\nOn Tuesday evening the book club met at a caf\u00c3\u00a9 in the centre to discuss February’s book, The Life Before Us<\/em> by French writer Romain Gary. On the way from the parking to the bar, I came across this amusing sight at a street crossing:
\n
![\"R000300\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n9_2<\/strong> 9_3<\/strong> 9_4<\/strong> 9_5<\/strong> 9_6<\/strong> 9_7<\/strong> 9_8<\/strong> 9_9<\/strong> 9_10<\/strong> 9_11<\/strong> 9_12<\/strong> 9_13<\/strong> 9_14<\/strong> 9_15<\/strong> 9_16<\/strong> 9_17<\/strong> 9_18<\/strong> 9_19<\/strong> 9_20<\/strong> 9_21<\/strong>
\nThe literary circle gathered around the table:
\n![\"DSF8358\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nAs usual, we photographed the book of the month; in my case, it resided on the Kindle app on my iPad:
\n![\"DSF8336\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nThen we discussed the book, and much else:
\n![\"DSF8341\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n![\"DSF8344\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_5.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nAna had brought a biography of Romain Gary, a complicated man to put it mildly:
\n![\"DSF8346\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_6.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nAna talks, Yasen listens:
\n![\"DSF8338\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_7.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nEri talks, Ana listens:
\n![\"DSF8351\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_8.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nEye contact with Eri:
\n![\"DSF8353\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_9.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nThe caf\u00c3\u00a9 where we met is called Madness, and the focus is very much on high-end coffee and tea, although they also have a small selection of beer and wine. I had never visited it, but I liked it very much and on my way out, I bought a package of coffee from India’s Karnataka state, which turned out to be some of the best coffee I have ever had, and I will be back for more:
\n![\"DSF8359\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_10.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nA last word before we part our ways:
\n![\"DSF8361\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_11.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nOn Saturday morning I set out on my mountain bike to ride on the V\u00c3\u00ada Verde. I wanted to see the almond trees in bloom along the route. To get to the trail, I have to cycle about 25 km on normal roads, through the suburbs of Santa Faz, Muchamiel and San Vicente. As I was approaching Santa Faz, I saw that the road was blocked by police, and there was a small crowd outside a small chapel on the side of the road. I asked the policeman at the roadblock what this was about, and he explained to me that this was the V\u00c3\u00ada Crucis procession. Turns out that there was some miracle there in 1545, and the little chapel, Ermita de Nuestra Se\u00c3\u00b1ora de Loreto<\/em>, was built to celebrate it:
\n![\"1040020\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_12.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nThe procession about to start. It is annual event, held a few weeks before Easter, and it is relatively short, just over 1 km to the monastery of Santa Faz:
\n![\"1040024\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_13.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n![\"1040021\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_14.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nAbour an hour after passing the procession, I picked up the V\u00c3\u00ada Verde in the town of Agost, and began cycling north and uphill on the trail:
\n![\"1040027\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_15.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nAround the 10 km mark, there was the view I was hoping to see. The large field of almond trees was a sea of pink:
\n![\"1040029\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_16.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n![\"1040031\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_17.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nAround km. 17, I left the V\u00c3\u00ada Verde and took the adjacent regular road to go back to Agost and then home. As I approached Agost, I stopped to have a look at a flock of sheep and goats grazing by the roadside, with no herder in sight:
\n![\"1040044\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_18.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nMr. Goat looking at me:
\n![\"1040042\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_19.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nIn the evening I went to the supermarket to do my grocery shopping. The light at dusk made even the supermarket sign look nice:
\n![\"R000305\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_20.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nPeople used to leave their dogs in the vestibule of the supermarket while they shopped, providing me with material for my “dogs of Consum” series. But since October, the hooks in the wall have been removed, since a new animal welfare law apparently prohibits leaving your dog alone in this manner, even for a short period. Instead, now people either leave their dog at home when shopping, or, if they want to combine shopping with a dog walk, they go together, so that one person waits with the dog while the other does the shopping. And so it was with this woman, with whom I had a nice chat, and the boxer was extremely playful and friendly:
\n![\"R000306\"](\"uploads\/2024\/9_21.jpg\")
<\/p>\n