Just been reading on the Cave Renovators blog on how they bought a cave in Andalucia in 2005 and renovated it. It sounds just mad!

I have driven through some of the areas where there are cave houses and seen the little fronts that really don’t reveal anything about the size on the inside. But I have never stopped and had a more thorough look, been inside one or even spent the night in one. But it seems there are several guest houses, B& B’s and caves for rent, so if I make the effort I should manage one day.

According to the Cave Renovator you simple do some digging you want to make one of your rooms larger or, I guess, to make some storage space in one of your rooms. And that got me thinking. I wonder if there have been any accounts of cave love stories over the years.

I imagine this: Two neighbouring cave families. A bit of Romeo and Juliet where the families don’t get on, and a person from each family madly in love with the other one.
Well, if the layout of rooms were right, couldn’t they do some sneaky digging? Almost like breaking out of prison, but instead just breaking into each others houses? That would be quite a love story. Meeting at first by the little hole they have created, whispering sweet nothings. And as time goes by and the hole slowly grows, so does their little nightly visits and their love. Aahh…isn’t that just sweet.

I think I need to ask Cave Renovator if he knows of any cases of people purposely digging into each others houses/caves. Or maybe I am just imagining this whole digging process as much less complicated than it is. It is probably not that simple…

I do love Mercadona. And no, I am not being unfaithful to El Hombre, because Mercadona is a supermarket (I know, I know, here I go again. More about supermarkets and food.)

It is just reasonably priced and really do have almost anything I need. If I am doing a “Big Shop” I will go to several shops to get everything on my list as they are good for different things (at different prices) but Mercadona is my main shopping place.
Lidl: Cottage cheese, Ryebread, Orange Juice, Cheese twirly snacks, German Peanut snacks (soo good, but only eat if you have water nearby as your whole mouth dries out)
HiperCor: Cheddar, butter, Dime, Fancy cookies and sometimes herbs.
Mercadona: All the rest!

But even after visiting 3 supermarkets, there are some things I miss down here:

Lemon grass (Is that one or two words? Anyone? Anyone?)
Fresh Coriander
Filo pastry
Nice Butter
Strong crumbly cheddar, not rubbery (Believe it or not, I had a really good one in Las Alpujarras of all places. Can hardly get more remote than that)
Buttermilk
Fruit yoghurts that don’t taste like they have half a kilo of sugar in them
Organic food (I can get it but have to go to special little shops which play airy fairy music and have posters for Ashtanga* Yoga and sell hemp clothing. Kinda like what it was like at home about 10 years ago)
Fresh cream

Sure there is more and will update accordingly.

* My spell check suggested I wanted to write Santana Yoga?

What a way to start a Monday morning in Spain. In fact, it is not just on Monday morning it is like this, but EVERY morning. But it is only starting to really bother me know as the weather is getting colder.

Because having a shower in a outside bathroom is just not that fun. First of all you might be a little cold. The house is not that warm yet, you spilled water on the floor which you then proceeded to stand in so your feet are soaked, and a nice warm shower would be just the thing.

You then have to walk outside in the patio (how do I explain a patio? Almost like a little terrace at the back of your house, or in the middle of your house with no roof on. ) and into the bathroom which is attached to the house but only accessible from the patio.
So there you are. Cold feet, goose bumbs all over in a cold room, and you know the only way forward is to undress if you want that shower.

It really in no problem in the summer, having to walk outside. But in the winter is is just a bitch. In order to stay warm I constantly turn up the water heat which then results in almost getting burned on one side of your body, and still being cold on the other.

But all this is soon over, as we are moving into our house after a big reform. For a while we have stayed somewhere else, but soon the luxury of having a shower INSIDE your house shall be mine again.

Edit: Look I found a picture of goosebumps to illustrate my post!

I have just come across this site that I have not seen before. VideoJug. They seem to have little instruction videos on how to do or make loads of things. Brilliant! So we (ahem..El Hombre is) are currently doing a coleslaw and I thought you people should have the pleasure of learning how to make a Spanish tortilla!

