Sunday, 22nd May, 2022
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A glorious day in the Lakes of Covadonga in the heart of the Peaks of Europe |
Good morning everyone,
What a blast of a week it has been. My dearest friends Sandra and Adele arrived on Monday for a girly week together. We hadn't been together since 2019 and this was a long awaited reunion. We had 4 nights together at our house in Asturias where I was keen to show them the area. We first met at Nottingham University when we must have been 18. It is marvelous that nearly 50 years later we are still best friends.
Before I start though, let me wind back to last Sunday. That day more guests were arriving; a Chinese family, Yinzi and her two daughters aged 12 and 10, had come to spend 3 weeks with us. Yinzi is Olivia's age, who, by the way, turns 37 today, and they had escaped lock down in Shanghai and come to Madrid. Yinzi told me she was fed up with how the Chinese authorities dealt with Covid and couldn't stand yet another lock down. Yinzi, a lovely, lovely woman, knew Spain as she had spent a few years here doing a Masters degree. This is where her daughters were born; thus they were able to leave China. Not so, her husband or so she thought as later in the week she had news he would be allowed to join his family. They soon settled in and are a delight to host.
We went on our walk in the now thick woods, thick with wild flowers and all still so green. It was Pippa`s first walk in a long time and ours too. Eladio spent a lot of the day mowing the lawns while I prepared the rooms with fruit and flowers - beautiful roses and mock orange blossom - from the garden. I also made a simple lunch after which we had a siesta. The rest of the day was very peaceful. We now had 4 guests in the house but it is so big we often don't see our guests.
I was looking forward to Monday, the day Sandra and Adele would arrive from Brussels and Orleans. I also had to plan our journey the next day to Asturias.
My day started quietly as it usually does. On the world scene the main news was the application to join Nato by Sweden and Finland, both neutral countries until now. The move is obvious, the fear of Moscow. But how would Putin react? If his main objective when invading Ukraine was to curtail Nato's power in the region, then this new move would only serve to intensify it.
On a much happier note I was pleased to read in the news that morning that the Queen, aged 96 and now with limited mobility, had happily attended a Platinum Jubilee equestrian horse show. Called "A gallop through history, the performance took place at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. A comedian commented "Your RH, on behalf of everyone here we would like to thank you for picking us over the State Opening of Parliament which she didn't attend, to which the Queen laughed. Everyone knows about her obsession with horses but not that she has a wry sense of humour. I think she enjoyed every moment of the show, God bless her.
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The Queen seen at the Horse Show and enjoying every moment. |
Monday was a special day for our grandchildren too. It was a bank holiday in Madrid in honour of the patron saint of the city; San Isidro. At nursery that day, our grandchildren, like children all over the city and province, dressed up in the traditional "chulapo" outfit. Don't they look gorgeous?
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Our grandchildren dressed in the traditional 19th century folk dress of the Madrid area |
I asked Oli where they got the outfits from and she said the Internet. If only I had had that resource each time we had to dress up our children when they were small for special occasions at school.
While Elliot and Juliet were off to school, my dear friends Sandra and Adele were starting their respective journeys to Madrid from Brussels and Orleans. Sandra was here first and took a cab so that I wouldn't have to make two 90km return journeys to the airport. Sandra was arriving at 11.50 and Adele at 15.45. Here is dear Sandra in a selfie on her first flight since Covid. I know the feeling.
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Sandra flying to Madrid on Monday |
Shortly before my dear Uni friend arrived, we had visitors from the HQ of Renault Spain, a group of mechanics who had come from Vallodolid. They had come to remove a prototype car that my French guests who stayed last week had left when it wouldn't start. The car was a bit of a mystery as it had no branding. Miguel my son in law guessed it was a prototype car for Uber like fleets and it turned out he was right. The car was painted in stripes which had me a bit puzzled. It was my neighbour Julio who told me that was done on purpose so that if people took photos the shape or curves of the car would not appear so it could not be copied by rivals. That day we had 2 such cars. Here is Eladio next to one of these funny prototypes.
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One of the Renault prototype cars that was removed by mechanics from the company |
It was an intriguing car but I was glad to see it go as it would leave a parking space for our guests.
