"Made" another bell, as with the previous Popeye bell. (Haha, posted this in GD!1 -now self Deleted)

[UTUSN]

The only tour I took was a few years ago, a 7 days’ hit-the-tips-of-icebergs jobber of Spain, bus dashing from Madrid to Toledo, Seville, (Malaga? I think), Valencia, and Barcelona, each for an overnight or so. My even more elderly sister otoh would take a tour, only to Europe, just about every couple of summers off from schoolteaching. My dismissive comment was that she went to the officially pretty parts of the world while I went to Vietnam and such. However, I *have* been to the Philippines, Japan, Guam, Seattle, lots of Mexico, and some more. But I’m not a good traveler and am an especially bad tourist, which might explain what Lounge already knows that I’m not the chummy type in groups, so on this Spain tour I checked out of the group at 5 P.M. daily and walked to the nearest neighborhood bar and talked to the locals.

As for the second best goal I had imagined was to bring back shopping loot. Well, the bus dash format allowed for almost ZERO shopping venues and time. Besides some keychains, the one souvenir I managed to secure was a little cowbell type thing, totally unasthetic. Well, besides a beer glass from one of the neighborhood bars, embossed with the beer company’s promo, “Cruzcampo” – that I was told is a decidedly NON-connoisseur brew, not that I would know the difference. But the glass is an uniquely non-tourist thing to have.

I have some beautiful bells, even elegant ones. I have accumulated almost all of my collection by my own selection at flea markets and junk/second-hand outlets, but a few of them have been gifts from the tour-mad sister and a couple of friends from their travels – Don Quixote bell from Toledo Spain, Space Needle from Seattle, Vatican, Budapest.

So my eye’s task was less on the sights than to look for bells, and the only one I found was this stupid little cowbell at a convenience store type place were the bus stopped for our Subway sandwich type lunch. I could see the look on the sister’s face saying, You are stooping to buying that over-priced (8 Euros) ugly thing when I have brought you back elegant things like the Don Quixote (20 Euros) – what a low brow you are!1

But the internet fixes all, and recently I played catch-up on the Spain history and souvenirs. I learned that when the Romans arrived in Spain, there were native burros on the plain of Vic (north of Barcelona), and that the Catalan province uses it as their native mascot. Among the Catalan souvenirs from the internet was a wine cork with a burro on it. It was useless to me for its cork function, but the burro and in a small/crude format with a connector at the hooves was just right for putting it onto a bell. When I ordered it, I didn’t even think of the cowbell to put it on. But when it arrived, then I did, because both items were compatible in size and utilitarian looks, and the brass wire I used for attachment is crude, yet might even suggest ropes holding the burro.

So now the Catalan burro is on the little cowbell, both started out as throwaways, but authentically from Spain. At least I don’t see “Made in China” anywhere.

From Wiki, a Catalan donkey

[brer cat]

1. I do enjoy reading your bell stories.

[UTUSN]

2. Thanks. I wonder what GD thought!1