Yay! Internet!
I finally have a chance to use the internet for a decent amount of time! I thought it was never going to happen. Time for a major update. Sorry to anyone who doesn´t like loooong posts.
The last thing I wrote about was Barcelona, and the next thing we did was go to Vilafranca de Panedés, a town south of Barcelona.
In Vilafranca de Panedés, we stayed with Rosa´s cousin Nuría, who is also Oscar´s godmother, and spent some time with her, her daughters Goterti and Meritxell, their husbands and Meritxell´s two small and cheeky sons. They showed us around and fed us a ridiculous amount of Catalan food.
One excursion we went on was to a nearby castle overlooking a lake.
Catalunya is also a major producer of sparkling wine, made by the tradtional (champagne-style) method. It´s called Cava. So the girls took Oscar and I to a Cava winery, namely Cordoniu. The place has been run by the same family for 17 generations, which is pretty mind-blowing, and we took a tour around the place. It was pretty cool- there are these huge underground tunnels where the wine is fermented in the bottle. We had to take a little train thingie to have a look around. We liked seeing the factory area the best, it was really cool. And also the bit where we got to drink some. Yay!
Our second-last day with Nuri and co was spent in Tarragona, where we did lots of touristy things. Pretty neat.
So, what is Catalunya like? Interesting is the best single word I can come up with. The best metaphor is a patchwork quilt that has been in progress for three thousand years and has not had anyone directing the work at any time at all. As a result, there are buildings like the Roman ampitheatre in Tarragona (which was amazing) sitting next to some hideous red-brick apartment buildings that were probably built in the 1970s. This is the same ampitheatre that is almost directly next to the Medeterranian sea, which would provide spectacular views if a train line were not between the two of them. The Roman city walls cutting through the town have been patched up on many occasions over the millenia with whatever seemed to be a good idea at the time. The result is a great example of history in progress.
There seems to be a lot more anarchy in this country than in Australia, where there always seems to be come kind of commitee to tell people what they can and can´t build or do. Yes, the rules are there, but following them isn´t all that enforced. A great example of this is our train trip from Vilafranca to Mandresa. There were a bunch of horribly trashy teenage girls smocking marijuana directly beneath the "no smoking" sign. An older lady complained until they sulked off to another carriage to finish their joint.
I like this. A bit of chaos makes everything that little bit more interesting. :)
The countryside is like this as well. There are vineyards everywhere here in Catalunya, growing in earth made in a palatte of coffee-shop colours (from creamy yellow to a hot-chocolately red/brown), often standing right next to the edge of town or a train line. A new apartment building could be either next to a crumbling beauty from the 18th century or a 1980s dump. One never knows what to expect.
But I digress.
On our last day in Vilafranca, we were lucky enough to take part in a festival including Castellers (human towers) I wrote about This website has pictures of the festival we went to! We drank beer and ate chips and watched and were very nervous seeing a little girl like the one of the top of the tour so far in the air with a shaky looking guy far below looking about to collapse. Nail-biting fun! I´m suprised that this Catalan tradion wasn´t banned during the Franco regime- it basically screams out metaphors about solidarity and working together to reach one´s goals and blah blah blah. But it wasn´t, and Franco is gone now, so there you go.
So, enough for now. Time to work on getting the photos done. Tune in next time for tales of Catalunya´s north-west, and more Pizas!
The last thing I wrote about was Barcelona, and the next thing we did was go to Vilafranca de Panedés, a town south of Barcelona.
In Vilafranca de Panedés, we stayed with Rosa´s cousin Nuría, who is also Oscar´s godmother, and spent some time with her, her daughters Goterti and Meritxell, their husbands and Meritxell´s two small and cheeky sons. They showed us around and fed us a ridiculous amount of Catalan food.
One excursion we went on was to a nearby castle overlooking a lake.
Catalunya is also a major producer of sparkling wine, made by the tradtional (champagne-style) method. It´s called Cava. So the girls took Oscar and I to a Cava winery, namely Cordoniu. The place has been run by the same family for 17 generations, which is pretty mind-blowing, and we took a tour around the place. It was pretty cool- there are these huge underground tunnels where the wine is fermented in the bottle. We had to take a little train thingie to have a look around. We liked seeing the factory area the best, it was really cool. And also the bit where we got to drink some. Yay!
Our second-last day with Nuri and co was spent in Tarragona, where we did lots of touristy things. Pretty neat.
So, what is Catalunya like? Interesting is the best single word I can come up with. The best metaphor is a patchwork quilt that has been in progress for three thousand years and has not had anyone directing the work at any time at all. As a result, there are buildings like the Roman ampitheatre in Tarragona (which was amazing) sitting next to some hideous red-brick apartment buildings that were probably built in the 1970s. This is the same ampitheatre that is almost directly next to the Medeterranian sea, which would provide spectacular views if a train line were not between the two of them. The Roman city walls cutting through the town have been patched up on many occasions over the millenia with whatever seemed to be a good idea at the time. The result is a great example of history in progress.
There seems to be a lot more anarchy in this country than in Australia, where there always seems to be come kind of commitee to tell people what they can and can´t build or do. Yes, the rules are there, but following them isn´t all that enforced. A great example of this is our train trip from Vilafranca to Mandresa. There were a bunch of horribly trashy teenage girls smocking marijuana directly beneath the "no smoking" sign. An older lady complained until they sulked off to another carriage to finish their joint.
I like this. A bit of chaos makes everything that little bit more interesting. :)
The countryside is like this as well. There are vineyards everywhere here in Catalunya, growing in earth made in a palatte of coffee-shop colours (from creamy yellow to a hot-chocolately red/brown), often standing right next to the edge of town or a train line. A new apartment building could be either next to a crumbling beauty from the 18th century or a 1980s dump. One never knows what to expect.
But I digress.
On our last day in Vilafranca, we were lucky enough to take part in a festival including Castellers (human towers) I wrote about This website has pictures of the festival we went to! We drank beer and ate chips and watched and were very nervous seeing a little girl like the one of the top of the tour so far in the air with a shaky looking guy far below looking about to collapse. Nail-biting fun! I´m suprised that this Catalan tradion wasn´t banned during the Franco regime- it basically screams out metaphors about solidarity and working together to reach one´s goals and blah blah blah. But it wasn´t, and Franco is gone now, so there you go.
So, enough for now. Time to work on getting the photos done. Tune in next time for tales of Catalunya´s north-west, and more Pizas!