Back to Catalunya

Roman bridge

Years ago I was in Catalunya, La Escala to be precise, on holiday with a French family. Now I'm back again, on holiday with my husband. We're staying in this ancient castle in Cardona and learning about Catalan battles and history, and salt mines. Here's the misty view from our bedroom window one morning.

Salt mine

This enormous salt mine, 1300 metres deep, is here, has been here since the Romans paid salaries in salt.

But in the twentieth century rather than mining for edible salt they mined for potassium chloride for explosives.

And quite an explosive history was round here. In 1711, the Bourbons thought they had the right to the city of Cardona, laid siege, but allies fought against them. The history of the siege and its outcome is here.

Spanish lodger left

Our lodger's left. It wasn't anything that we did, honest! But she landed a teaching job in Spain. It seems that in Spain, it isn't too easy to get teaching jobs, but you have to take a test with 60 or 70 subjects in it, and then if you pass, you may get offered a supply job. Well our lodger had passed the test, but a supply job came up on Thursday evening - she found out through the web site. She was to start on Monday in Spain, so on Friday she handed in her notice at the school where she's been a language assistant since October, and told us.

Poor thing had no notice and has had to leave bags of stuff, including food and meals that she'd cooked and frozen. She hopes to come back for a few days to fetch her things and perhaps come again in summer to improve her English.

The good thing is that she gets to see her gorgeous dogs again. Here's a photo she sent me of one of them.

And I expect her mother will be pleased to have her home.