Happy Holidays and have a great 2014!

To see the short video of our avatars dressed as elves dancing, with Hona on the guitar, click the link HERE.

"La ermita"

This afternoon la ermita, just across the road from us in Torre del Compte, looked wonderful.

Very picturesque!

My revolving Yin Yang mobile, mark 2.

After the success of my first effort a couple of months ago I decided to make another version, this time a little bit bigger.

Since I put it in position a week or so ago there has been very little wind. However, today it was both windy and sunny so here it is.

To see the short video of this mobile in action, click HERE.

Merry Christmas from Valderrobres!

Our nearest small town is Valderrobres, just 15 minutes away.

To see the short video made by Ferrero Rocher featuring the Christmas illuminations, click HERE.

Merry Christmas from Barcelona!

Friends sent us this short video as a Christmas greeting. I don't know where they got it from but I thought it was so good that I should share it.

To see the short video, click the link HERE.

Merry Christmas!

Grasshopper sunbathing!

It has been a beautiful sunny and quite warm day today.

This grasshopper obviously was enjoying the warm rays of the sun.

As it was strolling across the window I took the opportunity to take these 3 photos from the inside...

...and in these last 2 with the sun shining through it's body!

Winter solstice sunset.

At first it looked as though we weren't going to get a good sunset as there was a band of cloud in the way.

However, when the sun dropped behind the horizon the sky lit up with a warm glow.

Now the sunset will move steadily to the right and the days will become longer.

We can't wait!

¡¡Menú del día!!

"Menú del día", or menu of the day, was one thing dating back to the early 1960's in Spain which still exists today. It was introduced to enable the working man to have a 3 course meal at lunchtime at a reasonable price. However, they do vary and usually consist of soup, salad or a pasta dish followed by lamb or pork chops, chicken or fish and finished off with a flan or tart. Wine, water and bread are included and the cost varies from around 8€ to 18€. The menu improves over the weekend but then the cost escalates.

Today we visited l'Antic Moli, the Old Mill, restaurant situated just outside the village of El Castell on the road to La Senia on the borders of Catalunya and Valencia.

It was a smart restaurant and very well appointed where the food was well above the normal standard you would expect. First on the table were the aperitifs which can be seen in the photo above and above that with Margaret and her salad containing fruit, smoked salmon and mozzarella cheese shown in more detail in the photo below. Also in the top photo is my starter which was morcilla, Spanish black pudding, with piñones, pine nuts, topped with a fried egg on a bed of puff pastry - not the sort of thing you would expect for a menú del día!

The wine was a Terra Alta, the local wine region which we pass through on the way back to Torre del Compte, from a village called Bot. Margaret had a bottle of water as she was driving.

For segundos, jamon de Mallorca, which was basically a pork shoulder cooked in the oven with a lovely sauce.

For Margaret, chicken breasts stuffed with bacon and pineapple in a delicious sauce. The photo below does not do it justice.

For postre, dessert, chocolate mouse with chocolate sauce on puff pastry for me...

...and for Margaret, coconut ice cream with cranberry mousse.

And the price of this? 

Just 12€ each!!

l'Antic Moli is highly recommended.

Sunset and moonset.

We have had some very clear, sunny days with no wind recently. However, today was foggy and very cold.

I took these photos a couple of days ago from our terrace. 

The village in the distance is La Fresneda with the ermita to the left 

and the "castle" ruins on the right.

And here is the same village with the sun setting to the left. The sun will set a little further to the left for the next 10 days and then work it's way well to the right of the village in the coming months until June.

We were also treated to a beautiful moonset. Unfortunately the floodlights for the ermita had been put out but the "castle" and the church floodlights were still on.

I took this photo just as the moon touched the top of the hill, you can see the silhouette with the trees, and then very quickly disappeared.

And now it's winter!

Surprise, surprise! It's winter!!

I thought it looked extra dark when I got up this morning...

...then I noticed it was sleeting...

...and then moments later proper snow was falling.

It's still snowing now, 2 hours after I took these photos!

We certainly didn't expect that! 
I was wearing a t-shirt yesterday - today it's on with the winter jumper.

My Yin Yang mobile!

At last it is up and running!

Have you noticed that the traditional Yin Yang symbol is very flat, simply 2 dimensional?

The symbol itself has been around for thousands of years and it could really benefit by being given a more up-to-date, 3D image. As there doesn't seem to be any out there in the world already, I decided to make one.

As I researched this, I found some videos which purport to be 3D Yin Yang images on YouTube but these were all computer generated and you can only see them on a monitor or TV, not actually have them in your garden.

As it spins it creates a true 3D effect.

You can see this fantastic creation in action by clicking HERE.

And you can see it with a full 3D effect on a windier day by clicking HERE.

A bike ride along the coast.

We have been experiencing glorious weather for the first week and a half of October, it's still quite hot, very little wind and lots of sun with blue skies.

What could be better for a bike ride along the coast?

And to prove it, here's Margaret with her bike. A great day out.

Along the camino.

The weather has been wonderful this afternoon for this time of the year.

There has not been a breath of wind.

The sky has been clear and blue.

The sun shining on the stone walls makes them look quite beautiful...

...along with the old stone of the small farm sheds.

There are still interesting flowers to be seen even although they may be just weeds.

The olive trees have a variety of foliage colours which contrasts against the sky...

...as do the pine trees.

In the distance, the Puertos de Beceite, the mountain range between us and the Mediterranean.

Harvest Moon over the Mediterranean

There's probably not a lot of farmers around here making use of the Harvest Moon as an extension to their working day in order to collect their crops but here it is anyway.

It looked particularly beautiful this evening over the Mediterranean.

My avatar and my dog - the movie, (sort of).

And now for the highlight of the month! 

My avatar and my dog in their exploits together so far, (over 80), feature in this 7 minute and 49 second extravaganza.

You can see it by clicking the link HERE.

Don't forget that to see updates of what they are getting up to on a regular basis, you can see them on this blog by clicking HERE.

Enjoy!

San Ramón

The 31st August is the fiesta of San Ramón, the patron saint of Torre del Compte.

At midday there is the celebration of mass in the church and ...

...San Ramón is given a tour of the village.

As we leave the church we are presented with a handful of pieces of cake, which have been blessed and sprinkled with holy water, from Carlotta and Julia, who is wearing traditional costume in the picture above,.

Meanwhile, the paella is being prepared in the Plaza Mayor...

...for the meal with around 450 people enjoying it.

We certainly did!

To see all of the photos, click HERE