Today we got up and headed off to meet Sergio’s parents.  His father is a proud Zaragozian and was sure to take us around to all the local markets and pubs that have traditional local flair.

We tried amazing meats at the local butcher (who was kind enough to give us all a sampling) and then we were off to sample the local ale produced here in Zaragoza.  We wound our way in and out lovely little alleys that have all the charm in the world.  The ale is called Ambar and tastes nearly just as it sounds… a light crispy amber ale.  It seems at many of the restaurants they were offering tapas and I broke through one of my life long fears and ate a whole anchovy (no head or skin but certainly a tail!)!  And believe it or not it was really really good!!  This also came with lovely little olives which I, of course, needed to restrain myself from inhaling.

We then walked through the main market which had beautiful rod iron supports in the Art Nouveau-ish style.  This market was built 100 years ago so I guess that makes sense.  We wove our way through butcher, cheese, nut and fish stands.  I was advised that the best day to buy fish at this market is Tuesday.  The coast is three hours from here so the new catch arrives then. 

 As we strolled through more charming alleys, Sergio’s father pointed out sweet little tidbits about some of the places along the way or explained the local cuisine or even tradition costumes for festivals (that usually happen during Holy Week).  We then made our way to another pub where we tried the local Vermouth and had more anchovies!  I must say I fell in love with the Vermouth… it isn’t like the martini vermouth we have at home.  It’s a bit heavier, has an amber color, and tastes almost like a cider.  Sergio’s mother explained that it is injected with a gas which I’m assuming makes it heavier.  Above us hung a poster about a famous singer, La Dolores who is from a village close by.  The village is where Sergio’s mother is from and is entitled Calatayad… there is an opera named for her and she sounds as if she was a spirited woman with some suspected scandalous activity.  I guess celebrity never is without it’s rumors! 

Finally we headed off back to the flat for some downtime and then it was off to Paco’s spoken word performance where we saw Olga, Fernando and I met Fernando’s girlfriend (who’s name is escaping me-eek- but she speaks really great English and we swore to talk again for longer and teach me Spanish).  I guess the unfortunate thing for me is that I do not understand Spanish so much of the evening was lost on me.  From what I surmised, he responded to recent newspaper headlines and criticized government policies and events.  I wish I would tell you more but really his delivery was theatrical and accompanied by a musician who plays piles upon piles of instruments.  It was a nice complement to the theatrics of the performance without overwhelming the audience. 

So after the performance, we walked home in a heavy rain while Sergio sang the Doors greatest hits then some old Radiohead.  Ah Radiohead! 

I have to say the rainstorm just made an incredible sky tonight.