Tradition

The tradition in my family that has become a ritual over the years is going to Spain in summer and spending the local holydays together. In retrospect, five years ago my family and I used to live in Spain; however, my parents got divorced, and my mother, bother and I moved to the country where she was born, America. Therefore, every summer my brother and I fly to Spain to visit our family, go fishing, and enjoy the "fiesta mayor" of our town.

First of all, when we arrive, our grandparents, father, aunts and uncles have a big family meal. Since my father owns a cafÐ"©, we grab several tables and join them together to form a big one. Then we sit down and serve the traditional Spanish food; my favorite dish is one called "paella". It's an enormous pan as big as a car weal made entirely of orange rice and other ingredients that may vary to the cook's taste. Our paella is always the seafood style; the best part is the hot steaming shrimp and juicy oysters, so I can never wait until the first tasty byte. When more and more food like spicy potatoes, vegetable salads and onion rigs appear on the table, it is hard to try everything, and we always end up with stuffed stomachs.

The days between my arrival and the "fiesta mayor" festival are usually spent going out to Barcelona, Catalunya's capital, a beautiful antique city. Here, we go to the "Maremagnum", which is next to the port, and stroll up and down looking at the little set-up stores on the port's walkway; they always have interesting and unique objects, and many of them are handmade like shiny stone necklaces or pocket watches. However, we spend most of the time on the coast fishing tiny fishes that get trapped in the little ponds that are formed in the space between the giant rocks. In these spaces the mini pond's water is a lot warmer because it only reaches up to the knees heating it better, and the sand under the feet feels so smooth and, curiously, cold. Even though I would stay observing the beach's beautiful view forever, when it starts to get dark we have to go back