The week we were hop ons

After five months here, it feels as though we are finally finding our feet. My job is starting to feel like mine, not something that I am pretending to do until someone catches me out (classic imposter syndrome). Our apartment seems more like home that is has before.

And we are even making friends! In the past week we’ve been lucky enough to hop on some fun adventures with kind friends and colleagues generous enough to share their part of the world with us.

Exploring with locals has been a great way to learn Spanish (and help with English), and see things that we would have definitely missed bumbling along on our own.

So here are some pictures of wonderful local things that we have been fortunate enough to see in the last week or so.

Background: my workplace. Foreground: the makings of a fair! The Ebre Fira is this weekend, and the grounds around campus are filled with carnival rides and game. In this one, I think kids can try their hands/bottoms at bull-riding.

Incredible home-cooked arroz (not quite paella, but pretty close!) made by a friend from work in their incredible campo, or country house. Four kinds of seafood and freshly made stock. Did I mention it was incredible?

A castell in front of a castello in l’Ametlla del Mar, as part of a Sant Jordi fiesta last weekend. Not captured in this photograph: the beach in the background, the gralla band playing music to build the tension as the castellers build their castell;  a BBQ area where fresh sardines were being cooked for breakfast! 1€ for a plate of salty, delicious fish, and a swing of wine.

El Toll del Vidre (Pool of Glass, I think) near Arnes, about an hour from Tortosa. Bit icy on the toes, but we will definitely be back in summer.

Sunset in Tortosa after a terrific storm. The sun was actually setting behind us, but the cloud opposite caught some last rays of the day, making it look like there were two sunsets going on. Next month there will be more science on this blog, I promise…