Cosas de España/Galiza  

Thank-you, Charlie! The Imbecile King Who Put His Foot On The Gas Pedal: Charles II was only 3 years old when he became the supreme ruler of the Spanish Empire in 1665. But anyone who took just one look at the child knew they were all doomed. Charles had come from a long line of prominent European nobles known as the Habsburgs– a family so exclusive that they frequently married one another in order to keep their blood line ‘pure’.

This is a bit of a surprise, given that Spain is generally seen as a low-crime country.

Essential knowledge for the rest of the year, in this holiday-rich country.

This article says we’ve been waiting 16 years for the AVE high speed train to reach Galicia. By my reckoning, it’s closer to 30.

Well, I’m driving South – in a snowstorm – to get a boat to Santander from Portsmouth tonight. Early this morning, it looked like I might not be, as what the Spanish government calls ‘a simple and easy on-line form’ refused to result in the document I needed to board the boat. After more than an hour and several attempts, I gave up trying to upload my Galician vaccine certificate and entered the details by hand. I won’t bore you with the reasons adumbrated for failing to allow me to finish the process. But the final message was User could not be found or form completed already. Happily, I then saw the document was in my email.

The UK   

The latest Boris U turn:  Fully vaccinated travellers will no longer have to take pre-departure COVID tests before arriving in England in a change in the rules that comes into force from Friday. This will apply to all arrivals to England from 04:00 GMT tomorrow. 

Spanish

The Brits and mañana . . . As in ‘banana’, said an astute reader.

Finally . . .

Driving down  one-way street this morning, I was forced off the road by a car coming the wrong way. I was tempted to ask the young driver if she was Spanish but didn’t of course.

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If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here.