dogs

Trips out from Granollers

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

Saturday
We cycled along the river path in the direction of Barcelona, with Bonnie and Duna running along beside. Bonnie is new to this so we walked through the town part and only started cycling when we arrived in the park. Duna is more practised and can do the road as well, doing a rapid walk rather than break into a run. They really feel like part of a pack when we are all speeding along together and don’t even glance at the other slower pedestrians – human or canine

There is a Viena restaurant further along the river – it is a Catalan chain of fast food restaurants which has been going for 40 years. It’s a good place to stop for breakfast, as I did with Tiffany last week, or lunch as on Saturday

Sunday
This time we took the van out of its parking space and I drove to Montseny and up the steep windy narrow road to Tagamanent(1056m). The top of this little mountain can be seen from Granollers and looks flat but it actually has an old disused monastery up on the summit.

Blue had a potter around the lower slopes and then happily settled into bed in the VW while we fitter ones climbed to the top. There are amazing views over to the snow capped pyranees

and a deep silence enfolds you when conversation pauses. The sun was shining straight into the chapel and illuminating the statue of the Virgin Mary

The shadow creature beside me is Bonnie.
Which reminds me that last week a small child pointed at us as we walked by, saying, ‘lobo, lobo!’ The mother said ‘no mi niña, es un perro’
How wonderful to be that age when it is possible a wolf walks past you in Granollers!

An early swim

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

FRIDAY
We had a lovely day. First we went to meet up with Oreneta who is another blogging friend, i.e. we met first through our blogs and eventually got together face to face too.  These connections are very important to me here and it was great to see where she lives as well as meet the famous Chuck!  As well as being beautiful he was totally charming in spite of having three four legged females arrive in his home

The dogs all had a walk together round the village and then while Blue rested on the patio we went up into the hills which are easily accessible without having to drive or cross a major road. Not surprisingly I had a long fantasy about living there but unfortunately there is not a good connection to Granollers and for the moment at least we need to have access to school.
Afterwards we drove down to the coast to have lunch – early!  It was about 1.30pm

There is a lovely restaurant right beside the sea in between Premia and Vilassar. (If you are wondering how we managed with three dogs – we left Blue and Duna sleeping in the car and took Bonnie inside for a treat. It is a dog friendly place)

Then we all walked down to the sea. It was sunny, the water was aquamarine and unusually calm, I went for a paddle with Bonnie and suddenly realised it wasn’t too cold. Without taking time to think I threw off clothes and dived in. That must be the earliest swim I’ve ever done

Not long after the shadows started to lengthen and we made our way back up the beach

I wonder if you are thinking ‘how idyllic’?  If so then let me add that the less than wonderful part of the day was the fight that Duna and Bonnie had on the beach

Bonnie gets excited playing and that seems to wind Duna up so she pounced and teeth were bared and blood drawn. This time it was someone else’s turn to get his hand bitten as he tried to separate them. It’s a worry – it’s not something I have had to deal with ever before. Or not with dogs anyway

We are now keeping Duna under close supervision and she is always either muzzled or on the lead in the house. There is always something interesting to deal with here! Something new. Something challenging. As a friends aunt once said “You have to laugh!”

Guess Who Goes to Barcelona?

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

If you take the train that travels from Sant Celoni to Barcelona Airport, passing through both Granollers and Barcelona on the way, I challenge you to stay awake.  There must be sleeping gas or a sedative essential oil or an aroma of chamomile tea slowly released into the carriages to make everyone fall gradually asleep or at least go into a deep meditative state

I almost always start nodding off around Mollet and only wake up at Clot-Arago which is a blessing as I have to get off at the next stop, Passeig De Gracia.
Today though, I was in charge of one slightly nervous border collie who was making her first visit to the great city.  I had to stay alert. It was her first ever time on a train!
She wore the muzzle she had practised with on the ferry to the Isles of Scilly and perhaps because of the somnolent atmosphere in the carriage, she was very calm and happy for the whole journey.

After arriving in Barcelona we walked along Carrer Valencia all the way to my friends flat on Diagonal


Bonnie then led the way into the lift and we went up to the third floor.  She spent four hours being a model dog while we had lunch.   Afterwards we walked back down  C/Valencia and, totally in her stride now, when we reached Passeig de Gracia, she happily jumped up onto one of the Pere Falques seats to be photographed

We met another friend for a quick tapas in a bar called Cosmo on Enrique Granados then walked back to the train station to jump on the Sant Celoni train. This time it was much busier but she lay down with her head on her paws, only her pricked ears showing she was watching and noticing everything.
The woman opposite had put her bag down on the floor which I found worrying in case there was a peeing accident (it had been 5 hours since the last one due to a lack of grass in this area of Barcelona) but we arrived in Granollers without incident. People here are always telling me it is unlucky to put your bag on the ground but happily this superstition was proved wrong.
Bonnie is such a good companion and it was lovely to be walking with her down these familiar streets. The dog from Lamorna finally arriving in my favourite city!  I am so proud of her.
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There was only one problem that we need to work on.

Bonnie has always hated skateboards and unfortunately Enrique Granados is a pedestrian street with a lovely slope….for riding down again and again and again…. to the sound of hysterical barking which we now know she can do even through the muzzle!

We discover how velcro was invented.

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

We are staying in a bungalow by the sea at Santa Susanna.

There were lots of burrs on the beach this morning.  Attached to many of them were soft fabric-like materials.  Apparently it was after examining these plants that George de Mestral invented velcro. The name comes from the French words velour and croquet and was used because it looks like velour and uses a hook and loop system sort of like croquet (?)

The burrs we found on the beach have little hooks which attach easily to anything with loops, like soft fabrics or the little hairs between the pads under Blue’s paws!

Today we found some more around the New Park in Granollers and Blue became suddenly lame as they nestled in between her soft pads.  Once removed, she set off at a trot once again!

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

Walking three dogs is a bit like painting the Forth Road Bridge. No sooner have you finished than you have to start again. I am experimenting with taking a longer walk in the morning with the two agile ones while Blue sleeps at home after her shorter trip to the square. Hoping to gain some time for myself after lunch

As I said yesterday Granollers is spread along the banks of the Congost – not a great rushing river but a good enough stream of water to have ducks and today – a heron

You can walk upriver – away from Barcelona and towards La Garriga – then cross the bridge and come back down on the other side. Today we went via what we call the New Park which we have been visiting since it was under construction. It is still mostly doggy people who know about it and those mystery rubbish dumpers haven’t yet started to do their worst.
Further upstream we crossed over to return on the road side which is much used by runners and cyclists and has signs marking the kilometers and strange contraptions for exercising along the way

I saw a charm of goldfinches.

A lone duck sitting on an island in the stream.

And a little bit further away a grey heron balancing on one leg in the shallows.
There are some new cultivated parts.

People seem to claim a little patch and then clean it up and plant vegetables

These hortas suddenly appear, seemingly without effort as I have never seen anyone doing anything more strenuous than a casual sweep around of leaves. I’m sure these allotments are not official but they are tolerated and create a lovely garden feel to this industrial landscape.
We also bumped into Lolita and her owner – he also has an horta with chickens and ducks. My first border collie friend in Granollers was walking free and came over to see me – then her master too arrived to ask in Spanish how I am getting on. Bonnie and Lolita greeted each other with a collie kiss. It’s really all very lovely down there by the river.
I always wish I had taken binoculars and that I could find a bird expert here to help me identify all the birds I see.  I have the feeling there are lots of species living in this long snakey un-peopled belt of water and greenery, so close to industry and commerce but a little world of its own.