Ola!

That's right,there should be an upside-down exclamation mark in front of the Ola!,but I don't know where to find it,nor why,in truth,it is needed:can one proclaim "Ola!" as anything other than an exclamation? I challenge you to try it,maybe in front of a mirror.Interesting to note that Catalunia,whence we have returned,refuses to see itself as part of Spain [any more than do the Basques,come to think of it],just as Crete [exemplified by Master Nicos,from the recent Paros bash] does not regard itself as Greek:perverse that our current problem,in Israel,is precisely the opposite.Other things learnt during our Spanish [excuse me-Catalunian] sojourn:
the Spanish cannot make coffee
they still have a huge sword habit
Miro sought a bridge between painting and poetry
Gaudi was run over by a tram
"vegetarian" often means "also contains vegetables"
astonishing numbers of Spaniards have crutches and/or plaster-casts
this may explain Dali's extensive use of the crutch in his paintings
Catalunians believe themselves to have invented creme brulee
it is unwise to attempt to disillusion them in this matter- see second point
the olive oil of the Galillee- specifically from the variety of tree called "Suri"- knocks spots off anything this blogger has tasted in Spain,Greece,Italy- or,for that matter,London.This after extensive sampling,with an ever-ready willingness to be proved wrong.
The Holy Sabbath approaches [at the reasonable hour of seven-ish this evening,unlike Spain,where it's uncomfortably late,although the locals think nothing of sitting down to dinner at eleven].It is intriguing to reflect that the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain [1492] led to the great flourishing of the Kabbalah in Safed:what wonderful new frontiers of learning will stem from the forthcoming return of Jews to Israel from the foreign lands of Gaza,one wonders?
Shabbat Shalom...