Monday, December 26, 2011

La Pena


Built in 1930 and covering an area of 113 hectares the reservoir is currently 61% full, exactly the same as it was at this time last year.


La Pena collects water from the surrounding mountain range and forms a very picturesque lake.


Today was ideal for the Boxing Day walk, an attempt to burn off a few of the calories from yesterday.


No one else had the same idea however - we were the only people there!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

It's Christmas!

And it's a beautiful day - sunny with no biting wind.


After the church service we go round to our friends, Floyd and Jorge, to see their Christmas grotto...


...and nativity displays. Not just one...


..but two!!


Then back home for a Christmas dinner for two...


...and then, another wonderful sunset.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Evoque!













Got it at last!


And it's every bit as good as we'd hoped!



Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Presentation at Alcañiz

We are a special end of term treat to the mature students learning English at the escuela de idiomas, the school of languages, in Alcañiz.


We present "25 of my favourite films" to groups of between 40 - 50 students on 2 nights.


They are in 5 "teams" and have to answer questions on the film clip they have just been shown.


Competition is keen...


...but everyone wins a Spanish delicacy as it's so near to Christmas.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Ariadna's party

To celebrate Ariadna and Carmen's birthdays they had a joint party!


They both received lots of presents...


...and Raúl cut the cake.


A great time was had by all.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Our christmas tree.

We decorated the village christmas tree this afternoon.


Lots of boxes had been wrapped as presents...



...and some of these were placed around the base of the tree...


...while others were hung from higher boughs along with other decorations.


It certainly made the job easier having Manolo and his tractor available.


It was a very pleasant, sunny afternoon which made the job easier...

...although the job wasn't finished until it was dark.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Jorge's 50th!

Some of us have been there, others have it yet to come but one birthday you will never forget is your 50th.


Jorge had a special celebration at Hotel Calpe in Alcañiz...


...where he opened one of his presents...


...and we all enjoyed a splendid meal.


Sunday, November 27, 2011

The 4th World Market at Fuentespalda

The Amas de Casa groups from villages in the Matarraña region, as well as many other organisations, each had a stall at the IV Mercado del Mundo at Fuentespalda.



The theme for the Amas de Casa groups was to produce a regional postre or sweet dish. These were offered for sale throughout the day and in the afternoon the dishes were photographed by a professional photographer for the 2013 calendar for the area.


On offer from Torre del Compte were Torrijas and Vino de Nueces. Basically Torrijas are white bread soaked in milk then squeezed out, shaped, coated in beaten egg then deep fried. And who said the Mediterranean diet was healthy! But they are delicious!! The Vino de Nueces, or Nut Wine, was also home made.


To see the events of the day click on the link HERE.


You never know what will be on offer at these events and the final entertainment of the day was a display of oriental dancing by Ana Lorenz.

To see Ana's performance, click HERE.

Quite a day out to remember.



Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Acupuncture! Stop smoking!

Over two months ago a friend of ours underwent a course of acupuncture in order to kick his habit of smoking those superb small Spanish cigars.


He was very determined to quit and felt the pins applied
to both ears really helped curb the cravings!


Has it worked?

Now, after 2 months...


...no!


Sunday, October 30, 2011

Autumn at last!

It's autumn at last - well, at least this tree thinks so!


Summer seems to have hung around for quite a while this year...

...but who's complaining?