Family Sunday in Montrondo, Biden resigns from Presidential race, Kamala Harris his successor, home again and oh so hot, Paris Olympics kick off in the rain with a radical opening ceremony.

 Madrid, home again, Sunday, 28th July, 2024

With my granddaughter Juliet last Sunday in Montrondo

Good morning again, this time from home.  But nor for long as tomorrow we are off to Santa Pola to see Suzy and get the apartment ready for guests arriving next week. It has been so hot in Madrid that we have had to skip most outdoor activities or eating outside and it will be just as bad down south. I can't wait to be able to escape to Montrondo again. 

Last Sunday we were still there and we certainly made the most of our day with the family; especially with Olivia, Miguel, Elliot and Juliet. It was just a wonderful family day.

It started with breakfast with my soon to be three year old granddaughter Juliet who wanted me to hold her just after she woke up and I was more than willing. Olivia took some stunning photos, one of which had to be this week's feature photo. Doesn't she look adorable? However, she can be quite a character. Elliot looks like both Miguel and Olivia when they were younger but I can't see any family resemblance in Juliet. Can you?

She was very interested when we gave Pippa a bath later in the  claw foot bathtub in our bedroom which I insisted on buying when we built the house nearly 9 years ago; even if it didn't fit in the bathroom (haha). It's mostly for Pippa as I have hardly ever used it. Here is Eladio, Pippa's main bather with Juliet looking on. She loved the whole process. I'm not sure Pippa did but I was happy to see her clean and shiny once it was over.

Pippa being bathed in Montrondo with Juliet looking on

I spent a lot of the morning cooking for the family while Eladio got the barbecue ready for lunch. He also got out all the terrace furniture which was locked in the boiler house for which we didn't have the key until Oli got there. It was a pity we would only enjoy it for a day as we were leaving on Monday. But we shall enjoy it when we got back next week, especially the sun beds in the back garden.

While the kids were playing with their little cousins under the supervision of their parents, we got lunch ready. Here is Eladio grilling the lamb chops etc. He was doing so in the sun with a kitchen towel on his head (hahaha).

Eladio cooking the barbecue in the sun last week

Soon we were all sitting down on the back terrace for what has to be THE family lunch of the summer. The kids behaved and enjoyed the food but perhaps preferred the ice cream at the end. 

Family barbecue lunch last Sunday in Montrondo

It was wonderful to be together in Montrondo.

The afternoon was spent in harmony and lazily. While the kids played, we adults - the older generation now - sat together next door at one of Eladio's sister's houses. I caught 4 of the 6 siblings on camera. 

Eladio with 3 of his 5 siblings relaxing in Montrondo last Sunday

We are now the oldest generation. When Eladio's father was his age, we were in our 30's and 40's and our children were the same age as our grandchildren and their cousins. One day Oli and Miguel will be part of the oldest generation and Elliot and Juliet will be here with their kids or that is how I imagine the future there. They will be remembering the old days and hopefully missing us. But we still have some time to go to enjoy being in Montrondo together. Gosh, though, how time flies.

Dinner was home made tortilla made by me and accompanied by a salad which everyone ate. It was our last dinner with the kids but we will be back. I look forward to many more family days in Montrondo, the place where we are all so happy. 

Monday came, the day we were returning home. The main news of that day which we had already heard about on Sunday night, was about Joe Biden, aged 81 (but looking 90) who finally succumbed to pressure and resigned from the Democrat Presidential race in the US. The problem was, whoever they come up with to replace him, and he was backing his VP, Kamala Harris, just no one can beat Trump who is on a winning streak. Maybe if Biden had resigned a while back, there may have been a chance, but not now although I wish I was wrong. Here, by the way, is his resignation letter. 

Joe Biden's resignation letter

He didn't go into the why's but I have a feeling he  finally realised he wasn't up to the biggest job in the world and may possibly already have some sort of dementia that is being kept a secret. Otherwise, no way would he be making so many gaffs. Since then Kamala has been proclaimed his successor but can she win when Hilary Clinton couldn't? Being of colour and a woman is to her advantage but not enough to ward off Trump I'm afraid. Later in the week Biden read an announcement from The Oval Office explaining he was giving way to someone younger. But he did not admit the real reason; that he is too old and just not capable of another term in the White House. That, btw, now makes Trump, aged 78, the oldest Presidential candidate in history. 

But my mind wasn't on the Presidential race in the US that morning. It was on getting ready to go; pack and return home. I was not looking forward to the heat in Madrid. Thank God for air conditioning and the pool. 

I had one more photo with the kids after breakfast which I love so I wanted to share it with you.

With Elliot and Juliet just before we left Montrondo on Monday morning

It was farewell but not for long as they will be back today and we shall see them all this coming week.

Our journey home was uneventful and we arrived just after 3pm, a bit late even for lunch in Spain which we had in the air conditioned dining room. It was over 15 degrees more than in Montrondo where we always sleep with a duvet; what a difference that makes.

The house had been well looked after by Tana in our absence, bless her. I spent most of the afternoon in my air conditioned room until it was time for dinner which we had with the air con on again - no other way.

