Sunday 1st August, 2021
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| On my favourite walk last Sunday |
Good morning my friends.
Gosh, it's already August. How is life treating you?
This time last Sunday we were still in Montrondo. This time last Sunday Covid was still a threat and the threat remains. The number of infected and the death toll a week ago today was 194.797.676 and 4,099.170. Once again the numbers have risen and today the number of infected and the death toll worldwide stands at 198.561.249 and 4.233.121. Everyone here is worried about the more infectious Delta variant, likened to small pox in the way it spreads. The numbers going up are because of it and we are even seeing doubly vaccinated senior citizens in care homes getting infected. That means those doubly jabbed can still get and pass on the virus. That makes me worry that the vaccines out there are not good enough or not as good as the vaccines that did eradicate viruses such as small pox or polio.
As usual Covid is the main news. In Spain, unlike in the UK, more and more restrictions are being imposed, such as night curfews and a limit of the number of people who can gather together. The restriction I most fear is of movement between provinces in Spain. That would put paid to the rest of my reservations at our houses. All of them are practically fully booked from now until the end of the month. Today is August 1st and we are halfway through the high season in Spain. Cross your fingers that doesn't happen.
Last Sunday was supposed to be our last day in Montrondo but we decided to stay one more day as we were having such a relaxing time. We were expecting visitors that day for coffee so spent the morning at home. It was a sunny day and we were outside on the sunbeds reading and enjoying the weather. Eladio was reading his school friend, José Manuel's book. It's semi biographical and I want to read it too.
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| Eladio reading and relaxing in Montrondo last Sunday morning |
It's unusual to have visitors in Montrondo as it is quite remote but it turned out Olga and her family were on holiday in nearby Babia. Olga, from Paraguay, was my father's first ever carer and she loved him and cared for him well and we have been in touch ever since. They were supposed to come for coffee but turned up at 1 o'clock and it was a lightning visit. They were off to Gijón - about 1.5h away so were in a hurry. Even so it was nice to see them. Before they left we had a group photo.
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| Group photo of Olga and family last Sunday |
When they left I made our lunch; steak with grilled mushrooms and naughty chips. It was quite a heavy lunch so that day we didn't have a proper dinner.
Our walk that day was again along the "Camino Valle" and "La Chana" towards Murias. We just love it. I especially love the entrance to the Camino Valle which is lined with very tall poplar trees. When the wind blows their leaves rustle and the sound is nothing short of romantic. Add the sound of the stream and that's nature at its best with the sun shining in between the trees. I had to take a video and you can see it on my You Tube channel here.
This week's feature photo is of me at the beginning of the path. I am holding Pippa. I have to hold her if I want her in the pictures as she is so short she wouldn't come out (haha). And here is one of Eladio too. As we left Montrondo and stopped to speak to some villagers Eladio knows from his childhood, they pointed out we were both wearing blue and white striped tops. We were but it was a coincidence (another hahahaha).
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| Eladio on our walk last Sunday with Pippa too of course |
We had the whole walk to ourselves with not a person or animal in sight. We were home by about 8.30 but neither of us really wanted dinner. Instead I had a glass of Rueda white wine with some pistachios and some of the chocolate I had bought.
The news was dire - Covid and forest fires. There was news from the Olympic Games too and that was also dire, only one medal for Spain and the news that the world's number one golfer, the Spaniard, Jon Rahm, had contracted Covid and would not be able to take part. Damn it.
There was some good news though and it was about Madrid. That day the Spanish capital got its first Unesco World Heritage Site. It is of the Prado boulevard (Paseo del Prado) and Retiro Park. Madrid joined the list in the category of cultural landscape in what is called "landscape of light" formed by both the Paseo del Prado and the majestic Retiro park. The site also includes more monuments such as the famous Cibeles statue where Real Madrid fans celebrate their victories.
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| The Retiro Park in Madrid now part of the new world heritage site in the city. |
I love that whole area with its amazing museums but above all I love the Retiro Park. Retiro means retreat and indeed it is a wonderful place to retreat to. When we lived in the centre of Madrid we used to take the children there every Sunday and would stroll along the lake like many madrileños and tourists and the girls would feed the ducks. The park dates back to the 16th century and belonged to the Spanish monarchy until the late 19th century when it became a public park. If you have never been, put it on your bucket list. There is nothing more beautiful or fascinating than joining Spaniards on a Sunday morning for a stroll in this amazing park.
