Rupit: 25N

Outing with my adopted Catalan family to Rupit - an adorable little town in the North of Catalonia:

Independentist Catalan flags hung proudly throughout the little cobbled narrow streets and in the main square there was a sign by the town hall: today was election day. Next to the church there was man busking with a guitar underneath a house with lopsided balconies and laundry hanging down to dry. Over the river hung a bridge with a sign: "No more than 8 people at one time. No swinging". The bridge felt like something from Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan, or a playground - and with ropes on either side to hold on to was precariously made of planks of wood. 

Íngrid, her parents and I enjoyed had a delicious lunch in a beautiful little square with traditional dishes including pa amb tomaquet, escalivada (oven cooked pepper, onion and aubergine), and bolets (seasonal wild mushrooms), before proceeding on a relaxing walk around the town. The stone houses were all beautifully unique, and the uneven winding streets felt worlds away from the perfectly squared road system in the centre of the Catalan capital.

We peeked into some of the souvenir shops and I am now the proud owner of a Catalan barretina, a traditional catalan red hat. We also stocked up on some traditional food: "pets de monja", little tiny biscuits whose name literally translates as "nun's farts". The lady the tourist shop was pleased to tell us there was an american tourist in the village that day too, and then - finding out I was from London - she insisted on sharing a little story of her 'happy memories' of London, a trip which had supposed to last 3 days, but ended up being 8 due to the Iceland volcano in 2010. 

And finally, a photo of a caganer* display in a shop window

*Caganer: Figurine of a man squatting; a traditional part in the Catalan Christmas nativity scene. 

Choose between traditional version with a traditional barretina (red hat)...

or alternatively versions of famous people.