La Sanch

The Friday before Easter or Good Friday, I witnessed a very unique tradition in Perpignan called La Sanch.  It seems to be a tradition dating from 1461 that is only maintained in a few towns and villages in this part of France.  

La Sanch means "the blood" in Catalan.  It was a long procession that was somber and quiet.  Men played drums and wore long robes with a tall pointy hat in black or red.  These robes made it impossible to identify the person, which supposedly was originally to hide the identity of criminals, penitents and executioners on their way to the gallows.  Others carried heavy images of Christ or the cross to reenact Christ's Passion.  Women wore black veils.  Some recited verses and some were silent.  Another unique part of the outfit was that some people walked the procession with bare feet to symbolize their connection to Christ. 

To learn more about La Sanch, its history, and its significance, visit this link:  http://www.anglophone-direct.com/La-procession-de-la-Sanch. 

It was a really unique procession, and many people arrived in Perpignan for the day to witness it.  It was a beautiful, warm day with people lining the streets and an eerie silence, broken by a bell, drums and chants as the procession took place. 

Saturday in Ceret

Last Saturday, I spent a wonderful day touring around Ceret and the Pyrenees mountains.

The director of the Maison de l'Europe in Perpignan, where I volunteer, decided to take an Italian girl doing an internship at the Maison and myself on an excursion to see his town and then to explore the Pyrenees and the French - Spanish border.

The Canigou mountain from Ceret

Beautiful blooms

 

We arrived late morning (after some local bus troubles) by means of the regional 1 euro bus (perfect!) and immediately set off on our adventure.  Ceret is known for a few things: its big and diverse Saturday market, its modern art museum, rugby, and cherries.  The director, our guide for the day, loved sharing everything with us as we walked through town.  He showed us where the old city lines were.  We went to the mediatheque which was basically a combination of a fancy library and an art gallery, where they were unveiling the opening to some very cool exhibitions, one in photography and the other in 3D art that was a mix of glass mosaics and metal.  We saw a separate exhibition on 100 years of rugby photography at another stop.  At each place, our guide seemed to know someone, so we met the mayor and the finance guy for the town among many others.

Giovanna and I in Ceret

Giant loofas at the market!

Ceret Saturday market

Showing off Picasso's signature on this fountain in Ceret

Pi (pronounced pee) - k (pronounced ka) - sceau (bucket - pronounced so) = Picasso!! Isn't that clever!!

After two hours of walking, admiring, and meeting people, we were welcomed into our guide's house for a quick refreshment before going to meet his family at a restaurant for a late lunch.  I had a Catalan dish, that was basically an assortment of cured meats, cheeses, and pan à la tomate.  It was customary to take a piece of bread, rub it with a raw garlic clove, then rub it with a tomato, and top it with meat.  It was really quite delicious.  I finished the meal with a delicious fondant au caramel and a taster of sweet Banyuls wine. 

After a wonderful meal, we hopped in the car for the second half of our adventure.  We followed a route into the mountains along the Via Domitia.  The Via Domitia was the first Roman road, and it stretched all the way from Italy to Spain.  You can still find traces of it in the Pyrenees between France and Spain.  That's pretty incredible!  Fun fact: the University of Perpignan is named after this route.  Also in this area, we followed a small winding road, which happened to by Napoleon's road where he cross the Pyrenees on his way to Portugal.  Apparently, he never made it though as there was an unfortunate incident in Madrid where many people attempted an uprising and it turned into complete bloodshed.  But for us, it was beautiful views and strong winds that tried to knock us off our feet at each stop.

Following the Via Domitia

As we followed these routes, we came upon a great fortress designed by Vauban, like many of the fortifications in this area.  The fortress is in the shape of a star, and it seems like it's out of a fairy tale with his gate and moat.  We walked around it and admired the views, being able to see both France and Spain in one view.  Just below this fortress, we explored the border town of Perthus, which is divided right down the middle (longways) between France and Spain.  The town itself wasn't particularly beautiful and we were told that it doesn't have such a nice reputation now (i.e. trafficking and other bad stuff), but it was fun hearing about our guide's experiences there as a teenager and how he'd always go to a certain cafe with his friends on payday and such. 

View from the fortress

Finally, our last stop was to check out the end of the Via Domitia where it changed name to the Via Augusta for those continuing into Spain.  At this point, we also learned about the system of "bornes" which mark the border.  They are large columns each with a number ranging from 1 to 602 to physically show where the border lies.  They were designated in the Treaty of the Pyrenees marking the end of the war between the two countries, and to this day, they cannot be removed or altered in any way by either country.

"In memory of all the men and women who in time of fascism took these paths towards liberty" (Or something like that - it's in Catalan!)

