Fira de l'Avet a Espinelves

I really love three-day weekends! Rory is training basically all day, so the kids and I crafted, rode bikes, organized the house and switched some furniture around, made tons of art projects, watch Christmas movies and went to Espinelves for the festival, better known as Fira de l'Avet a Espinelves.

I packed the kids up on Monday morning and we enjoyed driving the 45 minutes to Espinelves. I'll admit, I felt like I was back in Colorado as the road meandered through tunnels and mountains. Beautiful! The kids and I took it all in and the drive went so quickly. 

Espinelves is a tiny mountain village located in the Montseny-Guilleries forest. The town was built on the slope of a mountain and the church dates back to the 11th and 12th centuries. Less than 200 people reside here and the climate is perfect for the cultivation of conifer trees (58 different species, to be exact). Legend has it that the locals of Espinelves experimented with various hybrids until they created the perfect Christmas tree. 

People come from the surrounding area to attend this festival for two main reasons: the trees, of course, and this pine nut tart thing. Everyone around town was walking around with a pizza box (tart box) from a particular bakery. Some people had dozens of the boxes. The tart is a Catalan tradition, but this particular bakery makes them not in the oven, but on an open fire. This gives the tart a special taste and people come from far and wide to purchase them at this time of year.

For the festival, the small stone streets are full of various artisans and trees for sale. Glass blowers, bread makers, artists, etc. Fresh crepes, castanyas (chestnuts) on the fire...it was glorious. We walked around admiring things for a bit and I allowed the kids to indulge in some fresh bread and chocolate covered castanyas. We also purchased a few goodies for the holidays and enjoyed the local band.

We stayed at the festival for nearly three hours before we were worn out. I was certain the kids would sleep on the way home, but they were excited about the day and their new ornaments for the tree, purchased from local school children in Espinelves who had an entrepreneurial spirit. Instead we enjoyed music from Eston's favorite violin compilation, though Aurelia napped for two hours when we returned home.

A few photos from our day in Espinelves:

Tents set up with various artisans

 Lots of narrow streets and stairs, so I definitely got a workout with the stroller.

 The beautiful Romanesque church.

 Christmas trees everywhere you turn!

 Locals selling trees on their front stoop.

 I could have eaten this bread all day.

 Castanyas on the fire.

 The local band reminded me of the band at Disneyland, not sure why, but it brought back pleasant memories!

Tossa de Mar

Tossa de Mar is roughly 30-40 minutes by car from Girona and though I find it to be crowded and horrible in the summer months, I adore visiting the rest of the year. 

This beach town is the best preserved medieval coastal town in Catalunya and though many think of it as a fishing village, for most of its history the local economy was dependent on the production and exportation of cork. The tourism boom began in the 1950’s and now there are lots of small hotels, restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops, etc. All of these are shuttered at this time of year, so it is extremely quiet and pleasant.

Parts of Tossa were built as early as 881, but the walls surrounding the old town (called Vila Vella Enceinte) were built in the 12th century and they still stand today. You can climb the short path to the old lighthouse and enjoy a most beautiful view of the coastline and the walls surrounding Vila Vella Enceinte. The original turrets and towers are still standing as well and young children always enjoy exploring here!

 The old town is so much fun to wander through. The area is quite small and is the perfect place to let children explore and there are a couple of cozy cafes in little corners.

 Residents still live in these houses and apartments and it is such fun to see their small gardens and brightly painted doors.

My mom and I walked up to the lighthouse and then took a separate path down to the small little houses and apartments in Vila Vella Enceinte. Each place is unique and I could take photos all day of all of the small details!

Tossa is the perfect half-day trip and we were back in Girona in time to pick Aurelia up at nursery school. It was still dreary and drizzling in Girona when we returned, so I was glad we escaped the weather for a few hours.

Now I am debating which monument and village we should visit next...

Pumpkins and Hikes

I was at the market on Friday morning and found that my favorite veggie lady had beautiful pumpkins. I requested two of them and she stopped and asked me what my intention was for the pumpkins. Umm, my intention? I felt nervous as I explained my recipe for pumpkin muffins. Her body relaxed and she told me earlier in the day a woman had tried to buy the same two pumpkins (she only had a few available). However, this woman was going to use them as part of a centerpiece for her table. The veggie lady was not about to have her gorgeous pumpkins sitting on some table, so she refused to sell them to her and sold her some gourds instead. She was happy to sell them to me because I was cooking with them. I felt relieved to be approved for the pumpkin purchase and we made pumpkin muffins on Friday after school:

Aurelia is wanting an apron and chef's hat of her own, but I am trying to push her off until December because I bought new ones for Eston in Paris and they were meant to be a Christmas present for him. I tied a dish cloth around her waist (which didn't really work) but she seemed satisfied.