Did you know that my adopted country has 49 total sites, third only to China (55) and Italy (55)? That is quite something. It is a first for the city of Madrid and that makes me happy. Apparently the Paseo del Prado was one of Europe's first boulevards of its kind open to to all citizens. Previous boulevards were only open to the upper classes (imagine). Hopefully this news will help attract more tourists from around the world (when the damned pandemic is over if it ever is). I was happy with the news. At last something positive.
After the news we flicked channels and found nothing, so turned to Netflix where we watched an episode of a documentary about World War II - yes our fascination continues.
I was awake at 7.30 on Monday morning, our last full day in Montrondo. We spent part of the morning on domestic tasks to leave the house in pristine condition for its next occupants. Suzy, Oli and their friends, sisters, Elenita and Chati, will be coming at the beginning of August. Elliot and Miguel will be coming later and so will we but we wanted to leave everything perfect before leaving on Tuesday.
By midday our tasks were over and we had our last lunch here. We had just enough food to last us until breakfast the next day. The highlight of the afternoon was my weekly Skype call with my dear friend Amanda. In the UK they were no longer sweltering. Amanda was warmly dressed and we discussed the freak flooding in London and climate change; global warming. Forest fires are raging all over the world. It's a bit frightening isn't it?
We didn't get our walk that day as the plumber was supposed to be there by 8 pm. In the end he didn't come till 8.30 and by then we had had our dinner. We slumped in front of the TV to see the Olympic Games updates - another medal for Spain but only 5 now and quite a few for the UK. No doubt China and the US are beating everyone as usual. With nothing much of interest to watch, Eladio read more of his school friend's book and I continued with my drug: "Grey's Anatomy". I was in bed by just before 1 am.
Tuesday came, the day of our departure. We didn't have much to pack because our cupboards were bare and we had left our luggage behind (hahaha). Thus we left quite early at about 10.30. I said goodbye to Montrondo and took one last picture.
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| Farewell Montrondo |
It was more of a farewell really as we will be back soon. When we left it was about 19ºc. It would be far hotter when we got home, about 34ºc; too hot really. We stopped for a coffee and then again for lunch, a stupendous lunch. We went to a restaurant called
Asador Siboney in the historic town of Arevalo in the province of Avila. Arevalo is important in Spanish history as it is near where Spain's
Isabella I of Castile was born. We shall have to go back to visit her beautiful castle one day. We shall certainly go back for lunch at Siboney which was absolutely marvelous. This area is famous for its suckling pig as is nearby Segovia, as well as its suckling lamb. When I rang the restaurant to book a table I asked if there was a terrace so as to take little Pippa. There wasn't but unbelievably, for Spain, I was told we could actually take her into the restaurant. This was a first for us and we were pleased as was our little sausage dog. To illustrate this blog, the diary of my life, I had my husband take a photo of me as soon as we sat down at the table in the beautiful Castilian style dining room.
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About to enjoy a wonderful lunch in Arévalo on Tuesday |
Service was impeccable and quick and very soon these dishes were on our table. I had to stop Eladio digging in to take another photo (hahahaha).
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| Our amazing lunch in Arévalo |
We shared both the suckling pig and suckling lamb and both agreed they were some of the best we had ever tasted. Pippa enjoyed some of the bones and meat - lucky her.
We were on our way again at around 3ish and were home by just after 4.30. Oh it was so hot I couldn't believe it. After greeting my father, printing him last Sunday's blog and putting some stuff away, we both retired to our air conditioned room. There were no guests apart from Felipe who was out and the latest group, a Russian family, had already left. We could have used the pool but preferred the air con in our room.
We weren't hungry for dinner but I made the motions. That night we watched a slow but delightful Scottish film on Prime Video called
Sunset Song set in Scotland just before WW1. That night too we both slept really well.
Wednesday came and I realised it was 28th July, the 38th anniversary of our registry office wedding in Madrid. Wow how time has passed. We don't celebrate this anniversary but our church wedding, 3 weeks later on 21st August. Even so it is still a milestone. 38 years. We were young then (26 and 38) and now we are "old" (64 and 76).
