslim architecture, intricate designs with tiles and lovely gardens.  We were tired after touring all day and walking back home so we had a simple dinner back at our apartment and looked forward to a good night’s sleep that wasn't to be.  At 1:00am La Macarena procession went by after having had the Roman soldiers pass by twice earlier with their drums beating. I didn’t mention that most of the processions are accompanied by a brass band and drummers so you certainly know when they are coming.  This long and loud procession went by right under mom and dad’s window so sleeping wasn’t much of an option.  The good thing was that at 9:30am the same procession passed by on its way home so Anatolijus and the girls and I brought breakfast over and were able to watch the procession go by from the coveted ‘balcony view’.  It was really amazing and to top it off as the float of Mary went by the woman in the apartment beside us threw handfuls of rose petals onto the canopy of the Mary float – it was very moving. (see photos)


Once the procession had passed we walked over to Pilates House and toured it, a former palace of the Governor, it boasts a beautiful garden with bougainvillea covering a whole wall in dramatic purple hues, a Moorish styled inner courtyard, intricate tiled walls and carved designs and decorated wood ceilings.  On the walk home as we passed a convent we stopped by to hear and see nuns singing their mass in a small chapel.  In the afternoon Anatolijus and I went to see two more processions but both were cancelled due to rain threats.  When a procession is cancelled it is a big deal as people have prepared and paid to be a part of it and there is no rescheduling, when it is cancelled the Cofradia has to wait until next year.  The reason the threat of rain is taken so seriously is because the figures on the floats were made in the 15 or 1600 hundreds, and are considered to be important works of art and can be damaged by water.

On Saturday we left Sevilla at 6:45am in our rented van and drove to Granada for our 10am tour of the Alhambra. The Alhambra is the most visited site in Spain so being so close we took advantage of the opportunity to see it.  The weather was overcast and there was a cold breeze coming off the snow covered Sierra Nevada’s making it a cool 9C.  We had a guided tour in English which was interesting and the interiors of the buildings are spectacular with their intricate geometric shapes and designs.  The tour was 2.5 hours and it started 1 hour late because it was one of the busiest days of the year to be there.  After our tour we drove down to the old city of Granada and had a great lunch at a quirky restaurant where the waitress was like an old friend.  We thoroughly enjoyed the drive through hectares of Andalusia olive groves going from Granada to Seville, we got back at 8pm after another full and interesting day.

Easter Sunday Morning
In the early hours of Easter Sunday morning the final Resurrection procession leaves for its journey to the cathedral, and it went by our apartment at 6:00am with a beautiful Mary float aglow with candles and only a few people accompanying. It was great to be able to stand on our balcony with the girls still sleeping and experience it and then go to sleep.  We had a nice breakfast at home with mom and dad and then took advantage of still having our rental van and drove to Plaza Espana to see the spectacular tiled benches of each capital city in Spain.  The Plaza was redone 2 years ago and is spectacular with bridges over a crescent shaped water way, a lovely building surrounding, a fountain in the center and horse drawn carriages trotting past.  Plaza Espana is connected to the beautiful Maria Luiza Park, which is considered to be one of the most charming in Europe and we enjoyed our stroll through the flowers, water features and open green areas.  To add to an already full holiday we drove 34 km outside of Seville to a small town called Carmona: it is situated on a rise overlooking the northern Andalusian plain.  We had a nice lunch sitting outside in the sunshine then drove back through lovely countryside due to a misreading of our GPS.
On our last night Anatolijus and the girls and I sat in a lovely pedestrian only area with a big playground and we drank cervezitas while the girls played and made some friends.  We then had a late dinner and strolled home at 10:30pm.  One aspect of Spanish life that we love is the communal experience of living outside with people of all ages gathered together eating, drinking, laughing and sharing.  On our final day we walked back to the historic center and went shopping in the famous barrio Santa Cruz.  We came away with some lovely ceramics to take home as well as feeling full of new sights, sounds and experiences.

Fallas: the buring (CREMA) of one of the Fallas!

Click on the link below to see my video of one of the Fallas buring!

http://youtu.be/6xSWSswS9zQ

Fallas in Valencia

Click on picture above to see photos.

Have you ever seen 400 000 dollars burned in a town square in less that 15 minutes?  How about 400 000 Euros? Well, if your answer is yes, you must have been to the Fallas, one of the main festivals in Valencia. By a once-again generous sponsorship from our Valencian friends Katia, Vicente and Paula, we were hosted to experience the best fiesta in Valencia - the Fallas (faya - that is how you pronounce it).  We just returned from this wonderful fiesta a few weeks ago, and I must say the definition of a fiesta or a party has been changed for me forever....  

