Torre del Compte, SPAIN (The UNofficial Site)

Calendar of Events

2009-05-01T22:06:00.000+02:00

≈ • ≈ MAP OF AREA ≈ • ≈

2009-04-04T15:54:00.000+02:00

- Click on Map to Enlarge -

Telephone Numbers

Torre del Compte
Ayuntamiento...................... 978 854 137
Hotel / Restaurant
- La Parada del Compte....... 978 769 072
- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 978 769 073
- Hostal Racó dels Torrats.... 978 854 181
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La Fresneda
Ayuntamiento..................... 978 854 000
Hotel / Restaurant
- El Convent........................... 978 854 850
- Restaurante Matarraña...... 978 854 503
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Valdarrobres
Ayuntamiento..................... 978 850 001
- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 978 890 316
Hotel / Restaurant
- Hotel El Salt....................... 978 890 865
- Restaurante Gerona......... 978 850 570
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2008 June 28 - Fiesta de San Juan

2008-06-28T12:26:00.028+02:00

The actual day for San Juan (Saint John) is 24 June. However, this year we celebrated it on 28 June.

The fiesta starts out with a mass in the San Juan ermita (chapel) across the street from Colin and Margaret's house.

Following the mass, the people from our Peña (club, group) assembled at Colin and Margaret's to use their "Peña Room" and cook a seafood paella. A paella (pie- ā-ya) is similar to the cajun's jambalaya in Louisiana (where I came from). You cook whatever you happen to have on hand, in a pot with rice - sausage, beef, pork, chicken, or seafood. You can either combine the various foods together or make it with just one type of food - this year it was just seafood (my favorite!).

(Every time I have a paella or jambalaya, I think I've died and gone to heaven!)

The cooking started around 2:pm - after the people had time to go home and change into some comfortable clothes.

This year, Rosi and Maribel were in charge of cooking the paella.

We are getting ready to eat.

Colin is opening the wine.

Everybody is ready to eat!

The meal started out with a salad, olives, pickles, boiled shrimp, wine and soft drinks.

Then came the paella!!
There was plenty and there were only 12 of us.

Rosi and Maribel serving the paella.

Jordi and Manolo

Francisco, Joaquín and Rosa Marie
(Francisco is the son of Joaquín and Rosa Marie)

Lola, Pablo, Rosi and Maribel (standing)

Maribel and Rosi - our two chefs today.
They did an excellent job - the paella was fantastic!

Colin, Margaret and Lola

Then came the cava (Spanish champagne), the dessert (a pastry) and an after-dinner drink (usually scotch), followed by coffee.

It was a leisurely lunch. It started around 3:pm and lasted until almost 8:pm.

Hona (o-na) is Colin and Margaret's doberman. She was very well behaved today. When there is something going on in the yard, Hona is kept on the balcony that wraps around 3 sides of the house. Most of the times, she barks a lot because she wants to come down and be part of what ever is going on. But today, the only time she barked was when there were strangers in the street in front of the house.

Floyd and Lola in Colin and Margaret's yard.

The band started playing around 8:pm and ended near 11:pm.

The band plays on the street in front of Colin and Margaret's house.

Everybody in the village is invited to come and dance in the street.

For all who come to the festivities - whether to participate or just listen to the band - in the back of the van, there is cava, soft drinks and pastries - provided by the Ayuntamiento (town hall).

Antonio, the Mayor, serving the cava, and his wife Nieves serving the pastries.

This is Ferran, the baby son of Carlos and Elena

Lola and her friend, Joaquina.

"Pep" and Maria Antonia

Mercedes and Carlos

Everybody - of all ages - has a good time!

But eventually...... "All good things must end."

(Lo siento [I'm sorry] for the quality of this last picture. I will try to get a better one. But I thought the church tower looked really nice from the ermita.)

~•~ The End ~•~

2008 May 1 - La Pobleta d'Alcolea

2008-05-01T17:04:00.021+02:00

My Spanish teacher, Beatriz, and her husband, Miguel, invited Colin, Margaret, Jordi and me to the fiesta in La Pobleta d'Alcolea, a small village where Beatriz and Miguel sell bread once a week.

This was the village's annual fiesta. The village was about 30 minutes away from our village. So, we anxiously accepted their invitation.

When we arrived, we saw the small, pretty village perched on top of a small mountain, 1000 meters (3280 feet) above sea level. This is almost twice as high as our village. The scenery was magnificent! (However, I can imagine the winters must be very cold and windy.)

The festival started off with a mass in the village church.

The inside of the church was in much better condition than the one in our village.

I believe this is a statue of San Roque.

When mass was finished, the church bells rang....

....and the procession began.

We walked from the church to the top of a hill overlooking the village, where there is a tiny cross. (Fortunately, the walk was slow!)

The scenery was breathtaking and well worth walk.

Up....up....up we go. Destination - tiny cross.

When we got to the top, the view was fantastic!

On top of the hill, the priest blessed the cross and prayed for rain....

....then blessed boxes of flat, round, hard pieces of bread - which were then given to each of the people. The flat, round, pieces of bread were made by 25 women - by hand, and from what I could see, each one was different. These were made in Miguel's bakery, and then he baked them.

Miguel is stooping on the ground handing out the bread.

Beatriz is in the red sweater handing out the bead.

This is what the bread looked like.
Like I said, each was handmade and different, some just slightly different.

We hung around on top of this little mountain admiring the view (and me catching my breath) for awhile. I hated to leave it was so beautiful.

The walk back was just as pretty as it was going up.

We then walked back down to the village where snacks were waiting on several tables for the 200+ people that came for the mass and blessing of the cross on top of the little mountain overlooking the village.

When the doors to the building were opened, the people attacked the tables of snacks like a swarm of locust! (I was glad I got my pictures of the tables when I did!)

After most of the people left, Miguel and a few other men started a fire in the bar-b-que pits and prepared to cook a lamb that had been slaughtered and cut up.

When the bar-b-que pits were lit, they were near a pen where a bunch of sheep were penned up and they started getting restless - like they knew what was about to happen and were afraid one of them would soon be roasting on the fire.

Miguel and me checking the meat.

This meal was for the 40+ "invited" guests, which we were happy to be a part of.

Miguel tending the bar.

Beatriz and her friend.

Beatriz and her mother

Miguel's mother

It didn't take long and the meat was cooked and being handed out to the hungry people.

Tables of happy people.

Sauce for your lamb?

Mother and father of Beatriz

Beatriz's father and friends

Floyd, Jordi, Colin, Margaret

Happy and full!

~•~ The End ~•~

2008 Feb 27 - Trip to Illinois and Louisiana

2008-02-27T00:27:00.130+01:00

On 25 February 2008, friends in our village - Georges, Annie and their two sons, Ludovic and Lillian - took me to the Zaragoza airport so I wouldn't have to take the bus.

I left the Zaragoza airport enroute to Stansted, England. From there I would take a bus to the Heathrow Airport. I would have to spend the night near the Heathrow Airport (because of my flight schedule), but then I would fly non-stop from Heathrow to Chicago.