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| At our Registry office wedding - 28th July 1983 - 38 years ago this week. |
So much has happened since then. We formed a family and now have many yesterdays to look back on. Thankfully there are still lots of tomorrows and I intend to enjoy them all. I married the right man, I won the marriage lottery and thank my lucky stars for that.
I had a lot to do on Wednesday. First I had to prepare everything to send out a press release for my customer, Adamo. They had great news that day. They had secured a new financing deal of 600 million euros which will help drive expansion of their network in rural Spain - the area where fast internet is most needed. Being nearly August and the height of the summer I didn't have many hopes for much coverage but I was wrong. We got nearly 70 articles which really made me happy. It made my client happy too. Good times.
When I had finished or thought I had finished we went shopping - I was checking my phone the whole time and talking to journalists. That was multi tasking taken to another level. We were home by 1 but my work didn't finish until the afternoon. I would worry all day about how much press coverage I would get. I could only breathe a sigh of relief on Thursday morning when I got the coverage report from my provider, JP Media. That's when I could say "another job well done".
Suzy came for lunch - fish and chips (divine) and we spent some quality mother and daughter time together. Currently she is living at a friend's house looking after her hundreds of plants and her cat while she, Marta, is doing the "Camino". I would like to do the "Camino" one day if I am up to it.
It was hot again and after a siesta of no sleep I went to make a cuppa (decaf) followed by Pippa - she follows me everywhere. I went to the pool for a dip and some quiet time and was shortly joined by Oli (very very pregnant) and not-so-little Elliot. Oh it was wonderful to see him again. The three of us went in the pool. He has a problem though as he rejects all baby swimming safety measures and wants to be free which is a danger in our pool as it is deep everywhere except for the steps. He would have to wait for his father to come to enjoy the water more. That's because Miguel is an amateur swimmer and a very strong one too. He used to compete in open water swimming competitions.
They stayed for dinner and Miguel arrived just as it was ready.
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| Grandfather, father and son - three generations. Love this photo. |
I made clams in seafood sauce from a new recipe which they had never tried - For starters we had salad and ham. The dessert was ice cream which Elliot absolutely adores. I think he takes after me.
It was still very warm and after dinner, Oli, feeling hot and bothered and tired and cumbersome, announced she would have a night swim. That's not something we often do and which we should do more often. The whole idea turned into one big fun family night. Eladio switched the pool lights on and everything was magical, especially little Elliot's laughter as he dived into his father's arms in the water.
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| Magical and fun moment - swimming at night with the pool lights on |
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| Eliot swimming on top of his father in the water |
Elliot was having the time of his life and then Miguel took him in his arms and the two of them jumped into the water. Oh what fun. That's when I decided to be the crazy grandmother and jump in with them too but with my clothes on. I only had a summer dress and underwear on so it was no big deal except that it was because it was so much fun.
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| The crazy grandmother about to jump in the water with Elliot and Miguel |
Oli took a video which you can see
here. What an amazing and spontaneous fun family moment we had. I only missed Suzy not being there. We absolutely have to do this again and we will. Not sure about going in with my clothes on again though (hahahha).
It was nearly midnight when they left. I went upstairs still dripping to dry off and put on my nightwear. I slept well that night and woke up with a smile remembering the night swim and the crazy grandmother moment.
Thursday was another hot day with temperatures reaching 36ºc - a bit too much for my liking. It was a quieter day than Wednesday and there was time for a rather boring errand to pick up a replacement part for one of my much needed blenders. The problem was having to go to the small repair shop that specialises in Kenwood is that it is in the very large suburban town of Móstoles, a place where we always get lost. This time though we didn't. To make the journey more attractive we first had a cup of coffee together at Manacor - our new favourite café in Boadilla.
It was on Thursday that we had dinner at Oli's place. She was keen to show us Juliet's new room. Oh it's lovely. Sorry no pics. We were there just before 8 and Suzy joined us shortly. That meant we were all together. Miguel was in the middle of putting up some new curtains and Elliot was keen to show me his toys; horses and cars mainly. I can't wait to show him the real white horse in Murias or the goats there. Dinner was team work; stuffed tomatoes and pizzas. It was lovely to be together again. I'm at my happiest when we are.
