Last Saturday we had the Festa l'Ermita at the hermitage outside of El Masroig. It's about a 35 minute walk from our house. Next to the Festa Major, it's the biggest party of the year. Almost everybody in town shows up to cook paella with their families. I learned a lot of important things about cooking paella. The most important thing is it needs to happen outside! It's kind of like the Catalan equivalent of barbeque. I've had some uneven experiences with paella over the years. This was the best I've ever tasted with Jodie Ray's being a close second.
The weather was abominable. The Ermita sits on a mountain top and there is no protection from the wind. It was cold and blowing like crazy. There were some rain squalls that mostly missed us but, every thirty minutes or so, it looked like we were going to get soaking wet. The warmth of the company made up for all of it. Most of Montse's family was there including her brother, Marc. Marc did most of the cooking. There were half a dozen kids running around and having the times of their lives. Altogether, it was a wonderful experience.
A couple of hours after I got home, the orchestra assembled in front of our house. I went downstairs to talk to the neighbors and discovered that the Virgin from the church in El Masroig had been taken out to the Ermita. They brought her back through our street and the orchestra fell in behind.
I'm coming home on April 13 but will have to return here sometime in May for a week or so. The people who were supposed to make my boxes got messed up and now the project is delayed. I will bottle some samples to take back so we're not too far behind, all things considered. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody, especially my Babycita!
