El Pueblo

Last weekend I went to “el pueblo” with my family, which means the village. Leon is a city, albeit not a huge one, but in the countryside there are a lot of small agriculturally- or tourism-based villages. Many people in Leon have family or family roots in a village, and although my family isn't from around here, they bought a house in “Lagunas de Somoza” 6 years ago. They haven’t rebuilt it yet and my sisters, who are less than fond of the boring, small-town life, explained to me in no uncertain terms, that it was a “pile of rocks on top of each other!!!!!!” They think they’ll fix it up at some point, presumably when the economy is better… We ate a family-style meal in a (the only?) restaurant with 20 other people who live there or also come for weekends, and had a yummy (if not somewhat fatty/bone-y) paella and I’m pleased at how much I was able to understand (when I tried to pay attention…). Extrovert Alex made an appearance here again which helps with conversation. We also spent some time in the house of some friends and it was a charming vacation home. I want to live there! Later, my mom and I walked around around the town and up the hill next to the town, where there's a little church at the top. Unfortunately it was totally cloudy, but in theory, there's a gorgeous giant mountain in the distance. Great day overall :)