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| Dinner at Oli's on Thursday evening |
Dinner was made more pleasant thanks to the modern air conditioning installation at Oli and Miguel's flat. Everything is modern and up to date there. Our house seems relatively outmoded and unfashionable in comparison hahahaha. We didn't stay too long as we were all bushed, especially 8 month old pregnant Oli. She had her second Pfizer jab that day and on Friday she and her little family were off to Pamplona, not to run with the bulls, but to attend a wedding.
I didn't sleep too badly that night. Friday dawned and I had lots to do - mostly admin stuff and, as usual, errands. We enjoy our errands out together and always have a coffee somewhere, usually at Manacor these days. Friday morning saw us at the post office, at the bank and then at a shopping centre. We hadn't been to Centro Oeste for such a long time I felt like a child in a sweet shop. I was on the hunt for a basic white summer cardigan as two of mine have mysteriously disappeared. That's what happens when you have daughters (aarggh). I couldn't find one anywhere so finally opted to buy one on online from H&M. We came home on time for me to make lunch; "bacalhau à brás" again which we all loved. It was terribly hot again that day so I spent most of the time in our air conditioned room.
Meanwhile, Oli and family were on their way to the wedding in Pamplona. They left at around 13h and just before, Oli sent me a photo to tell me the "driver" was ready (hahahaha).
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| Elliot "the driver" ready to go on Friday to Pamplona |
They must have got there at around 5 pm. I think it was their first time in the city in Spain made famous outside the country by Ernest Hemingway because of the bull runs. I hate any animal cruelty so hate the bull runs and don't get why people want to do it. I'm sure Oli thinks the same but she was interested to see the city, especially the famous street where the running takes place. It is called Calle Estafeta and she sent me a photo of her with Elliot asleep in the pram. She's quite brave to have gone on a trip when she is almost 8 months pregnant. But she wanted to go so good for her. The wedding was of a friend, Lourdes, who was a TV reporter colleague of hers when they both worked for TeleMadrid a few years ago. I told her to catch the bouquet if she could and instructed Miguel to ask Lourdes to throw it in Oli's direction. Will Oli and Miguel get married soon or at all? I really hope so. But my hopes are dashed for a white church wedding as my younger daughter does not want that(:
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| Oli in Pamplona on Friday in the street where the bull runs take place |
We weren't going away this weekend but I was looking forward to another Friday dinner out. I had reserved a table at El Quinto Sabor, a Michelin Guide restaurant in Villaviciosa I had heard of and which is known for its fancy tasting menus. I had seen it on TV and Oli and Miguel have been and highly recommended it. We were not disappointed. There are various tasting menus but we went for the shortest one, the "
gourmet weekend menu" as we can't eat too much at night. The price was very low for the quality and service, just 29 euros each.
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| The wonderful dinner on Friday night at El Quinto Sabor |
It was our first time inside a restaurant for a long time as there was no dining outside. However, all anti Covid measures were in place and we felt safe. I loved the entree dishes which are typical of Michelin star restaurants these days. Eladio is not so keen. He is a country boy and prefers a big plate of food rather than lots of little ones. He doesn't get the creativity of the dishes which I adore. He calls them "cagaditas" (little bits of sh**) which we laugh about. I once took him to one of Spain's most famous restaurants, "Arzak" in San Sebastian where people come to eat as far away as from Australia but somehow my dear husband was not impressed. I don't think he was too impressed by El Quinto Sabor either but I definitely was and as I am the one to make the table reservations I can tell you we will be going again.
We came home feeling full but not too full as the menu was a short one. We were in bed by 11.30 and watched part of a film called Unbroken based on the true story of the imprisonment in a Japanese Concentration Camp in WW2 of Louis Zamperini a US Olympic runner. It was of great interest to us as most WW2 films are but I just hate to watch the cruelty of the Japanese as I do of the Germans. So when Eladio fell asleep I turned to Grey's Anatomy.
I was up at 7.15 on Saturday morning and Eladio was up early too. He had to mow the lawns for the arrival of our new set of Swimmy guests coming at 11 that morning. Lucy had to clean the terraces and I had to prune the flowers. The temperature dropped yesterday by about 10 degrees which was very welcome. While Eladio mowed, I took Pippa on our walk. I really needed it as I hadn't been on a walk since Monday. It was great to go at 8 am, enjoy the pace and the cool and not come back sweating.