I don't think I have ever seen so much dedication and effort put into building something so wonderful and detailed like a Falla (a statue made of cardboard and special expandable-foam) only to be mounted, later admired for several days and then burned on March 19th at midnight in about 15 minutes....

It all starts the day after the Fallas, after the final Falla has been burned.  People cry.  I almost cried.  These wonderful satirical depictions of politics, sports, mystical characters all took a whole year to build.  So after a short, two day long cry, local people seem to recover and start planning the next years Falla.  This consists of the following:

- money, lots of it.  The winning Fallas are truly magnificent pieces of art.  This Year's first place winning Falla was about 30 meters tall and some 100 meters in circumference.

- sponsors, typically a big and successful local company, that coordinates this project for the year.  Normally, the 1st place and 2nd place winners end up winning again, as they keep competing year after year and have largest funds.  But there are others that sometimes succeed, especially as crisis introduced some new dynamics...

- then for one year there are Falla artists that work on the concept and start working on the pieces of the overall statue that gets put together  before the March 19 next year.

- to make the whole system work, each Falla has its own "society" that has members who pay hundreds of euros to be part of the project, which includes organizing, fundraising, building, partying, etc.  Remember,  it is a year long project!  

- each Falla society elects a girl and a woman to be their Fallera minor and Fallera mayor (main faiera and young faiera) who will officially represent the 2 Fallas each society will build: one for children and one as the main feature.

- Falleras, the girls or women representing the Falla typically come from families with means, as the participation and year long events require a lot of funds: dresses that can cost 6k euros, gold jewelry, family sponsored events and parties, list goes on and on.  It has been told that people take out special loans for these events.  You can really feel the pride of the people once you take part in this amazing event.

A little intermission: the history of this fiesta goes back to middle ages, where merchants burned their unneeded pieces of scrap in celebration of the equinox and spring cleaning.  Later, the celebration evolved, helped by the church, to coincide with st. Joseph the saint.  Over the last century the celebrations have become more elaborate and with introduction of polystyrene, the building of massive Fallas has become possible and has become a mass tourist attraction.

In the 18 days preceding the Fallas' main event, the Crema (the burning of the Fallas), on a daily basis there is a mass display of fireworks in the city government square.  The display is called Mascleta, and the purpose is  to make it as loud as possible.  The first one we experienced was from a street beside the main square, as we could not get to square due to the crowds... The sound was so loud, that the ending salvo we could feel in our hair...  

During the last days preceding the main event, we witnessed the offrenda, which is the flower offering to the Virgin of the town, who awaits patiently in the main square, as thousands of Falla societies, represented with amazingly dressed Falleras and society members, march for hours through the city to offer flowers to the virgin.  The flowers in 24 hours build up an amazing coat of the virgin, which is a glorious site...  There are children, youth, mothers and older people all participating in the offrenda march.... There are 365 Fallas participating, multiplied by hundreds of people in each society... So you can do the numbers...

During the last days, there are fireworks in the evening which we went to watch, mascletas every day and, of course, lots of food and wine everywhere, which is a must in any Spanish fiesta.

One night we got back to our home base at our friends at 5 am and the next night at 3 am.  We walked so much that at any point sitting for 10 minutes was a real gift.

Main square Mascleta: on the Monday of the Crema we went to the Government square early.  About an hour ahead of the main event we were able to grab some tapas at a nearby restaurant, a cerveza and have a short break before the earth shattering event.  Then we took our spots and prepared to shock our eardrums.  To be honest, after my first behind the corner experience of Mascleta I brought earplugs.  I was really worried.... But Katia was having fun and kinda calling me a chicken (tourist) so after looking around and not seeing anyone with earplugs I decided to brave it.  Of course, it could have been that everyone was also a tourist.... The show started.  It was loud.  VERY LOUD.  I felt it everywhere.  I must say it is something that you must feel once in your lifetime.  Or get a friend to throw a flash bang grenade at you at home.... Probably a bit cheaper too....  AWESOME EXPERIENCE!

On the night of the Crema, the burning of the Fallas, we went downtown, checked out the 2 competing light districts, that compete for the best display of lights, and then headed for one of the Fallas to be burned. This Falla I fell in love with.  Not sure why, but the faces of these clown statues were kind of sad yet very fitting for the occasion.  At about midnight, assisted by about a dozen firefighters, the Falla was prepared for the main event.  It started with a bunch of very loud fireworks and then the statue caught on fire... The flames grew and got larger and larger until the heat was unbearable and I thought my camera was going to melt....  We all had to back up to avoid being scorched...