Borne #567

Our incredible guide and friend, Jean-Marie

At that point, we were exhausted and it was time to head home.  So we followed the route back down from the mountains, and saw a beautiful sunset on our way back to Perpignan.  It was a very full day, and it was clear how passionate and excited the director was to show us everything.  I'm very thankful to be able to have experiences like this.

Barcelona Cooking Class

While in Barcelona on my mom's and my "Eat" adventure, we took a cooking class to further learn about the local cuisine and be able to bring it home with us!

We signed up online for a class at Barcelona Cooking which promptly assured us everything would be good for special requests, i.e. gluten and dairy free.  Before arriving for our 6pm class, we spent a busy day in Barcelona seeing the sights.  The highlights were walking throughout town down Las Ramblas all the way to Barcelonetta Beach, where crowds were taking advantage of the sunny day.  From the beach, we took the cable car (or the swinging bucket as my mom called it) all the way across the harbor to Montjuic.  It was a beautiful view of the city! After more walking, we arrived back at the touristy Las Ramblas and decided we needed a snack before our evening of cooking.  We grabbed a couple of tapas and a large mug of sangria.

Kids playing with some big bubbles

                                     

Then, we turned the corner and arrived at our class! We got to know our group (a couple from New York) and our chef for the evening (a local girl from Barcelona with a family originally from Oregon I believe).  Our wine was poured and we were introduced to our dishes for the evening.

Starter 1: Crema de Calabaza (Butternut Squash and Pear Cream Soup)
Starter 2: Calcots con Salsa Romesco (Calcots with Romesco Sauce)
Main: Chicken Paella
Dessert 1: Crema Catalana (Catalan Cream)
Dessert 2: Wine-Poached Pears

Hungry?! Yep, me too.  Let's walk through it.

Our chef showed us what we would be chopping up and where it would go.  The New York couple got to work chopping all the ingredients for our Butternut Squash and Pear Cream Soup.  Those ingredients went into a pan with some homemade vegetable stock to cook a little before being blended and topped with a Gorgonzola cheese, candied hazelnuts, and decorative flowers.  Very cute!

Mom got to work preparing the Calcots.  They're a special, local type of onion that is long and looks a bit like a leek.  The outer layer was peeled, they were washed and topped with a little olive oil, then they went into the oven to roast.  Everyone helped with chopping up the ingredients for the romesco sauce made of tomatoes, onions, and peppers, which was quickly blended together.

The finished calcots.  Sorry mom, it was the only picture I had, and it does well demonstrate how messy they are to eat!

I was in charge of starting the Crema Catalana.  I separated the eggs, which I combined with sugar and cornstarch and whipped up.  That I combined with a milk that was warmed with cinnamon and lemon zest.  The mixture was put into little ramekins, cooled on the counter a little, and put into the fridge.  Then I also started the wine-poached pears, our extra special treat since mom couldn't do the Crema Catalana.  That was super simple.  I peeled and cut a pear which was put in a pot with a cinnamon stick and sugar, then covered with wine, and set to boil on the stove.

I look like I should have my own cooking show. Don't you think?

From there, our starters and desserts were mostly finished, so we all came together for the star of the evening: PAELLA. Yummm!  As it was a Monday, the local Boqueria Market's fish section was not open, so our chef showed us the chicken version rather than seafood version of paella.  It's all about taking locally-sourced, fresh ingredients.  All of our ingredients were prepared and put in order.  We started with browning our chicken pieces and then taking them away.  In the same pan (that's the key-always the same pan to keep all those delicious flavors), we caramelized our onion, added our tomatoes, garlic, and vegetables (peppers, peas, and asparagus tonight).  After the vegetables were ready, we pushed them to the sides of the pan to give our rice some room to be toasted.  Chicken stock was added a couple times, and eventually everything was mixed back together.  Our paella was left to rest for a couple minutes under a tea towel to finish its magic.

So everything was cooked and ready to go! Time to eat!
Our butternut squash concoction was quite tasty and smooth.
The calcots were messy as we picked them up whole to dangle into our mouths with a dip of sauce.
The paella was delightful with a variation of vegetables and that distinct paella/ saffron/ magic flavor.
I volunteered to get up and blast our creamy dessert with a flame for a delicious crunchy sugar topping, much like a creme brulee, but not quite the same.
And finally, the wine-poached pears were divine and easy enough to make that I can't wait to try them again!

Our night finished there, stuffed to the brimmed with delicious food, house wine, some new recipes in our arsenal, and magical memories.  It was a night of fun, learning, and discussion.  Definitely a highlight of our trip.

Our kitchen. P.S. Contact me if you'd like any of these recipes!