They made a day trip over to see me yesterday. We had a huge thunderstorm early in the morning but things began to dry out once they arrived. We went to look at the vineyards and then over to Scala Dei for lunch. There are three good restaurants in Scala Dei and fourteen full time residents. All the restaurants fill up on the weekends with local families and day-trippers. It's a Catalan tradition to spend weekend afternoons stuffing yourself with food and wine and visiting in large groups. We had mussels, quail and llongonissa (tasty local sausage). We also had pan Catalan, crema Catalan and olives. We also had a pitcher of tinto and a bottle of cava. We also had coffee. The food and service were excellent. The price was 15€ each. Thanks again, Larry!
We managed to get out in a little over two hours which is pretty fast by local standards. We went back El Masroig and took a tour of town. I was happy to see the new fountain in Plaza Mayor has been completed. They've even replaced the trees although it will be a few years before they're as grand as the ones that were cut down. We stopped by the Cooperativa and Robin and Larry picked up some wine and tapenade to take with them.
Since their train back was at 6:21 pm, we went to Falset and walked through the upper part of town. I showed them the old wall, graineries and the castle.
We had a great visit. Robin is a long-time resident of Austin and a prominent Realtor. Both of Robin's and Larry's families go back to the dawn of recorded history in Texas. One of Robin's great-uncles died for the Republic of Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto.
It turns out Robin and I have a number of mutual acquaintances. She was able to fill me in on some details of which I was previously unaware. Robin and Larry, I hope you continue having a wonderful trip and look forward to seeing you soon. ¡Buen viaje!
What a great day!! Sweet little train ride from Barcelona by the coast and through the hills southwest of Barcelona to the village El Masroig. We were greeted at the station by our friend Russell with big umbrellas and a welcoming smile. The sun came out and Russell gave us the 5-star tour of his vineyards. I have never seen such big leaves on vines which were already getting heavy with grapes. After a very curvy drive through the hills we arrived at a truly Catalonian restaurant where we had a delicious lunch. Could have stayed there for hours. Back to the village, Russell led us on a wonderful walking tour through the village which is a very compelling locale of only a few hundred residents. Ah, the good life! Thank you, thank you Russell for a wonderful visit!! We will be back! Looking forward to this years wines....so happy that you followed your dream. It is inspiring.
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