Falls on my head. After a glorious day yesterday in the surrounding countryside , rain on the roof overnight ( ie before 10 am in the morning!) indicated we should stay away from the Plains today. After the usual breakfast we headed into Lleida nearby for a walk and talk. Under cloudy slides we visited the central monastery/fort which certainly had an interesting history. Seeing cannonball marks in the wall was impressive . It offered sweeping views of a rather dull city under grey skies but hey it was free entry. Then , as the rain started to fall , it was on to Josefs local golf club , Raimat, for a beer and watch a few holes of Ryder Cup. It’s a picturesque course indeed surrounded by rows of grape vines. It was now 2:30 pm which could only mean one thing in Spain – not long until lunch!
Now lunch is the big meal here as we had already discovered. Big is a relative term of course because your average Catalan can pack it away. Plans for the afternoon were squashed due to both the inclement weather and the non return of Josefs mother from the low security twilight home. So all bets were off. Apparently. The food was a mixed offering indeed. Snails, Rabbit Stew and Pork cheeks. The 3 essential food groups – no legs, two legs and four legs. Let me tell you, pigs have bony cheeks. I am hoping they were the cheeks from the front end of said animal. But the meat was delicious. Snails are fine if dipped in enough sauce if you close your eyes and don’t accidentally crunch some shell but the question I always ask myself with food like this is Why? So did someone just decide ” Hey those snails are slow moving and easy to catch. Let’s eat them”? Is there not enough 4 legged food around to feast on? Anyway it was a mixed and very filling menu indeed only exceeded by the matching alcohol. White wine followed by Red and then some Rose champagne. By now the cheeks were warm and rosy – although not quite as tender as Mr Pig I am guessing. Then Josef asked the killer question. ” Do you like Port ? ” Is Sergio Garcia a streaky putter ?
So now it is 4:30 pm in the afternoon and I am half cut. It’s raining outside but who cares. I hear bells in my heads but there is no church nearby which is odd in itself.
I have to work out how to fill in the time between now and 9 pm dinner! CLP of course is asleep. At least there is some certainty in life.
flashman181 