I had not been in the USA for about 4 years. I was going to visit my daughter, Aimée, and her family in Chicago, Illinois for 3 weeks and my sisters, brother and relatives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for 3 weeks. I have kept in contact with everybody and seen them via the internet and a webcam, but now I was going to see them “up close and personal!”

Click on any picture to enlarge it.

I arrived in Stansted (off the top of this map) and took a bus (National Express) to a hotel near Heathrow.

It was necessary to spend a night in London because the flight leaving Heathrow left at 2:15PM and the flight arriving at Stansted arrived at 2:30PM. Therefore, I had to spend the night and catch the flight out of Heathrow the next day.

The flight time from Zaragoza/Pyrenees to London/Stansted - 2 hrs.
The bus ride from London/Stansted to London/Heathrow - 1 hr 30 min.
The flight time from London/Heathrow to Chicago/O’Hare - 8 hr 35 min.

Total travel time: 12 hrs. 5 min.

The Zaragoza airport is located 10km (6.2 miles) south-west from the city centre. It is a joint civil-military aerodrome which is currently experiencing a major increase in passenger traffic with a growth rate of over 77% between 2004 and 2006.

Zaragoza is 2 hours from our village.

For your information

As of April 2008, until further notice:

Ryan Air has changed their flight schedule to and from Zaragoza/Pyrenees:
Ryan Air now has only ONE flight in and out of Zaragoza to Stansted
• Zaragoza to Stansted – LV 10:40pm – AR 11:45pm.
• Stansted to Zaragoza – LV 6:55pm – AR 10:05pm.

However….

Ryan Air now has TWO flights in and out of Barcelona/Reus:
• Stansted to Reus – LV 6:10am – AR 9:20am
• Reus to Stansted – LV 9:45am – AR 11:00am

• Reus to Stansted – LV 10:40pm – AR 11:45pm
• Stansted to Reus – LV 6:55pm – AR 10:05pm

The Reus Airport is approx.:
3 kms (2 miles) from the City of Reus,
13 km (8 miles) from Tarragona and
80 km (50 miles) south of Barcelona.

There is a lot of modernization going on at the airport. A new check-in area has just opened on the side of the old departure terminal and the smallish but modern arrivals terminal is now open. There is also a small kiddie’s playground area with a slide, etc. just outside the departures terminal, by the model of an airplane.

Reus is approx. 1.5 hours from our village.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

My first stop was Chicago, Illinois. I went to visit my daughter, Aimée, her husband, Richard, and my two grand kids, Lauren (10 years old) and Jared (8 years old). They live in Round Lake, Illinois, about 1 hour north of Chicago and about 5 miles (9 km) south of the Wisconsin state line.

I wanted to see some snow (we had not had any in the village for a couple of years)…..and I was not disappointed. When I arrived at Aimee’s house, there was about a foot of snow on the ground. It was a pretty site.

This is Aimée and Richard's House in Round Lake, Illinois

Standing with my back to the garage, these pictures are looking to my left and right.

The School bus stops in front of the house facing the camera (upper right hand corner of the photo on the left).

The deck behind their house was still covered in snow.

The morning after I arrived, Jared came into my room and said, “Paw-Paw, you want to walk with us to the corner where we catch the school bus?” I said I wasn’t sure if I wanted to or not. He said, “Well, you have 15 minutes. Hurry up and get dressed.” I was still in bed with my pajamas on, so I quickly dressed and walked with Jared, Lauren, and my son-in-law, Richard,

It was and 26ºF (-3ºC) when I walked out of the door. The sharp wind cut right through the sweater and down-jacket I had on….I was freezing!! It was only about a half-block to the corner where the children caught the school bus. Fortunately, we only had to wait about 5 minutes before the school bus arrived. I really felt sorry for the kids. But they had on their heavy coats with snow-pants over their school clothes. They were better prepared than I was.

When the children get to school, they each have a “cubby-hole” (it’s like a tall locker with no door). At their “cubby,” they take off and hang their jackets, snow-pants, and show-shoes, Then they take their “school shoes” out of their back-packs, put them on and take their books and homework out of their back-packs and put them in their desk. It’s a chaotic but organized scene! The RE-dressing takes place if they are going outside to play and when school is finished for the day and they are going home.

I was really glad we didn’t have to wait too long for the bus!

ICE FISHING

Not far from their house was a frozen lake. Fishermen had walked out onto the ice with a bucket or crate and their fishing pole. They would cut a hole in the ice, sit on their bucket or crate and fish until they caught something.

I never liked fishing very much…..mostly because I seldom caught anything. And I certainly wouldn’t go sit on a bucket or crate out in the open, on the ice with no protection from the sharp wind and frigid temperatures and hope some cold, hungry, confused fish might bite my hook and I could take home a fresh fish for dinner.

I'm sorry, that just doesn't sound like fun to me. I would much rather go to a climite-controlled supermarket and buy one at the seafood counter. That is much easier….and warmer!

KARATE

Both Lauren and Jared took Karate during the winter months.

I went to their class to watch them practice. After watching them practice, I knew I certainly didn't want them to get mad at me!

"POOKIE" the Traveling Bear

Jared inherited the little traveling bear that Lauren had last year. The bear's name is "Pookie" and is supposed to travel around the United States and the world. Where ever he goes, he send back postcards to his owner in the class. When the postcards arrive, the teacher tells the students and they have to find the city and state - or country - where their bear sent the postcard.

This is a fun way for them to learn geography.

Aimée helps the teachers in Lauren and Jared’s class twice a week. That’s her putting up the postcards with yarn indicating where the postcard is from.

SHOW-and-TELL

That's me answering questions. The girl is Lauren's friend, Katarina, from Russia.

This is a picture of Lauren's class. Lauren is standing in front of me.Lauren asked me to go her class and tell her classmates about Spain.

I showed them where Spain was and where I lived. I told them about the small village we live in and about the 300+ year-old house we live in.

The students then then had a chance to ask me questions – like....

● What type of food do the farmers grow?
► The farmers tend mainly to trees: Walnuts, Almonds, Peaches, Cherries – but mostly Olives

● What type of foods do the Spanish eat?
► I told them about how I had eaten baby octopus fried in butter and garlic for breakfast.
(I don’t think they believed me – but they said they didn’t want any!)

● They asked if the village ever got snow.
► I told them we had gotten a few inches two years ago. Because we don’t get snow that often, the village doesn’t have any snow-removal equipment. So, they take the attitude that “Mother Nature put the snow there; so, Mother Nature can take it away.”

I thought they had many good questions for being in the 4^th grade.

The OSCAR MAYER "Wiener Mobile"

One day, while out shopping, we happened to see the Oscar Mayer Wiener Mobile. This “Big Wiener” mobile (and others like it) travel around the United States advertising the Oscar Mayer Wiener.

When we first saw it, there was a note taped to the door. The people were taking a break. So, they posted a note on the door saying “Be back soon. We are warming our buns!” So, we went back later and they gave us a little whistle shaped like the “Big Wiener” mobile.

BASEBALL

Besides Karate, Lauren and Jared also take baseball lessons. Jared was taking a pitching class. Lauren was taking a class to learn how to pitch and catch.

MEDIEVAL TIMES

One Sunday, we went to Schaumburg, Illinois. They have this castle, where inside – 6 knights put on medieval armor and fight in a legendary competition for the title of “King’s Champion.”