15 minutes later it was over and we headed to the main city square to witness another Mascleta and then the burning of the Falla put on by the city government, which was as impressive as the number one winner this year...

A side note: the city Falla is represented by Fallera mayor and Fallera minor (these are the Queens of the 365 other Falleras), both of which get elected every year and come from families with major connections and money.  They act as main MCs of the event and give order to the chief pyrotechnic to start the burning of the main Falla, which is the last one to burn in Valencia, at about 1:30 in the morning. 

If you read to the end of this blog you are as tired as we were at the end of the 3 days.  Cathy and the kids left mid day Sunday after we visited a great Valenciano zoo with giraffes and elephants, so I stayed to the end of the fiesta.  It was an amazing time.

Alquezar

[To see the pictures of the events, click on the picture above]   

One of the great things we love about living in Zaragoza is that it is close to so many wonderful places.  Last Sunday we did a day trip to a new area for us, the Somontano wine region.  Somontano literally means 'under the mountains' and this lovely area is in the foothills of the Pyrenees.  On this trip we weren't visiting wineries; instead we had heard good things about the medieval town Alquezar.

In the 16 months we have been in Spain we have seen a number of fabulous medieval towns so our expectations were quite low.  Well the first delight was the drive through green fields, small forests and blooming orchards.  It is times like this that we are reminded of how much of a desert landscape Zaragoza is, green is 'wow' to us.  We were also interested to find out that the pale pink blossoms were Almond trees!  I never knew how almonds grew.

The drive was only 1.5 hrs and as we approached we still could not see the town, then we came over one last rise and WOW!  Alquezar is set down on a ridge with a narrow river valley on one side with hills rising up higher.  The main feature is the Castle which is at the top of the ridge at the far end of the town.  We walked up to it and found that it was first build in 1038.  The views are open on all sides which was really appealing to us.  Another remarkable feature of this area is the large population of carrion birds.  We could see 20 huge birds sitting on a ridge and then watched them all take off into flight.  

The town is beautifully preserved and has a lovely warm feeling to it.  There are many restaurants and bars and we lucked out and had our first real bacon and eggs breakfast here in Spain!  We ended our time sitting on a terrace overlooking a grove of trees with a view back to the Castle sipping on Sangria (Anatolijus had a cerveza) and looking forward to our next visit to this lovely place.

Karen's visit, Albarracin and Teruel

[To see the pictures of the events, click on the picture above]  


On Feb 15 my sister Karen arrived in Spain to spend 2 weeks with us.  In addition to showing her around Zaragoza and having her be apart of our daily Spanish routine, we wanted to show her some of the authentic and beautiful Medieval villages that are nearby.  Karen has a real love for things medieval as she is part of the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronisms) and is very knowledgeable about this time in history as well as the Elizabethan Age.  So on her first Saturday we planned to do a day trip to Albarracin which is 1 hour and 45 mins south of us on the way to Valencia.  In some travel logs Albarracin is considered one of the most beautiful villages is Spain.  The town is set on a ridge with views down each side.  Also a river winds it's way down the Valley creating lovely green space.  We went on a spectacular sunny day and walked the ancient narrow streets exploring the different areas and enjoying the views.  It is always so hard to believe people live there now in modern day; but they do, and you see them taking out their garbage and buying bread etc..

In addition to seeing Albarracin we also planned to stop in Teruel as it is only 20 mins away.  As luck would have it, that very day was the famous Medieval celebration in Teruel   (the Wedding of Isabel Segura) where most of the towns people dress in medieval garb, have markets and demonstrate crafts of the time: like sausage making (very bloody business), falconry and open fire grilling of lots of different kinds of meat.  The town was packed with people and we saw sheep pulling carts, a band of medieval musicians marching down a street, a bull running in the Torico square while 5 men held the rope so he couldn't run into the crowd.  We drank sangria from clay goblets (only 2 euros for a refill), bought trinkets and admired the Mudejar tower and other Muslim architecture.  The sights, sounds and smells made the visit so much more authentic and interesting, and although Karen could spot many 'inauthentic' costumes and chain mail it all added to the fun.

In addition to this day trip Karen and I also visited Sos Del Rey Catolico and Castille de Loarre - on both excursions we were stopped on the road by flocks of sheep following their shepherds to another field.  I have never really seen many sheep here so it was funny that my goat farmer sister was able to attract them - she was very happy to see some animals.