 I was tempted to return to the veggie lady on Saturday morning and show her proof of the muffins, but I had a meeting to attend and couldn't get to the market, so I will just have to tell her how wonderful the pumpkin puree was for the muffins. 

On Sunday morning Rory headed out for his training ride and I took the kids out for a hike. We did just over 5km and we were on a hunt for pine cones and branches. Christmas tree ornaments are not easy to come by here, so we usually make our own. 

I took some photos as we were leaving town:

 I love how quickly we can be out of town and on the trails.

 It was a beautiful morning and Aurelia is learning how to hike, which thrills me to no end. She did a solid kilometer before I put her in the pack. We keep a solid pace and she really enjoyed trying to keep up with us.

Rory brought her that pink vest from China. It is nice and warm, so I am trying to go with it and not focus on my hatred of pink and my frustrations of people buying pink for girls and blue for boys. I won't go into it now, haha! I will just say that Aurelia has to be a ballerina for a costume day at school and she won't have a stitch of pink on her because the tutu I have is blue.

Happy Monday!

Fall Bike Rides

I have been fortunate enough to ride my bike in some really beautiful places in this world, but I must say that Catalunya is one of the best. And though I do enjoy a good run on the trails near the city, nothing makes me feel better than a bike ride. I have been fighting a cold all week, so I was doing easy hikes in attempt to let my body recover. However, it was a beautiful morning on Wednesday, so I bundled up and headed out the door on my trusty steed.

Riding through the city of Girona is not that much fun, obviously. Cars, scooters, buses, pedestrians...it is a bit of a mess. However, in mere minutes you can navigate out of the city and find deserted roads that seem to go on for ages. I am still exploring the many roads in the area and right now I have some time constraints with my children, but I have some favorite routes that fit into my schedule.

The climb from Girona to Els Angels is one of my favorite. In 1409 a local bishop gave his permission to have a chapel built on top of this mountain. A chapel is still there and (along with weekly mass) it hosts one of the best views in all of Catalunya. On a clear day you can see from the sea to the Pyrenees and it is just gorgeous. 

The road to Els Angels is not terribly steep, but it is a solid climb that keeps my heart rate up fairly consistently. While it is common to see other cyclists along this road, seeing a car is a rarity, which makes it a great road for cyclists.

 Can you see the chapel building waay in the distance on top of that hill? That is the top of the climb, roughly 15 kilometers from our neighborhood in Girona.

When pressed for time, I normally ride to the top and then immediately descend down the other side before turning around to return to Girona. However, when I arrived at the top on Wednesday I decided to ride up towards the chapel so I could take in the view on a crystal clear day. The sun felt great, so I just sat on a bench and took it all in for awhile before heading back to Girona.

My layers of clothing become thicker each week as the temperatures change, but I am determined to stay on my bike as much as possible this fall and winter!

Kids in Paris--Day Five

To be honest, we went back and forth about the itinerary for our last day in Paris. We seriously considered heading out to Disneyland Paris, but in the end we decided to hold off for another year so Aurelia can truly enjoy it a bit more. Instead, we went to the Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie--otherwise known as the science museum.

Now, we did our research and everything said to make a reservation. However, the entire site was in French (which wasn't a problem, since Rory speaks decent French) and was kind of confusing because you had to make separate reservations for different exhibits and we did not know what was what. We decided to take our chances and got on the Metro.

The museum is not close to the city. It was a solid 30-40 minutes on various trains to arrive at the Parc de la Villette, where the museum is located. Once there we immediately realized we should have tried harder to make reservations. The museum only had one opening for one exhibit, so we purchased tickets and went to the light and shadow exhibit.

This exhibit was superb and we spent nearly an hour inside, but our ticket would have allowed for entrance to other exhibits had we made a reservation, so going to one exhibit was a little costly. I would highly recommend this museum for all ages--just make reservations before you go! The exhibit we saw was so well done and I was really impressed. I wish we would have been able to explore the other areas, but now we know what to do for our next visit.

 After the museum we asked Eston what he wanted to do. You guessed it--he wanted to do the sailboats again! So, we walked over to Luxembourg and rented another boat.

 We explored the entire park and gardens a bit more after we returned the sailboat. It was warm and sunny and it felt great to be outdoors.

 We discovered the sandboxes and I wish we would have found them earlier in the week. These were so much fun for the kids. They are inside a little gated garden and kids can take off their shoes and socks and play in the very pristine sand. Our kids loved it. There was also a small grassy area for picnics, which is rare in Paris. Our kids did not have any sand toys, but they built all sorts of stuff with their hands and just had a ball.

We enjoyed our vacation and feel thankful our children had the opportunity to see and do so much in this great city. I know Aurelia won't remember this trip, but Eston will have some wonderful memories. Paris is a great city for families, truly.

We have returned to Girona and the kids are back in school. I love vacation time, but it does feel good to be home and back on routine.