Sandra arrived just before 1 pm and it was such an emotional moment. It was great to see her. The last time had been January 2020; two years ago. We chilled out until lunch time when we served red lentil soup and stuffed shoulder of lamb. She came armed with Belgian biscuits and chocolates. I especially liked the Pierre Marconi heart shaped ones.
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Chocolates from Sandra |
At 14.45 we set off to pick up Adele. The journey took 45 minutes and soon we were reunited with our Uni friend. The three of us became firm friends in 1976 in our first year at Nottingham University. We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting, drinking tea and eating cake (Battenberg from M&S) and enjoying the good weather. Dinner was made by Lucy - Spanish tortilla with fresh asparagus and ham. Adele had brought some exquisite French chocolates too and so many gifts, we felt inundated. They really didn't have to. We were up until about 10.30 pm, all shattered and in need of a good night's sleep.
I had a bad night coughing for most of it and finally got up at 5 am. We wouldn't be leaving for Asturias until 10 but I was excited and wanted to get up, even if it was at the crack of dawn. We left at around 9.45 and had to have a photo of the moment. Eladio obliged.
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The moment before we left on our road trip |
I drove my lovely Mini for the first hour and a half. We stopped for coffee and then at Palacio de Bornos, that lovely winery in Rueda, an area that specialises in delicious white wine. We have been going for years as it on the road to both Montrondo and Asturias. I was keen to share my love of it with my friends. We were warmly welcomed by the staff there and I wanted my friends to taste the wine. We got the full works of wine tasting and I was delighted my friends loved the local "verdejo" based wine - a local grape - for their white wine, as much as I do. Here we are having a ball tasting various types of wine of which we would buy 2 whole boxes!
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Having a ball tasting the wine at Palacio de Bornos |
My friends then experienced the food to have with the wine; a platter of freshly cut ham as well as a platter of cheese and lomo which we ate with fresh local bread sprinkled with olive oil. The piéce de résistance was the white chocolate with almonds we polished off for dessert. It must be very good chocolate if my friends from France and Belgium appreciated it.
We were in El Cuetu by just after 4 pm and it was probably the warmest day I have ever experienced there. We put the food away and then had a cup of tea on the terrace. We needed the parasol and thankfully Pepe, our neighbour, brought out the very heavy base to place it on. We didn't have Eladio there to do all the little things I usually rely on him for so we had to be very self sufficient. We then unpacked and as we had a few hours before it got dark (after 9.30 pm) I took the girls to one of my favourite places around here. I have so many it is often difficult to choose where to go. I took them to the little seaside village of Niembro where there is a sort of fjord with a beautiful church and cemetery which seems to sit on the sea. What a place to be buried.
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Adele left and Sandra right at the cemetery belonging to the church called Our Lady of the Sorrows |
The tide was in so we couldn't walk on the beach. Instead I took them around to a tiny port to show them a special viewing point of the sea; a secret little place where the water is emerald green.
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A secret viewing point of the sea in Niembru |
From Niembru I drove my friends to see the nearby beach of Barru where countless Spanish films have scenes from. They loved it. We decided to have a drink at the hotel bar there. We didn't like it much but we loved the location. There we bumped into the previous owners, Mari and José Manuel, who had sold us the house. Sandra and I nearly polished off a whole bottle of cider and Adele had two glasses of white wine. I never usually drink but when I have British friends to stay I can't help but join in. It was about 8.30 but before we left I wanted my friends to see another view of the beach by walking up to a stretch of very green grass to appreciate the place properly and they did.
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Barru - simply gorgeous |
Adele kept saying the scenery reminded her of Brittany but it also reminded us of Scotland, Wales or even the Yorkshire coast as it is so rugged.
From Barru we drove the short way home and by 9ish we were enjoying a delicious dinner of what I call "bits and bobs". Naughty me, I had brought the chocolates my friends had brought us from France and Belgium.
We were in our bedrooms by about 10.30. The girls chose the red and green rooms and I slept in the yellow one. I read a bit of Anatomy of a Scandal and soon fell asleep. I was awake at about 3 something because of my awful cough which alarmed my dear friends. But I am used to it. After a cold I always have a cough which often lingers for more than a month. Even so it wasn't that bad a night and I was up at 5.45. I love my early morning time to myself to read the headlines, write this blog and do wordle in Spanish and in English.
