Monday, June 16, 2008

A few words about Catalan

In Catalonia, where Barcelona is located, they do not speak Spanish. This was a surprise to me, it's Spain after all! They speak Catalan, which is a cross between Spanish, Italian, and French from what I can tell. Catalan is also spoken in the Balearic Islands, where Minorca, or Menorca in Catalan, is located. The capital city of Menorca is Mao, or Mahon in Catalan. I will refer to it as Mahon, because of this reason........


Long ago in the city of Mahon, a certain sauce was created and brought back to the king of France after the defeat of the British on the island of Menorca. This later became known as mayonnaise!! Anyone who has sat at a table with me for more than a few minutes knows my lifelong dislike of this condiment. YUCK! I can't even believe I visited the birthplace of this dreadful sauce, but to me it was sort of ironic. Needless to say, I did make all of my own sandwiches the whole time I was there.  

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