A busy August

This summer has been hot, very hot. You may have read about the abnormal heat and wildfires in southern Europe, but at least the fires have not come to my neighborhood.

I finished another small book, The Party’s Over, and published it on Amazon/Kindle. It’s an analytical look at what has been, what is, and what isn’t (the latter a response to the misinformation on social media). Be warned: it’s not humorous. I thought about adding stick figures and animation, but, alas, it just wouldn’t have worked. I enjoyed the process of writing it and plan to start another.

My friend, Cindy, from Italy, came to spend a couple of weeks with me, and it was great to have her here. She was impressed at how friendly the people were and how much there was to do and see. We explored some places which were new to me, e.g., the beach (Barceloneta) and the MoCo museum. The museum is known for its works by Salvador Dali, whose principal museum is in Figueres, an hour and a half north of Barcelona. MoCo was good, but the Dali collection was on loan to a London museum, so we settled for the other modern artists. The museum is on the same narrow street in the Gothic Quarter as the Picasso Museum and a couple of others; the area and its buildings are centuries old, and the museums are converted from old homes. It was a great place to spend my birthday.

We also went to the Boqueria, an enormous marketplace with fresh food and restaurants, and back to Sagrada Familia and two other buildings by Gaudi.

I am official: I received my Tarjeta Rosa, or pink card, which allows old local people to use all public transportation. I’ve also had quite a time navigating the health system as I determine which doctors are biding their time until retirement and which actually believe in serving patients. I use, for the most part, Creu Blanca (White Cross), which has a series of cIinics with all types of specialists. Also, I decided to spend September in Palm Springs in order to see my US doctors, especially my wonderful neurologist and acupuncturist.

One of my favorite Catalan dishes is patatas braves (yes, brave potatoes), which everyone serves and has the best sauce ever; I turned Cindy onto them, and we couldn’t get enough. Once she started texting me a photo of them, though, I immediately put a stop to that: I will NOT become one of those social media fans sharing photos of my meals. Call me a luddite or dinosaur, but I refuse to participate in the century’s primary sport (besides jumping to conclusions). I text only when necessary and as briefly as possible. I claim no moral superiority, but I have no desire to reduce voice contact in my already isolated existence. And I have free international calling.

We went to my favorite supermarket for a week’s supply of groceries, which cost us around $65; it would have been $200 in the US. I’m a little anxious about the prices in California, but I’ll have to muddle through. Cindy is a wonderful cook, and I enjoyed great meals during her visit. Now I’m back to my old ways, which are still good, if more reliant on frozen foods and cafes.

I finished my online Catalan courses. A clarification: There are two Spanish dialects spoken here, the national Spanish and the local Spanish with accent (grathias); Catalan is a completely different language, with grammar similar to French, Spanish and other romance languages.  I have a dog = Tengo un perro (Spanish) = Tinc un gos (Catalan). My name is Nick = Me llamo Nick = Em dic Nick. etc. I haven’t had the opportunity to speak Catalan, only to read it, so I’m going to register for an in-person class for October.

So, onward and upward. I’m going to fly American, which I haven’t done in years, and arrive directly into Palm Springs Airport. I was pleased to get a good price on a ticket.

I hope you’ve been having a good summer, as in muy tranquillo.

Ciao = Adios = Adeu = Adieu