I slept fitfully that night and woke up at 6.45 after about 5 hours sleep on Tuesday morning. There was lots to do that day. We set up the old TV we had brought from El Cuetu in my father's room. Now all 7 bedrooms have a TV - how extravagant. I used to be very bad at TV techie stuff but I'm quite savvy now. Most of them are Samsungs and the workings are similar to a smartphone so not too difficult. 

We went to do a huge shop at Mercadona and Carrefour. We also went to our bank to unblock both my visa card and Eladio's account. It didn't help that he had left his wallet in Montrondo - no worries, Oli's bringing it home today.

She had good news that day. The World's 50 best  invited her to be a presenter at the awards for the 50 best hotels in the world. It's to take place in London, at Guildhall (how swish) on 17th September. If it works out, watch this space because I will be going with her. I was very happy for her and proud. 

Coffee was at Manacor and then we drove to Oli's house to water her plants. We came home to unload an enormous shop which is much easier these days now that we have a bigger fridge. The heatwave confined us to our air conditioned bedroom quarters that afternoon but after a while I wandered down to the pool which I had to myself. We only had one guest this week (until Friday)- a young Lithuanian working at the Santander Bank HQ nearby but I have hardly seen him. Thus I was able to skinny dip - bliss - something I can't often do. I was in and out of the pool all afternoon until it was time for dinner.

I made a cold vichyssoise soup for dinner and slightly changed the recipe by using crushed almonds and ham bits as a topping. Eladio said it was divine. It was followed by my favourite yoghurt - Nestly Yaos coconut Greek yoghurt, black cherries and a medjool dates, all washed down with a glass of the last bottle of Prosecco we brought home from Italy. We later sat by the pool and reflected on our beautiful home and wondered how much longer we will be living in it. I commented that in a decade or so someone else would be sitting where I was. However long we live here, we shall enjoy it and who knows what the future will bring. It will bring old age and I pray to God we don't have to suffer too much or get dementia or other diseases that plague the old. 

As soon as I got into bed, I fell asleep during the news. I woke up at 02.40, took my sleeping pills and was awake again at 6.40. I got over 8h sleep which I dearly needed.

Wednesday was to be another scorcher. It turned out it was the hottest day on earth! It reached 39ºc here which was unbearable and the only place to be was a room with air conditioning. Not once could we have lunch or dinner outside this week because of the heat. I can't wait to go back to Montrondo to sleep under a duvet and wear jeans and a cardigan in the evenings.

We braced the heat to go out and do errands. That morning saw us in El Corte Inglés, Spain's flagship department store. We went to return something and also had coffee there. I remember seeking refuge in El Corte Inglés as a young student because of the air conditioning. In the 70's, 80's and even 90's, it was a luxury and  in the hot weather, department stores were full of people doing the same. 

The midday news was replaced by football that day. Yes, it had kicked off days before the official opening of the Paris Olympics on Friday. Spain was playing Uzbekistan who managed a goal, believe it or not. I was intrigued to see who was playing from the Spanish squad. I hardly recognised any of the team. That is because the Olympic Games has a funny rule that allows only players under 23 to form a team, with 3 exceptions. But I didn't see Spain's 17 year old star, Lamine Yamal anywhere on the pitch. I can only conclude that for the top teams, the Olympics means a lot less than it does for other sports. I am on the watch out for how Alcaraz does. This year is very special because Rafa Nadal, his 38 year old countryman, will be playing doubles with him. Rafa already has a gold medal in the singles and  in the doubles. I think he is there for fun and enjoys the atmosphere. For Carlos, it must be amazing. Who knew the surprise the Olympic Committee had for Nadal during the Opening Ceremony?

I had the pool to myself in the afternoon as our only guest was out working but I even found that too hot and soon sought refuge in our air conditioned room where I stayed until dinner time. Usually in the summer we sit outside by the pool at night after dinner but at 9pm the temperature was 34ºc, down from 39ºc but still far too hot. 

Thursday was to be just as hot. It was so unbearable I stayed most of the day in our air conditioned room only going downstairs to make lunch in our very hot kitchen. For the record it reached 39ºc that day which is awful. What made the heat worse though were the lowest temperatures, often 25º in the middle of the night. Just look 

The temperatures this week where we live outside Madrid - unbearable, especially the lowest temperatures.

Tana was away as that day was a bank holiday for the Feat of St. James. I spent more time with our Lithuanian guest, Povilas, who is looking for accommodation in the area. He has just started working for the Santander Bank at its world HQ very near us. He came all the way by car and once he has found somewhere to live permanently he will be joined by his wife and baby. He showed me the route and it may well be the route we will take for next year's road trip. We want to go to Austria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and Romania and I want to go to Poland (to see Auschwitz) so we could carry on from there to the Baltic countries. We could even then take the ferry to Finland from Estonia and spend time in the Nordics. Sounds like a good plan. It must be so much cooler there than here.

For lunch I made lamb chops and ate far too many I was not hungry for dinner and only ate a yoghurt and some cherries. I regretted eating so much fatty meat later and didn't even want my afternoon cup of decaf tea. 