First you entered the castle and went to the table where the (paper) crowns were. You were given a crown and told to go into the Hall of Arms displaying Medieval artefacts.

The Lord Chancellor tells everybody to gather near the Throne because the King was coming to "Knight" some special guests.

The Buglers sounded their horns and the ceremony began.

As part of the ceremony, while we were waiting to go into the arena and be seated, the King "Knighted" many of the guests that were celebrating their birthday.

Unfortunately, neither Lauren or Jared were celebrating their birthdays.

The Lord Chancellory talked to the crowd assembled in the Hall of Arms and told them they would be seated by the color of their crowns. When your color was called, you were to go through the doors into the arena and take your assigned seat. There were 6 different colors, to correspond to the Knights. We had been given a green crown.

Each time your Knight came into the arena, you were to cheer and shout as loudly as possible.

As you can see, we were seated in the GREEN section.

We are really getting excited about see the GREEN Knight. He is the one representing us, and we want him to win.

The Story begins....

After fighting wars for years and sacrificing, King Philippe has finally secured the peace of his ancient enemy, the King of Leone.

His son, Prince Tristan, goes on a mission for his father. He must leave his bride in the King’s care and ride to Leone. He travels to Leone to sign a treaty that will free the two kingdoms from further war. But as fate would have it, he is captured and held prisoner before he can get the treaty signed.

Princess Leonore, a newly wed, longs for the return of her husband, the Prince.
She seeks news of his return and remembers their bittersweet parting.

The Lord Chancellor introduces the Tournament of Knights where the guests of the King will watch incredible feats of skill and daring, performed by the brave champions who come from every corner of King Philippe’s realm.

The parade of colors enters the arena.

We get to see our GREEN Knight for the first time.

The King, Princess and Lord Chancellor welcome the Royal Guests and announce that the games will now begin.

Dinner is served....

We were served a delicious meal of:
- Garlic Bread
- A bowl of “Dragon’s Blood” (Tomato bisque soup)
- A Roasted Baby Dragon (Roasted Chicken)
- Spare Rib
- Herb-Basted Potatoes
- Pastry of the Castle
- Pepsi
- Coffee

All served with NO eating utensils. The bowl and plate were made of pewter. The bowl had a handle so you could drink the soup, everything else had to be eaten with your fingers – just like they did in Medieval Times.

While you ate, you were treated to an exciting, yet touching, story set in Medieval Spain. Along with lots of jousting, swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, extraordinary horsemanship and falconry.

Extraordinar Horsemanship

During the grand celebration, the Herald of Leone brings a message from the King of Leone. It is delivered by this brave horseman, who has prepared a special stallion presentation for the King and
his guests.

The Kingdom is home to a prized collection of magnificent Andalusian stallions. Through the evening the Master of Horse and his team will present the King, Princess and their guests several dazzling displays of superior horsemanship.

At the end of the stallion presentation, the horses bow to the King.

Falconry

The Royal Falconer performs with his mighty bird of prey. The tournament includes a live flight of the royal falcon, soaring over the heads of the King’s guests.

The Royal Falconer teases the falcon by swinging a dead bird around his head while the falcon circles the arena several times before the Royal Falconer finally lets the falcon “catch” his prey.

Jousting

Swordsmanship

Hand-to-Hand Combat

....and then it was over.

The Prince was rescued and reunited with his bride.

The King, Prince, Princess and Lord Chancellor thanked the Knights for a fine tournament and also thanked the royal guests for coming and making this tournament a success.

Lauren was tossed a red carnation by the Green Knight for being an exceptionally enthusiastic fan.

And it's time for us to say good-bye to the Medieval Times -- it was fun while it lasted.

Now back to the present -- with traffic jams instead of Jousting, honking car horns instead of hand-to-hand combat.....and knives and forks instead of greasy fingers!

By the end of a week's stay, the snow had started to melt. I only stayed a week wtih Aimée and family and then headed to Baton Rouge for three weeks. But after Baton Rouge, I will return to Chicago for another 2 weeks.

- Remember -
Click on any picture to enlarge it

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
Home of cajun and creole cooking....and many relatives and friends.

This is the Louisiana State Capitol building. It is 450 feet (137 meters) tall, and has 34 stories.

FAMILY

Most of my family lives in or near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My first sister, Judy, and my brother, Grady, both live in Baton Rouge and near to each other. My second sister, Hedy, lives in Port Gibson, Mississippi (about 2 hours away from Baton Rouge). My aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends either live in Baton Rouge or nearby. So, staying at my sister’s house in Baton Rouge made me centrally located.

(Right to Left)
We are lined up in the order we were born - Floyd, Judy, Hedy, Grady.

(Left to Right)
Grady, his son, Ricky, holding his son, Dakota, and me.

Ricky holding his son, Dakota.

Ricky had invited us to their house for a jambalaya dinner. Needless to say, I was anxious to go because this would be some good, Southern cooking. I was not disappointed!

I felt sorry for Dakota because he was suffering with an inner ear infection, but although he was hurting, he managed to smile for the camera.

This is Grady's (my brother) family with their spouses -
Ricky (holding Dakota) and his wife Jessica Britney and her husband Steve Linsey and her husband Jim

Bambi, Judy's daughter, and me.

(Left to Right)
Floyd, with Bambi's son, Vincent.

(Left to Right)
Floyd, Vincent and Hedy

(Left to Right)
Floyd and Hedy.
Hedy lives in Port Gibson, Mississippi. She came to Baton Rouge and stayed for a few days when I first arrived. When she returned to Mississippi, she developed pneumonia and was not able to come back and visit longer. She's well now and, thankfully, didn't have to go to the hospital.

Vincent's Grandmother, Judy, and Aunt Connie gave him a huge plastic duck for Easter. He loves it and tries to carry it all around the house with him. Sometimes he sits on it, sometimes he lays on it, but most of the time he wrestles with it.

Vincent is such a happy baby. He smiles almost all of the time. I tried to find a little space in my suitecase so I could take him home to Spain, but unfortunately there was no room.

Hayden is Cindy's son. He is really getting big. He is now going to school and speaks very well. Unfortunately, he wasn't feeling very well the day I was trying to take his picture and was being uncooperative.

(Left to Right)
Floyd, Nancy (Grady's wife) Britney and Grady
One night the five of us went out to dinner at the Olive Garden Restaurant. The meal was wonderful. I had pasta with a seafood sauce.....fantastic! And best of all....I had a great time.

After the meal, we went to a little ice cream parlor for dessert. By the time we had finished dessert, I thought somebody would have to roll me to the car, I was so full.

(Left to Right)
Britney, Nancy, Steve, Grady --- Floyd, Nancy, Steve, Grady

(Left to Right)
Cometa and her daughter, Julie
Besides my relatives, the two people I wanted to see in Baton Rouge were Cometa and Sherry. I went to school with them in grade school and high school. I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of Sherry. We keep in touch with each other via email, but it was really nice to be able to sit and talk with them face-to-face.

Sherry, send me a picture so I can put it here in my blog.

