Can Xiguera

Okay, I know I've been bad about keeping up with my blogs, but with all the events, how can a busy girl write and explore?? This weekend I had the honors of spending two and a half marvelous days with an extraordinary group of people who know how to eat, dance, laugh, drink and most importantly live. May I introduce you to the Can Xiguera clan: (from left to right, starting with the top row and finishing with the couch) Jaume, Sergi, Toni, Gustavo...Oscar, Alex aka: Tarrega, Alex, Joana (straight from Portugal)..., the one and only Susanna, Carles (who just finished his first novel!!!!!!!), the lovely birthday girl and organizer Iolanda, Marta and I.
I can't begin to describe the time we spent in the amazing house you see above. We got there late Friday evening and quickly settled in, starting the fire, slicing bread, popping bottles of wine open and warming up our toes. The weather outside was crispy cold, but inside, the warmth surrounded us all. Right away I knew the weekend would be filled with all kinds of stories and laughter. Just so you know, in Catalunya, it is common to rent out a fully supplied country house and spend the entire weekend playing outdoors, eating and drinking. This is known as Turisme Rural and that is just what we did. The house was filled with smiling faces, endless amounts of butifarras, bread, cheese and of course an entire gym bag of Xibecas...

It was clear no one would be going hungry or thirsty. The weekend consisted of relaxing, doing what you felt like doing, ping pong, group massages (yes you heard right). As quoted by Tony: la isla de los masajes... giant lollipops, wood collecting, beautifully ordained pineapples and so much more.

It was a magical weekend and I think I could quite easily adapt to this going to the country tradition...On Saturday, Iolanda, the birthday girl, made an incredible dinner for all of us, with a soundtrack to amazing 80's music and we danced the night away, playing games outdoors at 3 in the morning on an icy field with a full moon to light our way and mojitos to keep our blood warm

The next morning we woke up to a fantastically sunny Sunday morning, surrounded by woods with fog and munched on green apples and goat cheese...Susanna and I opted for the smaller house though (see below)...

You know what the best part of the trip was though? Being together with so many different people, who have their own opinions, history, story to tell and seeing them spend an entire weekend together, everyone helping everyone, sitting at the table exchanging stories and falling asleep with the crackle of the firewood. There is something magical about being accepted by a group of strangers on a Friday evening and feeling like your leaving friends from years ago on Sunday night. As time goes by, I think I am understanding more and more who these Catalans are and why I have fallen in love with their culture so easily. There is nothing better than hearing them sing out loud: "Push me and then just touch me...satisfaction..." Thank you Iolanda for planning this, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! and thanks to the rest of you for being absolutely charming... I am telling EVERYONE about this beautiful country!