It was also very special to have Auntie Karen here to celebrate Tessa's 6th birthday a few days early.  We invited our good friend Jose to join us and having the dinner table filled with 'family' was lovely for us all, especially Tessa.
The two weeks went so quickly it felt like a time warp so as quickly as she arrived she left, spending one night in Barcelona seeing Gaudi's Sagrada Familia which she saw 25 years ago when back packing through Europe.

it is now only 3.5 weeks until my parents come for their annual visit. One of the key trips with them will be to Seville for Easter, which is the premier festivity in Spain.... so stay tuned....

Shredding Pyrenees!

[To see the pictures of the events, click on the picture above] 


This year has been quite poor for snow in Spain.  Did you know that?!  Despite the minus temperatures that hit Eastern Europe this winter, Spain seems to have avoided most of this, but the downside has been that there was no snow in the Pyrenees.


A friend of mine and I went snowboarding 2 weekends ago to FORMIGAL, a large Spanish ski resort.  When we got there, we were wondering if they invented a new dirt skiing sport or maybe there were some runs hidden on the other side of the mountain.  Having paid almost 50 Euros for the ski lift pass for one day, I was feeling a bit nervous about the potential disappointment.  In addition, it was -12 with additional windchill.  The good news: very few people were there.


Once we got to the top of the mountains, it was better.  They have made snow and, despite some icy patches, the runs were open and quite wide.  It was very sunny and the shredding was ON!


We ended up having a grand time (my friend Nacho was not pleased with my perpetual smile as he was freezing his little body off) and closed down the mountain, utilizing the ski lift very efficiently to the very last minute.  I didn't even stop for lunch....


If you look at the pictures, you wouldn't even be able to tell that there was not much snow.  Regardless, any day on the mountain is better than a day in the (you pick)!


Anatolijus 

Valencia & Cullera: opening 2012 travel season!

[To see the pictures of the events, click on the picture above]

The last weekend of January we had a three day weekend and friends of ours invited us to visit them in Cullera which is on the Mediterranean and is 30 mins from Valencia.  It is a three hour drive from Zaragoza to Valencia but the climate and temperature change is huge.  It was so nice to be at the Sea, being near water is something we miss a lot from our island life.  Anatolijus did his morning walks with Katia on the very long promenade and took some nice early morning pictures.  The other big attraction is the Aquarium in Valencia (largest in Europe) which is wonderful and a part of a new, very modern development by City of Art and Science by famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.  The main highlights were the dolphin show where the trainers go into the water with the dolphins and get propelled through the water and placed back on the side of the pool.  The shark tank was huge and had a glass tunnel through it so we were face to face with a sand shark - very cool.  And for lunch we had Valenciano paella in the fancy restaurant that is surrounded by an aquarium wall.  We also got to see a walrus, beluga whale, penguins, turtles and tropical fish.  It is a very good aquarium that kept us engaged and interested for hours.

After finishing at the Aquarium we walked across the street to the City of Arts and Sciences (Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciencies).  The complex is made up of 4 main buildings including an Opera House, Science World, Imax Pavillion and Tennis Arena and the futuristic style is amazing.  Anatolijus took some amazing photos to capture the feeling; one would not be surprised to see a space ship from Star Trek landing in this area or the Intergalactic Federation housing its headquarters there..

Sunday was a lovely sunny day and after breakfast we visited the castle of Cullera which is high in the hills behind the town providing fabulous views of the water, beach and landscape behind.  Interestingly, in addition to oranges, rice is the other main crop from this region.  It is surprising to see acres of rice paddies having never been to a rice growing area and apparently this area produces 100 million kilos of rice per year.  We left the coast and drove towards Valencia to a nature reserve called Albufera.  It is a very large “lake” with lots of grass and ducks and other birds living here.  It is fresh water and we had a tour around it in a boat that then returned us to a beautiful restaurant where we had another special lunch with Seafood rice and Marques De Riscal Verdejo to match.  One of the great things about Spain is that there is always a playground for children so we were able to have a very leisurely time having a pre-lunch cervezita as the girls were all playing outside – fabulous.

On Monday we visited the center of Valencia to see their old town, cathedral and market.  Valencia has a lovely feel to it with all the palm trees and southern climate and its architecture and plazas are less grand than what we have seen in Madrid or Barcelona, but provide a cozy and very livable feeling.  We did find a Subway for lunch (don’t tell anyone!) so after a ‘footlong’ we drove back through the mountains up to the plain where Zaragoza is and after experiencing 14-16C we are now having clear cold and windy weather with the outside temperature, with windchill,  feeling like -10C today.

48 Hours in Zaragoza

We found a great little video that describes the city of Zaragoza and does a great summary of things you can see and do here.  We even found several things we did not know/do yet!!


Enjoy!  Just follow the link below:


www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVs8mtc04Yw

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!

[To see the pictures of the events, click on the picture above]

Happy New Year!

