CuppaTea

We returned from Las Médulas for a late lunch, and thoroughly enjoyed the food prepared for us in our absence! Then a second trip was brought up. The only problem seemed to be that we couldn’t fit all 6 of us in the car. As the father of one of the students had stayed behind in the morning, we decided that one of the other three of us students would stay behind. And yet, when I drew the piece of paper to stay behind, no one seemed happy to leave it at that. I was a bit embarrassed to be the cause of so much hassle, as I was actually happy to stay home, but in the end we had three cars and fourteen people (including four children) heading out for the next trip. We headed for Aturias, a neighbouring autonomous community. An autonomous community is a little bit more independent than a state in Australia, as far as I understand it, but I’m not entirely sure of all the differences. And even though Spain is about the same size as South Australia, there are 17 autonomous communities...

I have had a few opportunities to travel while I've been here. I've written a bit about my trip to and time in Bilbao - both the food and the scenery . The other weekend I had the chance to do two trips in one day, to two different parts of Spain. First, Las Médulas in the morning. A World Heritage Site. With good reason!

What were my impressions of Bilbao? First, that one short, busy weekend was nowhere near enough time to see the city properly! And the city itself? It felt huge and sprawling after a few weeks in Villablino. When we left the train station to catch the metro there were lights and people and buses and cars everywhere well after 9pm. There were a lot of people on the metro. Even the fact that the city has a metro system was huge for me – I´d never been on one before. And my Australian tendency to keep left meant I got in the way sometimes!

One of the things I love about visiting other places, or spending time with people from other places, it the joy people get from sharing their foods. This may be their favourite foods, or things that remind them of home (if they are travelling or away from their home country, like I am at the moment), or typical or famous foods of a region.

Last weekend I travelled to Bilbao with three other people. We drove to León and then caught a train to Bilbao. Hours of moving through the countryside of Spain. Mainly by train. Though not only on the plain.

It has been quite a while since I wrote a post - which was completely unintentional. Partly, I was so busy I didn't have time to write, and partly when I thought about writing, I didn't know what I should write! A huge thankyou to those who have been taking the opportunity to read some of my previous posts - as far as I can tell from the statistics, I have had nearly as many people reading this month even though I haven't written anything new!

I have previously written a bit about my perspective on the four seasons: Summer to autumn ; Autumn or winter ; and  Winter and food which warms the heart . Last weekend I was asked which I prefer, summer or winter. If you have read some of the above posts, you will know my answer. If not, the answer is winter. (Or at least, the Australian version of winter, which involves no snow!) What I haven't written about (as far as I can remember or find) is how much I detest spring.

It seems that my home state was determined to show me how lovely the weather can be while I was back there, especially last week. Sunny days of warm temperatures eased the transition out of daylight savings. When I observed weather reports, there was a consistent difference of five or more degrees Celsius between the two states, my home state being warmer every time!

Last Friday I drove back across to the right side of the border. That's how it feels when I drive back, although I don't have anything (really) against the state I'm living in this year! It is amazing the difference it makes to have someone on a road trip to keep you company. Easier to stay awake, shorter breaks, and someone to change CDs! Someone to discuss the road conditions with as things happen. And a chance to catch up with a friend.