Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight.

And, lo, has caught the sultan’s turret in a noose of light!

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable: Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’

Cosas de España/Galicia

I wonder if you or I would be treated as lenienmtly as Shakira if we’d evaded taxes to the extent she has.

Portugal

A shout-out for the Congolesa restaurant in Viseu’s old quarter, where the proprietor, Ricardo, treated us royally and we enjoyed another a great – and cheap – lunch of traditional food, this time washed down not with vinho verde but with an excellent Dao vinho tinto – Adro de Sé Reserva. Ricardo said the place had no connection with the Congo but dated back to his grandfather’s time, when there might have been something.

As in Spain, it seems that almost every waiter and waitress speaks excellent English these days, though Portugal has long been ahead of the game in this respect. This is good for all of us as spoken Portuguese is very much harder to understand than written Portuguese. And there’s a limit to the effectiveness of hand gestures.

Yesterday we found a quiet bar in the main square of Coimbra in which to have an evening tiffin, whereupon a van parked beside us, blaring out pro-Palestinian sentiments, on a loop. For 10-15 minutes. Did I say Portugal was quiet?

Yesterday, I finally found a Portuguese main road that doesn’t have a toll booth or a series of toll gantries on it – between Viseu and Coimbra. With luck, the same will apply to the road down to Tomar today.

Germany

It’s claimed here that: Socialist nationalism is on the rise in Germany. And that: Firebrand Sahra Wagenknecht’s new party combining anti-wokery, Russophilia, and Left-wing economics could win 20% of the vote. As if that country didn’t have enough problems right now.

France

A senior politician and presidential candidate – Michel Barnier – seems to be proposing that, like the UK, France should go its own way on the issue of curbing unwanted immigration – in defiance of EU laws/principles. But Bing’s bot adds: Others have pointed out that his views are not very different from the actual EU policy on immigration, which has been increasingly restrictive and hostile to non-Europeans. Even so, I guess it won’t go down well in Brussels. Or Strasbourg.

The Way of the World

Right-wing populists are said to be rejoicing about developments in Argentina.

The FT says here that public opinion – at least in the anglosphere – has changed on the Hamas-Israeli war in recent weeks.

English

My visiting old friend – an effete Southerner and a member of the British Wine Society – tells me that I should speak of a case of wine, not of a crate. As if it makes any difference to the taste . . .

Finally . . .

My younger daughter called me at 6am this morning, thinking I was in Spain and bound to be up at 7. So, it was a good job I’d woken at 5.57. Ironically, she’d called me to tell me about her sleeping difficulties . . .

The Usual Links . . .

For new readers:– If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there – updated a bit in early July 2023.

For those thinking of moving to Spain:- This is an extremely comprehensive and accurate guide to the challenge, written by a Brit who lives in both the North and the South and who’s very involved in helping Camino walkers.