Someone
has proved that Galicia's premium white wine, Abariño, has the same
beneficial properties as red wine. Which is inescapably good news.
And which reminds me that attempts are going to be made to grow white
wine grapes up north in Ferrol. Which, again, has to rank as good
news
I've
recently been making hotel bookings up in the Galician hills, ahead
of a May 'pilgrimage'. Or camino. After noting that a couple
of only one-star places merited more, I asked an owner why her hotel
didn't have a higher rating. “Well,” she said, “there are
fiscal considerations.” I take this to mean that, as I've heard,
proprietors will seek the lowest award they can get as this helps
them reduce costs. After all, if you've got the only hotel in the
village, why do you need more than one star?
Up
in the hills, I ordered potre(foal) for lunch but I suspect I
was brought ternera(young beef). Who can one trust these
days?
Spanglish:
Well escrache may or may not derive from scratch, but
I'm pretty sure esprintar comes from sprint. Especially
as that's what it means – to sprint.
The
first quarter passenger numbers for Galicia's 3 airports are out and
they make grim reading, especially for Vigo and La Coruña.
Santiago's were also down but not to the same extent as the others.
Meanwhile North Portugal's facility in Oporto continues to grow at
the expense of all three and to welcome ever more Galicians looking
for a convenient flight. Or just a flight. And the Galician response?
To continue the bankrupt café-para-todos strategy of
retaining all 3 airports and giving each a 'specialisation'. With local pride is at stake, this economic illiteracy could
continue for years. Perhaps until all 3 of them go under. The Portuguese must have sore ribs.
One
of the more disappointing news items of the last week is that La
Crisis has possibly dealt a death blow to Spain's burgeoning solar
panel industry. The government has, inevitably, slashed grants and
subsidies, leaving investors with heavy losses. So, will I still see all
those acres of panels as I drive to and from Madrid?
Only
in Spain?: There's a club for the nation's elite in Madrid. But it's
not as private as you might expect; it's owned by the city. Which I
can't imagine is true of, say, The Atheneum in London. Or its
namesake in Manchester.
Finally
. . . I have to apologise to Spanish supermarkets for claiming they
rarely, if ever, innovate. There were 2 example of this in Mercadona
tonight. I knew they were novelties because each of them had a banner
saying NOVEDAD above them. The first was microwavable rice (3
different types!) and the second was Steinberg alcohol-free beer. I
ask you!
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