Friday came. Tana was back, Povilas went off to work - we hardly see him and a couple from Argentina who live locally had booked our best room for the weekend. They were coming to celebrate his 40th birthday; although I thought it would  be far too hot for that, even by the pool. 

Meanwhile, in Montrondo, Oli and family continued their holiday there. She posted a photo of little Elliot on his bike with some of his cousins. It reminded me so much of her and Suzy on their bikes every summer in my husband's village. What memories.
 

Elliot on his bike in Montrondo 

Olivia had good news that day. It was confirmed she is going to be the Presenter for this year's 50 Best Hotels Awards ceremony at the Guildhall in London on 17th September. Last year the presenter was a well known British TV presenter, Mark Durden-Smith. So, she has quite an act to follow. Neither she nor I know why the organisers have chosen her instead of him or anyone else in London. As Oli said there must be a huge market of emcees to chose from there. So why did they choose her? My friend Amanda said it's because "she's gorgeous". The good news for me is that I will be accompanying her and we will have some lovely girly time in London. Plus, I cant' wait to see her perform at the Guildhall. Her grandmother, my mother, who first came to London as a refugee in 1946 or 47 and had to work as a charwoman and hospital cleaner for a year to get a residency permit, could never have envisaged that one day her granddaughter would be centre stage at the Guildhall. Imagine.

It was Paris that was centre stage that night. It was the day of the opening ceremony which sounded promising. For the first time ever it was to be held outdoors. The French chose the River Seine as the main stage along which a flotilla of boats would bring the 10.500 athletes from 203 countries down the river to across the way from the Eiffel Tower. I watched the whole ceremony and learned some geography too as there were quite a few countries in the 203 delegations participating I had never heard of. Have you ever heard of Eswatani? Of these 203, 69 have never won a medal and 37 have never won a gold medal. And who has sent the most delegates? You guessed it, number 1 is the USA with 592. Then comes France with 573, Australia with 460, Germany with 28, Japan with 403, China with 388, Spain with 383, Italy with 371, Great Britain with 327 and Canada with 315. At the other end the scale, 4 countries, Belize, Liechtenstein, Nauru (never heard of either) and Somalia have sent just one athlete. So who will the big winners be? Well we only have to look at a table of the countries with the most Olympic medals to make a guess.

Countries with the most Olympic medals through history

The US more than doubles any other country. This year though without Russia in the games, there will be more medals to go round. The French, being the host country, will probably grab quite a few of them. 

What the French didn't  bargain for though on the opening night was rain. As an ex events planner I can commiserate with the organisers being worried about the weather and normally you would have a plan B but that wasn't possible in Paris. Rain or no rain, Paris was shown off to the world and we got to see all its iconic buildings. There was much spectacle and all was very splendid and rococo and rather radical and puzzling at times.  I don't know if I understood the script. I could only really appreciate the visuals like the French flag made of red, white and blue smoke above the Austerlitz Bridge. 

I loved a lot of and hated other parts. The end was the best by far. What I couldn't stomach was the parody of Leonardo Da Vincci's Last Supper. Why did they have to have a snipe at that with drag queens sitting at a table instead of Jesus Christ and the apostles? I understand the whole event was about inclusiveness but this was provocative and bad taste in my opinion.

The parody of the Last Supper at the Opening Ceremony. Was that really necessary?

If the organisers wanted to provoke people, they certainly managed to. Looking at the headlines the next day, the world's press was divided in its opinion of this very radical and different opening ceremony. 

I have to admit it's the first time I have watched a whole Olympic event opening ceremony so can't really compare it to others of which I only saw snippets. Maybe I am biased but I think London was better. Who could beat the Queen with James Bond? I was also impressed with Peking. But Paris is the most beautiful city in the world so it was easy to show it off. But there were so many things going on while the athletes sailed down the river, it was difficult to know what to watch. There was a lot of show dancing - not my thing, lots of hip hop and rap but there was also wonderful singing - Les Miserables. It was beautiful but for those not French, maybe we didn't quite get everything. Who, for example, was the spooky face covered acrobat who climbed on the roofs of Paris and across bridges carrying the Olympic flame? I was so happy when he handed it to Zinedine Zidane, such a wonderful sports ambassador for France. I wonder if Zizou was able to watch the Algerian delegation throwing flowers in the Seine to honour the the massacre of 120 Algerians killed and  the arrest of12.000 arrested while protesting for Algerian Independence in 1961?  

Zizou's parents will remember it. He is of course a legend now in France and in Spain too for his association with Real Madrid. So when he handed the torch to non other than the Spanish legend, Rafa Nadal, who is not French, it took my breath away. Just as Zizou is a legend in Spain, Nadal is a legend in France too for his 14 Roland Garros wins, not to mention his 2  Olympic gold medals. I thought that gesture was very generous of France. I later read that when Nadal won his first Roland Garros in 2008, it was Zinedine Zidane who handed him the Coupe des Mousquetaires. So the image of the two of them together was very symbolic.

 

Zidane and Nadal - the moment the French legend handed the Olympic torch to the Spaniard at the Opening Ceremony

Nadal's presence at the Opening Ceremony was quite a surprise.

