Ferran Tarradellas

I’ve begun the summer working since I have a lot of work to do for European institutions. I’ve had several meetings due to the Greek and immigration crises - one in Luxembourg with Jean-Claude Juncker and the heads of the representation of the European Commission. In early June I attended the Jornades de Catalunya Futura at Poblet monastery to discuss the future of Catalonia in Europe. I was also in Marseille and Milan for a European summit on the intensification of cooperation between border regions, the environment and innovation. On July 23rd I’ll take three weeks off to visit China. Every two years or three years I go on a long trip. Last year I went to Argentina and now it’s time to visit Asia. I’m going there with friends who, for professional reasons, are specialists in China. The first part of the trip will be more like a tourist backpacker experience: we’re landing in Shanghai, where we’ll take the opportunity to visit some friends, and then go to Yunnan, a region that is hardly known by foreigners but is very interesting for the Chinese. Our first visit there will be to the city of Dali city, which is famous for its scenery and cultural heritage, and then the city of Lijiang, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The second part of the trip will be quieter because we’re going to the island of Hainan, and I’ll take advantage of the opportunity to rest. We’re going back to Barcelona via Dubai, and I’m really looking forward to it since I’ll be travelling on a plane with two floors, on an Airbus 380, and I’ve never flown like that before. As for reading, I’m reading the book ‘13 Steps’ by Mo Yan, the Chinese Nobel Prize winner for Literature. It’s a complex and strange book, but it’s useful to help me get to know the Chinese mentality. On this holiday I’ll be taking a break from Europe because it’s been a busy year and I want to recover energy in order to keep working hard.