To the Zaragoza fayre...

It's 8:30 and we set off on the coach with a group of pensionistas from our village to Zaragoza picking up other groups as we pass through a couple of neighbouring villages.

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This current feria, or fayre, is the 70th general fayre and runs from the 9th - 17th of October. Wednesday, the day we were there, was a special day for the more senior visitors with some special events and entertainment designed for them.

The buildings themselves are enormous with 9 pavilions as well as a main auditorium.


Events were also taking place outside such as this display by the parachute team.


Inside two pavilions were displays by local garages of new and second hand cars.


The food hall was packed with people and local produce of every description was on display...

...resulting in displays of some very colourful sweets,...

...bottles of herb liqueur,...

...baskets with the raw ingredients,...

...tea flavours to cure all ills,...

...more nuts and seeds than your average vegetarian would ever require,...

...and for the non-vegetarian, samples of fuet, and other various sausages.

After a hearty, meaty lunch with wine and cava, it was back to the main hall for some rousing jotas.

No one was going to drop off to sleep when this group were singing!

Further entertainment came in the form of magic acts,...

...traditional singing,...

...and dancing.

In another pavilion the army were putting their dogs through their paces...

...and demonstrating what our dog would do if we didn't feed her!
Another great day out!

Mountains and sea!

We felt it was time for a short break so we decided to have a couple of days in Andorra where the capital of the co-principality is imaginatively called Andorra la Vella, (Old Andorra).

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According to the weather forecast we were to expect rain and temperatures as low as zero at night. However, despite a fresh start in the morning, when this photo was taken, we had relatively clear blue skies and it was quite warm.

The views of the Pyrenees were breathtaking...

...and we didn't see any snow.

Our next stop was at the Parador at Vic-Sau. The hotel is in a wonderful spot overlooking the Sau reservoir and this was the view from our bedroom window.


The following morning the entire valley had filled with mist which gradually burnt off in the heat of the sun.


Only 3 kilometres away down a narrow track is the 11th century Monestir de Sant Pere de Casserrers, St Peter's monastery, which had been restored, along with it's separate restaurant.


No, we didn't go on a helicopter ride to get this aerial photo; it's a photo of a photo on display in the monastery but it shows the sort of area we were in with the monastery in the middle.


Each column in the courtyard had been restored beautifully using original pieces where available.


We then had 2 further nights on the coast at Platja d'Aro, or the "beach of Aro" Unfortunately, the cloudy weather which had been forecast but we had avoided in Andorra caught up with us here but that didn't stop us driving up the Costa Brava to Cadaqués which has strong links with the art world being visited by Picasso, Miró and many others.


We continued our excursion by going to the Cap de Creus, the easternmost point in mainland Spain, passing by the home of Salvador Dali - maybe next time we shall pay it a visit!


Normally you can see right down the coast - today unfortunately, was different - but it looked good.

Around and about!

For the last few days we have had my niece staying with us and we have been showing her around the local area. She has lots of photos for memories - here is a selection of them.

Click left on any of the photos in order to be able to see it full size.

The old olive mill down by the Matarraña river in Torre del Compte is the summer home of our friends Andrea and Marc.

The original mill not only used to press the olives in order to release the oil, it also used to grind the corn.


On Saturday we were with our friends Mari Carmen and Raúl in Alcañiz for a splendid lunch with typical food of the region...

...followed by a peach tart made by Margaret. Delicious!

This weekend was the big weekend for bikers throughout Spain and beyond who had descended on the town for the racing event which was taking place at Motorland just outside Alcañiz.

70,000 were expected but I think I counted a lot more.

The new by-pass had been opened for the occasion but is closed now while it is finished off.


The roofs of the houses in Valderrobres are always a picturesque sight, here seen from the castle.

And here is the castle itself, or at least, one corner of it.

I'm sure that this room in the castle could have been the inspiration for one of Escher's paintings.

The arches make great shadows at this time of day...

...while through the arches themselves, the view is stunning.

Another arch but this time leading onto the old stone bridge across the Matarraña...


...and on crossing the bridge a glance to the left reveals the backs of all the houses.

A rare sight as the bridge is deserted.

Up to the ermita de Santa Bárbara at La Fresneda and a view looking towards Calaceite...

...plus a view of the old railway bridge crossing the river...

...and the village of La Fresneda from the same vantage spot.

A drive up the Valle del Silencio to the Sanctuario de la Virgen de Gracia, a 16th century convent...


...with interesting views from the outside through the decorative windows to the countryside beyond.

"I'm sure I'll find salmon in here one day".

We live closer to the Greenwich meridian line here than we did when we lived in England. This photo was taken in the western hemisphere, by a matter of inches.


Our friend Emilia's mosaic bench. She is a very talented ceramicist and we have been working with her on a mosaics course. More of that later!

The village of La Fresneda as seen from our newly tarmacked road.

The ermita de Santa Bárbara at Valdealgorfa. Santa Barbara is the Patron Saint of Workers at Risk and Sudden Death so that is why there are several ermitas with her name on around here.


A view of Torre del Compte with the Puertos de Beceite behind, (the mountains between us and the Mediterranean). You can see our house if you know where to look!


And of course the village of Torre del Compte itself with the ermita de San Juan,...

...the church,...

...the fantastic views down the Matarraña valley,...

...and one of the remaining entrances to the village.

It's no surprise we love living in this region!