Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain

Night’s candles are burnt out, and jocund day

Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.   

- Christopher Howse: 'A Pilgrim in Spain'*

 Our Road Trip to Gouda

• Well, after another 7 or 8 hours on the road, we made  it to the lovely village of Port en Bessin, a stone's throw from Bayeux and, from there, to the American cemetery above Omaha beach. An emotional experience in an exceptionally beautiful setting.
• So far, all the French folk who've served us in hotels and restaurants have refused to conform to stereotype, being unfailingly friendly. 
• And, more often than not, they've been fluent in English. Which is just as well as the French stored somewhere in our 3 brains inevitably emerges from our mouths as a mélange of French, Spanish and English. Mostly Spanish.
• But, having had a French partner for 9 years, I have at least mastered the French U  sound. Meaning that no one laughs at my attempts any more.
• Today we set off - at the respectable time of 8.30 - for Gouda, intending to see more war memorials along the way, in particular that of Lutyens in Thiepval.

The Way of the World

• In his autobiography,Woody Allen takes the micky out of some famous actor or director for keeping his watch on at night. When asked why he did so, the said celebrity asked: "Doesn't everyone?". Which, I confess, would have been my answer too. But I am discovering that I might well be in the minority.

English/Spanish

• Three more refranes:-

- Love will find a way: El amor todo lo puede.

- Make the best of it: De lo perdido saca lo que puedas.

- Man can't live by bread alone: No solo de pan vive el hombre.

Finally . . . 

• For oenophiles out there . . . Reader Scrooge has commented: The "story" that Mencia is Cabernet Franc has been about for some time and is firmly believed by many. But the National Grape Vine Registry says Not. Mencía originated in northwest Spain and was discovered along the Camino de Santiago. Contrary to prior speculation, DNA profiling has revealed that Mencía is most likely not related to Cabernet Franc. The variety is known as  in Portugal. A minority opinion suggests that the variety originated in France in the Burdeos region. Spain's grape named Jaén is a different variety entirely.
• I have absolutely no reason to doubt the veracity of this, though my own recollection was that DNA analysis had only discredited the theory that Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franca grapes were related, not proved that Mencia is the grape known as Jaen in Portugal.
• I've looked a bit further into this and identified Mencia as Jaen Colorado, as distinct from Jaen de Dao  of Portugal. I've mentioned the former before, in the context of eating grapes on the camino. Back then, I was told the red grapes were not Mencia but Cayetana. Which might well have been wrong. Unless they were Jaén rosado or Jaén blanco grapes . . . Got it? 

* A terrible book, by the way. Don't be tempted to buy it, unless you're a very religious Protestant.