Beach Day

Suffice it to say we were thrilled to be in sunshine...albeit a tad bit cool and windy, but sunny and beautiful. I think the kids were completely oblivious to the fact that we were at the beach in Spain IN February. They were just happy to be at the oceanside, playing in the sand with good friends.

When everyone was sufficiently cold and tired of playing on the beach we went exploring the city. Typical of Spanish coastal towns there were awesome white building and churches built high above the surf. We wandered through the curving alleyways and the kids played all along the journey.


It didn't matter if you were an old man or a young man this is the place to hang out, enjoy the view and shoot the breeze!

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!

Camp de Mart

The open air market at the Camp de Mart in Tarragona was HUGE. There was something for everyone and so many local products. We had a blast walking past the live chickens for sale. You just pick your bird and take it home to do the dirty work. They had the largest selection of clementine oranges I have ever seen. The Spanish olives, spices and natural remedies were just plain fun to look at. Loved the sights, tastes and smells of it all!

Churro's

The best stop at the market was the churro stand. There are huge vats of oil where they fry they coiled batter. Nothing tastes better than a hot churro with sugar or melted chocolate. Yum! Manuel made sure we tried every variety they sold. They also made corn puffs and potato chips. A junk food junkies dream stand.

Church friends in Tarragona

Church was especially neat for Taylor. He met up with several friends that he made while serving in this part of Tarragona when he was an LDS missionary 20 years ago. Everyone he knew was warm and welcoming. They had fun remembering old stories and catching up on life's heart aches and successes.

Paella

Sunday we had a dinner invitation at Manuel's home. His wife fixed a giant paella and many other typical Spanish foods. The first course was octopus. They had a big giant bowl of octopus in a creamy sauce. Each of the kids had a respectable portion on their plates and they actually ate it (Lilly almost refused, but we talked her into two little bites). Spencer ate his right up and Manuel promptly came over and put another big portion on his plate. Spencer looked at Taylor like "what do I do now?" He was a gracious guest and he ate it along with everything else. What a kid.
Here is Maria Angelles in her kitchen stirring the rice and adding the clams, mussels, lobster, shrimp (with head & eyes attached) and octopus to the paella. She is a fabulous cook and a very funny woman. The language barrier is no problem. She spoke Spanish, we spoke English and we laughed together most of the evening.