Having a feast with Jamie

Last weekend saw Jamie Oliver get together with other chefs, plus a selection of bands and musicians to deliver The Big Feastival, in Kingham, Oxfordshire.

Live music, food stalls, cookery classes - what was there not to like?

It was a lovely sunny day, a few clouds in the sky, and a bit of a breeze, perfect for being outside all afternoon/evening.

The only downside of this being on a farm, was that as it had rained the previous day, there were still patches of mud around - not much good when you're wearing sandals. D'oh!

The food stalls ranged from Brindian, to a paelleria, churros, BBQ, vegetarian, goat's milk ice-cream, pizzas, fishdogs - basically anything you could think of. And all cooked to the standards of the restaurants most of the top chefs work for/own.

The music was good, but it was the food we were there for. And the pinnacle of the day was of course the final cookery demonstration done by Jamie and his teacher: Gennaro Contaldo.

The 'show' was superb. Funny all the way through (they had been behind the scenes drinking for most of the day), the food smelled amazing, and everyone learned something from it.

Of course there was a downside to the day. Walking home from the train station saw Olga twist her ankle. Although she could walk back home without any pain, at about 3.30am it really started hurting, which meant that after an ibuprofin and an ice-pack, we set off to the JR Hospital A&E.

 Despite the 4 hour expected wait time, we were actually in and out (after having x-rays and bandages done) within two hours, so well done nurses (who were also in pretty good moods considering the time of the Sunday morning). Olga was of course happy it was just a sprain (and I think the drugs had started to kick in by then too).

To see all the photos from the festival click here.

Life's a beach

On the back of the Olympic success story, we finally managed to find time to visit a place we've neglected for quite a while. Yes, that's right, the Guiri was going back to Valencia!

Apparently Valencia was the most popular place to be at this time, as flights were nearly non-existent (or 5 times the normal price), which meant we took an alternative route, flying from Birmingham to Alicante.

 

Arriving in Alicante in the evening with 30 degrees Celsius was a pleasant change from the British weather we had just been experiencing. Dropping off the bags, we headed out for a dinner of tapas and a stroll along the waterfront.

The next day saw the thermometer go up and up whilst we tried to cool down on the beach (or rather, in the sea). There's nothing quite like it, and we only got out of the water when we saw how wrinkled our fingers had become.

Lunch saw the first paella of the trip, with gazpacho for starters and flan for dessert. Just enough to whet the appetite for Valencia, which is where we headed on the train.

In Valencia we invaded the apartment of Sylvia who was kind to us throughout our stay. Just a stone's throw away from the centre, this was great for meeting up with friends plus going to the beach.

Of course the beach was also visited here, but alas we couldn't venture further afield due to the shortness of our trip and the amount of things we wanted to do.

So, in no order whatsoever, here are the great friends we were able to meet up with again: Silvie, Gloria (& Abdon), Pepe, Ana, Miquel, Martha, Jordi, Gema (& Victor, Alejandra, Claudia), Fernando, Valeria (& Iker), Bruno, and Albakra (& Sofia, Albert, Alicia).

We had an amazing arroz negro made by Gloria, paella de mariscos, paelle con costilla, all sorts of amazing montaditos, pumpkin ice-cream and much much more (and could still fit into our swimming attire).

But all good things must come to an end, and as such, a week after our arrival we headed off by train to Barcelona to catch our plane back home.

So was it worth it? Of course it was! It brought back many good memories, we caught up with news from all the people we met, did some shopping, beach and sea, and of course enjoyed the sun. Next time we will have to try and meet up with those who weren't available.

To see the full album of photos, click here.

Hasta luego !