Nadal then joined Serena Williams, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci and the four of them carried the Olympic torch down the river for it to be handed to French athletes. Most notable for me was that France's oldest living gold medalist, ex cyclist Charles Coste aged 100, was part of the relay. What a moment. Finally it was two French athletes, Marie Jo Pérec and Teddy Riner who took it to a giant cauldron which was a golden hot air balloon. That was the most amazing moment. 

If you are a fan of Celine Dion, then it was also an amazing moment to see and hear her singing Edith Piaf's hymn to love (Hymne à l'amour) from the Eiffel Tower. It's amazing because she has not been on stage for 4 years as she suffers from stiff person syndrome disease. That night you would have never have known. What a comeback. 

Both Eladio and I were exhausted when the ceremony came to an end at nearly midnight. It was a bit too long but I enjoyed most of it, except for some of the rather bizarre and strange acts I couldn't understand or relate to. My mother would have said, that, like the curate's egg, it was good in parts.  But who cares? Paris triumphed that night. Let's hope all goes well, especially after the train sabotage that morning. All I can say is Vive La France. Let the show begin. The Paris Olympics have just begun and may the best men and women shine and take home medals from the city of light. Thank you Paris for a very entertaining night. 

I slept very little that night and woke up at 7.15 on Saturday morning to what would be yet another scorcher. It was, of course, much cooler in Montrondo where the village was celebrating the annual Santa Marta fiesta. I think it must be the first year we aren't there. I like and dislike the fiesta. It gets a little bit too crowded for me, but the children love it. Here are some pictures Olivia sent of that day. When I saw them I rather wished we had been there, especially to experience the foam part.

Olivia looking beautiful with Juliet

Olivia's generation of cousins with all their children

The bit I wish I had experienced; the foam party

Elliot in the pond on the common. He looks like he was having the time of his life

There is not better place for the children in our family to spend their holidays than together in Montrondo. No 5 star hotel would make them as happy. It's lovely to see my grandchildren enjoying the village just as our girls did when they were small. 

We did brave the heat in the morning when we went to the local clinic where Eladio had a routine doctor's appointment. Coffee was alone at Alverán while he went to get a new battery for one of the gate clickers. It was too hot to be outside so we headed home as soon as possible. It was Tana's day off so I made the lunch - easy peasy shepherds' pie. We then watched the news followed by the Olympics. I found myself watching the judo and it's quite violent I thought. Elliot is doing judo and I honestly wonder what he sees in it. 

I was far more interested in the tennis - let's face it, that's my favourite sport to watch - and was happy to see Carlos Alcaraz sail through his first singles match at Roland Garros. Much more exciting was to see him play doubles with Rafa for Spain against Argentina. They had hardly practiced together, let alone participated ever in doubles with Carlos having little experience. But they won, as they were supposed to and that made me happy. I'm not sure how far they will go as doubles is not Carlos' speciality and Rafa's tennis level is not what it was at 38, but it was a joy to see them yesterday, together, a tennis legend in the making with his idol, Nadal from whom he still has so much to learn. 

The legend and the legend in the making - Carlos Alcaraz and Rafa Nadal playing doubles at the Olympics yesterday

I didn't sleep well that night as I kept thinking about my mentally disturbed daughter Suzy who we are going to see on Monday. She doesn't want us to go but we have to as guests who booked before she went to live there are coming on 2nd and we need to prepare the apartment. Maybe I should have cancelled them but it would mean losing my super host status on Airbnb. I have found an Airbnb for Suzy locally and of course she could home with us for the duration. All that was on my mind and will be until we see her. She no longer recognises me as a mother and says she is Princess Diana's secret daughter and that she was adopted by me because I am sterile. The latest is that I am a Russian spy. What am I to do? There are no answers. We shall just have to face her on Monday and I am dreading it. 

Sorry to end on that disturbing note. My life may seem perfect on paper but it isn't. Is anyone's life perfect I wonder?  There is one bit of joy though today to think about and it is that 41 years ago today we had our registry wedding, 28th August 1983, the night Suzy was conceived. It's not our official wedding anniversary though as we always celebrate the church wedding which took place on 21st August, three weeks later.

On that note I wish you all a great Sunday

Cheers till next week,

Masha

Attempt on Trump's life, Alcaraz wins Men's Singles at Wimbledon and Spain beats England to win the Euro Cup, village life in Montrondo, a day trip to Gijón (Asturias), Microsoft worldwide outage, Olivia and family arrived from Galicia and other stories of the week.

Montrondo, Castilla León, Spain.   Sunday, 21st July, 2024

On our favourite walk from Montrondo to Murias and back last Sunday

Good morning again from Montrondo.  

Today is our last full day in my husband's village. We have had   a real holiday. I have slept so well and relaxed and yesterday Oli and family joined us. It was a joy to see our grandchildren, Elliot and Juliet and to see them playing with  their cousins; most of them their age. That reminds me of when our children played here with their cousins for so many summers when they were young. But before I carry on, let me rewind to where I left off, last Sunday.

