Tarragona

Manuel Garcia was our host for Saturday. He was just so much fun to be with. He has been a good friend and example to Taylor for 20 years. I've never met a more positive or enjoyable person to be around. He took us to the beach and the boys all played soccer for hours while the girls built sand castles and just enjoyed being by the ocean.




One of our stops was to the local meat and fish market. The kids had a preview of the seafood they would be eating the next day at Manuel's home!

I can't look at a jamon serrano without thinking about the Alarcon family. 18 years ago Taylor and I came to Barcelona for a summer vacation and so that Taylor could show me around the city that he had come to love. Mr. Alarcon came to welcome us and pick us up for a dinner appointment at his house. He showed up on a tiny old motor scooter with a huge jamon strapped to his back. This cute little man had the biggest smile on his face as he handed over our welcome gift. At the time this was a big sacrifice for their family and we were so touched, yet completely overwhelmed. What were we going to do with it? Customs would never allow us to take it back to the USA. During our stay we hung it up and made sure to sliver off a little piece every day and to just savor the taste of such a generous gift! It brought a big smile on my face to see jamon hanging in all of the food shops.


The walking streets in Tarragona have so many great statues and fountains. They have a fun statue depicting the human towers that they build during one of the big festivals in Tarragona. Everyone gathers round and helps support the people who are lifted up to the top.
Taylor couldn't wait to get back to his favorite bakery. He lived in Spain for two years while he served an LDS mission. When Taylor left for his mission he was a skinny 120 pound 19 year old. After living in Spain for one year he gained 40 pounds! This was due to the fact that every apartment he lived in was right above a bakery and he just couldn't resist the chocolate filled powdered sugar dusted mini croissants. What he forgot was that one mini croissant wouldn't hurt, but eating a bag of them every day would! Well, that's all in the past and we were sure happy he could remember where the bakery was so we could enjoy some of those delicious Spanish pastries!