2011 , what a year for us!!  As many of you know we moved to Zaragoza, Spain in Nov 2010 and we welcomed the New Year in Ireland with our dear friends Gwen and Monty cliff walking along the Irish Sea from Greystones to Bray.  They say what you do on the first day of the New Year can influence the rest of the year and travel was definitely the theme for us (www.anatolijus.eu).

On a more personal note the challenges and triumphs of adjusting to a new culture, city and language have been the focus of our everyday life.  Grace and Tessa began school 10 days after we arrived and they are attending a semi-private Jesuit school which has been a very positive experience.  We have been so touched and pleased with the warmth and care they have received from their teachers and the many support staff.  Here in Spain hugs and kisses and words of endearment are the norm for teachers and this has helped the girls feel safe and cared for from the first day.  We are also delighted with how well they speak and understand Spanish, much better than there parents.  It is an interesting dynamic having to rely on your kids to understand what is going on.  We all like the role reversal and the girls are very helpful.

When we aren't away we are loving our beautiful condo/apartment which we have made into a comfortable home.  Our place is spacious, by Spanish standards, and the whole front of the house is windows.  We have done a lot of entertaining, Canadian BBQ has been a big hit here.  We secured the large stainless steel beauty last Spring and have used it a lot.  Interestingly, in this part of Spain, it is not very common to invite people over for a meal.  People meet at a Bar or restaurant to be together.  Two obvious reasons are that most people live in apartments that are not very big and people always bring their children.  Secondly, eating out is not very expensive so this way kids can run around while parents visit.

It has taken time but we now have some good friends and this makes such a difference for feeling settled and happy.  We certainly miss our family and friends in Canada and are thankful for the ability to Skype and stay connected.  As we look to 2012 we are excited to have family coming to visit. Cathy's oldest sister Karen is coming for 2 weeks in February and her parents are coming March 27th for 3 weeks including 1 week in Seville over Easter.  In July Cathy and the girls will be returning to Victoria and Anatolijus will come August 1st for 1 month.

So we want to wish all of you a very Happy New Year and we love to hear news of you when you have time.

FELIZ AÑO NUEVO!

Cathy, Anatolijus Grace and Tessa

PS.  Below are our three top ten lists from our first year in Spain.

Top Ten Things Spain 2011 (our opinion)

10.  Spanish wines at a massively bargain price

9. Travel opportunities - cheap flights 291 euros ZAZ to Rome 4 people return (long live Ryanair)

8. Fast trains (300km+) and a very good highway system

7. Girls’ Jesuitas (Jesus Maria el Salvador) school

6. Our apartment – great location, pool, sunshine!

5. Baguettes and fresh bread that you can buy daily at your local gas station

4. Warmth and expressiveness of the Spanish people

3. Sunshine most every day of the year

2. Chocolate is actually considered a proper food!

1. Amazing history, which is still here for everyone to see and experience

“Unique” things about Spain/Zaragoza

10.  Spanish love children: the number of pregnant women and children around is amazing.

9.     Eating schedule and rhythm of life: dinner is typically at 21:30 here

8.     Public pool rules - swim cap, sandals, no glasses, lukewarm Jacuzzi

7.     Pig legs (they are everywhere!) – also known as Jamon.  One of the most prized food items, which are also given as gifts to people on Christmas

6.     Store hours 10-2 , closed 2-5, open 5-8 and no stores open on Sundays

5.     There is something about Virgin Mary: most fiestas in Spain are centered around the Virgin.  People take Virgins for walks (on massive an heavy floats); have huge festivities that last weeks; Mary is a major part of people’s lives.  In the meantime, Jesus quietly spends his time in the Cathedral(s).

4.     Ready, Set, Stop:  traffic lights and parking in Zaragoza are incredible.  Traffic lights are every 200 meters and they are not smart.  Rather, they change every 60 seconds.  Hard to get used to J

3.     No fresh milk in the stores.  People do not drink fresh milk here.  Instead, it is all Ultra High Heat tetrapak milk.  Definitely a non-dairy culture.

2.     Supposedly, Spain consumes most seafood per capita in the world!

1.      Futbol is officially a religion in Spain

Top experiences/places of 2011

10. Kayaking down rio Ebro
9. Panticosa and snowboarding in Pyrenees
8. Algemesi (near Valencia) bull fights and Pamplona running of the bulls
7. London visit and London Eye
6. Prague visit and paddleboats on Vltava river downtown
5. Barcelona Sagrada Familia Basilica
4. Salamanca and Segovia
3. Sailing the Meditteranean
2. Girls speaking Spanish
1. San Sebastian - visiting and surfing