It has been a quiet fall here in Barcelona, but we have done some traveling. Back in October we were invited to the house of our good friend Mar's parents in Etxauri near Pamplona. We were given a place to stay, great hospitality, and were fed very well. All we had to do was help cut and stack a little firewood.
One of the best parts of visiting with Mar's family was finally understanding how Spaniards eat during the day. We had been told that there is el desayuno (9:00h), el almuerzo (11:00h), la comida (2:00h), la merienda (17:30h), and la cena (21:00h). Five meals! And we have finally experienced the correct way to eat all of these meals. We enjoyed delicious Spanish ham, fried eggs, the best tomatoes ever, and grilled lamb ribs. We were even sent home with apple custard pie!
After chopping and stacking wood (there was a lot of wood) we adventured into Pamplona to see the city known for the "Running of the Bulls." Pamplona is a walled city founded during Roman times, is filled with beautiful architecture, and has a park filled with live animals.
In addition to exploring Pamplona, we also toured around Etxauri, a beautiful small town with amazing views and vineyards.
Firewood and Food
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| One load of wood chopped and ready to stack. |
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| Check out our tractor driver! |
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| Mar, stacking some wood. |
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| Done! |
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Dave slicing some ham
after a hard day's work. |
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| This is where we got our eggs. |
Pamplona
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| Welcome to Pamplona. |
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In Spanish a peacock is called
a "turkey royal" (without cheese...) |
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Is that a black swan?
Or did Nessie leave Scotland and move to Spain? |
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The one of the bell towers
of the cathedral. |
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| Chandelier. |
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| In the church. |
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| The gazebo in the main square, lit up at night. |
Etxauri
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| Windmills! |
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Mar's home in Etxauri.
The grapes from the
vine over the door were amazing! |
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| A castle hiding in the countryside... |
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| with a cool sculpture. |
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| Wine to be, from a nearby vineyard. |
