Keys Corner

(via Dark Roasted Blend)

We didn’t have any opportunity to post to the blog in the later part of our holiday, and we’ve been back home since last weekend, but had little free time. However, we have now loaded some of our photos – particularly those we took in Valencia, which we loved – on Picasa.

If we have time, I’ll try to add a few more at the weekend.

Valencia has some great architecture…

.. even the waste bins are stylish here!

The truck drivers belonging to Spain’s second largest trucker’s trade union have been on strike since the beginning of this week. So far, although 40% of the filling stations in Catalunya (the NE corner of Spain) are out of fuel, we haven’t had any difficulty getting diesel for the car, but I took the picture above in the supermarket which we stopped at on our way to Valencia to buy some breakfast – you can see the empty fruit and vegetable section.

Yesterday, we did have to queue to fill the car’s tank, but in fact the wait for the van in front of us at the pump we chose was much longer than it should have been as the driver disappeared into the filling station and ate his breakfast before paying – neither we, nor the other drivers behind us were very impressed when we realised what had happened! Over the 2400 km we have driven on this holiday, we have got exactly 5.0 litres/100 km from the car, (Toyota Corolla) which gives us a range of well over 1000 km per tank of diesel. We’re hoping the strike will be over before we set off back, however.

The US government is going to show the rest of the world what it understands democracy is:

The US is holding hostage some $50bn (£25bn) of Iraq’s money in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to pressure the Iraqi government into signing an agreement seen by many Iraqis as prolonging the US occupation indefinitely, according to information leaked to The Independent…

...The threat by the American side underlines the personal commitment of President George Bush to pushing the new pact through by 31 July. Although it is in reality a treaty between Iraq and the US, Mr Bush is describing it as an alliance so he does not have to submit it for approval to the US Senate.

Iraqi critics of the agreement say that it means Iraq will be a client state in which the US will keep more than 50 military bases. American forces will be able to carry out arrests of Iraqi citizens and conduct military campaigns without consultation with the Iraqi government. American soldiers and contractors will enjoy legal immunity…

Apparently, a couple who has been living for ten years in room 1 of the Travelodge hotel at Grantham, UK, has been forced to move out of their room as the hotel has been closed for refurbishment. I really don’t think I could live in a Travelodge for 10 years.

(Posted from the Hotel Peninsular in Girona)