Wednesday was to be a glorious day and one to remember. I love the mornings here in the village when you can be outside with your pyjamas on - you couldn't do that in a town. We were out there talking to our neighbour Loli who showed us her back garden, vegetable patch and hens. The views from there are amazing.
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In Loli's garden on Wed morning |
As you can see Margarita, Loli's 2 month old pet lamb is in the picture; the lamb that thinks it's a dog which I told you about when we were here last month. Here I am holding her too - what a hilarious moment. My friends loved Margarita too hahahaha
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Holding Margarita |
And here is Margarita being bottle fed by Loli.
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Loli feeding Margarita |
Then a neighbour, Felipe, a farmer who has 90 cows and a lot of goats, came past on his quad and my friends had to have a photo of me in my dressing gown with him. Talk about getting back to nature and in contact with animal life - that's why I am in my element there.
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With Felipe a local |
Still in our nightwear, Sandra and I had a task to do; water the plants.
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Sandra watering the geraniums |
This is normally Eladio's job but without him here we had to be self sufficient. As soon as we were ready to go out, off we drove to Posada- the nearest town - to do some food and household shopping. From Posada we drove to Póo (don't laugh at the name) where I was eager to show my friends my favourite spot in the area. The Playa de Poo and surroundings are to die for. My friends fell in love with the place as soon as they saw it, just as I did. Before walking on the beach we had a coffee at the little hotel there where you sit above the beach and contemplate the beauty of nature around you.
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My friends waiting for their coffee at Playa de Póo on Wednesday |
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My girlies happy on Playa de Póo |
The tide was out so we were able to walk nearly the whole stretch of beach which is shaped like a fjord. It was marvelous and marvelous too that we had the whole place to ourselves.
We then walked up the hill for my friends to see the marvelous views from there.
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Sandra on the cliffs above the Playa de Póo, one of my favourite places in the area. |
My friends agreed the scenery was just stunning and so it is.
From Póo we drove to Llanes, the main town in the area and one we love. It's quite the poshest seaside town in Asturias. We parked next to the Sablon beach and from there walked into the town. I took my friends to Aramburu - that gourmet butcher - where we stocked up on cecina, ham, pastel de cabracho, locally farmed eggs and cheese for my friends. I then took them to two wonderful cake shops also where we bought far too many cakes. I wanted to take my friends to the top of Llanes on the San Pedro walkway but it was getting late and we were hungry. Thus we drove to our lunch place; a beach bar (chiringuito in Spanish) called "El Castru" above the sweet and pretty cove like beach of Andrín. There was one of my favourite eating places with the main table overlooking the beach ready for us.
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Our table at Chiringuito in Andrín |
We had a wonderful lunch mainly composed of seafood tapas such as mini scallops (zamburriñas in Spanish). They were to die for but not cheap.
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"Zamburriñas" |
We could have stayed all afternoon but with all the drink - wine and cider - we needed a rest at home. Once home we spent part of the afternoon sitting on our humble terrace. We decided at around 6 that we really needed a walk to work off all the food and drink so I took my friends along the path to the next village; Debodes. It is so beautiful and we enjoyed every step.
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The beautiful walk to Debodes |
We had the path to ourselves. This place is so off the beaten track that is why it is the perfect location to get away from it all and connect with nature (if that is your thing). You also have the choice of going to the mountains or to the beaches. I'm happy we bought our house there.
We came back feeling energised and then sat on our humble terrace again, We said we weren't hungry for dinner. But come 9 pm or so, Adele brought out wine and cheese and then the pie and some of the cakes and we had a delicious impromptu dinner outside. What a wonderful day it had been.
The whole day had been simply marvelous and Thursday would be too. I think actually Thursday was the best day of all. It was the day I took my friends to the legendary Lakes of Covadonga in the heart of the Peaks of Europe. On most days of the year cars are not allowed and people get there by shuttle bus but we were lucky as the rule starts from 30th May. I checked the weather to make sure there would be no fog or clouds and we were blessed with a sunny day with good visibility. We weren't the only ones up there but it was not crowded at all as it usually is on weekends and in the summer. It's a 50 minute drive from our house up a steep and windy mountain road which worried Adele as she hates heights or driving on roads with sheer drops such as the road to Covadonga. The scenery was to die for; simply stunning and the drive well worth it for the scenery when you arrive at the Lakes. It is one of the most popular stages in the Tour of Spain and my friend, Pedro Delgado, a cycling legend in Spain is always associated with this stage. His name is painted on the road in many parts. The first lake you get to is Enol and there we stopped to admire it and have photos taken by other hikers. I have chosen that as this week's feature photo which was a very hard choice.
