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!