Whatever next? Now I am watching yet another football game and enjoying it. These last two years have seen me changing just about everything possible you can imagine!
I even felt excited walking around the town centre as the atmosphere was building up – nothing too visible but you just know that most people will be watching the Barça Madrid game tonight. And when there is a goal….if there is a goal….the shouts from the houses and bars will resound around Granollers
Today I met up with two nice friends Tiffany and Oreneta who also write about life here in Catalunya.
It is one of the things I like about writing this blog – you get in touch with other interesting people and some of them turn out to live close enough to meet for a coffee. Lots of laughs.
And another lunch at the Baalek!
Afterwards the three of us had a very peaceful walk around Granollers showing Oreneta all the landmarks and points of interest. And we realised that there are LOTS!
Neither Tiffany nor I had a clue how many people live in Granollers – it is something people always ask me but I never know the answer….until now….Oreneta found out that 60,000 live here. So there you are!
Something I feel foolishly pleased about happened today. I have a counter that tells me how many people visit the blog every month and today I reached 500+ visits for April. This is the most I have ever had and somehow it felt really exciting to know that out there are all those people who read what I am writing.
Thank you all for coming here!
Also we discovered that it is really easy to leave a comment even if you don’t have a google account. You just write your message and then tick NAME and send it off. You can ignore where it says URL and all that. Just Name and Send. I know lots of people don’t feel like writing something public and prefer to send me emails and others are happy to read without writing but…. just in case you were hesitating because it is hard – it isn’t!
News from the gym
I went today and stayed a good hour. The music was great – most of it I recognised from our resident adolescents favourites so I could sing along. Tiffany was there for some of the time which made it much nicer and after she left I had ‘my’ part all to myself so I could wobble and pant in peace.
Great Day!
When you go up to the Torre on the hill above Granollers you can really see how the town lies in a valley surrounded by mountains. It is a wonderful view and all the high flats, the industrial buildings, the ugly corners become insignificant as your eye is drawn to the outlines of the hills and the expanse of sky.
The torre is old – officially 14th century but some believe it is much older perhaps dating back to the Romans. It is derelict and the council have erected a pathetic little fence around it to ‘stop’ you going in. At some point they have made an attempt to strengthen the walls with some modern bricks. But they have never accepted their responsibility to preserve and protect this ancient monument. Perhaps that is for the best as so often preservation turns into domination and control
The part of the vaulted ceiling that remains is beautiful. A work of art. The Torre was probably part of a network of towers used for communication from one settlement to the next. Some researchers believe that light signals were used to pass messages across the countryside.
You can see why it was built here as you have an all round view
In one direction lies Granollers and the spreading urban world. Turn around and you can see little vegetable plots and olive trees. Turn further and there is another expanse of green field behind which is another industrial estate. But for now it is hidden, invisible and doesn’t exist.
Only the swifts and the poppies and the sky and the hills
And the sunset
So it’s Sant Jordi again – the year has turned full cycle since the last time when the streets of Granollers were filled with stalls selling red roses and books. By the afternoon the sun had broken through the clouds and so we didn’t have to walk under umbrellas or worry about the rain spoiling the whole event.
This year is a little strange as Sant Jordi is the day before Easter. I wonder how often that happens? Or if it ever falls on Easter Sunday?
There were all the stalls selling books in the Porxada and surrounding streets. This year I woke up to the fact that most places had exactly the same books – hardbacks especially published to coincide with this day. So it was hard to find the right book – for the right price. The Catalan version of the one we wanted was 21 euros. I wonder why books are so much cheaper in the UK?
Then we looked at the roses – 5 euros each and all wrapped in what seemed identical plastic covers. They looked nice but I did begin to wonder why some enterprising seller doesn’t start to do it in a different way? Perhaps with a pretty paper wrapping?
We had our usual conversation about the commercialism of most of the main festes here and I do begin to see what he means. Everything ends up being marketed and sold at an inflated price and without much creative imagination. Oh dear – I am feeling a bit jaded perhaps.
The sardanes in front of the Ajuntament were good to watch and I even saw a couple of young men – 17 years old? – dancing with spiky hair and smiley faces. The average age of dancers is around 65 I would say. The music lets you know when to raise and drop the arms! Everyone does little tiny pointy steps without moving very far and then suddenly it all gets faster – but still tiny – and then it slows down. It’s very subtle and because it was banned during times of repression of Catalan culture it is full of more emotion and significance than is obvious on the surface. Something further away from a flamenco you cannot imagine!
The shops are full of Mones de Pasqua – the cakes that are traditionally eaten on Easter Monday and which symbolise the end of the abstinence of Lent
On the way home we got some take-away orxata – the drink that when I first tasted it in Barcelona seemed like nectar from heaven. By this time the clouds were returning and it was too chilly to drink it on the street.
Fear of more kidney stones means I always carry water which is a nuisance as it sloshes around in the bottle. Also any part of my body which can wobble – does, and that feels uncomfortable at first. But like many things which are hard to start – after you get going, the going gets better. There were some lovely flowers down by the river as well as the swallows swooping low over the little allotments.But what else can I tell you?
Well, time has flown by and I must start my Catalan homework.
Hope to see you next week if we both can make it!
