Catalunya Day

Obviously, I hadn't done my research properly because I didn't know it was Catalunya day today until we noticed more Catalan flags than usual on balconies and in windows. This one was in one of the villages we passed through on the way to the border and, I think, typifies the colourful character of Catalunya. I remember the first time I went to Figueres seeing graffiti which said, in English, 'you are not in Spain' - and certainly, inland where we've been staying for the last couple of days, this is not Spain. Everyone local speaks and feels Catalan (as well as speaking Spanish too, of course), reminding me of Wales so that I identify strongly with it, even though my mind became a linguistic jumble, like a lucky dip which I would reach into for a word not really knowing whether what came out would be Spanish, Catalan or (very similar) Occitan.....or nothing at all! Great fun, though!

We stopped in La Jonquera for a sobering end to the weekend with a visit to the Museum of Exile.

This wonderful modern museum tells the story of the Spanish Civil War, especially the way it affected the Catalan people, and the Retirada after Franco's forces won the war when republicans had to escape to France by the same route we travelled today, through Le Perthus, but on foot through the snow in January 1939. I knew a lot of the story, especially about how bad life was for the refugees in camps on the French Catalan coast, and was interested but fairly detached until the last display case which held a small battered suitcase belonging to Hortènsia Padrós when she went on to exile in Mexico - so human, so poignant, I cried.

On this sad anniversary I've been thinking of those who lost their lives in New York (my mother's birthplace) as well as more than 100,000 Iraqi and Afghan people who have died as the result of western politicians' mistaken response to what happened on 11 September 2001.

Thanks for the hearts, stars and comments which helped my blip get to the spotlight page yesterday, even though I wasn't doing any commenting at all!