That day we all woke up to the news of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life during a campaign rally in Pennsyvlania on Saturday. 20 year old Thomas Crook shot him from very nearby but the only damage done was a graze on his ear. Here is a photo of him getting up after the attack, a photo which is probably very familiar to you now. He looks so triumphant doesn't he?

Triumphant Trump survives assassination attempt on Saturday

It was taken by Evan Vucci  from the Associated Press. The photographer said he never thought about the danger of the moment as he was too caught up in his job. He could have been a victim. There were other victims though, a man who used his body to shield his family died and two other men  were injured. So, not to be taken lightly. Trump has emerged as the triumphant survivor and this attack on his life has only served to make him even more popular. 

Meanwhile, across the ocean and high up in the mountains of North West Spain in the province of León, we continued our stay at our  house in Montrondo where my husband was born. We went on our favourite walk to the next village, Murias, and back and what a glorious morning it was. I have chosen a photo taken on that walk to illustrate this week's blog because it sums up the relaxing time we have had enjoying village life. We always say that if there is a war or natural disaster of some type, we can escape to Montrondo.  Here is one of Eladio too. It's amazing to think how far he has come in life after such a humble beginning in post Civil War Spain.

Eladio on our walk last Sunday

That day Oli, Miguel, Elliot and Juliet were leaving Madrid for a holiday in Galicia. Here they are arriving at the Novo Miño Hotel near La Guarda on the River Miño estuary opposite Portugal. Just look at how full their car is, hahahha. 

Oli and family arriving in Galicia for a holiday there near Portugal last Sunday

That afternoon, Carlos Alcaraz (21) was to face Novak Djokovic in a repeat final of the Men's Singles at Wimbledon which he won, aged just 20 last year. He already had 3 grand slams, the latest being at Roland Garros but could he beat the 7 time winner of Wimbledon again? I had a siesta after lunch and woke up to watch what I thought would be a long and drawn out five set match. But I was wrong. Carlos had already thrashed Novak 6-2, 6-2 in the first two sets and won the last one 7.6. Three straight sets. What an amazing result for the young Spaniard. No one knew, but the Princess of Wales who is Patron of the All England Club was to be there that day and would hand the trophy to the winner. It was to be her second public appearance after announcing she has cancer. What an honour and what a surprise. Here she is handing him the trophy. It was wonderful to watch.

The moment Kate Middleton hands the trophy to Carlos Alcaraz

I took a video to remember the moment which you can see here and which, by the way, has already garnered more than 10.000 views!). No doubt, Carlitos, was told to make a little bow as he approached here. I would love to know what she said to him and what he said to her. Did this young boy from Murcia ever imagine this moment? I doubt it.

Carlitos with his second Wimbledon trophy last Sunday

He has followed in the footsteps of fellow Spaniard, Rafa Nadal who also achieved the rare feat of winning at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. During the on court interview, he was asked about the football - the final of the Euro Cup to be played that night between Spain and England. He laughed and said he had done his job and now it was the turn of the Spanish team to do theirs. He didn't have much time to watch the football which he is crazy about. However, I read that the annual ball for the winners was put ahead one hour so he could watch it which I think he did from the car due to London traffic.

In Spain everyone was focused on the football that night. Could Spain win its 4th cup or would England bring it home and win a first major national championship since 1966? Spain had had the most difficult path to the final facing Croatia, Italy, Germany and France while England had it easier, facing Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia and Holland but they were very hungry to win.  I was so divided that night and decided I just couldn't watch the match. It actually was difficult to watch as the internet signal kept going and the screen kept freezing. When it was 1-1, I just walked outside. When I came back in, Eladio told me Spain had won. Of course I was pleased but I think I would have been just as pleased had England won. I felt sorry for my friend Kathy's son, Sam and her grandson, Freddy who were in Berlin that night hoping to see England take the cup home. It wasn't to be. In the end, I suppose Spain was just the better team. Here they are celebrating on the pitch in Berlin. 

The Spanish squad celebrating their win in Berlin on Sunday night

While there was no Spanish authority present at Wimbledon for Carlos Alcaraz, both the King of Spain and his daughter, as well as the Spanish PM were there, along with the Prince of Wales and the new PM, Kier Starmer. Not fair in my eyes.

What an amazing day for Spanish sport. There are no words to describe what it means for the prestige of the country and how it unites the people. Winning football is  the only thing that does in Spain, unfortunately, hahahaha. 

No doubt the Spanish team did not sleep that night. But I did and I had a wonderful morning too. While Eladio went up the mountains as far as Solo Peña with his brother, Toño, Dolores and I drove to Murias. We left the car there and walked to Senra for a coffee at Cumbres de Omaña. Unfortunately being Monday morning, it was closed. So we walked back to Murias. The local bar - El Holandés Errante - was also closed but luckily for us the newly opened hotel which used to be the town prison was open. I love Hotel Rural La Cárcel in Murias de Paredes. 

Here we enjoyed coffee and tea and also the surrounding views of the mountains. One of the two Nurias, took this photo of the two of us. 

Coffee in prison (hahaha) - the Hotel Rural La Cárcel in Murias which used to be the town prison and is now a lovely rural hotel. 