VideoJug: How To Make Spanish Tortilla

So yesterday we went for an Indian in a nearby town. Really nice meal and quite revealing that I didn’t see a single Spanish face there.

I must admit that after living in Southern Spain for so long, I am not always overly keen on Spanish food. Or maybe I should write, Southern Spanish food, because I believe there is quite a regional difference and it might be a bit more sophisticated up north.

When I want to go for a meal out, an occasion more rare after the arrival of El Rubio, I like to try something a bit different.  Like thai or indian. Something that mightsurprise me and make me a bit excited about food. And I don’t really get exited about spanish food any more. Same same, but different.

I am almost prepared to bet that I could walk into any restaurant, venta, or tapas serving establishment down here and order quite a few things from their menu, without having seen their menu. Because it is all the same…

It seems if you want something more modern or a bit more experimental you have to go to a fairly expensive restaurant, which is a shame as it excludes so many people who might want to try something other than the usual grub, Spanish and foreign people alike.

A list of the classic dishes almost every place have:
Tortilla
Magro con tomate
Albondigas
Ensaladilla Rusa
Jamon Serano
Queso Curado
Gambas rebozadas
Pimientos rellenos
Chorizo

and the list goes on and on. I wish they were a bit more experimental, but maybe that’s just not what the Spanish people down here want? Because if there was a market for it, surely there would be more places selling something different? I think all these country folks are quite traditionalists and I am the one who gets to suffer.

I am started to get really excited now. Slowly slowly you can see signs of Christmas here and there. Not in the streets yet, but some of the larger shops and supermarkets have a small corner dedicated to wrapping paper, candles, decorations etc. Nothing big yet, but I am sure in will slowly grow until it takes over a substantial part of the shop.

Here in Spain it all usually starts a bit later than in Northern Europe where I assume they have been going for a few weeks already. My guess is that it is because they celebrate Reyes here. Los Reyes or  Three Kings Day is celebrated on the 6th of January, so if Christmas started as early here as it does in Northern Europe we really would be sick to the bone of it.

Anyway, El Hombre is not bothered about Christmas, but since we have now got El Rubio and this is going to be his first Christmas, things are going to change! Can’t wait to bake cookies and listen to Christmas music. Oh..and I just forgot about the mulled wine! Last year due to my pregnancy I tried a none-alcoholic mulled wine which was absolutely shit. Overly sweet and sticky. I really wasn’t impressed. But this year we are back to the good old alcoholic stuff.

Our Christmas is going to be in Spain this year. Probably just at home, or maybe we will go up and see some family elsewhere in Andalucia, still undecided but it feels quite nice that we don’t have to plan everything in advance.

What are you doing for Christmas?

So let’s celebrate the dead. That’s what we do down here at the moment down here in Spain for All Saints Day.

The feast day of Todos los Santos on 1st November, a public holiday in Spain, is celebrated as the Roman Catholic and Anglican feast to honour all Saints, known and unknown, and was moved from its original date in May more than ten centuries ago to offset the pagan autumn festivals held at that time of year.

All Saints’ Day in Spain now revolves around remembering all the dead, when relatives visit the graves of their loved ones in the cemetery and decorate the graves with flowers. Extra public transport is generally laid on in the larger towns, and florists more than double their sales compared with any other time of the year.

Personally I think I quite like this custom. I mean, at first it strikes me as a bit odd this whole hanging out at the grave yard late at night adding flowers and cleaning etc. but on second thought what a nice idea.
I do think that when someone passes away nowadays society accepts a certain time of grieving. But after that you are meant to be moving on a get over it.

Which you never do.

So what a nice idea to have a time every year when you remember the loved ones that are no more and allow yourself to feel that loss.
Everything seems to be so concentrated on moving forwards and moving on, when it is not alway the most sensible thing.