Spanish lightweights

I don’t know how they do it! These super late dinnertimes are killing me. We are usually one of the first tables in a restaurant and as we leave (after multiple courses) there are people streaming in, and usually with small children in tow. Are they all on vacation? Many are, of course, but many are also locals and that’s just what they do. I don’t know how you are supposed to live in ‘real life’ and do this – we are sleeping in until at least 9 am everyday because by the time you get home and actually digest your food before sleeping it’s at least 11 pm if not later. The kids are fully over their jet lag and have been for a few days – they are sleeping 10-11 hours each night and are waking up somewhere between 9:30 and 10:30. Jeff and I are pretty much on track, the main problem for us is that we have very flimsy window coverings so if you wake up to pee at 7 am it’s nearly impossible to get back to sleep because there is full sunlight in your bedroom. This is not to be taken as a complaint by any stretch of the imagination, so we are coping with afternoon naps which seem like quite the luxury….

The food we ate for dinner last night was beyond amazing! We couldn’t decide where to eat and wandered for quite awhile – including a stop in their public library for a bathroom break. We noticed a sign for free wi-fi there so I’m sure we’ll be heading back! The kids were really interested in going in and looking at the books so I think it will be a nice ‘field trip’ later in the week. The restaurant we ended up eating at was obviously a popular choice because most of the tables had been reserved. Here is the major benefit to eating ‘early’ – sneaking in before all the reservations! The kids ended up sharing a vegetable paella which they both really enjoyed. Thank goodness - we actually had no idea if they’d like it or not we just gave it a try. We shared the most amazing caprese salad I have ever had in my entire life – perfection on a plate! Plus a delicious smoked salmon that Julia also partook in (she loves her seafood!) and a cheese plate that had huge chunks of parmesan that Chloe took the liberty of using her utensils to ‘shave’ into little pieces. I ended with AMAZING gorgonzola-pear ravioli that was I had to stop myself from finishing to avoid exploding. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture to remember it by, although I don’t think my taste buds will ever let me forget it. Jeff had scorpion fish which neither of us had ever heard of but we were assured it was the best fish on the menu. They brought out a platter of dead fish to show not only it’s freshness but also what they looked like and the size. What an odd looking fish! It was red and a bit ‘fat’ (for lack of a better term) and I was told by Jeff that it was delicious and cooked perfectly. I couldn’t venture away from my ravioli at that point or I would’ve tasted it for myself. The restaurant itself was so cute, it had very low ceilings and everything was made of stone. Most of the tables were in little stone archways that looked like old wine cellars, and we were told by the waiter that the front of the restaurant used to be ‘horse parking’. What a funny term.

Gelato called the kids after dinner but Jeff and I settled for some peppermint tea at our house to help aid digestion and finish the evening. Oh, and the waiter at the restaurant had quite the conversation in Spanish with Chloe – he was obviously impressed with her competency level and we are still so impressed with both girls who are doing so well with all of their Spanish.
Today we took a road trip north to Figueres – home of Salvador Dali. We had intended on going to the Dali museum but the line up was atrocious so we opted to just take pictures of the outside instead. We did, however, go to the Toy Museum which was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be! The kids really liked it and it was filled with toys from Roman times up until the present day. There were stone figurines and little stone dolls, old tricycles and scooters accompanied by very old photos of kids using the toys. It was so interesting to see how so little has changed over the centuries – kids still love dolls and blocks and little cars – it’s just the material that they’re made of that is different. The girls were so interested by a ‘play kitchen’ from 1920 that was strikingly similar to the one they used a few years ago aside from the lack of bright neon colours and fake plastic food. All the religiously themed toys were interesting too – in the late 1800’s there seemed to be a lot of toy soldier looking figurines that instead were various saints – or you could have a whole wooden church with little pews and parishioners and monks…. fascinating .

All in all it was an interesting way to spend an hour and definitely caused the word ‘museum’ to go up a notch in the kids’ minds. On the way back we stopped at Empuries which is a very important archaeological site. It dates back to 218 BC when a Roman army landed for the first time on the Iberian peninsula. Eventually the place was a site of both a Greek and Roman city and we spent an hour or so exploring the ancient metropolis. There were some very impressive mosaics and you could see that 2000 years ago it would’ve been quite a nice place. As well as being right on the coast with seafood aplenty, there were plenty of olive and almond trees so you know they most likely ate very well.
It was an interesting day but the kids got a little bit loopy by the end so we’ll be staying a little closer to home tomorrow for the sake of everyone’s sanity. Plus, it’s market day tomorrow which is always fun. Good night, buenas noches, bon soir, wel te ruste!