PLACES OF INTEREST
IN BATON ROUGE
Plus some facts and trivia

NEW State Capitol Building
The Louisiana State Capitol building is located on a 50-acre piece of land, which includes the capitol gardens and Capitol Lake. The structure was completed in March 1932 after 27 months at a cost of $5 million.

The modern capitol building replaced the Old Louisiana State Capital building, which was built in 1847.

Facts:
● Tallest state capitol in the

United States

.

● The capitol is surrounded by a fifty-acre park with ten miles of walks and drives.

● Tallest building in Louisiana from 1932 to 1969, when it was surpassed by Plaza Tower in New Orleans.

● There is an Observation Deck is on the 27th floor and overlooks Baton Rouge at a height of 350 feet. The views are spectacular. To the east are formal rose gardens and a well-preserved Arsenal, constructed in 1835. To the west, the Mississippi flows toward the Gulf.

Old State Capitol Building
The land donated by the city for the capitol building stands high atop a bluff facing the Mississippi River. Some believe this site was once marked by the red pole, or "le baton rouge" which French explorers claimed designated a Native American council meeting site.

In 1862, during the Civil War, Union troops (from the North) captured New Orleans and the seat of government retreated from Baton Rouge. The Union troops first used the "old gray castle" (as it was once described) as a prison and then as a garrison (a place occupied by troops) for African-American troops under General Culver Grover.

While used as a garrison, the Old Louisiana State Capitol caught fire twice. This, in turn, transformed the building into an empty, gutted shell and was abandoned by the Union troops.

By 1882 the state house was totally reconstructed with the installation of a spiral staircase and stained glass dome, which are the focal points of the interior. The refurbished state house remained in use until 1932, when it was abandoned for the New State Capitol building.

The Old State Capitol Building was restored in the 1990s, and is now a museum.

The Old Governor’s Mansion
The Louisiana Old Governor's Mansion was built in 1930 under the governorship of Huey P. Long, its first resident. The building is said to be a copy of the White House. It is said that Governor Long wanted to be familiar with the White House in Washington when he became president, so he had the White House duplicated in Baton Rouge (some people dispute this legend).
However, in 1935, Louisiana’s controversial governor, Huey P. Long – then a U.S. Senator – was fatally wounded by an assassin in the New State Capitol building. He died two days later as a result of his wounds and is interred in the Capitol gardens on the south side of the Capitol.

NEW Governor’s Mansion
The New Governor’s Mansion was built in 1963 when Jimmie Davis was Governor of Louisiana. The Mansion is located on the edge of the Capital Lake near the Capitol Gardens and the Louisiana State Capitol.

Capitol Gardens
This area of the Capitol Gardens is between the State Capitol Building and the New Governor's Mansion.

Capitol Gardens
In this photo you can see the State Capitol building through the trees in the Capitol Gardens.

Memory Lane
In this photo, I was just strolling down memory lane. The tall building on the left side of the photo used to be called the Louisiana National Bank Building, but I see it has been changed to the Chase Building. I used to work on the 13th floor when I worked for Ethyl Corporation. The 5-story brick building in the foreground was where my ex-wife worked for Bell South Telephone company. From these two jobs, we left Baton Rouge in 1972 and headed to Washington, DC where we went to work for the F.B.I.

Some Louisiana Facts and Trivia

● Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the United States; the building is 450 feet tall with 34 floors.

● The world famous "Mardi Gras" is celebrated in New Orleans. Mardi Gras is an ancient custom that originated in southern Europe. It celebrates food and fun just before the 40 days of Lent: a Catholic time of prayer and sacrifice.

● Louisiana was named in honor of King Louis XIV. King of France from 1643-1715.

● Louisiana is the only state in the union that does not have counties. Its political subdivisions are called parishes.

● Louisiana is the only state with a large population of Cajuns, descendants of the Acadians who were driven out of Canada in the 1700s because they wouldn't pledge allegiance to the King of England.

● In Louisiana, biting someone with your natural teeth is considered a simple assault, but biting someone with your false teeth is considered an aggravated assault.

● In 1803 the United States paid France $15 million for the Louisiana Territory. 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River. The lands acquired stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. Thirteen states were carved from the Louisiana Territory. The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the United States.

● bayou: \BUY-you\ n. a French name for slow-moving "river"

● The St. Charles streetcar line in New Orleans and the cable cars in San Francisco, California are the nation's only mobile national monuments.

Thanks to: Samdu Kreutter, Karolyn Goss

CRAWFISH BOIL

Judy, Connie and I were invited to go to Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Jay’s grand daughter's house for a crawfish boil. Naturally, I accepted. Judy and Connie were unable to go because they were babysitting Vincent and Hayden.

I thought it was going to be a “small-ish” affair, but they told me later that their grand daughter (Debbie's daughter), Shannon, and her husband hold this at their place every year. There were 50 immediate family present and a lot of them brought guests. So, you can imagine the number of hungry people waiting for that first pot of crawfish.

The crawfish were boiled for a lot of Cajun seasonings - along with potatoes, ears of corn, mushrooms and cloves of garlic thrown in as lagniappe (lan-YAP) - an “unexpected something extra.”

I heard some people say that the crawfish were smaller this year, but for somebody who had not had any for 4-years, the size didn’t may any difference to me.

There were plenty of sacks of crawfish, and a couple of large pots to boil them.

Don't they look goooood?!?

(Left to Right)
Dale, Debbie, and her son, "Boogie"

Aunt Ruthie and Floyd

The the first pot of crawfish was poured on the table, most of the socializing stopped - it's hard to talk with your mouth full. Notice Doris (Debbie's mother-in-law) in the blue dress. (You will see her again at different tables.)

(Left to Right)
Photo 1: Vickie Armand (Laird)'s son, Aaron Laird, his wife Brandi and baby Amelia. Aaron is the grandson of Aunt Ruby and Uncle Billy.

Photo 2: Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Jay

Hey, there's Doris again - at a different table next to a new pile of cooked crawfish.

Boogie seems to be enjoying himself.

Well, there's Doris again. Looks like she found what she was searching for......big crawfish!!

Debbie and a friend -- Dale and his wife, Jeanette

Dale, Jeanette and Brenda -- Brenda again.

Vivian and her husband John.

Well, I'm full. I guess it's time for me to move on.
I'm headed back to Chicago. I can still get good cajun food there -- Aimée is a good cook.

On 26 March, I flew back to Chicago. The temperature is a little warmer, but on 27 March, the day after I arrived, we had a dusting of 3-inches of snow. A couple of days later, I'm looking through Aimée's window above her front door. As you can see, the lakes have started thawing, the snow is just about all gone, but the temperature is still pretty cool - but above freezing.

Now you can see the whole deck. Although it looks like a spring day, Aimée said she has been warned not to plant anything until after Mother's Day. Because there was always a chance of more snow or freezing temperatures.

THE DETERMINED (or stupid) ROBIN

Everybody was awakened by a loud thumping (or banging) noise coming from downstairs. Come to find out, it was this robin who was determined to get into the dining room. It kept flying into the window pane.

It would fly off of a perch and bang into the window head-first. You would think, after a few attempts it would realize it was impossible and go away. But no. It kept flying head-first into the window pane again.....and again.....and again....for hours! Around noon, I guess the sun would shine on the window and the reflection was such that it didn't seem tempting, and it would go away.