We then went to see the goats that belong to Emilio in Murias. He was happy to show them to us. I first saw the kid goats, these two lovely little black ones. 

Kid goats in Murias

We then went to see the big goats in a field where they spend the day. They are lovely but not well behaved according to Emilio who has just lost some kid goats that were born dead. I was very sorry for him and the mother.

Emilio's goats in Murias

I later took a video of him with the kid goats which you can see here. Before leaving, Emilio gave us two splendid lettuces from his kitchen garden. Muchas gracias. 

Emilio picking us two splendid lettuces from his kitchen garden - if that isn't village life I don't know what is.

My  morning was complete; a wonderful walk, coffee in splendid and rural surroundings, time with Dolores, then an encounter with Emilio and his goats as well as a freshly picked lettuce to take home. That's village life for you. It can be wonderful. 

On Tuesday the four of us decided to do something different for a change and chose Gijón, a large town on the coast in Asturias as our destination.  Eladio and I have been twice but Toño and Dolores hadn't been for a long time. We thought it would take 1.5h but it's actually further away and took nearly 2h. León is the neighbouring province of Asturias so the regions are very similar except that Asturias has the coast and higher mountains. 

We parked near the famous town beach of San Lorenzo and the first thing we did was go and have a coffee before exploring the town. Dolores then took us to a bread shop owned and run by a friend of her daughter's. We don't eat much bread so we didn't get any but it looked marvelous. From the bakery it was a short walk to the beach promenade. Here we took some photos to remember our visit. 

 By the San Lorenzo beach in Gijón

Gijón is  a coastal town in the north of Spain with a beach as good and large as those in San Sebastián, La Coruña and Santander though my favourite is La Concha in San Sebastián. There were plenty of people bathing but we didn't feel like it. In any case it was nearly lunch time so we went in search of somewhere to eat in the old town. We made a beeline for El Restaurante El Centenario in the Plaza Mayor where Eladio and I had had lunch the last time we were there. We ordered fried squid for starters and then fabada stew - typical of Asturias, to be washed down with local cider. I think I have told you many times that the local cider made in this area has to be poured from high above to keep the sparkle. The method even has a special verb: "escanciar" and we had a maestro doing that for us when he served our cider. 

Pouring cider from above to keep the sparkle

I took a video to show you which you can see here. The fabada was amazing but there was so much of it we had to take half of it back to Montrondo. 

Fabada stew in Gijón on Tuesday

Once lunch was finished we walked towards the port but first stopped for an ice cream each which was our dessert. We were all a little tired after so much food and cider, we walked back to the car for the long journey home. What made it special was the amazing scenery once on the country road towards Montrondo. We were home by 6pm and the sun was still shining. 

What a wonderful day trip we had to Gijón. It was nice to leave the village but lovely to be back. I slept very well again that night as I did most nights in Montrondo. 

On Wednesday Dolores and I walked to Senra (about 4km) for my morning coffee and her morning tea. Instead of walking back, one of Eladio's sister who was passing by picked us up and drove us home.

Lunch was some of the fabada we brought back from Gijón - delicious. Dolores joined me again at around 5 pm and we played a very close game of Ludo, my favourite game. I made an effort that night and served a wonderful prawn salad - a light but delicious meal . We did not watch the news mostly because there is not much new to know these days that we don't already see on our mobiles. Entertainment that night was a Spanish series called Second Murder set in rural Santander. 

Again I slept well that night and got out of bed on Thursday morning at 7.30. I woke up to the news that Biden has Covid so will have to withdraw from the US Presidential campaign. The 81 year old should really resign and retire and give way to someone more fit mentally. Hopefully now he will. In any case the whole thing is nearly done and dusted and we are going to have that clown and dangerous man, Donald Trump, as US President again. That's not good for the world as half of us know. 

Anyway back to my mundane but happy life in the village. We are not the only ones to have had a good and restful time. Pippa loves it here too. I captured her on camera that morning and used the photo to say Good morning from Montrondo on social media.

Pippa enjoying Montrondo

That morning Dolores and I spent time together again when we drove to the nearest town, Villablino, to do some shopping. We had run out of fruit and I had to do a shop for Olivia and family who will be staying on when we leave. I did nearly all my shopping at Gadis - a wonderful supermarket that hails from Galicia. I had coffee on my own while Dolores explored other shops. We also went to a shoe shop where we didn't buy any and to an ironmonger to get mice traps as mice are quite abundant here. Thankfully, we didn't find any here when we came this time.

The rest of the day was spent lazily, like most days in Montrondo. We had coffee with some of Eladio's siblings and then a superb dinner which included Gadis' extraordinary meat pie. Entertainment that night was another Spanish detective series which wasn't very good. 

Friday came and it was busy. I did lots of cooking and Eladio cleaned the main terrace which is the year round objective of birds leaving their awful mess. He and his brother Toño had put up some planks on the roof to ward them off and that day he cleaned the mess using sand and Fairy. He did a good job.

