Wednesday, 19 October, 2016:
Rain throughout most of the day forced me to spend the morning indoors doing some necessary laundry, reading and tidying up my quarters.
At around 1:00 p.m., there was a two hour break in the weather so I decided to walk into town to exchange the library book that I'd just finished for a new one and see what new treasure I could discover hiding in Arganda del Rey.
Now THAT'S a cruise ship
El Corte Ingles' travel shop was pushing this cruise hard, can't say that I blame them with this amazing cruise ship as the bait.
Running of the Bulls
If you ran in last month's Enciero or Running of the Bulls (think Pamplona) during Arganda del Rey's week of bull fights, then this photo shop is selling a series of action shots that may highlight your personal run to daylight.
I was feeling a bit week, so I decided that s meal was in order.
My favorite dining spot in town
The first full day that I was in Arganda del Rey, I walked into La Tertulia and ordered a cafe con leche and a racion of tortilla Español that was outstanding. The young lady, Cristina, behind the bar who served me was outgoing, helpful and positive.
I returned last Saturday to try their dessert crep tapa as part of Arganda del Rey's Tapeando. It was out of this world yet again.
Rabo de Toro
The House Specialty
Rabo de Toro is Spanish for bull's tail. The name alone would scare off most American palate's but I'm here to explore the culture and cuisine of Spain so I opted to try it.
Now, over my eight EuroBall seasons I have made similar decisions about local cuisines that would make many an American taste bud cringe including:
Horse meat in Sicily - DELICIOUS
Octopus head in Sicily - order an orchard of lemons to squeeze too to help it go down
Spleen sandwich in Sicily - once was enough
Haggis in Scotland - the contents were strictly a don't ask, don't tell affair
Tete de Veau in France - head of a cow, lots of mustard was the key, another once in a lifetime experience
Pig Snout Salad in France - I liked it
Pigs Ears in Spain - crunchy but good
Morcilla in Spain - blood sausage, a big yes on this one
Today I added . . .
. . . Rabo de Toro to the list
The meat was flaky and tasty served in an amazing wine sauce on a bed of French fries.
It was a hit with me so I did the only thing possible after sopping up all of the sauce with the bread that was provided with the meal.
Giving kudos to the one
who made my meal
Her name is Maricarmen and she is the owner and cook at this family owned restaurant.
She is extremely affable and proceeded to introduce me to her Mother and twin sons who dropped in to eat and catch up of the local gossip.
We discussed her cooking which she described as her passion for properly preparing typical Spanish cuisine that she herself loves to eat.
She then whisked into her small kitchen to show me what she was making for her dinner patrons and to introduce me to the staff.
Garbanzos and . . .
. . . other goodies for Cocido
The perfect Spanish food choice on a chilly, rainy day. The aromas were wonderful to say the least,
with Cristina, Maricarmen and Toni
Packy who was working the bar
joined us for this photo
Packy is Maricarmen's sister.
The young lady who served me the first time that I ate here was not working today. Her name is also Cristina and she is Maricarmen's daughter.
FUN TIMES INDEED!
Now it was on to a couple of damp Osos Rivas practices, Juniors at 7:00 p.m. and Seniors from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Couldn't agree more
Juniors working on
Drive Blocking
Senior Defensive Front
Scrimmaging
Nice Sox
Tonight might have been a turning point in the Osos season. Rainy night practices tend to do that.
First, during our conditioning run all of our players had finished save one lineman who, built for comfort not speed, was laboring. The entire Osos squad jogged out to join our stray and help him finish.
Their team spirit gave animos to our lineman and he sprinted the final 100 meters of his final lap.
I'm not sure if he had ever sprinted before in his life.
We had all five of our starting offensive linemen with us tonight and they worked extremely hard on their fundamentals and looked crystal clear on their knowledge of our new playbook.
I was a one happy, soggy coach at the end of the night!
Reading Is FUNdamental
My first book from the local library was thought provoking to say the least.
Let the Countdown Commence
More days until Laurie arrives
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