Seeing El Pueblo

Today I was lucky to sleep in a bit, and after breakfast was dropped off at Francine's place. While she got lunch ready, I got the fire ready and relocated some of her firewood; it had been sitting in the rain so I moved large piles under cover for the future. For lunch we started again with the Calçots, which is something I could get used to. To reiterate, the calçots are the large onions roasted over an open flame until charred. You take them one by one, pinch the end of the bulb, and slide the charred outer layers to expose the juicy, inside, before dipping them in a nice tomato and oil-based sauce. It's extremely enjoyable and something I am glad to have taken advantage of, as they are only available one month a year, February. After calçots we enjoyed some green beans pan-fried with goat cheese and onions, alongside some rice and a boiled egg. Hot tea and Spanish chocolate was enjoyed after. This is beginning to sound like a blog about foods I encounter, eh? Soon after lunch, we leashed her dog Nois, and began our walking tour of the city (she lives very close up the mountainside). Tortosa is a beautifully historic city, and seems relatively unchanged. Multiple times per annum the people enjoy medieval fiestas and parades through the streets and at the castles. I was able to stroll through the historic Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim neighborhoods, explore a couple of the castles and enjoy a cold Estrella Damm (Catalonia Beer) before the rain started and we began to head home. We still managed about a 3 hour walk through the old city.

Tomorrow I'll be pruning olive trees and whatever else is needed. More to come on that. For now, some pictures of the last few days in Spain. I am only able to upload these three right now, as internet won't stabilize long enough to get the rest, so that will be for next time, and hasta luego.

Mercadona's chocolate-filled paradise

View from the bus to Zaragoza

My cottage on the far,