A belated birthday lunch.

Although my birthday was a few days ago,  Sunday in Spain - or at least, our part of Spain - is not a good day to do anything.  Firstly the shops are shut and I have my eye on a new pair of boots,  and although we were going to have lunch out after I'd (hopefully) bought the boots, we thought we'd do both on the same day. 

So we planned on Tuesday,  as the forecast for Monday was a little iffy to say the least!  10pm on Sunday night - thunder, lightning, and torrential rain.  At the coast, Motril and Salobreña were badly hit by flood water  although the rain fell as snow on the Sierra Nevada, 2cms of snow with a snow line down to 2,800 metres.  Still 2000 metres to go before the snows reach us then!!  We had a muddy walk early on Monday morning,  armed with an umbrella but it was surprisingly warm still.

Tuesday morning though bought more rain, heavy to start with while we were on our morning walk but showery most of the morning.  We thought we'd give the weather time to settle down again and so went out this morning.  Shopping first, then to the shoe shop.  Unfortunately the boots I'd admired were not in my size but they obviously didn't want me to leave empty handed and bought out probably every boot in my size that they had!   Bear in mind that I was looking for black leather ankle boots,  with a medium heel.....how about these? as the lid of the box was opened with a flourish....completely flat,  brown suede,  with a tassel....Pocahontas springs to mind.  How about these then?  If I was into motorbikes then maybe...as you can imagine I left without any.  Fortunately there are other shops and the weather is still warm enough that I don't need them immediately.

Off for lunch to Mesón Vidaña in Ugijar.

A  glass of rioja and a beer while we thought about what to eat plus these tapas

We decided to choose from the main menu rather than this one or the menu del dia.  John decided on ensalada mixta   while I chose  palitos de calabazin a la miel  (courgette sticks with honey)  A very light and very crispy batter,  then drizzled with honey,  delicious!

If you're curious, 6 euros

and 4,50 for this enormous salad.

Something we don't buy very often is monkfish or rape in Spanish ( a as in apple) so when it's on a menu we order it,  today we had a choice of  fried or on the plancha  - one of each please!  Served as so much is,  with chips - at least they were home made not frozen - and pepper and tomato cooked on the plancha too.

 One plate had 2 monkfish tails done on the griddle,  the other plate the fish was chopped and battered.  Each plate, 10 euros.  I put the prices because I do get asked about the cost of things here.  One more drink each with our main meal,  2 euros a beer and 2.50 a glass of rioja from Ribera.  Sadly no room for postre or even coffee,  and still no room for a meal this evening but maybe some cheese and crackers later to fill a small gap.

The view across the road from our table - we ate outside on the terrace.

Lunchtime rush hour - we left at around 3pm and it's quiet!

look left...

look right.  Nothing coming.

And finally for now....

Elliott's first cookery lesson.  I went to the kitchen to make the batter for the Yorkshire puddings and he came with me to watch and stir.  There were a few lumps at the bottom of the bowl but the puddings were no worse than some I make.  We use more eggs here in our batter - it's an altitude thing - and sometimes they rise up better than other times.  Did he like them?  Well, he ate one. 

Playtime in the garden...how high can you climb?  (with a little help from daddy)

Out and about in Montenegro

After a flight from Paris and a few hours in a car,  what you need is a good leg stretch.  When lunch was finished we went for a walk up to the fuente where Elliott decided a paddle would be a good thing to do.

Monty was so hot he had to lie down and cool off in the running water.

Fiesta fashion.

The traditional flamenco dresses were out and about on Saturday.  Girls of all ages and their mothers  wearing their brightly coloured outfits.

From Wikipedia:
The outfit was originally worn by Spanish Gypsies (Roma people), but is now generally thought of as typically Andalusian and is particularly associated with Andalusian festivals such as the Seville Fair (Feria de Abril). The outfit originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when women vendors dressed in modest calico gowns adorned with ruffles came to the fairs along with livestock traders. In time, women of the propertied classes copied these outfits worn originally by rural workers. Ever since the Seville Fair of 1929, the traje de flamenca has had a status as the official outfit of the event.

All the fun of the fair.

Small children need parents on some rides,  I'm not sure who is having the most fun here! 

Next up, the train which went round and round and round - we lost count how many times but Mat was looking dizzy when they got off.

In the bouncy ball place..

At the river on Saturday afternoon,  with the horses.  Actually I should say river bed as it's bone dry still despite a humongous thunderstorm on Thursday afternoon which flooded our front garden.

La Feria y Fiesta de Cadiar

Every day of the 4 days of fiesta,  the wine fountain opens at 1pm.  There are food and drink stalls where you can buy tapas and beer,  for the young ones there is a fair too.  On the Saturday,  there was more going on down by the river,  food again,  the bull fighting ring was down there too.  We saw some decorated cars and trailers driving through town and down to the river, apparently a prize for the best float.  And lots of ladies of all ages in their traditional dresses.

We don't normally go but this year Mat, Airi and Elliott were having a week away from Paris in sunny Spain, and it's something a bit different for them.

1 o'clock - rockets go up and the wine fountain opens.

The fountain is also a  roundabout, this is the other side of it.  Water trickles down large vine leaves.

Early on Friday lunchtime, fairly quiet.

Beer and tapas,  everything 1 euro 50.

Carving a jamón

Friday we went early to do some shopping and have a quick look around the feria and a glass of wine or two.  Saturday we spent most of the afternoon there.....

Lots more pictures coming soon.