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Monthly Archives: September 2023
It is amazing with different cultures, languages, and ways of living. My Spanish friends have inspired me. When we studied French together in Pau, France, I was often invited to Sunday dinner. Vanessa’s and Patricia´s father stood at the stove cooking for hours. With the cigar in the corner of his mouth. The stews were very well cooked. When we then traveled to Spain, they introduced me to tapas, tasty small dishes. Vanessa taught me how to make tortilla, Spanish omelette. Also some important Spanish words such as dog. Today, I am trying to learn some additional Spanish words and small phrases that facilitate communication. My vocabulary is growing slowly and surely.
When we met in Barcelona, we had the opportunity to be tourists together. Please see the photo below where we are visiting one of Antoni Gaudi’s buildings. What incredible imagination and creativity. Of course, we needed a break and we had tapas of course. We have some nice memories to think about. It is needed since everyday life is here now.
You get nice memories that you can enjoy after traveling. I like the sea and it has been a long time since I saw the ocean. My journeys are usually intensive with a lot of planning in advance. This summer I went to Spain for swimming and beach life. The Spanish Costa Brava coast is also known for its gastronomy. Cooking is a lot of chemistry, where you highlight different flavors, coulor combinations, textures, and so on. I once read about a restaurant a few miles from Barcelona that used frozen carbon dioxide (dried ice) to elevate the dish to an exotic and exciting experience.
Dogs have always taken a big part in my life and I met a Spanish Molly. This Cocker Spaniel was not called Molly but was named “Chorizo”. It roughly means sausage. Chorizo is very popular in Spain.
Exercise is short-lived, and in order not to lose fitness, I walked a lot in the mornings. With a water break! Now I am up and running as usual again. I am interested in pulse-raising training and I have been inspired by Associate Professor Eva Andersson who, among other things, has studied maximum heart rate for 40 years. According to her, physical activity has an effect on cognition, i.e. how the brain receives information, processes it, and makes decisions in the short and long term. Exercise has therefore a good effect on, for example, memory and attention. It is well known that the level of the stress hormone cortisol decreases with physical activity, please see Andersson et al. 2022 Läkartidningen, Fysisk aktivitet vid depression och ångestsyndrom
Now everyday life is here, and in some ways, it is also wonderful. All you have to do is load up with tea and candle lights for the coming autumn evenings.