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Lago Enol |
It was taken by a lovely English group of people, from Nottingham, the University town where we three met. Later we had coffee with them further up at Lake Ercina. We parked nearby Lake Enol and then walked the steep road up to Lake Ercina which takes about 15 minutes. All we could do was go "oh" and "ah" as we admired the stunning scenery. The Lakes of Covadonga are a must go to place on anyone's bucket list when visiting Spain. Forget the Costas, come up to the lush green coast of the north of the country. My friends couldn't believe this was Spain. It looked more like Switzerland, cows with cow bells included.
Once at Lake Ercina I took my friends for a coffee at the bar there which is such a lovely one. Just sitting on the wooden benches admiring the Lake with its backdrop of snow capped mountains is enough to heal your soul. We invited the friendly group of English people who are hikers and were visiting this lush coast with its famous Peaks of Europe. Here we are together.
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With our new found British friends at Lake Ercina on Thursday |
I would have loved to have lunch at the cabin shaped bar - Bar Maria Rosa - but we had a table booked at my favourite restaurant in the area. I wanted to take my friends for lunch to
Casa Pedro Parres in the small village of San Juan de Parres which is 1.6km from the beautiful and much visited town of Cangas de Onis. It was a 30 minute drive down the mountain and at about just after 2 pm we were there. This is the once humble little restaurant which has now been made famous after various TV reports. The chef is a guy called Cristian who is actually a friend of my friend Miguel who is from Cangas. There is a 15 euro menu of the day or you can choose a la carte. We did a bit of both.
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Lunch at Casa Pedro Parres |
Our table was in the "horreo" (granary) to the left of the picture. Notice the cider pump on our table. The local cider Asturias is famous for is always poured from high or these days done so with a pump like this one. There is a verb in Spanish to pump cider - usually manually - which is called "escanciar" and it's quite an art; one I'm not very good at. We would see it in action shortly afterwards.
From Casa Pedro we drove back to Cangas -. once the capital of Asturias and steeped in history. I was keen to show the girls the town, but mostly the famous Roman bridge. Everyone takes photos there and we did too.
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The photo to take in Cangas de Onis - by the Roman bridge |
We then went to have some menthol tea at the bar and restaurant under the bride, aptly called "Puente Romano". I remembered Eladio and I discovering the spot on our first visit to Cangas after we had bought the house in El Cuetu in September 2020.
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Having a cup of menthol tea under the Roman bridge in Cangas de Onis |
Oh what a beautiful spot it is. It was here that we saw an Asturian waiter pouring cider the traditional way which I pointed out to my friends. I took a
video to share with you so that you can understand what I mean. This is it.
Video of a waiter pouring cider the traditional Asturian way - Cangas de Onis
We sat enjoying the view and the weather and at about 5 ambled back to our car. We passed an enticing looking shoe shop on the way called "Pisando Fuerte" which we couldn't resist visiting. Sandra got some lovely colourful trainers and I got some classy looking espadrille like summer shoes for Eladio.
Once "home" we settled on the terrace outside to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening. That night, for once, we were hungry and made a delicious dinner of salad and pie, followed by cake and chocolates. We were happy girls hahaha; in our element.
I was busy with my Airbnb work and managed to get into bed at around 11 and read for a while. I did not sleep badly that night.
Friday came and it was our last day in Asturias. We would have quite an adventure that day. It actually started in a very funny way because Margarita, the lamb that thinks she is a dog, came to visit. She had her breakfast just after we had ours as you can see in this
video of Loli feeding her. Margarita thinks Loli is her mother and skips after her everywhere. She even came into our kitchen. When I posted the photo on social media I got comments about her being our lunch or our dinner but I said no way José.
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Margarita visited us on Friday morning. |
It was on Friday that we visited Llanes again. I was keen to show the girls more of the town and especially to take them on the famous walkway, Paseo de San Pedro. Our time there started, though, with coffee at La Galerna, as it nearly always does in Llanes.
