http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org A flavour of Spain... Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:19:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Last February I took some pictures of the almond trees blooming in the way work. I didn't have time to edit and post them until now. But now the post coincides with Sakura blooming in Japan :D, so I don't regret very much not having posted these pictures before. Enjoy! Click ... http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org/?p=26 This plant is a typical Christmas decoration in many countries, Spain included. This year we were given one as a present: Click on the images to see them bigger It's called "Flor de Pascua" in Spanish, or Poinsetia. It's a plant of Mexican origin. Red top leaves are often mistaken for flowers, ... http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org/?p=25 It's already the orange and mandarin season. Some time ago, I went to the orchards to visit the fruits when they are still unripe. I took some pictures: Click on the images to see them bigger Mandarin orchard Unripe mandarins (clementines) Spain is, by far, the first producer in the world of citrus fruits ... http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org/?p=23 It's supposed I should talk about Christmas because now it's time...but I have very little good Christmas pictures. I think Christmas is similar everywhere. Family gathering, lots of eating/giving presents...and a few people will also remember the religious sense. In Spanish, Christmas is called Navidad. In Catalan, Nadal. What do we ... http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org/?p=24 Halloween (31st of October) is approaching, but in Spain we didn't use to celebrate it. In Spain is more traditional to celebrate the 1st of November, called "All Saints Day". This day, people visit graveyards to offer flowers and clean the graves of their relatives. In Catalonia we also have ... http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org/?p=22 These are some pictures taken in the harbour of l'Ampolla, a little village by the Mediterranean Sea and near Delta de l'Ebre (Ebro Delta, more info). Delta de l'Ebre is famous for its rice fields and the National Park, extraordinarily rich in flora and fauna (specially migratory birds). It's ... http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org/?p=21 This is a plate of black rice I had in a restaurant recently. I promised I would take a picture myself didn't I? Click on the image to see it bigger http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org/?p=20 Have you ever heard of olive oil (aceite de oliva, in Spanish)? It's the healthiest vegetable oil, but it isn't the topic of this post. We'll talk about it soon. This is the fruit where it comes from. It's called "olive" (oliva, aceituna). The one in the picture is ready to ... http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org/?p=5 Human towers called "castells" ( castles, in English ), are based in a great teamwork. Click on the images to see them bigger This tradition comes from the North East of Spain, from a certain area near Tarragona, and it's performed during local festivals or special meetings, for example the contest you ... http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org/?p=15 HELADO DE TURRÓN Click on the image to see it bigger This is the summer version of the typical Christmas desert: turrón, which has been eaten in Spain since the sixteenth century. Its origin comes from the arabic domination, when Spain was known as Al-Andalus. Turrón is made of almonds ( the main ... http://blackrice.fayevalentine.org/?p=14