Everything was just ready as our 8 Swimmy bathers arrived, a group of young people. They seemed nice and respectful and they were, like most groups. We left them to it and got on with our day. Suzy was coming for lunch and I made curry, chicken for us and vegetable for her. She appreciated it. It was lovely to have her with us and she is coming again today.
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| Suzy (and Pippa) at lunch yesterday |
She left quite soon and we went to have our siesta. Oli and family meanwhile were at the wedding. I asked Miguel to send photos and he obliged. Here is the little family together, soon to be 4 members when Juliet arrives at the beginning of next month.
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| Pictures from the wedding. |
The place looked spectacular. Oli was worried Elliot would be bored and not enjoy the wedding but it seems he adored it. He even bopped during the dancing hahahaa. Look at him here on centre stage. Miguel sent me this delightful video of my grandson stealing the show yesterday at the wedding.
This is it.
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| Elliot thoroughly enjoyed the wedding yesterday |
I would like to see him dance at his own parents wedding hahahahaha. There has been a hint from Oli that maybe they will get married but only when masks are no longer necessary. I await that day. If you read to the end of this blog you may find out more.
That day was super important for one man, Spain's Pablo Carreño, competing at the Olympics in tennis. Without Nadal we didn't expect much but my oh my on Thursday he beat the world's number two, Medvedev and went on to play in the semi finals. When we heard he would play Novak Djokovic for bronze after both men lost in the semis, it was a given the Serb and world's number one would thrash him. However, Pablo played better and surprised us all by winning and while he did, Djokovic, known for his bad temper, behaved like a child or worse, instead of a gentleman. He would be more popular if he took a leaf out of Nadal or Federer's book. But no, he ranted and raged and smashed rackets and even hurled one into the stands which was caught by his brother.
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| Djokovic smashing a racket during the fight for bronze yesterday against the Spaniard Pablo Carreño |
Petulantly he then went on to skip his doubles match thus depriving his partner of a possible medal for their country. This is funny because Djokovic lectured both Naomi Osaka (Japan's tennis star) and Simone Biles (needs no introduction) yet behaved in this shameful way with his unacceptable tantrums. His loss though was Spain's gain and Pablo Carreño was stunned to win a bronze medal against Djokovic. He said it was like winning gold. I think it was. Well done Pablo and shame on you Novak.
I didn't watch the match nor have I seen much of the Olympics although I like to follow the results. I had a quiet afternoon while our Swimmy bathers enjoyed our pool on a much cooler day than normal. At around 7.15 pm they left and I saw them out. Before leaving they asked for a group photo and I happily obliged.
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| My Swimmy bathers yesterday |
Noticing an unfamiliar Spanish accent I asked them where they were from and they said from Venezuela. Before putting my foot in it I asked them if they were pro or anti Nicolás Maduro, the country's dictator. They all replied "against" and told me they had come to live in Spain because of the terrible conditions of life there. Always interested in foreign affairs, I asked them if things in their country were as bad as they are are portrayed in the news here. Their answer was that it's far worse. I commiserated, especially for their parents and families left behind. As an immigrant too (not an ex pat - hate that word) and daughter of a refugee family on my mother's side I could only sympathise. They were a lovely group and later left me a glowing 5 star review.
It was soon time for dinner and yesterday I made us a lovely meal. Eladio said it was better than at El Quinto Sabor (hahahaha). It was a simple platter of the best type of smoked salmon to which I added sour cream, chopped spring onion, fresh parsley and sliced boiled egg. We had it with a glass of Marqués de Riscal white from Rueda. Dessert was slices of sweet melon and stoned black cherries. Delicious!
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| Last night's lovingly made dinner for two. |
We later watched a Romanian film about a missing person which was ok but a bit slow. Missing persons films only have three possible endings. I did not find out the ending though as I fell asleep before the film finished.
Today is Sunday and it will be warmer than yesterday with temperatures reaching a bearable 28ºc. Thus we shall be able to go on our walk with both dogs this morning.
I reckon it will be a quiet day. Suzy will be joining us and Oli and family returning from Pamplona where it looks as though they had a great time. Just as I wrote that Oli sent a photo of Miguel with the bride's bouquet. I am wondering if he or she caught it. But I know what it means. My daughter should be the next person to get married. Whoopee.
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| Miguel got the bouquet. We know what that means |
On that happy note I will sign off now and leave you until next Sunday. Wishing you all the best till then,
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