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Coffee at La Galerna |
Soon it was time for our walk on the beautiful Paseo de San Pedro which overlooks the town of Llanes, the rugged coast line as well as the Peaks of Europe. Unfortunately though it was a cloudy day so we couldn't see them. Even so my friends loved the walk; a walk I never tire of.
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My friends seeing the Paseo San Pedro - the walkway above Llanes - for the first time. |
We walked to the end and back and then walked all the way across the town to the other side where you can find the second beach, Playa de Toró, one I love.
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My girlies posing with the backdrop of the Playa de Toró just outside Llanes |
I had booked a table at the Mirador de Toró, a restaurant I had been recommended. And what a find it was. This is easily the best restaurant in the area both for its food and the views of the beach. We had seafood which was not cheap but it was delicious.
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Lunch at Mirador de Toró |
We then walked back to our car. I wanted to take my girlies to see the very famous inland beach of Gulpiyuri (try saying that) which is about 14km from Llanes. I did not remember there is no access by car which was my downfall. I put in Playa de Gulpiyuri on our satnav and there began our adventure. It took us onto a tiny dirt track with just enough room for the Mini to pass. It was potholed and we had no idea where it was taking us. Some cyclists who couldn't even pass the Mini came to the rescue.
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My poor Mini lost on a dirt track trying to find the famous inland beach of Gulpiyuri |
They told us the beach was within 300 metres so we carried on our way slowly. Everyone we met told us cars were forbidden by the beach but we had no option but to continue. We found a space to park at a fork of various tiny and stony paths and walked from there to this famous little beach. It is supposedly a geological miracle and is the most photographed in Spain. Luckily that day there were hardly any people. I did a short video in the form of an interview with my friends to remember the day which you can see
here.
I think my friends liked the little beach where we have once swum. Unfortunately, though, that day the tide was in and there wasn't much water. Had we come at high tide we would have seen Gulpiyuri in all its splendour.
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The Gulpiyuri beach as seen by us on Friday - with not much water. |
Just so you can see the difference when the tide is low, this is a photo of when Eladio and I visited it in September 2020 and were able to swim.
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When we swam in the Gulpiyuri beach in September 2020. |
While there a herd of cows and bulls came rushing into the field we were standing in. Sandra was much taken with all the cows she saw in Asturias so I took this
video for her. It was another hilarious moment of the day.
Just as we got into our car to try and find our way onto the road, a Guardia Civil car approached. That meant trouble added to our adventure. We would of course be warned and probably fined for being on a track road where cars are not allowed. However, these 2 policemen were the perfect gentlemen. They did not tell us off after I explained our trouble with the satnav. They told us how to get out and then offered to escort us to the main road. We were all very impressed. In another country no doubt we would have been fined but these two policemen came to the rescue of 3 ladies who felt like they were in a Thelma and Louise type film.
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The Spanish Civil Guard police escorting us back to the road. |
I had to take a
video to upload on my YouTube channel as well as to post on the Guardia Civil twitter handle so as to thank them publicly. So you see that thanks to them our adventure did not end in disaster.
We drove back to Llanes again as my friends wanted to do some shopping. It was tea time by the time we arrived. While driving to the car park we spied a lovely looking terrace belonging to a pretty hotel called Hotel Don Paco. That is where we went to have our mint tea and wind down. It is a lovely place and we shall be back.
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Cup of tea at Hotel Don Paco |
But we were all a bit tired of so much walking and our little adventure that shortly afterwards we returned to our car to drive home.
Once home we went straight to our little patio outside to have a drink; or a few drinks hahahaha. I loved our evenings on the terrace as did Sandra and Adele.
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Adele and Sandra on our little terrace on our last night in El Cuetu |
The day did not end very well as I got an upsetting audio message which I don't want to share details of here. I ended up crying actually but was comforted by my dear friends who are like sisters to me.
We were in bed by after 11. I expected not to sleep well but actually I did. I was awake on Saturday morning at just before 7 am. Our Asturian adventure was coming to an end as were leaving for Madrid that morning. We got ready leisurely, packed and said our goodbyes to Loli our neighbour and were off by about 11.30. Sadly, all good things come to an end but oh what a wonderful time we had had.
