For some light relief, let me share some of the challenges, joys and startling insights that I encountered while in Barcelona and Girona, in Spain for five days last week…
1. If I want to climb Girona‘s medieval city walls, despite a loss of one third of my lung function, I damn well will… just slowly and with lots of rest stops. It was worth it!
2. There’s really nothing quite like xurros amb xocolata (in Spanish: churros con chocolate), sat outside on a terrace in the wintery sunshine – Really! Nothing! Like it!
3. It is possible to be completely stuffed on pinchos/tapas… every day for four days… and still not have tried everything.
3a. Who needs sex when I got so damn close to an oral orgasm by eating – in particular, a Basque pintxo of the most succulent duck ever, with a thick sweet blueberry conserve? OMG! (at Zanpanzar, Girona)
4. In Catalunya, if you’re not sure of a woman’s name, there’s a very good chance it’ll be Montserrat. They’re everywhere!
5. Wandering around with eyes watering due to dry eye and blinded by bright sunshine, then losing a contact lens is not ideal in a visually exciting city.
6. Shopping is fun… in Barcelona… on steroids… Especially if you like distinctive fashion… and you have a generous birthday gift just gagging to be spent.
7. Steroids are definitely my drug of choice. You know… if and when the time comes… I think I’d prefer them to morphine. Just saying…
7a. Prednisolone has less dramatic effects than Dexamethosone. Nonetheless, I relished eating, smelling, hearing, seeing, tasting, touching – all sensory perception heightened and feeling high, if a little peculiar. I loved it!
“And I am feeling a little peculiar
And so I wake in the morning
And I step outside
And I take a deep breath and I get real high
And I scream at the top of my lungs
What’s going on?”– 4 Non Blondes, What’s Goin’ On?
8. Gaudí is not the only amazing architect of his time in the region. How about Rafael Masó in Gerona and Lluís Domènech i Montaner in Barcelona? The Palau de la Música Catalana is truly awesome! But I still think Gaudí is my favourite.
9. In Catalunya, the sense of pride in the culture and region is fierce. I loved hearing Catalan everywhere, including the beautiful voice of a local soprano, Maite Mer, whose version of ‘The Answer is Blowing in the Wind’ [Escolta-ho en el vent] gave me chills and made me want to learn Catalan. Sadly, it isn’t available on YouTube, although I did buy a CD. But here she is singing Que Tinguem Sort [Lucky].
10. Feeling edgy and nervous about my future health, but not paying it no-never-mind for a few days certainly makes for a super-charged response to life. (The steroids undoubtedly play a part.)
Lovely photos Jet, it was a pleasure to share all the delicioso tapas with you xx
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It was, wasn’t it?! ¡Hasta la proxima! I say. x
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Sounds amazing. I’ve never been to Spain.
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Well, if you do ever go, Barcelona is a wonderful starting point. x
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You are a truly amazing lady to see so much beauty in everything that you see whilst having to deal with so many things going on with your body. I have to say that I am happy on morphine and could not cope with steroids: they kept me awake for five days with no sleep! Lorraine
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Yeah. Not getting much sleep here either. Although Pred isn’t as bad as Dex. I’ve not yet had morphine so can’t compare but I do enjoy the joy of steroid highs.
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Thanks Jet so glad you had such a great time and shared it with us love ev xxxx
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I’ll be sharing these amazing shots with my son who’s learned European geography.
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Cool! Loads more where they came from. If you find me in FB, I’ll be uploading to an album you can look at… when I get round to it.
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I still loathe FB, Need a GPS in there:
http://aholisticjourney.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/facebook-phobia-rehab/
😛
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Or you could email me and I’ll happily share via another method, Dropbox or a photo sharing app like ??? Not do clued in on those but have friends who’d know. 😀
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You’ll see my addy in the comments notification email but send me some shots:
holisticwayfarer@gmail.com.
Honestly, not a whole lot – if you read my 1000 Readers Recover Missing Woman post not too far back, you learned how tight on time I am. I’ve been able to keep up the blogging this wk bc we’re on homeschool break. I look fwd to sharing those shots with my boy.
Diana
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