Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly
loveable.
- Christopher Howse:
A Pilgrim in Spain.
Cataluña
- One of Catalunya's pro-independence politicians might be trying to influence Belgian judges as they assess the quality of Spanish prisons before sending Sr P back to Spain.
Spain
- Against the possibility that I might need some medical treatment here in Portugal, I contacted my insurers and was advised there were no processes to go through but I needed to call their (premium rate) phone number before seeing a doctor. When I asked for clarification, I was told I needed to call so I could be told what steps to take. I am left wondering what 'no processes' really means.
- Ryanair has announced new flights for 2018. These are at least some of them for Spain. I note they don't include Santiago de Compostela, which they used to serviced from Liverpool, as I recall:
Newcastle to Madrid
Leeds to Murcia
Manchester to Sevilla
East Midlands to
Sevilla
- The EU is said to be unhappy with Madrid's management of the Spanish economy - particularly youth unemployment and the increasing inequality I've cited a few times - and is reported to have instructed Spain to do more about these blights. If not???
- Spain's, it's said, is one of the worst EU states for such inequality.
- And then, of course, we have the corruption. This excellent article makes the point that: Just as the Catalan crisis has served to distract from PP corruption, it has also given the Catalan right an opportunity to whitewash its own image. Behind a cloak of martyrdom, Puigdemont and his party have blurred the memory of their own corruption scandals—also based on systematic illegal commissions in exchange for major contracts.
- Spain gets a few honourable mention in this article on urban white elephants around the world. But I'm surprised that Galicia's Cidade da Cultura doesn't feature in it.
Portugal
- The weather for the last 10 days in central Portugal has been largely sunny and warm. I've been in shirtsleeves, at least during the day. The locals, however, favour jackets and even overcoats. Perhaps there's a law in Portugal which compels this.
- My travelling companion lives in Germany. She's twice now been told she could have only 10 or 20 euros from an ATM and, to add insult, has been charged 5 euros each time. Which wasn't advised in advance. She says this has also happened in Spain. Seems a tad excessive, even for the rapacious banks.
- An interesting note on the mirror in our hotel room:-
Finally .
. .
- Something to worry more about: Most picnickers would brush away flies from food, thinking nothing of bugs briefly landing on their sandwiches. But a new study suggests the insects carry far more dangerous bacteria than previously thought, meaning sandwiches are best avoided if they have been contaminated by flies.
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