Makin’ Pals

28 Tuesday May 2013

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People in Girona often ask us “Why three months in Girona?” True, if we were just visiting landmarks and museums in the city, that would take about three days. While some people travel for art and some for food, we are in it for the people. We stay a long time in order to make relationships that we hope will be enlightening and longstanding. We are curious and communicative by nature and profession; we like to learn about the world through the people that live here. But only if we really like hanging out with them as well.

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The Skinny on Spain

20 Monday May 2013

Posted by Louise in Travel

≈ 9 Comments

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Girona, skinny, Spanish diet

Most Spanish people we see are not fat. A disclaimer: We see only city people, and they are usually skinnier because of the walking and the peer pressure. However, I have some ideas about why the Spanish are svelte.

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Ay Ay Ay Guapas!

14 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by Louise in Gallery, Travel

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Girona, La Devesa Park, street markets

My guilty pleasure is: street markets. I absolutely haunt the one in the park next door: La Devesa.

This market shows up every Tuesday and Saturday morning, and for some reason I always see things I haven’t seen before.

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The Return of The Spanish Patient

09 Thursday May 2013

Posted by Louise in Travel

≈ 15 Comments

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Girona, travel

If you’ve been reading along, you know that Tom visited many floors of the Dr. Josep Trueta Hospital — Emergency, Neurology, three different intensive care units, and Cardiology – as though trying to figure out whether Orthopedics or Gastroenterology might be worth a try. He could have been a Secret Shopper for Spain’s Department of Health.

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Hold the Anchovies

03 Friday May 2013

Posted by Louise in Gallery, Travel

≈ 7 Comments

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Hotel Nieves Mar, l'Escala, Restaurant Cal Galan, Restaurant de L'Escalenc

The l’Escala waterfront, ca. 1966. Credit: Restaurant Cal Galan.

Last week we took a 45-minute, rather glam bus ride from Girona to the old fishing village of L’Escala on the coast of the Mediterranean. On a previous brief visit, we were captivated by the charm of the old village, the 45 miles of shoreline around the Bay of Roses, and some very intimate little restaurants that called our name.

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The Jetsons Arrive in Girona

20 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by Louise in Travel

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expat, Girona, travel

Those of you who read last year’s April in France blog will remember that Tom is a four-year-old in spirit. For example, every time a train goes by our Girona apartment, he points at it and yells “TRAIN!” If he’s really lucky it will be a “CAR TRAIN!” saddled with Seats.

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Cinc Claus is Coming to Town

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by Louise in Travel

≈ 6 Comments

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Costa Brava, l'Escala, Mas Concas

Our friends Jeannette and Vicens took us out on another well-planned, beauty-soaked adventure to the Costa Brava Saturday night.

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When Catalonia Takes Over the World

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by Louise in Travel

≈ 10 Comments

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Catalan, expat, Girona, travel

Nothing could have prepared me for Catalan. Well, maybe my sixty years of French study and forty years of Spanish study and those two miserable years of Latin. But the Catalan independence movement around here has become so fierce that the signs and menus are no longer bilingual in Catalan and Castilian Spanish, as they were just last year. It’s all Catalan, all the time.

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Slimy Things on Beds of Ice

05 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by Louise in Travel

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expat, food, Girona, travel

Slimy things on beds of ice. This is sort of the general tenor of the fish stalls at our Mercat, which is Catalan for market. The Mercat, of course, is full of raw, natural, farm-fresh unprocessed food. I’ll try any fruit or vegetable, but when it comes to proteins, I will admit that I prefer boneless, finless, scale-free meats and fish which I can recognize, and which is not still looking at me. I am not proud of this, but that’s how it is.

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A Slice of Heaven Atop Girona

01 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by Louise in Accommodations, Travel, Video

≈ 20 Comments

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expat, Girona, travel

We have just arrived at our apartment in Girona. We committed to this place for three months, sight unseen. It cudda been Hell, but instead it’s Heaven (especially at this height).