off to almeria for easter and peps birthday. the motorway service area is just as overpriced as in the uk. normal lunch menu is around 9 euros. will post updates when i have internet. happy april fool!
on the road
Author: Kate Wilson
Life is But a Dream
Sorry!
I’ve had a blog block.
And some lovely friends here to stay, with lots of chatting and adventures but less time for hovering over the computer.
But I’ve got a fresh approach now to writing here – not quite the ‘I’m doing this for me so who cares if anyone comments or not’ but more of a ‘there are people out there who enjoy reading it but have their own reasons for not writing anything in the comments section’
So, if at least I can relax and stop worrying that I am getting it wrong, perhaps I can find my way back to writing about what I find interesting in my life here.
However, now it is late and I want to sleep so here is a photo of Granollers where there was no Thursday market due to the General Strike
Some shops were open and others were closed. It was sunny and there was a large and peaceful demonstration which we watched for a while before taking all the dogs out into the countryside. We all had a lovely day walking in the woods and eating in the little restaurant at Santa Fe
Back home everyone helped me prepare for my singing group tomorrow by singing Row Row Row Your Boat in four parts. We were wonderful.
And if life is really just a dream, let’s make it a beautiful one!
Smiling in Granollers
Today everyone was happier in Granollers.
Is it Springtime?
Someone smiled at me in the street. She was smiling as she got closer, perhaps at the sight of my beautiful border collie Bonnie, and then she looked at me and nodded.
That is really unusual in a town where normally people look at me with a slight frown or a blank stare.
Some boys down by the river were throwing stones at something. I stopped and asked what they were doing. Two boys ran off at the sight of Bonnie while the others said ‘rabbits’. We talked a little about why it is unkind to try and hurt rabbits then they asked me where I come from and we had a nice chat for a few sunny moments. They were just little boys, bored and thoughtless but pleasant enough.
Then, ignoring my resolution to not shop in the Chinese store (the cheap shops that are in every town in Catalunya selling things made in China) I went into the very one which usually treats me like a shop lifter by following me silently around the aisles. I picked up some photo frames and went to the counter and the woman smiled and said ‘Hola’. Then she asked me where I was from!
Incredible, why do you think today was so different from other days?
Swifts in Catalunya
They arrived yesterday!
Or at least I saw them for the first time over the high buildings in Carrer Girona – about 8 of them dipping and diving and shouting HOLA!!!
I shouted Hola back – rather to the amazement of all the people walking along the street.
Mad foreigner!
Little bits of news from my part of Catalunya
Only one photo and sorry no drawings (although I am planning on doing some of those very soon)
Just snippets of news
- On Friday I led a workshop for people wanting to sing songs in English. I had the idea a few months ago and since then have been choosing songs and thinking about how singing can help language learning. My friend Marta was excited by the idea and she helped organise sessions in Barcelona so we had the first one there, thanks also to Isa and Pati Llimona in the Barri Gòtic. Of course it was much more scary and complicated than I had imagined – how to decide what songs are interesting and not to hard for non English speakers who won’t know the tunes? But I think in the end it was ok and we are doing it again next week.
- Tonight we went to Sant Celoni to see Anna Roig singing live. I love her songs and especially this one. It’s about a woman who went to Paris with her lover and they didn’t have a good time. So she decides to paint a red moustache on his photo to take away some of the sting and sadness.
- The cafe at the station was still open after the concert so we had a beer and something quick to eat. I love that place – it always makes me think of Brief Encounter.
- You can imagine things happening there. Love affairs starting……….
……..or ending - I drove to Orrius this week in the car – ALL BY MYSELF! I wrote here about my reluctance to drive in Catalunya and so this was a huge step forward. Bonnie and I went to meet up with Oreneta, a friend I met through our blogs, and Chuck her gorgeous dog, to have a little walk in the hills with them – part of their four hour trek!
- Talking of facing my fears – the singing group and the driving were part of my current personal challenge to extend my comfort zone rather than hide away inside it. I am inspired by this man whose blog is full of wonderful suggestions and life observations.
- Lastly – tomorrow we are having a family picnic to celebrate two birthdays and one saints day. At last I think I have cracked the sponge cake problem and right now two halves are cooling in the kitchen and awaiting chocolate filling. Also thanks to my friend Francesca I am looking forward to wowing the Catalans with chocolate cornflake biscuits. I managed to make a mess of that recipe as well on first trying it but second time round I am now on a par with the five year olds who specialise in making these treats.
Well that’s all for now – there is always so much to say and yet recently it has been hard to string together a sentence. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to write – and what to leave unwritten.
Let’s see what next week will bring!