shopping

The Garden of Eden

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

Today was a lovely dreamy relaxing sunny easy day at Sant Nicolau

Bonnie and I went down to do some meditation at Blue’s resting place

I had noticed there were daisies but suddenly I SAW them – hundreds and thousands of daisies and it reminded me of being a child and making daisy chains

How many actual daisy chains have I made in my life?  Perhaps no more than 10 or so.
I decided to make one to leave for Blue

Then Bonnie for the first time went to actually lie on top of Blue’s grave

I am sure she remembers this is where we buried her old friend

It was very special down there today

Later I went into Figueres with Helen and we looked around the shops, searching for a suitable dress for me to wear to my niece’s wedding next weekend. All the other times I have been there I’ve found the town to be a bit sharp edged and unfriendly but today it was open-hearted and warm. There were musicians playing jazz in the centre and in one shop a woman was holding a small baby. “He’s my new grandson” she said  “Three months old”  I went over to admire him and he beamed at me. Usually I am the sort of person who babies turn away from or they start to cry when I speak to them. But this baby in Figueres seemed to like me and what a nice feeling that is!

Every single shopkeeper switched to speaking in Spanish with me even after I had greeted them in Catalan.  I carried on short conversations just to show it was unnecessary to change but it seemed they didn’t notice and doggedly carried on in Spanish. I know they are trying to be friendly but somehow along the way they have stopped listening and are only seeing what I look like – a guiri.

But I found the perfect dress and when I have the shoes to go with it – I’ll show you a photo.

There is still snow on Canigo and when you sit in the shade you can feel the chill of it in the breeze.
Bonnie is almost totally better now and when I got back from town she was overwhelmingly pleased to see me and what a nice feeling that is too!

Thanks for visiting me here – I hope you also had a sunny dreamy relaxing and easy day.

A Ragged Diagonal

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

It feels like Spring – look at that blue sky!

Those trees that I photographed a few days ago are now almost in full blossom

It is the kind of weather when you don’t know what to wear.  A coat and hat makes you feel too hot but go without and it is too chilly in the shade or the late afternoon. Here’s me looking hot and bothered in Granollers – it is also time to start carrying sunglasses and of course I hadn’t!

I went up to Barcelona today to sort out some papers in the British Consulate. That was an interesting experience as security measures now mean you feel you are visiting a prison – at no time was I in a shared space with another human being without a pane of reinforced glass between us. I had to give up my mobile phone at the entrance otherwise I would have taken a photo of the amazing views over Barcelona to the sea from the Consulate office.
I had an idea that Primark might be interesting and as I am looking for a new dress to wear for Swing, I took a long and complicated journey down to Diagonal Mar.
The British Consulate is at 477 Diagonal and Primark is at 4 Diagonal. Don’t let this give you the impression they are close to each other!
Diagonal is not very pleasant to walk along in the day time as it is so noisy and busy but there are some wonderful buildings that would be a shame to miss.

There is that blue sky again! I love that dome and the round balconies.

There were green parrots squawking up in the trees and I felt drawn into this garden where they had an exhibition about Wales. It all looked very sunny and tempting.   This place is called Palau Robert and it was the Catalan Ministry for Culture between 1936 and 1939, then returned to private ownerhip after the civil war and later bought by the Government.

Inside was a small show about a man called Joan Triadu` (1921-2010) – teacher, writer, literary critic and Catalan activist. He was professor of Catalan for two years at Liverpool University.   I love wandering around in Barcelona and coming across unexpected and interesting exhibitions

One of his books is called The Adolescent Teacher. He was sent to Granollers to teach age 16!

Primark was a disappointment but the journey was worth it because I took the tram for the first time from Marina to Diagonal Mar. I don’t know this part of the city very well and I still have no idea what the Gerkin is all about!
Here is a closer detail of the Zurich building on Diagonal – I walked past it without noticing the first time and only on my return trip saw the amazing pictures on each rectangle and the reflections

The line of life is a ragged diagonal between duty and desire.   William Alger

Caprabo

~ Kate Wilson ~ 7 Comments

We tend to try out different supermarkets each time we go – no loyalty I’m afraid!
But I was impressed by a couple of things at Caprabo last time we went.
First a bit of history – it is a Spanish owned supermarket chain started in 1959.
The name comes from the first letters of the surnames of the three founders, CArbó, PRAt and BOtet.
Bet you didn’t know that!  It now

Thing Number One
One of my pet hates here is that when you arrive at the check out with perhaps 150 euros worth of shopping, all they want to do is rush your through and get the money before you’ve had a chance to sort and pack your stuff. this brings on an attack of passive aggression in me so I take my time and refuse to pay until it is all in the bags. But I notice most other people, including those close to me, practially having a heart attack trying to get it all out of the way before the next persons Vi and Pa comes shooting down the belt.

But yesterday the guy in CA/PRA/BO was very chilled out, he even came out from behind his till to help load some stuff.
This is unheard of here!
Normally you hear nothing of ‘Would you like a hand packing your shopping madam?’
It is more  of a ‘ Now we have your money can you please now Piss Off?’
But at least in Caprabo Granollers there is someone who does it differently. I even thanked him for not rushing us.

Thing Number Two

Here it is – a magnifying glass attached to the trolley so you can see the small print.
Isn’t that amazing?

Granollers today

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

Every day there is high humidity and often………a downpour.
Today the rain turned to hailstones and the rain was so fierce it came in through various holes in the roof! And through the door to the terrace which I had left open! There were little pebbles of ice on the carpet.
Is this summer?  I often have to remind myself which month we are in – can it really be July, the time when normally I am seeking out shade and rejecting most of my clothes as they are too hot for comfort. This evening I was thinking I needed a jacket for sitting in the Jijonera to drink an orxata.

I am feeling better after yesterdays outpouring.
Women Who Walk with Wolves also reminded me that for creative energy to mature and grow there must be times when we take on the inner assassin and face those dark questions about who we are and what we are doing.

(I notice here that the book is actually called Women Who RUN with Wolves. How typical of me that I slowed it down a pace!)
The assassin, the predator within us, is that voice which tells us we are no good and periodically it tries to knock us down and destroy what we are making. Then is the time to gather strength, take a breath and fight back.

Today in Granollers I went shopping.  Against a terrible fatigue of body and spirit I walked down to the centre of town and tried on shoes. It is the time of the July sales – called Rebaixes in Catalan. Pronounced  ‘rebashes’
I don’t know what this sign means – how can a sale be %?

While in one shop looking at bags I heard a big kerfuffle in the shop next door – Pull and Bear. A large group of people gathered to enjoy the show. Everyone started to talk and shout and smile – it was like we were waking up from our shopping dream.

After a lot of noise and yelling,  two women came out with pushchairs, arguing with the security guard and eventually walked away up the road. Then someone saw the Mossos (police) arriving from the other end of town. A shout went up – Here, Here, Quickly, Quickly!
The crowd, which now was acting as one, pointed in the direction of the women and the police ran past – three, four, five of them. Later I saw the security guard return with some tee shirts in his hand and also the girls talking with the police in a discreet alleyway.  What was incredible was the crowd energy for the chase – wow, I wouldn’t like to have those people after me. A few moments before they had been barely alive.

Well, that’s enough excitement for today!  A storm and a robbery and two new pairs of shoes.
No bag –  though – look at the price!