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Making a pasta dish is really easy. 

Get all the ingredients at the store. Boil the pasta, mix all the ingredients in a pan, add the mixture to the pasta  and serve. 

But what happens when the store is closed?

In that case, go home and pack a suitcase. Grab your shopping list and get ready to travel to Europe.

This is what happened to our friend Bilmo.

Firstly, Bilmo travels to Lleida. He visits "la Seu Vella", the most beautiful monument. He goes up to the bells tower to see the whole town when he hears a little voice saying: 

- We are "Els Castellers de Lleida", a human castle. My name is "Aixaneta" and I am at the very top of our tower. Come here. I want to give you the ingredient you are looking for.

Bilmo goes down the hill and on his way to see the "Aixaneta" he meets a funny snail called "lo Caragol". He walks all the way long with Bilmo untill they meet the little girl. She is very happy to see Bilmo and her friend the snail. The "Aixaneta" gives him a basket full of red peppers and she says:

- They will taste delicious in your pasta dish! 

- Thank you!  answers Bilmo.

- Good bye Bilmo!

- Bye bye, Aixeneta. Bye, Snail!

In the afternoon, Bilmo visits a very big natural park called "La Mitjana". He plays in the playground area where the is a little pond in the middle, some picnic tables, slides and a long zip line. There, he sees a group of children from "Escola Espiga" dancing "Sardanas", a traditional Catalan dance. Bilmo joins them and has a great time dancing and playing with them.

- This is good fun! says Bilmo.

- You are now our friend! say the children.

Later, he goes for a walk deep into the park. He smells the flowers, hears the birds singing, hugs and touches the trees and sees the bridge that goes from side to side of the Segre river. In the middle of the bridge he sees "Lo Marraco", a dragon and "Berenguer",  the giant".

- Here you have a good ingredient for your dish, aubergines. Says "Lo Marraco"

-  They are very tasty. Says the Giant.

- Thank you! Answers Bilmo. Now is time to visit Italy and get some more ingredients I need for my pasta dish.  Goodbye giant, goodbye Marraco!

Bilmo walk by walk, arrives on a hill where there are many houses.

He goes up an uphill road and arrives in a square. The boy looks around and curiously approaches the statue of a dog; as soon as he reads the name” Tocco”, the statue, as if by magic, comes to life and the dog begins to speak, asking Bilmo: "Who are you?”.

”My name is Bilmo and I'm looking for the ingredients to prepare a plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce, but all the shops are closed, so I'm traveling around Europe to find them.”

 "Then you're in luck: you're in the right place and you've met the right friend: I can help you because I know this town very well: I was once the lucky charm of all citizens. I welcome you to Monte Porzio Catone. Come with me - Tocco says again - even if the shops are closed, we will find what you need!”

Bilmo says: "Thanks, then let's get started! To cook pasta, you need water". The dog replies: "We can take it from this beautiful fountain called the Madama fountain. This water is fresh and good!" Bilmo takes a bucket and fills it.

"Tocco! Now we need spaghetti." Bilmo says: "Right nearby - explains Tocco - there is a restaurant and they will certainly give you what you are looking for. Let's go!" 

"

They cross the arch of Palazzo Borghese and reach Piazza del Garibaldino. When the restaurateur sees Tocco, he says: "What a surprise! Our old friend! How can I help you?” The dog explains: “Bilmo is on a journey to find the ingredients needed to make spaghetti with tomato sauce. Do you have some pasta for him?" "Sure", says the restaurateur and gives the spaghetti to two friends.

“What are you still missing? “Tocco asks. "I still lack the oil to make the sauce and to finish… some Parmigiano" replies the young boy.

"Follow me! - says the dog - do you see this mountain in front of us? It is Mount Tusculum and there we will find some cows that will give us fresh milk and lots of olive trees to make oil". Tocco starts running quickly to reach the top of the mountain while Bilmo tries to go after him and with so much effort they arrive they find some cows that are grazing eating some very good grass. The cows, as soon as they know Bilmo's story, give their milk knowing that it will be used to make excellent Parmigiano. At this point all he needs is to pick a lot of olives to squeeze to get the oil.

"Here's Bilmo, now you have all your ingredients, we can go back to Monte Porzio Catone." “Thank you, my great friend Tocco! I couldn't have done it without you! It's time, for me, to leave for a new country and look for the other ingredients that I still lack”." Thanks to you Bilmo, for coming here to get to know our country, I hope you enjoyed it. Come back anytime. It's time for me to go back to being a statue". Tocco jumps on his pedestal and greets Bilmo with his paw, while happy, he wags his tail once again before transforming again. Bilmo approaches, from a caress on Tocco's head which is now a statue again.”Bye bye Tocco”.

It was time for Bilmo to travel to Greece. When he heard about the island of Ikaria, its pristine beaches and breathtaking landscapes, he packed his bags and set off for the island.

As soon as he arrived, Bilmo went straight to the beach, where he noticed many people surfing. He rented a surfboard and hit the waves on the beach of Mesakti. Then he walked around enjoying the sunset and chatting with fellow surfers. 

The next day Bilmo felt adventurous and decided to go hiking. He came across a small creature that seemed to be staring at him. He found out that it was a rare species of lizard that only lived in Ikaria and the locals called it "korkofilas". He also found out about a type of tree there, the cork tree. He explored the rugged terrain, the wildflowers, the vineyards and olive groves.

When he reached the summit, he was rewarded by the amazing view of the sea and the hills.

He also noticed fields with tomatoes and saw some locals working there. He spoke to them. The locals were friendly and they invited him to a local festival at night. They also gave him tomatoes to take with him. 

At night Bilmo went to the festival. The locals showed Bilmo how to dance the folk dance "Ikariotikos". Bilmo joined them, he tasted local food and danced until dawn. He talked with the locals who told him about the local products of the island. They gave him the pumpkin that grow there, called "tampouras". Bilmo had a great time.

Bilmo couldn’t leave the island without exploring its history. He visited a fortress that was built centuries ago to ward off pirates. He imagined the battles that took place there. 

It was time for Bilmo to leave the island. He took the ingredients the locals gave him and he was one step closer for his pasta dish.

Then, Bilmo saw a hot air baloon and jumped in until next stop: Portugal!

He went to the salt flats in Aveiro to get salt and then caught a train to go to Barcelos because he knew that there, he could find his last ingredients to the pasta dish.

In Barcelos, Bilmo found the famous rooster that took him to the weekly fair that takes place in the heart of the city. There, he found the two last ingredients: onion and garlic.

Before returning home, Bilmo stopped by the "Ponte Seca" also known as king's bridge to watch the beautiful landscape of Durrães.

Bilmo was now ready to cook his special pasta dish.

He had all the ingredients he gathered, cooked them, boiled the pasta and enjoyed his meal!