girona

The desserts of El Celler de Can Roca, recognised last year as the second best restaurant in the world and run by the Roca brothers, have been moved into ice-cream business. The Roca brothers have opened ‘Rocambolesc’, an ice-cream shop run by Jordi Roca, the chef patissier of El Celler de Can Roca. The ice-cream shop is in the Catalan city of Girona, where the restaurant is located. William Drew, editor of ‘Restaurant Magazine’, told ACN that good news was coming up for the Roca brothers in the gala recognising the 50 best restaurants in the world, held on April 30th.

The restoration of the one-thousand-year old ‘Tapís de la Creació’ reveals its original colours. Renovation works of this Catalan Romanesque tapestry have continued longer than expected due to the delicate nature of the reparation. Now it is on show again in the Girona Cathedral, with improved isolation and lighting conditions.

The city theatre offers 26 very different shows in its winter-spring season, which will focus on opera and Spanish-style operetta (zarzuela). Puccini’s ‘La Bohème’, Verdi’s ‘Aida’ and two zarzuelas respond to public demand for more classical-based shows.

The Irish low cost airline, Ryanair, has announced it will transport 3 million passengers through the Girona-Costa Brava Airport, where it will operate a total of 59 routes. Ryanair’s Vice President, Michael Cawley, explained that after a long negotiation process an agreement has been reached with the Catalan Government. “It’s not 100% our agreement, it’s not 100% the Government’s agreement, so it’s probably a good agreement” he said ironically. Ryanair and the Catalan Government have been arguing over the last year about the airline’s presence in Girona and Reus airports.

The Catalan Government and the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair have put an end to their dispute and have announced an agreement to operate from Girona-Costa Brava and Reus for the next five years starting in April 2012. Ryanair has guaranteed that in the first twelve months more than 3 million passengers will pass through Girona Airport and 500,000 through Reus Airport. However, it has one condition: the Spanish public airport operator AENA cannot increase taxes at neither Girona nor Reus airports. If that happens the agreement will become null and void. Ten days ago, Ryanair had completely abandoned Reus. Flights through Girona had been significantly reduced in the summer and they had cut the number of flights operating in the winter months.

"Other Egypt" brings together over 200 pieces formally preserved in the Louvre, many of which had not never left Paris since their arrival. The exhibition pictures the Christian heritage of Egypt; from the Roman times to the Arab conquest in the 7th century, Egypt was a Christian country.

The research results were published on the website of the prestigious journal 'Nature Chemistry' and will appear in the print edition as well. The Universitat de Girona is particularly strong in research related to water. The study opens a new path to develop new technologies to carry out artificial photosynthesis.

Rubalcaba’s proposal to redefine the current Provincial Councils in Spain seems to be on the same wave length as the Catalan Government’s run by the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalists (CiU). The Catalan Vice President, Joana Ortega, states that this level of government needs to be reorganised. The Catalan Socialist Party emphasises that Provincial Council’s powers and funds should go to the municipalities.

The low-cost airline has reduced its activity by half after failing to reach an agreement with the Government. This cut entails, according to the company, a 50% drop in traffic, which will decrease the number of passengers from 2.6 to 1.3 million.

FC Barcelona will face Girona FC in Tarragona’s Nou Estadi, in the semi finals of the Copa Catalunya on Monday, August 8. The other semi final is between RCD Espanyol and Nàstic de Tarragona.

The Spanish Minister for Public Works, Jose Blanco, attended the end of the drilling works of the High-Speed Train tunnel that will cross Girona, part of the line that will connect with the French border. The Mediterranean Railway Corridor is a long running issues for Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia and Andalucía. It would link the Straights of Gibraltar, the harbours of Barcelona and Valencia, and Central and Northern Europe, allowing a freight train to go from Algeciras or Barcelona directly to Hamburg or Stockholm.

A similar change happened in Girona Town Hall, where Carles Puigdemont, also from CiU, also became the first non-Socialist Mayor in the last 32 years, since the restoration of democracy. Barcelona and Girona Town Halls were constituted later than all the rest because of appeals regarding the electoral vote and the number of elected councillors. These two Mayoral offices consolidate CiU’s hegemony in Catalonia, after last May's municipal elections and after last November's Catalan Parliament elections.

The Irish company has accused the local administration of not honouring current agreements, in place until 2013. The Catalan President has assured that the Government has absolutely “fulfilled” the current agreements and that the “problems started when these agreements wanted to be modified”. The low-cost airline is in a dispute with the Catalan Government over its continuity in Girona-Costa Brava; Ryanair is asking for an extra 7.5 million euros. The Catalan Minister for Transportation considered Ryanair’s attitude as “blackmail”. The Government announced this evening that it will freeze current negotiations with Ryanair until it has the “assurance” that the Irish company “fulfils what it signed”.

The factory will increase its output of biological and pharmaceutical products by 40% over 3 years, taking work from closing factories in Europe and the United States. The Catalan plant is specialised in animal health and vaccines for livestock. It was bought in 2009 by the North American pharmaceutical giant, in a small town near Girona.

'Convergència i Unió' (CiU) increases its vote share across Catalonia and becomes the leading party in number of votes. The large victory backs the Catalan Government’s controversial austerity measures. The Catalan Government and Barcelona City Council will be run by the same party, CiU. The Catalan Socialist Party loses large cities and 22% of its votes across the country. The People’s Party becomes the third party and wins in Badalona with a discourse focused on illegal immigration. ERC loses around a third of its votes but other pro Catalan independence parties gain support. The xenophobic and extreme right PxC remains marginal but increases its base and enters the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. The turnout was 55%, one point higher than in 2007. The null or spoilt vote multiplied its share by three but remains marginal.