This week brought with it a delightful mid-week fiesta, the day of Sant Joan. The Catalan holiday combines a celebration for the summer solstice with a day commemorating the birth of Saint John the Baptist. If you are a boy lucky enough to be called Joan, then June 24 is your name day — like a second birthday, complete with gifts,Continue reading “The week of Sant Joan”
Tag Archives: catalonia
The week of the flies
The amount of aerial wildlife is one of the lovely things about living in Tortosa, a regional town so close to the Delta Ebro wildlife reserve. I’m not saying I’m a twitcher, but in the immortal words of The Eels, I like…birds. Pigeons, sparrows and swallows are ubiquitous of course, occupying the nooks and cranniesContinue reading “The week of the flies”
The week we drank
Just to be clear, we actually drink every week. Water, obviously, plenty of fresh orange juice, and the occasional beer or bottle of cava. But this week I finally achieved Catalan Drink Bingo, and I had to tell someone! There are many popular tipples to taste while watching the world go by here in Catalonia.Continue reading “The week we drank”
The week of La Diada de Sant Jordi
For most of this week I have felt like Harry Potter, in the last movie when he is asked about the Tale of the Three Brothers. “You know, the tale of Sant Jordi?”, people say expectedly. “Ummm…” The tale, told to me several times in the past week, goes that once upon a time, aContinue reading “The week of La Diada de Sant Jordi”
The week we tried to learn Spanish
‘What?’ I hear you say! ‘Haven’t you been living in Spain for three months now? Haven’t you been trying to learn Spanish for, I don’t know, the whole time?!’ The truth is, it’s actually been quite hard to for us to find a structured way to learn Castellano. The main reason for this is that,Continue reading “The week we tried to learn Spanish”
The week of wind
Despite the fact that my job is all about the atmosphere, the one thing that is guaranteed to ruin my day is wind. Not passing wind, that’s hilarious, but unrelenting, tree-bending, dust-blowing, hair-mussing wind that come from air migrating from one spot to another.
The week of our first visitor
Last week we welcomed our first guest to Tortosa, a dear friend who had trekked all the way to Europe from Australia just to see us! And go snowboarding in Andorra. It was strange to have a visitor in our town when it doesn’t feel like our town yet. Where to go? What to do? It was even stranger whenContinue reading “The week of our first visitor”
The week it was Christmas
Although our Christmas was spent in Germany with family, this blog is about Spain, so here are some highlights from the lead up to Navidad in Tortosa. The Christmas spirit is alive and well here, although not officially until the long weekend of the 6th to the 8th of December. Before that time the fairyContinue reading “The week it was Christmas”
The week we made it into the system
Also known as the week we slept outside in the street for a night to apply for our “alien cards”… When we finally picked up our Spanish visas last month, the Melbourne consulate said we needed to present ourselves to the Oficina de Extranjería (foreigner or alien office) within a month of arrival and applyContinue reading “The week we made it into the system”
The week we found a house
Actually, it’s a flat. Un piso. Not quite the orange orchard we dreamily aimed for on arrival, but we love it. The four (!) balconies look out across a winding pedestrian street that is currently full of fairy lights, and the rooms are warm enough, furnished and comfortable. Renting a place in Spain has beenContinue reading “The week we found a house”
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