Only to RE-appear the next morning, flying repeatedly into the window pane until around noon again. You would think it would get a headache and stop. But like I said, it was very determined!

I kept looking around the neighborhood to see if flocks of birds might be gathering......like the Alfred Hitchcock's movie, "The Birds.". But there were no flocks of birds....of any kind -- just this one stupid robin.

TRIP TO WISCONSIN

I had never been to Wisconsin. So, one day we all took a trip to the Sprecher Brewery.

The Brewery was founded in 1985 by Randy Sprecher. It was the first micro-brewery in Milwaukee since Prohibition.

You pay for the tour....

Then you wait by the "Beer Garden" for the tour to start.

One of the employees comes and guides you through the brewery.

This is the bottling area and conveyor belts. The tours are only given on the weekend - when they are not working. The tour guide said that during the week, when they are working, it is so noisy you wouldn't be able to hear him talk.

I thought it was really cute the way they painted the walls to look like German houses.

Once the beer is bottled, it is then packed in boxes ready for delivery.

Once you have finished the tour, you are brought back to the "Beer Garden" where you can sample their beer and sodas. Included in the admission price of $3.00, you are given tickets to sample 4 beers (they have 14 beers to choose from) -plus- you can sample their 7 different sodas as many times as you want to (no tickets required).

(Left to Right)
Lauren, Aimée, Richard, Jared

It's fun for the whole family

Notice Jared's 2 front teeth....or the lack there of.
He lost his 2 top front teeth while I was in Baton Rouge.

This is the Indoor Beer Garden.

Even I tried some of their beer.
However, I enjoyed their Root Beer better.

Lauren and Jared enjoying the Root Beer, Cream Soda, etc.

Of course, they had a Gift Shop.

After we toured the Gift Shop, we said good-bye to Sprecher's and headed for something to eat.

FIVE GUYS HAMBURGERS

Not far from Sprecher's was a famous hamburger place - Five Guys.

While you wait for your order, you can help yourself to a bucket or two of roasted peanuts.

I thought maybe we would have to run Jared's hamburger through a food processor so he could suck it up through a straw -- because of his lack of teeth, but he surprised me and ate it with no problem.

Then we headed back
home to ILLINOIS.

Not far from Round Lake, is a little town called Long Grove.

Just before you enter the little town of Long Grove, there is this H-U-G-E house.
I'm sure 3 families could live in it comfortably.

The people have converted the houses into shops,

and renovated the old shops into boutiques.

I loved this house with the wrap-around porch.

Back into the skies and headed home.

London, England

Again, because of the flight schedules, I had to spend the night in London. I had searched and found a "moderately priced" hotel (for London, that's not easy!) near Heathrow Airport.

The room was just big enough to turn-around in.....and possibly change your mind at the same time! I was able to fit 2 pieces of luggage, a back-pack and myself into the room at the same time! However, there was no dead-bolt on the door, so I put my largest suitcase against the door. That way, if the maid or anybody else, tried to come in, the suitcase would tip over and wake me up.

The room was really all I needed it for. I arrived around 7:am and I just wanted to sleep until around midnight. Then I would have to go back to Heathrow and catch a bus that would take me to Stansted where I would catch a 6:am flight to Spain.

After sleeping for a couple of hours, I heard an alarm going off. I thought it was my alarm clock -- but after hitting it a couple of times, I realized it wasn't. So, I got up and stumbled over my bags and finally realized it was the fire alarm in the hall!

GREAT! Now I would have to get dressed and go outside! Just as I had finished putting on my pants, the alarm shut off.

GOOD! Now I can go back to sleep. Only, now I was awake and couldn't go back to sleep. So, I watched TV for a couple of hours until my eyes started to close, cut off the TV and went back to sleep. I slept for awhile and woke up around 9:pm. I got up, shaved, showered and got dressed and wondered what I was going to do until midnight.

I finally decided to check out and go back to the airport.

I went to the desk and asked if they could call me a cab to take me back to Heathrow. The desk clerk asked me why? The airport is closed at this hour. I told him I had to catch a bus from the airport around 3:am to take me to Stansted. He called me a cab and away I went.

When I arrived at the bus terminal at Heathrow, I found I was not alone. There were about 4 people mopping and buffing the floors, and several homeless people were scattered around the benches sleeping.

I found a trolly to put my luggage on and a quiet little corner, got my book and started reading. Around 2:30am people with suitcases began arriving to catch the bus I was waiting for.

We made it to Stansted with no problems. The plane left on time and I was headed home to Spain.

I arrived at the airport in Reus and Colin, from the village, picked me up.

As we neared the village, we had a traffic jam......
Not the kind I was used to seeing in Illinois and Louisiana with cars.....no, this was with sheep!

Yes, I knew I was getting close to the village!

Torre del Compte
-- home at last!

~•~ The End ~•~

2007 August 31 - Days 4 & 5 - Fiesta de San Ramón

2007-08-31T23:22:00.001+02:00

Day 4 of 5 - 20 August

There were several things going on today, but I didn't take any pictures -

An Exposición de Manualidades (Handcraft Exposition) sponsored by the Women's Organization
An Animation Group for the small children
A Futbol (Soccer) game
and at 9:pm, dancing with the orchestra "Mambos Cuartet"

Day 5 of 5 - 31 August

Today is the last day of the fiesta.

The day starts out with a mass at noon. Following the mass, the statue of San Ramón is taken for another tour of the village. This will be his last time to see the village until next year.

This is Margaret and Colin dressed for Mass.

Following Mass, everybody goes home to change into something comfortable.

At 2:pm, everybody returns to the Plaza Mayor for a paella lunch. This is an event nobody misses! The paella is cooked in a pan that feeds 500.

It doesn't take long for every seat at every table to be occupied.

As you can see, tables stretch from Lo Portal (the entrance to the Plaza Mayor).....

....all the way to the far side of the Plaza Mayor.

Then the signal is given that the food is ready, people quickly line up with plates in their hands

(Actually, the people who prepared the seafood paella serve it up in plastic plates -- but sometimes the plastic plate bends and you risk spilling your food. Therefore, people take their solid plates and put the plastic plate on it.)

A bunch of happy people with plates of paella!

Andrea, Mark, Emilia and David

After everyone has eaten, groups break-out in song. Here the group is being led by a guitar.

You can't tell in this "still" photo, but the majority of people in the picture are clapping in time to the music.

Well, that's the end of another successful fiesta to San Ramón. But it will take place again next year.

~•~ The End ~•~

2007 Aug 19 - Day 3 of 5 - Parque Infantil & Peña Dinner

2007-08-19T21:39:00.000+02:00

PARQUE INFANTIL

At 11:00am the Pista (School Play Ground) would turn into a park for the very small children. Many structures had been inflated – doll house, trampoline, and slides. I arrived early, but a few children had beat me to the Play Ground. I can imagine how it will sound a little later, because I could already hear screams and laughter from the few that were already here.

In the picture above, you can see the back of the school. The blank wall behind the basketball goal is where they will show 2 movies during Cultural Week. In case of bad weather, the movies will be shown in Lo Lonja under the Ayuntamiento (City Hall).

