Our holiday - Part 3

Monday 23rd.
Of course, this was the day we set out. It was a beautiful, sunny morning, ideal for travelling. We set out a little after 10.00 am and travelled down the coast and then a little inland to our surprise destination, arriving just before 1.00 pm. After we had decided who would sleep where, we unpacked our cases and then sat down for a late lunch. Afterwards, some of us went for a discovery walk around the village and the rest stayed in to relax or study.

Tuesday 24th.
After a late breakfast some of the group made up some sandwiches and went exploring. We decided to just follow a path...

The mountain ranges of Beseit

A woodcutter's stone hut

Moss and small plants growing on the damp rocks

The Blue Pool

The River Estrets which we followed upstream for a while

A disused marble quarry

A Spanish Ibex or mountain goat. Several times we heard the knocking sound of the males fighting each other on the rocks

The last rays of sunshine with the marble quarry in the distance

Part 4 - Dec. 25th and 26th

Our holiday - Part 2

Here are some photographs of the house we stayed in. There was plenty of antique furniture, some of it heirlooms from days gone by, other pieces bought for the purpose. We suppose that the actual house is at least 400 years old.

The eating area, with a balcony to the street. The double door on the right is a double bedroom.

The other end of the first floor with the kitchen on the left and fireplace on the right, plus a cozy corner further on the right. There are two bedrooms and a bathroom leading off the far hallway.

Our bedroom.

Then, upstairs, there were two more bedrooms, another bathroom and a common area where the boys studied during the day, we had the family Bible study every evening, and then everybody played Party, Dutch Blitz, Uno or watched films till the small hours!

An upstairs room for our two boys. They had a double bed each!

Another upstairs room with double bed for L. and R.

The common room.

We were nine people and the house felt spacious but cozy. I must say we felt quite at home all the days we spent there.

If you are interested and want more information,  here is the link to the website.

Part 3 - Photos of what we did and what we saw during our stay in the area.

Our holiday - Part 1

A good few years ago we decided not to celebrate Christmas anymore. We live with the Bible as our handbook and there is no indication whatsoever that the Lord wants us to celebrate the day He was born.

This year we decided to take some time off and spend the whole week away, from the 23rd to the 28th of December. Hubby organized everything. It was a surprise for everyone. All we knew was that it would be cold, that we would be travelling about 3 hours, that we wouldn't be camping, and there wouldn't be much opportunity to buy food in huge quantities!

Our surprise destination was the beautiful, medieval village of Arnes, which is, in fact, the local word for bees. It is famous for its honey production, amongst other things. It lies between Tortosa and Beseit, at the base of the mountain ranges of Beseit, touching the national park. It has many old houses, stone constructions and a castle which dates back to the 13th century, built into the rocks.


Well, here are a few photos of the village:

One of the entrances to the village

The village

The castle (photo from Google images)

Home of the Town Council (photo from Google images)

Part 2 - Photos of the house where we stayed.

From the archives: Violets in January

Here is a photo I took yesterday:

Violets in January!

Munchy Monday #26: Meat loaf

This is my version of a very well known recipe that my Canadian sister-in-law gave me quite some years ago. The original recipe calls for eggs and cream of mushroom soup and, as I can't eat this, I have changed the recipe a little to maintain the meat moist and tender.

The quantities used are for 8 - 10 servings.

You will need:

1/2 kilo minced beef
1/2 kilo minced pork
1 medium potato, peeled and grated
1 medium onion, peeled and grated
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp. tomato puree
1 level tblsp. dried parsley
1 level tblsp. salt
Shake of black pepper
Tomato ketchup

Method:

Mix all ingredients but ketchup together in a bowl. Place meat mixture onto an oven dish and spread evenly, using a fork. When this is done, squirt a small quantity of ketchup over the top of the meat and spread into the grooves of the fork. Place in a medium oven and cook for around an hour.

Serve with spuds and two veg!

2014

Happy New Year to all my blog readers. May this year be a blessed year for you all. Keep Christ at the centre of your lives.

If you are not yet a believer, think about these few verses taken from God's word, the Bible:

Romans 3:10 and 23:

There is none righteous, no, not one [ ] for all have sinned.

John 3:16, 17

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

2 Corinthians 5:20

We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

From the archives: Bicycle soup!

During my forty odd years of eating I have been served many different kinds of soup: veggie soup, soup with meatballs and rice, shark fin soup, soup with farm animals, dinosaurs, smurfs, stars, etc. Never in all my living days did I think I would get to taste bicycle soup!

Well, here is a photograph of just that:

If you have sharp eyes you will be able to see that on this particular day we were running short of matching cutlery!