At mid morning I went to have coffee on my own at the Hotel Rural La Cárcel. "La cárcel" means "the prison" and indeed it was a prison in years gone by. Eladio certainly remembers it. Today it is a lovingly restored and well run rural hotel where we have often had a meal. Nuria, the person in charge served me a coffee which I had in the beautiful garden with views of the mountains. If you look closely you can see that they are covered in birch trees. This whole area is famous for its birch trees. My father used to love walking in this area as this is his favourite tree,

Coffee with a view

With no one there to take a photo, I took a selfie. This is it.

Coffee at the prison on Friday

Most of Spain was sweltering that day but not in Montrondo or in the north of Spain. In some places of the country it reached 44ºc. When we return to Madrid on Monday it is going to be boiling too and I am not looking forward to that. 

I came home to serve our lunch; home made vegetable pure followed by "patatas revolconas" - peppery potatoes with pork scratching, the most difficult part to get right. The afternoon was spent lazily with reading time followed by coffee (decaf actually) with Eladio's family.

We did watch the news that night as something really important had happened. There was a global Microsoft outage that day caused by some glitch in their anti virus system update. For quite a few hours, that took the world back to analogue times. Imagine what something like that can do to flights, banks, hospitals, etc. I tried out my computer and did notice something small I was able to correct. Eladio certainly noticed it as he couldn't access his bank account and still can't.  That was indeed the news of the day.

Saturday came, the day Oli and family were travelling from Galicia to Montrondo which would take them at least 4.5h so they didn't get here until the afternoon. 

I was very proud of my TV  reporter/MC daughter when I saw a video  (from minute 5.24) she sent me of her presenting at an event held by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture.  

Olivia presenting last month at the Ministry of Agriculture

The Minister, Luis Planas,  himself was there and what a great job Olivia did. It took place when we were on our road trip and she hadn't even told us about it. Like her grandfather, she never blows her own trumpet so I have to do that for her. Well done darling. 

Eladio continued cleaning the mess made by the birds on the front of the house. He had to go up a ladder to do so, helped by his brother. I didn't like seeing him in such a risky position but had to take a photo to show you. He did a very good job but I was glad when he came down the ladder.

Eladio up the ladder cleaning the façade of the house messed by the birds

I spent time cleaning cupboards and shelves full of dust which was a job well done too. We then got Oli's rooms ready for their arrival and in general the house was very clean and tidy for their arrival. However, that wouldn't last very long in the presence of toddlers, hahahaha.

Just as they were arriving in the early afternoon, the water was cut off in the village; something that has never ever happened. There is plenty of water in Montrondo which comes from the mountains and there is so much of it we only pay a paltry 8 euros a year. But there is a problem in some of the pipes and water is being leaked and we were told there isn't enough to go round so they would be cutting off the water every evening until the mid morning.    How on earth would we survive? Not well. But we did, at least yesterday.  Thankfully it came on again around dinner time but is off again now as I write. I hope they sort the problem out soon with all the people coming for the Santa Marta fiestas next week.

It was a joy to see Oli and family and to hold both Elliot and Juliet in our arms. But soon they ran off to play with their cousins. Between them we had a 2 year old, a 3 year old, two  4 year old's and a 5 year old. They played on the trampoline and then went off on their bikes to the village common. It was being set up for an event where people would be playing the accordion and pie and tortilla would be served. But we had dinner at home with every seat around the table taken. I had bought home made pie which I served with a salad which included Emilio's wonderful lettuce. 

While the children went out till about midnight, we went to bed at 9 pm to get some rest, although I couldn't rest at all. I was awake till about 1 but then I did manage to sleep. Today is our last day here and we shall be having a barbecue, weather permitting. Would you believe the highest temperature today will be 22ºc, compared to 40ºc in Madrid ? I am not looking forward to that. 

I shall miss Montrondo but we will be back in two weeks or so. We will be going home to the heat of Madrid and then to Santa Pola to see Suzy where it will be equally hot. With hotter and hotter summers, the only place to be in Spain is in the north of the country. Thank God we have this little paradise in the mountains to escape to.

I shall leave you now to get on with the day and hopefully have my breakfast in peace before the kids wake up and chaos reigns, hahahaha.

Cheers till next Sunday,

Masha

Elections in France, to Asturias for the week but not for a holiday, my two countries Spain and England through to the Euro Cup final, lunch at Casa Niembro and so to Montrondo. Carlos Alcaraz through the Wimbledon final.

 Montrondo, Sunday, 20th July, 2024

In Llanes on Monday by the El Sablón Beach - lovely to be back.

Hi again. This week we have been to Asturias. We didn't go on holiday but went to get the house ready for the influx of guests this summer and there was a lot to do. We had planned to return home to Madrid on Friday but at the last moment decided to go to Montrondo. We haven't been since last September and we needed to check everything was ok with the house. 

There was a lot to do last Sunday too. I had  guests leaving and guests coming but I was short of a room which was a headache. There had been a huge leak in the shower in my father's old room, the one Mohammad and Sarang shared. I had no idea what damage it had done. The insurance people came the Friday before but would be sending plumbers, bricklayers and painters to fix the damage. The problem was I had people coming on Monday to that very room which was unusable. Thankfully, a guest who had booked another room had told me he had to go elsewhere as his event venue had changed but he never cancelled. What a nightmare for me. It worried me all day and all night. Sometimes, I just want to throw the business out of the window and go and live somewhere smaller where I have no guest issues. In the end I always solve them though.