Watching a movie outdoors reminds me of when I was young and we would go to the Drive-Inn. However, this is a little different – there are no cars and no concession stand where you could buy popcorn, hot dogs and cold drinks – instead it’s a “BYOC” (Bring Your Own Chair) Party!

The window above the blank wall, is Jordi’s office. The Library is located where the row of windows are on the upper floor, on the left of his office. Jordi opens the Library twice a week – Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30-7:30pm – for the children and adults to use. Very seldom does anyone check out a book. Usually they come to use the computers to surf the internet.

DANCING IN THE PLAZA MAYOR

Tonight the band “Annubis” played and the village turned out to dance. The band played from 6:00-8:00pm then took a break.

The people love to dance and the Plaza Mayor is quickly filled with dancers of all ages.

The band started again at 9:00pm and played for a couple of hours and took another break. Then began again at 1:00am and played until 3:00am.

DINNER AT THE PEÑA

When the band took a break at 8:00pm, we all went to our Peña to start dinner.

The members of our Peña quickly arrive and grab a beer or cold drink. Many start setting the table. All seats will be occupied with the meal is served.

I have to admit, the meals at the peña are always an “adventure!” Many times they are dishes I have never experienced before, but always tasty – and believe me, I’ve eaten some interesting but tasty foods during my travels in Africa.

Peña dinners seem to always involve a large pan that is approx. 3-feet wide and approx. 1-foot deep. In this pot they cook a combination of meat, snails, chicken, mussels, clams, sausages, intestines, etc. – not all of these things at one time, but a combination of 3 or 4 things.

Then they add either rice or potatoes and other ingredients. And you end up with either a type of paella or a type of stew.

Like I said, the meals are always an “adventure,” but I’ve never had a meal that wasn’t delicious.

Different people cook each night…..well, I should say different people start cooking each night. But as soon as the aroma of the meal hits the air, it seems everybody takes a turn stirring, tasting, and adding what they think the dish needs.

On this particular night, they cooked a combination of pork chops, sausages, ribs, and ham.

Then they added a lot of water, potatoes and asparagus.

When the water began to boil, they added about 2 dozen raw eggs.

When this “type of stew” was served, each person had a pork chop, a piece of sausage, a piece of ham, some potatoes, a couple of asparagus spears, some broth and a pouched egg. It was a great meal for a cool night.

Children love the camera!

~•~ The End ~•~

2007 Aug 18 - Day 2 of 5 - Mass of the Baturros

2007-08-18T21:09:00.001+02:00

MASS FOR SAN RAMÓN
The day starts with a mass at noon in honor of San Ramón Nonato. It is also a mass for the Baturros (peasants of

Aragon

).

A group called “Templanza Aragonesa” sang as the choir, dressed in Baturros costumes.

Last year, only two adults dressed in costumes, Jordi and Nuria. This year there were more.

At the end of the mass, the statue of San Ramón is taken on a platform and carried through the village.

The procession passes right in front of our house.

The Baturros and people follow the statue.

“Baturrita” is a little girl peasant..

“Baturrito” would be a little boy peasant

“Baturros” is the plural form of the word.

It could be a group of young boys and girls.

“Baturra” is a female peasant.

This is the group of “Baturros” we had in costume for mass this year. The basket had holy bread that was distributed to the congregation as they left the church.

“Baturras”

Loli and “Baturro” (Jordi)

Angeles and “Baturro” (Jordi)

“Baturros” Nuria, Jordi and Cristina

After this mass, all the “Pensionistas” (Retirees) are treated to snacks, beer, wine and cold drinks in Lo Lonja. As you can see, our village has quite a few.

Adrian & Bogdan (from Romania), Lillian (from France)

Meanwhile, across the street from Lo Lonja, a few children watched the “Pensionistas.” I guess they realize it will be some time before they qualify for the snacks.

JOTA DANCERS
At 6:00pm in the Pista (School play ground) the “Templanza Aragonesa,” the same group that sang in church, also sang jotas (spanish folk songs) and performed many different folk dances.

The group were really good. And they changed costumes for each dance.

~•~ The End ~•~

2007 Aug 17 - Day 1 of 5 - Fiesta de San Ramón

2007-08-17T20:56:00.000+02:00

The Fiesta de San Ramón Nonato (the Patron Saint of our village) is a 5 day celebration. The celebration is supposed to be the last 5 days of August, because San Ramón Nonato’s day is 31 August. Many people from various parts of Spain and France come to Torre del Compte during the month of August for vacation. Because the children have to register and start school on 1 September the village decided many years ago to split the 5-day celebration and celebrate 4 days beginning in the middle of the month and celebrate the 5^th day on 31 Aug – San Ramón Nonato’s day. This way the visitors in the village will have a chance to celebrate and enjoy four days of the festivities before heading back to their homes in Spain and France to register and send their children to school at the beginning of September.

Here is some information about San Ramón Nonato:

San Ramón Nonato
Also known as: Raymund Nonnatus and Raimundo Nonato

He was born in 1204 at Portella, a diocese of Urgel, Catalonia, Spain. He was of Spanish nobility and well educated. His father planned a career for Raymond in the royal court in Aragon. When Raymond felt drawn to religious life, his father ordered him to manage one of the family farms. However, Raymond spent his time with the shepherds and workers, studying and praying until his father gave up the idea of making his son a worldly success.

Raymond became a Mercedarian priest in Barcelona. He made such progress in the religious life that he was soon considered worthy to succeed his master in the office of ransomer. He was sent to Algiers and liberated many captives. When money failed he gave himself as a hostage. He made many converts, which embittered the Mohammedan authorities.

He was sentenced to death by impalement, but was spared because of his large ransom value. He was imprisoned and tortured. During his imprisonment, he still managed to convert some of his guards. To keep him from preaching the faith, his captors bored a hole through his lips with a hot iron and attached a padlock. Eventually he was ransomed, and returned to Barcelona in 1239.

He was made Cardinal in 1239 and died 31 August 1240 at Cardona (about six miles from Barcelona, Spain) of a fever. He was buried at the chapel of Saint Nicholas near his family farm he was supposed to manage.

"Nonato" means Not Born (= non-natus) as he was taken from the womb of his mother after her death.

He is the patron saint of childbirth; children; expectant mothers; falsely accused people; fever; infants; midwives; newborn babies; obstetricians; and pregnant women.

FIESTA PAYMENT
In America, there is a saying, “You don’t get something for nothing.” They may not say it here in Spain, but the saying still applies.

On the 12^th of August, each family had to go to the school and pay for each member of their family. This fee had to be paid by everyone that would be enjoying the fiesta -- whether you were a vacationer or permanent resident.

This year it was a flat fee of 28 Euros per person. This “admission” price helps pay for the bands that play each night for the people to dance and for the lunch on the last day of the fiesta.

PEÑA DUES
Then, there is a fee for each member of a Peña (club house, club or group of people). The fee for our Peña was the same as last year – 60 Euros per member. This money pays for everything you eat and drink at the Peña – a dinner each night, plus the beer, liquor, Cokes, Fanta, potato chips, olives, paper plates, plastic cups, ice, etc.

