Hello Springtime!

Spring time is right around the corner and I can feel it. The sun is shining stronger and longer, jackets are being taken off cautiously, tank tops are starting to get pulled out of from the bottom of drawers and everyone's attitude seem s to be lightening up...and I love it! This weekend I was invited to my first Calcotada in a town called Tarragona. Calclotadas are very popular right around this time, when people get together in the country to have an onion barbeque, get together and drink sit in the sun and eat tons and tons of these special sweet onions dipped in a romesco sauce. The meal is paired up with butifarra, lamb chops and pacharan a typical drink form here.

We started the night before in the center of the city, with a group of people from Spain who studied in Boston years ago and now get together every year to catch up and celebrate the welcomming of Spring. Tarragona is about an hour south of Barcelona and although it is a coastal city, it has a small town feel to it which changes the way you go out, everyone knows each other, the bars are smaller and people seem to be a lot friendlier than in the city. We began the night with the girls, eating tapas and getting to know each other. Afterwards we met up with the group of guys and went out dancing. I was very welcommed and felt right at home:

The next day, after a long night, we woke up and freshened ourselves up for the big event, the bbq, where we sat around to retell the night's events and to get to know each other in the daylight. I loved recovering in the sun and country air.

All I can say is that as much as I love winter, hot teas in the evenings, scarves, and the idea of snow...there is something about Spring that gives me the thrill that no winter can, the optimism of watching things bloom, the starting of friend's visits, trips to the country and beach, and lots of claras. I welcome spring wholeheartedly and there is no better way to invite in than a calcotada with warm faces and onion breath. So really, when are you coming to visit???