There’s something to be said about finding or creating a life that makes you smile. I’ve been very happy here in Spain but feel even more so since I returned from the U.S. a little over a week ago. More content if that is possible.
Friday, our neighbor Kim took us to meet friends of his, Ramon and Margaret. When we first had cava at Kim and Virginia’s casa we asked what the name of the cava was. There is no name as their friend Ramon makes it himself. hmmm. Intriguing. So, Friday we went to meet him. They live in an amazing masias (typical country house) that they restored (read: re-built) themselves. A perfect little oasis surrounded by vines. They showed us their cellar and then demonstrated how they remove the sediment from the bottle and cork it. Absolutely amazing to see this cellar where they have about 4,000 bottles of cava which they have created. I told Bob that doing that was my dream. He said, “oh really, you never told me that.” I replied, “Well I didn’t have the dream until right now seeing this.” 🙂
We enjoyed a bottle of cava under the trees by the pool. Catalan, Spanish and English all being spoken to get to know each other. As we sat there I thought what an absolutely wonderful way to spend a couple of hours. Nuevos Amigos. Of course, we purchased some cava to take home and enjoy. We look forward to getting to know them even better. Thanks Kim! Thank you, Ramon and Margaret, for your hospitality.
Last night, Gloria hosted dinner for the neighbors (vecinos). Kim, Virginia, Marc, Bob, and I and our new neighbor, Yuko, who moved in next door to Gloria. A lovely cena (dinner) and wonderful conversation as we get to know Yuko and welcome her to Viladellops. Thank you so much Gloria for a fabulous evening!
Each time we all get together we learn more about each other’s lives and what brought us to this little hilltop vineyard. What doesn’t change is how much we all talk about our love of being here. We all appreciate living here so much. Whether we’ve lived here 7 years, 3 years, 4.5 months, or a week. Our love for living here is the same.
One of the things that we love about Spain is the importance of family and friends. We are blessed to have moved to a village where our vecinos are absolutely amazing, interesting, artistic, and loving people. We miss our previous neighbors, Doug and Juanita, and wish that they lived here as they would fit in perfectly! Looking forward to them visiting next year so that we can at least share this with them.
Finding or creating a life that makes you smile. Having old friends and new friends that enrich your life. This along with a loving family makes every day happy. This is what life is all about!
The Winery Woman 