Daily life at Casa TulStig - Our adopted home in Spain.
From what started as a blog about my journey along the Camino Frances to now what is about my daily journey along life's rich pathway.
Today I've only written a couple of hundred words as it's been a bit of a bust day in other ways.
This morning I was working, so no writing there, then I went to lunch with some of the other teachers, where one of them announced she was leaving, which is really sad. Needless to say we had a few bottles of the red stuff, and when I got home I had to relax a while on the sofa before I was much use for anything. I did write a few words, as I want to keep in touch with my story and my characters, but haven't been in the right head-space to write much more. I am now taking it easy for the rest of the day. I'm well ahead of the game at the moment, and tomorrow I'll be pushing myself a bit more to write.
Incidentally I'm actually watching X-Factor, and still have the attachment to my Winner and Take Two characters strong enough to expect to see them on the stage at any minute- scary how I get so deeply into my stories.
I did take today's photo challenge though:
Day 3 - Breakfast.. which we actually had for dinner tonight... Scrambled eggs and grilled tomatoes on toast...
Yes today is a wonderful day in the TulStig household for Tony and I have been together 30 years today. We met on 14th September 1982 and have been pretty much inseparable since. When the law changed in Spain concerning marriage we tied the know on our 25th anniversary, just 5 years ago, surrounded by family and friends- and what a wonderful experience that was:
Today Jane and Amy are back in the house ready to babysit when we fly off to Venice tomorrow to begin our cruise of the Adriatic, and tonight we are all going out to dinner at one of our favourite places, with the wonderful Julie. This afternoon Tony will be having his new teeth fitted, so happily he will be in the holiday photos.
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And to the photo challenge.
Yesterday's was Table: So here's one of the buffet's I have prepared over the past year (this one for the school's end of year party)...
And today's prompt is 'Favourite' -
'Gilda's' - Our favourite restaurant of the moment, where we will be dining tonight...
Got no time to worry - oops breaching copyright here, so I'll just post this:
SO why did we have lazy Sunday afternoon? - cos we had lunch on the seafront and then a siesta for nearly two hours. Isn't life a blast!!
Lunch on the seafront was at:
Vila Tapa. Bar Taperia
Paseo Del Carme,13. Vilanova i la Geltru.
Tel: 938156559
It's a small place right next door to Cafe de les Artes, our favourite place to relax on a Sunday morning, or any other time come to that! And here's Tony with a bottle of fizzy water, whilst I'm on my usual pre-lunch tipple of vermouth.
We weren't sure there would be much for us, but had been recommended, via Julie, by JanWillem -our 'Energy-healer vet friend.
The restaurant has a full tapas menu and a Free Buffet - now that doesn't mean you don't pay it means you just help yourself to what you want.
We checked out the buffet and had a selection of salad items, all nicely presented and tasty enough. The hot food, though, was almost exclusively fishy and meaty. We did manage to get some grilled mushrooms and some sauté potatoes, but sadly neither were very hot. The chilled red wine, on the other hand, was well chilled and perfect for a Sunday lunch on the seafront.
The deserts on the buffet were pretty much generic, with a selection of fruits and sliced gateaux. Nice enough but not heart topping -and yes I did have two helpings!
The staff were a mixed bag to say the least. The first waiter we met was very pleasant, but made it plain that he thought we were tourists. The Chinese woman who appeared to own the place stood around with a face like thunder, and the waitress who appeared to be in charge needed a new pair of trousers -hers were quite inappropriate.
Will we eat there again- unlikely - but I'm sure if you eat meat, or fish especially, it would be a good place to eat. One of my ex-students was there- so maybe that was a recommendation.
WE did enjoy our lunch sitting in the open, on the first cooler day we've had in an age, but felt a little short changed again -yep a 'veggie-whinge'.
The bill came to just under 40€, which wouldn't have been bad if the choice for us had been better. I was a tad annoyed though that the menu price did not include IVA (value added tax) so ended up paying more than we thought. At the end of this month IVA is being hiked by the government which will make this even less of a place we will plan to go back to.
