We met at Bar España and Jose picked us up again at 7:00. He had called the restaurant ahead and convinced them to open a 1/2 hour early 8:30 instead of 9:00 but we still had some time to kill.
Jose drove us to San Zoilo church/monistary on the other edge of the village. It has a beautiful 15th century cloister done in the Plateresque style which is known for tis ornate ceilings and carving on the top of the columns.
The sarcophagi hold the remains of the Beni Gómez, the local rulers who held the rank of Count and date from the 11th to the 13th century.
The doorway is Romanesque, the baroque organ dates from 1716.
Jose's niece, Anna, with her triplets daughters just arrived in town so we went to meet them. The triplet girls are seven and just adorable. Two of the three are identical and the other is fraternal but you would never know by looking at them because they look just alike. They were a bit shy but Jose asked us to ask them simple questions in English so they could tell their teacher back at school (They start teaching English right away in most schools here. Get on board America). We asked them their names, how old they were, what they liked about school and if they liked ice cream...
Their mom Anna is a lawyer, sweet lady. She said were had too much energy and weren't limping enough to be real pilgrims. So I showed her my feet and my blisters and she said "yes that's a real pilgrim". We all laughed.
Vance has been like a dog with a bone, obsessed with learning everything about the lamb and how to cook it. He had eaten the lamb in his wife's home town of Mallorca cooked by a chef from this region. Vance spent the next 6 months trying to figure out how to get the lamb imported from here to Alabama. He really wants to make it for his family back home. The lamb is a breed called Churra. They only "use" the lambs that have yet to be weened and have never eaten grass.
This particular restaurant, called Restaurante Masón de Villasirga, is famous for it lamb. The restaurant was founded by our server/owner's grandfather. They do tons of weddings and events and have even served the King and Queen of Spain. Before the chef cooks the lamb sits in a salt rub over night then it is cooked in a wood oven for about 2.5 hours.
Dinner was amazing. We stared with garlic soup which was even better than the one last night. Plates of churrizo and black pudding (that's the British name for it), salad and french fries were shared family style. Everyone was given his/her own huge hunk a leg of lamb. Not that I have eaten roast lamb often, but this was excellent and I can easily say it was the best I ever had.
The waiter brought out a plate of cookies for dessert and camino scallop shells for everyone. Vance slipped the waiter his credit card and paid for the whole meal before anyone had a chance to argue. That was very sweet of him but not necessary. Thanks for the delicious dinner, Vance!
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