This year we had an additional expense. Half of the floor of old corral we use had started to collapse and had to be replaced. New cement beams replaced the old wooden beams, a floor was placed on the beams, then cemented over. This should last for quite a while. The old tile roof has started to leak. So, I guess that will be the next major renovation.

~ DAY 1 of 5 ~

DÉJÀ VU
It’s hard to believe that a year has passed and it’s time for the Fiesta de San Ramón again. I have to admit, this is not my favorite fiesta, simply because it is s-o-o-o-o long. The fiesta is 5 days long which is broken into two parts and in between those two parts is Cultural Week. This makes the fiesta two weeks long!

There are a couple of days that nothing is scheduled – but don’t worry, the peña will take care of that – they will schedule dinners for those days. So, you end up with two weeks of scheduled activities, eating, drinking, bands that play until 3:am or later, more scheduled activities, drinking, eating, more bands…..did I mention drinking?......and more eating.

(Don’t these people ever sleep?!?)

This year the first day of the Fiesta began on 17 August.

The first day starts with cooking sausages on a bonfire.

Several small bonfires are made.

The sausages were donated by the Caja Rural de Teruel Bank.

There is also free bread, olives and wine.

I believe the wine is homemade because it is in large containers with no labels. You bring your own container and they fill it up.

The village turns out in force. It’s a time for visiting, eating and drinking together. The sausages, olives and wine are handed out. There is plenty for everybody – nobody will leave hungry or thirsty.

When the fires are almost ready, the grills are placed on the fire to burn off any bits that may still be on the grill. (I guess this is a sterilization process!)

When the fire has died down and the coals are ready, the sausages are placed on the grills and the grills are placed over the coals. The delicious aroma of grilled sausages fills the air and you suddenly feel hungry whether you are or not.

??, ??, Rosario, Carlos, Chus, (all from Zaragoza) and Jordi

Annie & George (from France), Radu & Helena (from Romania)

All of the members of our Peña are wearing our orange T-shirts with the name of our Peña written across the back. Our Peña is called “Catacroks.”

"Catacrok" is the name of a drink made with vodka and tonic. You cover the top of the glass with the palm of your hand and slam the bottom of the glass on the table, causing the vodka and tonic to mix and fizz. You then drink it down in two swallows.

Our Peña is made up of people from Torre del Compte, neighboring villages, Alcañiz, Zaragoza, Barcelona, France, England, and me - an American. It is quite an international group!

Manolo & Lola

People eating, drinking and enjoying each other’s company.

Colin & Margaret, Jordi, Emilia, Carlos

When the people are almost finished eating, the “Gigantes Cabezudos” (Big Heads) arrive with little whips and chase the children. The children run screaming in all directions.

(I’m not sure of the purpose, but the children seem to enjoy it.)

When the eating has finished, the men with the horns and drum arrive. Now it’s time for the people to march through the village and visit each of the Peñas and have a Catacrok.

WARNING: There are MANY peñas in the village. Drinking a Catacrok at EACH peña is dangerous to your health. It will make you so drunk you will not remember anything the next day and a headache so big you wouldn’t believe it!!

As the crowd of people started their march through the village to visit each Peña, I quietly slipped away and headed home. I have made the trip through the village a couple of times before. Along the route, people in the houses throw buckets of water on you and some have a hose and spray the crowd with water. I didn’t feel like getting wet.

That’s all for now. But remember -- there are 4 more days of the Fiesta!

~•~ The End ~•~

2007 June 29 - End-of-Term (School's Out) Party

2007-06-29T18:13:00.002+02:00

The End-of-Term (School’s Out) Party was held on 29 June 2007. This officially marked the end of our Spanish classes….this year! Classes should start again in late September or early October, 2007.

Everybody was asked to bring a dish to feed approx. 4 people. This way we would be able to sample different dishes from various countries and/or cooking styles. I brought a Cajun dish (a recipe my sister, Hedy, gave me) of shrimp, Philadelphia cream cheese and plenty of seasoning! I mixed it with macaroni pasta. It was a hit!!

Margaret and Colin furnished the meat, sausages, wine and cold drinks.

People seem to enjoy these parties because there are many dishes to choose from.

For the people who really like a particular dish, I think we should also have the recipes printed on index cards for the people to take.

(Photo by Colin)

I’m going to slip this picture in. It was taken just prior to the End-of-Term party.

Colin and Margaret invited Jordi and me to have a meal with them and their guests on their balcony. Colin’s cousin, Eva, and her husband, John, were visiting them and would be there to experience our End of Term (School’s Out) Party and the Fiesta for San Juan.

Eva later commented that she had never experienced anything like our party and the Fiesta de San Juan -- and she had thoroughly enjoyed them.

The party for the students and friends was held in Margaret and Colin’s bodega (cellar, basement)

I hope I get everybody’s name right. If I didn’t, send me a comment and tell me where I made a mistake. I’ll correct it right away.

(All names of the people in the photos will be read from Left-to-Right.)

Miguel is the husband of our Spanish teacher, Beatriz. He is the baker in Monroyo and also a volunteer fireman. Therefore, he was the right person for cooking the bar-b-que.

(Photo by Colin)

Overseeing the bar-b-que process were some of the students from the Spanish Class. Vivian (from Ireland), Vera and Filip (from Belgium) and Floyd with his back to the camera.

Because we are such a small class, Margaret invited the women in the “Women’s Club” and their husbands. This turned out to be quite a crowd – I think there were about 30 people total.

For some reason, MOST of the women (and a few men) sat together at one table, and the majority of husbands sat at the other. I tried to get a picture of everybody at the party. Now, let me see if I can name all of the people correctly…..

Photo: Vera & Filip (from

Belgium

), Maria, Rosa, and Pili

Photo: Rosario, Rosalina, Nieves, and Mercedes

Photo: Jim & Vivian (from Ireland), and Margaret

Photo: Fintan, Mánus (Vivian's sons), Beatriz (our Spanish Teacher), Rosario

Photo: Rosario (again), Toñita, Maria Dolores

Photo: Emilio (married to Pili), Antonio (Mayor of the village and married to Nieves), Tamzin (from England), and Ruth (from Switzerland)

Oops!

Looks like Dorothy and Toto have left the building!!

Photo: Colin, Miguel, Rosi, José Luis (married to Maria Dolores), Rafael (married to Rosalina), Fernando (married to Rosario)

You will have to scroll back to find the wives pictures.

Like I said, for some reason, most of the couples didn’t sit together.

Photo: Jordi and Filip

Photo: Jim & Vivian, Beatriz, Floyd.

Fintan & Mánus (Vivian’s two sons) in front.

Photo: Mánus & Fintan (Vivian’s sons)

After eating, Vivian, Beatriz and Vivian’s older son, Mánus, decided to play some tennis. Vivian was playing against her son and Beatriz. She was moving really fast around the court and showed some really fancy foot-work. I later realized it was because she was barefooted and the court pavement was super HOT!

~•~ The End ~•~

2007 June 23 - Fiesta de San Juan

2007-06-23T23:16:00.000+02:00

The Fiesta de San Juan is held every year in late June in the street next to the San Juan ermita (small chapel). The piece of street where all the dancing happens, is right in front of Margaret and Colin’s house.