We’ve
been having a relaxing day here in VnG.
After walking Cuddy and Xali a little later than normal and answering e-mails
and other messages I did very little until we went off to catch the bus for the
seafront and another restaurant adventure.
Today we had lunch in the sunshine in one of the many restaurants on the
seafront.
Restaurante Cuckoos; Passeig del Carme, 12
(Paseo marítimo) Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona 08800
Some of you may remember it as 'The Blue Room' where
we adjourned for drinks after our wedding reception. Since then it has changed
hands and attempted to go 'up-market'.
We were pleased to see Toni, the waiter we know well
as he has been working there since we have been living here (8 years and more)
who took our order:
Mixed salad (no tuna)
Spaghetti Pomodoro for Tony
Vegetable Lasagne for me
with a plate of chips
and a bottle of Rioja chilled.
We asked for everything at the same time except the
wine which we wanted 'tout suite'
The wine arrived swiftly by the salad, the chips and
two plates. We were pleased to see the chips were home-made and chunky. The
salad was served with optional balsamic and oil. Nice touches. A few minutes
later Tony's spaghetti arrived. But no sign of my lasagne for at least ten
minutes. Then when it did arrive the plate was too hot to touch, but the
lasagne was cold- Freezer to Microwave methinks! I called one of the waiters
over and told him 'OK' he said and whisked it away- no apology or other
comment. "I bet it comes back too scalding to eat next" I suggested
to Tony and sure enough it did.
Looking round the terrace I had noticed that the
waiters were quite disorganised and at points three were serving one table
while another table waited. The owner was working hands-on, but wasn't in
control of the whole scene.
Neither of us had the 'ganas' for desserts but decide
to check out the dessert menu anyway. Now one of my 'bugbears' is restaurants
that simply offer frozen desserts from a pre-bought menu in plastic tubs- an
yes that is what the menu consisted of. There did appear to be a couple of home
made dishes, but I was disappointed at the lack of imagination. Which kind
of sums up the meal- Two vegetarian options -both pasta, terrace laid out like
a Butlins canteen and deserts pre-bought.
The whole meal cost just under 35€ - which wouldn't
normally have been a bad price, however I was a bit miffed to have been charged
2€ for two rolls that we hadn't ordered and didn't even want. So yes I did
bring them home!
Whatever let's end on a positive. The wine was really
good and the company of course, and we did in fact enjoy our lunch out,
something that we haven't been doing half enough!!
This week I've been dead busy with
catching up with 'Take Two'. Each afternoon I sat down at the laptop and wrote
or edited and am pleased to say that it is now finished. I have yet to re-edit
it and add all the other texts 'acknowledgements, dedication etc' but hopefully
will get all that done this week. I shall then upload it to the publishers, and
hopefully get a proof copy within ten days. I shall check this carefully when
it arrives - something I failed to do with 'Winner' and regret missing so many
typos etc, eventually releasing it for sale soon-after. Want a copy? watch this space....
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In the next few days I am
going to be announcing a 'The Magic of the Camino' competition. This is because
I have now sold over 100 copies. Maybe not what Amazon best-seller list stuff
is made of, but so many more than I ever dreamed of. When I set out I had hoped
to sell around 50, I am thrilled to have doubled that. Promoting through
Facebook and Twitter has clearly helped. My next Goal is to get 100 likes for
my 'Magic of the Camino' Page on Facebook -so if you can help me do this I'll
be most grateful. Many of the sales have been in the USA
and Australia,
and quite a few e-books as well as paperbacks.
Rambla Principal, 58, Vilanova I La Geltrú, 08800, Spain Tel: 938939456
Today we had another meal in a 'new' restaurant. This time lunch.
AS you can see from above this one is right on the Rambla (the main street in town).
We were there around one o'clock- not normally a busy time in Spain where everyone tends to have lunch later (3pm or so) but we still had to wait a while to be noticed. The waiter serving us was pleasant enough, but not overly so. I think he had us marked as a couple of tourist who he didn't want to invest too much time in.
