A Day In The Country

Today we were lucky enough to be invited out to a Spanish home just outside Rota, or en el campo as they say in Spanish. A teacher at Rachael's school, Maria José, invited us to have lunch with her and her husband's family. They have a little house right on the beach, although it is very rocky there, especially compared to our beautiful sandy beach in Rota.

When we first got there, Maria José's father-in-law showed us around. He actually has his own beehives and makes homemade honey which he then sells in Rota. He explained the whole process to us, and it was quite interesting. He said he had just finished collecting the honey 3 days earlier, so all he has left to do now is bottle the honey.

They really put a lot of effort in the lunch they served us. We started with whole sardines, followed by an amazing tortilla española made by Maria José herself. Then we had plates and plates of different meats, cheeses, and salads. The main plate however, was the paella. Paella is a rice dish made with saffron and olive oil that comes from Valencia. It can be made with all different kinds of meat, but ours was made with chicken and pork. It is made in special paella pan, which is a large, shallow, flat pan. After dinner, we had tintilla, a very strong, very sweet wine that is unique to Rota because it is made from a special grape that grows in the area. For dessert, we had an amazing dish called torrijas, or bread pudding. It is basically French toast, but they let the bread go stale, and then soak in in the tintilla before frying it and serving it in honey. It was the most delicious dessert ever! Then after the dessert, we kept on eating, as they brought out fresh granadas (pomegranates).

Finally, we had another mini tour of the actual farm area, and got to hold 1-day old baby goats! All in all it was a great day in Spain!