Well, I guess some things just don't change. At home I play mediator when I drink with my friends, and here in Spain I seem to play the same role. But that's neither here nor there.
In other news I had a really nice dinner with Rebekah and Paddy at a bar in the town of San Nicolas, the next stop along the Camino toward Santiago. It seems I'm always talking about the food I eat here... but hey, I could probably write a whole book on that subject. Anyhow, we had a nice mixed salad with eggs, leeks (the specialty of Palencia), white asparagus, tuna, olives, tomatoes, and lettuce. I think it's nice that here in Spain when you get salad they don't give you a slew of choices for salad dressing – you get oil, vinegar, and salt... choose as you will. It's the best though! After the salad course we had some wine and bread, and not long after our main course arrived, a beautiful pallella made with rabbit, snails, vegetables, and garlic. Tres bon! I think the best part was that the snails were still in their shells. So then, we had to use our forks to... hm, I think the best word is perhaps “extract,” them from their shells. After dinner Paddy and I stayed at the restaurant and Sebastien and Helge met us there to watch the soccer match between Barcelona and Seville – Seville beat Barcelona 2-1.
Hanna, Anselmo, and Adrien left this morning. Earlier in the day, Paddy and I took Una for a walk along the Camino, east-bound, to a location where a village used to stand. I guess it was inhabited by monks who did bad things and pillaged pilgrims along the Camino, so after a while the Knights of the Templar came and took care of them, so now all that's left is some hills, a stream, and a brick noting the town's existence. Oddly there are a pair of worn leather boots at the spot that someone left along the way to Santiago a few months ago.
For lunch Rebekah made this nice mixed veggie soup. Pureed vegetables are always good, and with a bit of curry the soups she makes are really excellent. After lunch we drove into Sahagun – market day again – and replaced the butane tank, got bread, a newspaper, some screening for the new window Paddy and Rebekah bought, our train tickets for Madrid, and checked email at German's.
After getting back Paddy took a nap and Rebekah and I did some work around the house. She got the new window all stained, I swept out the workshop and back patio, split some wood for the fire, and puttered around trying to think of a good/artistic way to restore and use the “antique” grain thresher in the back yard as opposed to letting the gypsy haul it away. I also am really interested in carving a bit of plaster in a small area in the main house. When I was at German's the other day I noted the wonderful geometric designs he's drawn and carved into the soft plaster inside his shop. I might do something if I can come up with a good idea.
No comments:
Post a Comment