We ordered the goat's cheese Salad with Patatas Bravas (sautéed potatoes in a spicy/hot sauce) , Pimientos del Padron (peppers from Padron in northern Spain, cooked on the griddle- occasionally with a hot one hidden in the bunch) and some tomato bread (no butter here- but rubbed with tomato and garlic an drizzled with olive oil), washed down with a Clara (beer shandy) for me and for Tony an Estrella beer. All to share (drinks excepted)
The goat's cheese salad was delicious with a grain mustard dressing that added a delightful tartness. (Fnnaarr Mr Brennan). The sautéed potatoes were perfectly cooked and the Bravas sauce mouth burning hot- just right. The tomato bread was really good too. The Pimientos del Padron, however, were a little overcooked and a little 'slimy' - Padron is on the Portuguese Camino so I've been there (along with Janey and Sussi) and tasted the real thing -these didn't even come a close second!
The service was a little lackadaisical, we had to ask for knives! But the waiter was pleasant enough for a tapas place.Although when asked about vegetarian options he didn't supply much information.
As for Price, all the above cost us just under 25€ (twenty five euros) -so not too bad at all.
The big test -would we go again- Probably not -more because the vegetarian options were limited than for any other reason. The other tapas looked really varied and tasty!
Last night we went into town for dinner, and on Julie's suggestion tried a different Italian restaurant- The Nuraghe (which is a Sardinian megalith 'building'. It is situated just north of the Town square, dead in the centre of town.
We sat out side as it was a hot night and had excellent service from some of the friendly waitresses who interspersed their Spanish with the occasional words of English. THE service was excellent adn caring without being intrusive -just what we look for when dining out.
The menu is huge with a wide range of pasta dishes and pizzas. WE both went for Pizzas -I ha one with artichokes and other veggies on it, whilst Tony had a salami one. They were thin and crispy and topped with a goodly amount of cheese.
We ordered a red whine (chilled) - and were asked whether we liked strong wines or wanted something lighter. With the waitress's help our choice was just what we were looking for.
All in all an excellent dining experience, for just over fifteen euros each (15€) .
There was even a French Bulldog at the next table that had us captivated, oh and a cute guy in shorts with the hairiest and chunkiest legs which just about rounded off the experience for us.
Like Arnie: We will be back!
Oh and BTW we have decided that this summer we are going to try and find a new restaurant each week to try out... sow watch this space for further reviews of the eateries in VnG.
HUGE FANFARE: (have to add a Fnaarr her for Mr Brennan!!) The carpenter has left the building and the work is done. Of course now I have to spend some goodly time repainting the whole flat- that's the trouble with having work done en-bulk. So today I purchased a pot of paint and am ready to start with a bit of clearing up first. as an added bonus when he (the carpenter) found out I was an English teacher he asked if I'd teach his brother who is failing English at College. He's going to give me a call alter in the week.
DECLUTTERING - we're still checking the cupboards and shelves to get rid of anything we no longer need or want. We've also had a message today that a local animal charity is happy to take everything off us for onward resale- Result. Tomorrow I am tackling the kitchen cupboard -bowls, dishes and assorted unused items will be going the same way as books and other knick nacks etc.
TULSTIG GRUB: This evening we had a delicious curry meal. I made a fresh veggie curry, which we decided to have on crusty slices of bread with cheese on top melted under the grill. It was yummy even if I do say so myself. The only thing was neither of us could finish our plates- over the last few weeks we've both got used to eating less. Having just watched a programme on 'Five a day' food industry scams I am glad we live here and get our fresh veggies, our diet is definitely lacking in processed foods which is a really good thing.
We've just returned from Julie's where we had a delicious three course lunch, needless to say we are now stuffed. Starting with a mushroom and chive soup, followed by sweetcorn Fritters and ending with Peanut brownies and watermelon.
When we got in I thought I'd have a quick look to see what the weather is likely to be like in Oviedo when I arrive on Wednesday, and here's the result.
61°F
59°F
55°F
59°F
57°F
55°F
55°F
64°F
7 mph
9 mph
