Dec 2006
Travel Notes 2:The Missing Tapa
26/December/2006 13:06 .travel tales.Permalink
How wonderful to sit inside any bar or restaurant for a while and not leave 20 mins later stinking of an un-emptied ashtray. How is it that this country can abide by a ban on smoking in bars when Spain goes out of its way to get round such legislation. And what does this say about its people?
Are Spaniards less law-abiding? Or is it that they just have a healthy disregard for laws?
Smoke free or not, I do miss a tapa with my drink. Oh for a tapa lojeña of deep fried pimientos in batter, or caviar and brie on small toasts or even just uncarved simple plate of olives. Some plates serve wu-wei, others just are.
And what of the coffee in Italy? Cappuchino or expresso or latte machiado?
Perhaps Im just too set in my ways now. I find the cappuchino mostly froth hiding a small pool of luke warm milk. The Expresso, a teaspoon of concentrated caffeine, and the latte - just a litre of hot milk that has been merely shown, rather than brewed inside a coffee pot.
Maybe I´m being to harsh. But the Monk sought the perfect manchada amongst the gondole gente of the north - but returned sin exito.
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Travel Notes 1: In search of the perfect Expresso
20/December/2006 13:05 .travel tales.Permalink
Xmas and New Year in a new town can be exciting and novel, or it can be depressing and lonely. Having moved into new towns before it is so often the later, so we have fled to Italy to visit distant family and to search for the perfect expresso.
Granada recently started a new flight to Milan, and we caught the opening offer for just 1 euro! Little did we suspect that there were hidden costs. Low priced flights are such a scam when you take into consideration the return flights, taxes, enforced overnight accommodation etc the price turns a tad higher.
Heres how the price rose on the RyanAir ad from just 2 euros:
2 x 1 euro tickets = 2 euros
Airport taxes and fees = 50
2 x coffees = 52.40
2 Bottles of water
(only purchasable from Dept. Lounge) = 56
Bus to Milan centre = 64
Arrival at Hotel by 12midnight = 124
2 x return flights at 65 each = 254
So our total costs from a 1 euro flight to Milan
for two people worked out at 254 euros due to the
late arrival time and added extras. Not such a bargain after all!
E per favore? Why were all the announcements on the plane in English when we were traveling from Spain to Italy?
Ciao
Play: Amorie by Dean Martin
Inconvenient Truths
15/December/2006 13:05 .Planting
ideas.Permalink
Whilst the heads of the European Union meet today to discuss yet again climate change and energy technologies, Greenland and the artic circle continue to disappear into the surrounding oceans. Its so difficult to bring such major environmental changes into prospective, and even more difficult to see what you personally can do about any of it.
Living in Spain makes it easier than perhaps you think to play a small but significant role. The hours of sunlight, european grants and the availability of wind power are all realistic options for us an individuals as well as citizens of any town. If you live in a house in the country, you may like to read through this, or if you live in a town try to find out what steps your ayuntamiento is taking to move towards a sustainable future. And as Al Gore says in the film An Inconvenient Truth, if they are not doing what you think they should be doing, ask why.
And this is what Im going to be doing in the new year here. I’m going to interview the Alcalde - New Years resolution 1.
Play: Anything by the Weather Girls
Yet more symbols
04/December/2006 13:04 .Echos of the Civil War
.Permalink
How is your town covering the 70th Anniversary of the outbreak of the civil war?
As Spain yet again opens it old wounds for public inspection, criticism comes from all quarters. Even other countries are starting to report that Spain is becoming more divided today than at any time over the last 30 years. But is this the full story? (Go here for some background notes)
How far has Spain ever really come to terms with its violent past, when the authorities have never opened up - either because they didn´t want to, or because they were not allowed to - the clandestine history of much of the war and the post war dictatorship.
This is the hub of the debate. For many...such as Santiago Carillo and Ian Gibson the debate has been a long, and fierce struggle to discover the truth and to discover the whereabouts of many disappeared family members from the post war period.
With all that in mind - the sensitivity issue, the historical interpretation issue and the present crispacion, as they say in Spain, between the two major parties - it was a relief to see how one town has dealt with this important anniversary.
An unveiling of a monument, a poem, a small fountain and three benches that spell out a very simple, and unifying word: Paz.
Y ya esta.
pastedGraphic
Pueblo publicity
04/December/2006 13:04 .Local life.Permalink
Some towns just do it better than others. Toledo was crap at letting you know what was going on, Almuñecar even worse. Many was the time we would hear music or a band marching in the street or see fireworks emerging from behind a castle wall, or awake from a siesta to a loud-hailor announcing the beginning of a concert in the park. It wasn't that these towns didn't put things on - they were just crap at publicity. And as a consequence, most of the time you missed out on it all.
So how well does your Pueblo rate? If you cant answer yes to at least 3 or the following 4 questions, then I suggest moving town.
1: Are events announced well in advance of the date with street posters and local paper/radio and TV coverage?
2: Do you get sent in the post (snail mail) an agenda of cultural events lined up for the month ahead? Every month?
3: Do you get an reminder email advertising the event 3 days before with all the details?
4: Is there a free local newspaper weekly/ bi-monthly informing you of all cultural, artistic, political and social news of the town?
Here´s one example of a good bit of pueblo publicity: With the local cinema closed due to building works, our local town hall has set up a season of free films to be shown fortnightly in the local ¨casino¨. This week was: La Vida Secreta de las Palabras.
Posters go up, emails are sent out and the radio and press announce the film a week in advance. Outside, on the night in question, a young guy stands handing out publicity from the film and encouraging passers-by to enter.
Its not a great expense for the town hall, but its symbolic that there is an awareness of their need to provide cultural activities for people in town.
Vamos, creo yo.
So how did your town match up?