Feria de Olivas

Yesterday was a perfect family Sunday. We went to a town nearby called Viver to see the once yearly Olive Festival. The town was so beautiful and the place where the festival was had waterfalls running through and houses built into the mountain. Oh my gosh. There were all these booths set up everywhere with traditional Spanish things to eat and see. You basically just bought tickets at the beginning and then paid with those.






So of course Raul paraded me around from booth to booth telling me about everything. I tried bread with an olive oil and garlic spread, cheese with rosemary (they get a kick out of how the herb, romero, translates to my name in English), different meats, wine from the town, olives, and jam. It was quite the experience. Then Andrea got her face painted like Minny Mouse, who she's obsessed with.


Andrea and I with a guy in an olive suit... only in Spain

We went to lunch (yes, after all that food I just ate at the feria ha). Raul and Alicia ordered this plate of different types of meat for us to share. I'm still getting used to the fact that lunch is the big meal of the day, as opposed to dinner.

We got home around 5 and relaxed for a short time until two of Raul and Alicia's friends from college came to visit with their two kids, Carmen and Luis. These are the friends that own the mountain house that we'll be staying at this coming weekend. Carmen and Andrea are best friends and they're SO cute together. Carmen cried so hard when she had to leave. We decided to go for a walk but we didn't actually walk far because the kids just wanted to play on the beach. So I put my feet in and they all got filthy in the sand.

After the other family left, Alicia made me a sandwich for dinner... at 9 pm. I'm so unused to this haha. It feels weird for me to eat so late, but they don't understand how if we eat dinner at 6 we're not hungry later. But they stay up way later than I do. I need to learn how to be Spanish and stay up late again ha.

Last night I was up until about midnight though. After the kids were asleep I talked with Alicia and Raul for so long and I love them. Raul was telling me earlier today he was alone with Andrea and she started crying about me. And my first thought was "shit, she hates me." But really she was crying because she asked him if I was staying with them forever and when he told her no, she cried. I was so overwhelmed with happiness that she already felt that way about me. Raul and Alicia want me to speak only English with her. She only speaks in Spanish to me because she's shy, but apparently she understands a lot more than she lets on.

Andrea is still in school until June 22nd, so until then during the week I'm free until about 5:30 when she and Alicia get home. Their aunt comes and takes Ali for the day, so the baby isn't really my responsibility. It's kind of a relief, but I'm also sure the more time I spend with her, the more comfortable I'll be.

So now it's almost 9 and everyone has gone to work or school. I'll probably venture into Valencia soon, but today I just want to go to the beach and explore Pobla de Farnals. What a life!