Posts Tagged ‘paella’
Medieval Thyme
Posted on: February 13, 2019
- In: History | Spain | Travel
- 64 Comments
Every year for three days at the beginning of February, the city of Orihuela, Spain transforms itself into a medieval town complete with market stalls, soldiers, street entertainers and food cooked over open flames. The Moors and the Christians are both represented as at one time they lived side by side in this area. This year a friend and I took the twenty-minute bus ride to the city to partake in this fun event. Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!
Our first stop was at a Moorish tea tent, to partake in perfect mint tea and delicious baklava. We even got to keep the tea glass as a souvenier.
I got to pet a camel! Those of you who have read Amanda in Arabia, know how much I love camels.
We watched artisans at work, such as this potter
And this sculpture
And this baker making buns in a medieval oven!
Displays of sturdy ovenware for sale
and colourful graters, perfect for grating garlic, ginger, tomatoes and more
Street entertainers were spotted everywhere.
Medieval musicians
and dancers wound their way through the streets as in days of old.
Even a troll
and other scary woodland creatures
Adults dressed up in their finery
And children got to be a king for a day!
How would you like to buy a suit of armour?
We stopped for lunch at a charming little restaurant frequented by the entertainers!
There were plenty of food stalls with fresh produce
waiting to be cooked over the hot coals, resulting in paella and other mouthwatering dishes
We decided not to have soup with balls.
A handsome Bedouin poses for us by his tent
To catch the spirit of the day, watch the video I took while there. You might feel like you have gone back in time like I did.
- In: Books | Food | guest posts
- 41 Comments
Today is my birthday and what better way to celebrate than sharing this article featuring Amanda talking about her adventures and sharing a couple of recipes! Check out this amazing blog where you will discover great recipes and interesting articles.
Meet Amanda from the Amanda Travels series who talks about her travels and shares favorite recipes.
HI! Amanda here.
Thanks for having me as a guest on your blog, Esme. You probably already know that I love traveling to interesting places. My curiosity gets me into trouble sometimes but I always meet interesting people and learn fascinating new things. What you maybe didn’t know is that I enjoy collecting recipes from the places I visit.
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- In: Spain
- 29 Comments
Carnival is celebrated around the world at this time of the year. It is considered the last time to have a big party before the period of lent. You don´t have to be in New Orleans or Rio de Janeiro to take part in a colourful Carnival parade with brilliant costumes and warm smiles. Carnival is very popular here in Spain and last year we enjoyed a parade and celebration at the local mall. I wrote about it here. https://darlenefoster.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/carnival-time/
Everyone gets involved in Carnival festivities, including the schools. All week the students go to school wearing specified items of clothing each day, like mismatched socks, inside out clothing, a hairpiece etc.
Mismatched socks day
This year we witnessed the Carnival parade at the local elementary school our young friend attends. The children, teachers and parents went all out with the costumes and festivities. The theme was different cultures with students dressed as various foods and historic figures from around the world. Our young friend was part of the Egyptian group and played her part well. It was fun to watch everyone get into the spirit and enjoy themselves. There were more parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends, watching and taking pictures, than participants. After the parade, the children were treated to hot chocolate and pastries, then spent the rest of the school day making crafts. I would have loved to attend that school!
Here come the Egyptians
And the scary Vikings!
Spaghetti and meatballs anyone?
or a Spanish favourite, paella
The drummers provide the right music and add to the atmosphere
My favourite Cleopatra!
A fun Carnival for all!
Happy Valentine´s Day and Happy Chinese New Year!! It is all happening at once this year.
- In: Spain | Travel
- 26 Comments
Hubby read about a horse and flamenco show in the local paper. It was to be held at a Spanish stud farm near a small place in the country called Dolores, about thirty minutes from us. In spite of a threat of rain, we decided to check it out and were very happy we did. We managed to find the stable, had a look around and settled down to watch the show. Here are a few highlights.
Champion rider Juan Cortes entertained us with his incredible horseman skills on his Andalusian stallion.
Emma Tytherleigh showed off her excellent equestrian skills on her horse Romero. Emma is a talented trick rider, former CAVALIA performer and devoted horse lover.
The audience was delighted by Rocko, Emma´s incredibly cute miniature rescue pony and his playful antics.
Manuela, Juan´s talented and lovely daughter charmed us with a flamenco dance, while Juan rode his horse around her.
We fell in love with Emma´s Jack Russell, Rodeo Jack, who never leaves her side. He sits watching the performance wishing he could be part of it. Apparently sometimes he is.
After the show I made friends with Emma and Rocko.
I also met Juan and one of his gorgeous horses. He was interested to learn that my dad had been a cowboy in Canada.
Then the huge paella, made by Juan´s wife Hermina, was brought out for all to enjoy.
The event was a fundraiser for Dogs at Large and proved to be a fabulous way to spend a sunny Saturday in the Spanish countryside in December. The rain never did happen.
You can watch a clip of some of what we saw here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ou31fex-cE
To learn more about the performers and the horses check out the website
Darlene Foster's Blog 