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Leaving on Saturday morning |
We stopped for petrol and had a coffee there. Shortly afterwards we stopped too at Posada to go to the shoe shop, "Pisando Fuerte". Sandra had dropped a ring there the day before. She had lost it and thought it might have happened there. I rang and was told by Marta the shopkeeper that she had found it and even posted it on Facebook. That's honesty for you. Sandra was much relieved to get it back. We also went into a children's clothes shop for me get something for the babies. For Oli and Miguel we went into the Lofer bakery and bought the tuna pie they love as well as an applessponge and some delicious little cakes made with almonds - a bit like bakewell tart.
Our journey would take 5 hours straight driving but we stopped for lunch and for a few breaks to stretch our legs. Why do the journeys back always seem so much longer than the journeys going? All 3 of us drove and took it in turns to take the wheel. We soon noticed as we got further from El Cuetu which we had left with 17ºc, that it got warmer and warmer. When we stopped for lunch at Restaurante La Cueva in Alar del Rey it was at least 30ºc. The difference was enormous. While people were sweltering in record breaking temperatures in the centre and south of the country, Asturias remained cool.
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Lunch at Alar del Rey |
The food at La Cueva never disappoints and we had a great meal and rest. Soon we were on the road again. We arrived home to 33ºc which felt like an outdoor sauna. We also arrived to the end of what seemed to be a pre birthday party lunch for Olivia. The house felt a little overtaken and it was a bit stressful to arrive in such heat and a chaotic household. Thankfully my Chinese guests arrived back when we had cleared everything away. Yinzi and her 2 girls were happy to see their father, JZ, who had also escaped lockdown in Shanghai to join them. He told us he had spent 2 months in the flat without going out and had to have a test every single day. He likened it to animals in a zoo. Poor chap. He was very happy to be here and with his family. I didn't know but this family who will be here for more than a month had lived in Spain for 5 years some 10 years ago when the father worked for the Santander bank so they know some Spanish and are familiar with the area. I have to say they are fast becoming our friends. They are very likeable.
After unpacking with the much needed aircon on, we all convened by the still empty pool - it will finally be filled with water today (75.000 litres of water which will cost a pretty penny). Here is Sandra chilling out with little Pippa on her lap. Pippa was frightened and trembling as there was an unexpected thunderstorm.
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Home again -. Pippa with Sandra on the pool terrace |
We sat on the sofas until quite late and had snacks with delicious white wine from Rueda but we were all very tired and thus we went to bed early at about 10.30. I caught the second half of a wonderful film called "The children act" with Emma Thompson in it. I did not catch the news though. This whole week I have hardly followed the news but do know that the disgraced emiritus King of Spain returned from exile in Dubai, to Spain to take part in a regatta. His arrival back after all the financial scandals surrounding him was the biggest news item in Spain. The second biggest news was about the outbreak and spread of Monkeypox which, no doubt, you will have heard about. It is rather worrying but not for over 50s who have all had the smallpox vaccine which works for Monkeypox, a very mild version of smallpox which was eradicated over 50 years ago. Cases have been detected in 12 European countries including Spain and the UK as well as the US, Canada and Australia. We don't want another virus in this world and I hope by giving under 50s the smallpox vaccine, it may well be eradicated. It is quite mild compared to smallpox but still has some ghastly side effects the worst being swollen lymph nodes on the face and body.
I was happy to sleep in my bed again but my damned cough didn't let me get a good night's sleep and I was up this morning at 5.30 am. Today will be a busy and special day. It is Olivia's 37th birthday - where has time gone? and we will be having a family celebration joined by Sandra and Adele but sadly not by Suzy. But we shall probably see her this week as we plan to go to Santa Pola. I shall be busy cooking for Oli's birthday lunch but also preparing for the arrival of 5 more guests today. 5 doctors from Imperial College London will be coming on a repeat stay. I can hardly believe that tonight there will be so many people; Sandra and Adele (2), the Chinese family (4), Eladio and I (2) and the 5 doctors. A total of 13 people will be sleeping here tonight. I just calculated and I think we could actually accommodate a maximum of 19 people. But that would be a bit of a strain on the house. I never really want more than 7 guests at a time.
It's now time to sign off and begin all the tasks I have ahead of me for today. Cheers then till next Sunday,
Masha.
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