Anne and Clive visit

We met Anne and Clive in 1970 when Margaret and Anne taught at the same school. We have kept in touch even when they moved to Canada a few years later.

This was their first ever visit to Spain and we were able to show them parts of the real Spain which exist around us.

A visit to our neighbouring village of La Fresneda and the ermita were first on the agenda so they could see our village across the Matarraña valley.

One of the most important things when you visit Spain is to enjoy the food. We did plenty of this and lunch that day was at one of our favourite restaurants, Fonda Angeleta in Valderrobres.

After lunch, a walk up to the castle...

...and then a walk around our own village of Torre del Compte.

Next day, a journey through the mountains down to our other house at Vinaròs...

...stopping off at L'Antic Molí for lunch.

We didn't actually have a BBQ, we were just posing...

...but we did visit the harbour...

...and Anne had a paddle in the Mediterranean.

Lunch was at the Hotel Rey Don Jaime in Morella...

...followed by a walk around the town.

Next day, Sunday, a visit to the viaduct which carried the railway from Tortosa to Zaragoza but now is a Via Verde, a walking/cycle track, through the Val de Zafán, ...

...with lunch al fresco.

Our excursion on Monday took us to the Torre Cremada, an Iberican lookout tower built 4 centuries BC where they could signal warnings of possible attack to other communities,...

...the Greenwich Meridian line which passes very close to us,...

...the beautiful ermita of Santa Barbara at Valdealgorfa,...

...lunch at Restaurante Meseguer in Alcañiz...

...followed by coffee at the Parador.

To round off the day, the last supper of the visit. Hopefully Anne and Clive will return as there is much more to see!

"Lost" in Vinaròs!

Vinaròs is a lovely town especially when you get near to the sea.

It has both interesting features as well as the buildings themselves.

This fountain is in the centre of a lovely square with lots of seating areas.

The sea front itself is quite splendid with a strip of beach before the sea which was making a lovely noise as the waves gently rolled in.

On the sea front, but set back between higher, more recent buildings on either side, is this delightful building with a pleasant courtyard at the front.

The building is a restaurant which goes by the name "Lost"...

...and this was where we were to have our meal for the day as a special treat!

First, we were presented with an interesting aperitif based on Red Bull and cherries.

This was followed by several courses, in the traditional style of tapas, which were shared between us. First, above, are almejas, clams, served in a garlic sauce. Lovely!

In the photo below we have the second tapas, canalón de pulpo relleno de patata violeta sobre mar de calabaza y vinagreta a la gallega, which translates as octopus stuffed with violet potato on a bed of pumpkin with Galician vinegar. Very satisfying!

For the 3rd tapas, raviolis de rabo de buey con crema de foie, 

oxtail ravioli with duck liver sauce. Delicious!

Next up, from the fish menú, was the bicolor de atún relleno de queso manchego y anchoa, 2 colours of tuna stuffed with manchego cheese and anchovies. Delectable!

This was followed by an item from the meat part of the menú: Magret de pato con lágrima de ribuardo, frutas del bosque y macadamia which loosely translates as duck breast with ribuardo juice, (rhubarb?), fruits of the forest and macadamia nuts. Superb!

This was followed by a speciality, Volcán "lost", another tapas. In the "volcano" were sauteed mushrooms, a fried egg, foie gras and truffle oil. Fantastic!

Next, bombones de foie y mango caramelizado con gelatina de manzana y lágrima de pera, which were pieces of foie gras, (duck liver), in caramelized mango 

with apple jelly and pear juice. Exquisite!

For dessert, or postre, another speciality, "gin-tonic": mar de ginebra, granizado de tónica y helado de frutas del bosque. Literally, a sea of gin, crushed ice tonic and ice cream of fruits of the woods. Very refreshing for the palate.

The usual accompaniment with the postre course is a glass of cava.

And to finish it all off what could be better than a nice cup of tea.

It is not often that you come across a restaurant like this. Everything from the location, the ambiance, the range of dishes on the menu created with a superb choice of ingredients and served impeccably, makes it absolutely first class and not to be missed.

As I said earlier, this meal was a special treat and what made it so special was that we were there by invitation of our new neighbour, Pedro, who has owned the restaurant for just less than a week. We wish him every success, which is undoubtedly deserved, with this venture.

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.

Vinaròs camino

The walk along the seafront camino at Vinaròs is just so different from a walk in the country...

...and at this time of year, there are plenty of colourful spring flowers.

On the other side of the camino is the sea.

It is so calm and peaceful!