It just isn’t the same living out in the middle of nowhere
and living in town. In town, if you want
to stay in your nice little apartment, you can do so. But if you want to go out, even if just for a
walk, the possibilities are many.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time just walking up one street
and down another, sometimes looking for a specific place, but mostly just to
see what’s there so later when I need it, I’ll know where to find it. Today I found a shop that sells only things
from France
– things like pates, all sorts of stuff made from duck and goose livers, cassoulet
in a jar, nougat, callissons, jams and jellies, and wine. This wasn’t something I was looking for, and I
didn’t buy anything, but I’ll be back.
The other night my friendly neighbor Ines invited me to join
her in going to a free, open-air band concert.
At first I declined, but then I thought again. Band music isn’t my favorite, but why stay
home when I have a chance to go out, develop a new friendship, and who knows,
maybe the music won’t be too bad. And in
fact, the music wasn’t too bad. The big
band repertoire was fun, the rest was OK, there was a great full moon beaming
at us through the trees, and I even ran into someone I knew! Who would believe it when I just got
here. But I had spent some time chatting
with the Argentine owners of a nearby eclectic shop and they called out to me
from behind. That was a real surprise.
Before that, on Sunday, I had gone to La Rambla to see castells, the
human castles. There was a good audience,
but I wouldn’t say it was crowded. The
teams were from Figueres, Olot, and Suria -- none of them high-rankers in the national competitions. But that didn’t make the spectacle any less
enjoyable and it did allow me to get closer in to take photos.
Building a castell looks like this -- layer upon layer of people:
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| Fer pinya -- making the base |
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| The same music accompanies all castells, and begins once the base is formed and the first layer is stable |
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| Team members come in all sizes |
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| and all ages, each with his/her function to perform |
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| Lookin' good |
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