(It’s a good thing like to party. If they didn’t, they probably wouldn’t be able to hear the TV for the loud music in front of their house!)

As in the past, our Peña (club, group) had a late lunch before the festivities. Margaret and Colin offered their bodega (cellar, basement) for the lunch. They were having guests from England, they decided this would be a good way to introduce Colin’s cousin, Eva, and her husband, John, to the people from the village.

After the lunch, the festivities would start in front of their house and there would be Cava (Spanish champaign), wine, pastries and dancing in the street!

(All names of people in photos will be given Left-to-Right)

Photo: Juan Miguel, Narciso

Several people helped to cook a seafood paella.

I said several people because as someone passed the pot and took a taste, they decided it needed this….or that….or something else – and would add it. In any case, it was FANTASTIC!

Photo: Jordi, Patricia (in front), Margaret, Eva, John
(Photo by Colin Phillips)

Photo: Floyd, Maribel
(Photo by Colin Phillips)

Photo: Maria José, Rosi, Jordi, Chus, Pablo
(Photo by Colin Phillips)

(I don't know the lady behind Chus. If somebody knows her name, please send me a comment.)

Photo: Jordi, Rosi, Juan Miguel
(Photo by Colin Phillips)

Everybody was hungry and were waiting for the paella.

Photo: Colin and Eva

Photo: Eva, Maria José, Narciso (standing), Margaret, Annie, Lola, George

Photo: John and Eva

Photo: Patricia, Isabel, Miguel Angel

Photo: Carlos, Manolo, Maribel

Photo: Chus, Rosi

Photo: Jordi, John, Eva
(Photo by Colin Phillips)

This was the band.

The man played the piano and did most of the singing.
(I think the lady was there primarily for “window dressing.”)

Everybody was enjoying the music and dancing in the street.

Whoa!
I’m not sure where this guy came from….maybe from under the bridge to the village!

(Actually, it’s Pablo with a wig. He had a great time with it!)

So many bottles....and so little time!

Photo: I don't know who they are....but they seem to know each other!

Photo: Jordi and Eva

Photo: Margaret & Colin

Photo: Rosi & Pablo, Maria José & Narciso and their daughter, Coral

It was another successful Fiesta. But as the old saying goes -- "All good things must come to an end!"

When the street party broke up, many of the people that had dinner in Margaret and Colin’s bodega, went back for some dessert and coffee….and some wine….and any other liquor they had. The party didn’t break up until around 2:am.

~•~ The End ~•~

2007 May 12-13 Arnes Honey Festival

2007-05-13T20:50:00.000+02:00

Arnes, Spain

Fourth Annual
Honey Festival

On the 12^th and 13^th of May, the Honey Festival of Arnes, Spain was held. (Arnes is approx. 30 minutes south from our village)

Arnes is situated in Tarragona Province, just across the line from Teruel Province where Torre del Compte is situated.

The elevation of Arnes is 1827 feet (557 meters) above sea level, and has an estimated population of 1308.

Torre del Compte’s elevation is 1631 feet (497 meters) and a population of approx. 190.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with some of the names and pictures of the people in our village. Well, Lola (married to Manolo) is originally from Arnes and still has relatives there.

On the 12^th of May, there was a Candle Making Workshop.

There was a maximum number of people for the class, but there happened to be a cancellation and Jordi was able to get in.

He thoroughly enjoyed the class and I think making candles will turn out to be his next hobby – after restoring old furniture and other wooden things such as trunks, tools, etc.

Jordi said the booths were set up for the 12^th, but only a few actually had people and products in them. The festival actually started at 10:am on the 13^thof May. Dignitaries were there to launch this year's Festival. (We skipped that part and arrived around 4:pm and stayed until approx. 7:pm – the Festival ended at 8:pm.)

This was the first time I had been to Arnes. However, I was not surprised to see that it too was a walled village. It seems all the villages around here were walled villages. They undoubtedly put up walls to keep the bad people out…....Hmmmm, not a bad idea. Maybe we should go back to that concept and put up the walls again.

You enter the village through an arch.
(Not a very impressive one.)

You didn’t have to go very far before you came to the first booth. They were selling cookies, cakes, and marmalade made with honey.

You turned the corner and there were booths as far as the eye could see.

We got there during the lunch break and not all of the booths were open.

Around 5:pm, the booths were filled with people giving samples of things made with honey. It was great!

Just about anything you could imagine was for sale today.

They had baskets -- all shapes and sizes.

There was liquors made with honey.

They had marmalade in different flavors made with honey, and pecans in honey.

Candles made with bee’s wax.

There were people demonstrating how their baskets were made.

There were soaps made with various scents.

(I don’t know if honey was added or not.)

There were sausages and paté.
(Again, I don’t know if they added honey in order to qualify for the “Honey Festival.”)

In the Lonja, the porch under the City Hall (Ayuntamiento), there was a craft table where children could make their very own BEE!!

They were supervised by a couple of women who showed them how to paint the bee yellow, put on the black stripes, and finally the wings.

Soon, the village was buzzing with homemade bees!

Across from the square from the Ayuntamiento is the church bell tower and the side door to the church.

The inside of the church is very pretty. It looks like it has recently been refurbished.

As you leave the side door, you are back in the Square.

The main square is on two levels.

There were a lot of tables and chairs for people to sit, have a drink and enjoy the pleasant temperature and sunshine.

Well......, I guess not everybody was happy.

This is Pablo, the son of Inma and Juan Carlos. The last time you saw him, he was a tiny baby sleeping while we were having a fiesta in the Plaza Mayor in Torre del Compte. He has really grown, and cute as a button!

Jordi and I decided to stroll through the village and look at the houses.

Suddenly, we found a Blacksmith (Herrero) working in another square.
We stayed and watched him for awhile.

While watching the Blacksmith, we heard a lot of noise coming down one of the streets.

It was a group of soldiers –
- A Captain leading the group,
- 1 soldier pulling a huge cannon....

....and 4 soldiers playing instruments.

They went to the edge of the square where the Blacksmith was -- then pointed the cannon in his direction!

It took the Captain a little while to load the cannon.

While the Captain was doing his job, the soldiers played more music.

With much fanfare, the Captain finally put a match to a fuse and shot the cannon.

Fortunately for the Blacksmith, there was no cannon ball in the cannon.
It just made a loud BANG! sound.

As the group of soldiers marched away with the cannon, Jordi and I continued our tour of the village -- but in a different direction.

There were many picturesque arches in the village. Some were like this one where a part of someone’s house is built over the street.

It made me wish I was a painter so I could paint some of these scenes.

We located a huge house on the corner of two streets. It had large windows (probably floor-to-ceiling) that looked like they had been recently replaced, plus a large stone arch at the front door.

On the keystone of the arch at the front door was a crest with the date 1589 on it. That old house has been there for 418 years!! I bet it is very pretty inside.

We finally ended up back at the archway where we entered the village. Again, a part of someone’s house was built over the arch. It looked much prettier from this side than it did when we entered the other side.

We carried the candles, marmalade, and other things we bought to the car and headed back to Torre del Compte.

We had a wonderful day. The weather was perfect. But it was too good to last.

The following day, Monday, we got strong winds, it turned cold again, and rained most of the day.

~:~ The End ~:~