That rather spoiled my Sunday.  That day was of much importance to France as it was the second round of their snap elections called by Macron which the far right had won in the first round. The French, though, rallied round to make sure they didn't win this time with their "barrage". I spoke to my French guest, Sylvie about the elections and she assured me the "barrage" would work. She was right. But she wasn't right when she said the left wing group wouldn't really get anywhere.

On Monday, Sylvie and most of France were probably relieved Marie Le Pen's National Rally party were outvoted by the different coalitions. But they were also surprised to see that the Left Wing group, the New Popular Front, theoretically won the elections. Macron's Ensemble Alliance did better than predicted but not enough to govern. None of the 3 groups have enough to govern. Thus France has a hung parliament. No one knows how it will pan out. I don't either but am relieved the far right will not govern. The word in French is "ouf", I suppose - "phew". The whole thing  was touch and go and it's not yet over. Probably nothing will be sorted until August, after the Paris Olympics. 

Hung Parliament in France after the second round of elections last Sunday

We were leaving for Asturias on Monday but were both worried about the room being ready for new guests and also for the new TVs to be installed properly on the walls in two of the rooms. While we were driving the 500km journey we were both constantly on the phone dealing with all sorts of tradesmen. The highlight of the day was lunch at an unknown place not far from Simancas (Valladolid) which turned out to be great. Lunch at Hotel La Colina was surprisingly good at 15 euros each for the menu of the day. We shall be going again next time we drive to Asturias. 

We were in our new or rather old house in El Cuetu by about 5.30 and it was good to be back. Guests had left a few days before and new guests are coming today. Then it will be non stop till the end of August. Thus we had to get provisions for the housekeeper and cleaner which is now Lucía, Loli's daughter who, unfortunately, is not very well. 

I had brought food just to start us off as I didn't want to leave Tana with bare cupboards. I slept well, for me, that night and woke up on Tuesday morning at 6.30 after 6.5h sleep which I consider rather good. 

One of our first tasks was to change the plants on the terrace; mainly hydrangea and geraniums. They were nearly all dead which figures. Before going to the garden centre in Cue, we stopped in Llanes to have coffee and get some cash from the hole in the wall. We parked right by the lovely El Sablón beach, the main town beach in pretty Llanes. It was nice weather and if we hadn't been busy, I wouldn't have minded spending time there. All we could do was take photos, like the one I have chosen for this week's feature photo. Here is another one.

In Llanes on Tuesday morning

Coffee was at La Galerna, as always and as always I had to have a photo taken. It's a place that makes me happy.

Coffee at La Galerna in Llanes on Tuesday

What also makes me happy there is buying food from an amazing gourmet shop called Aramburu right opposite.  For the record I got some meat pie, "cecina" (cured beef), 2 dozen free range eggs, steak and pork loin. 

I would have loved to go to the local market which is open on Tuesdays but we had to continue our way to Cue to get the flowers. As we do every year, we spent a fortune and that day bought  14 hydrangeas and 20 geraniums, the planting of which would keep Eladio busy that afternoon.

Eladio planted all the new hydrangeas and geraniums

It was too late to do the shopping so we left it till Wednesday and drove home for lunch which I somehow conjured up with not many ingredients.

We had been expecting rain all day and it came in the early evening. That's not unusual in Asturias - part of Spain's green coast and it was rather a relief from the heat in Madrid. It was a pity though that we couldn't sit outside on the terrace with the new flowers.

That night was "the match" - the Euro Cup football semi final between Spain and France. We tested the old TV before watching it and decided, with a heavy heart, we would have to invest in a new one. The frequencies have changed and even with a decoder I couldn't get it to work.  Actually we couldn't find the one we had bought in March. Who the hell had taken it? Things always go missing there. Guests steal. It is a fact and that's why we can't have anything valuable or pretty to attract petty thieves. Thankfully the only channel that worked was TVE1 where they were broadcasting the match. Another TV, really?

There was another match I was more interested in. It was Carlos Alcaraz playing  in the Last 16 at Wimbledon. He then met  Medvedev - a repeat of last year's Semis, who had beaten Sinner but only really because the Italian was ill or so I understood. Carlitos  won Wimbledon last year and recently won the French Open, so he could do it again but first needed  permission from the Russian Medvedev which he got. But today he faces Djokovic, a repeat of last year's final. That day I had one eye on Wimbledon and one eye on the Euro Cup. So did Carlitos whose first words after winning were about the Spain France match. 

We had a break before the football. The pie and cecina from Aramburu we had for dinner were delicious.  At 9 pm we were in our small lounge with the TV on about to watch the most important match for Spain in the Euro Cup tournament, against Les Bleues. You have to admit it, Spain had the most difficult path of all teams to get this far. They had to beat Croatia, Italy and Germany (on their home turf) and then France, one of the favourites. France is always Spain's "bête noire" and with  Mbappe even more so. But Spain has its own amazing players including the newbies Nico Williams (21) and the youngest player in the tournament, Lamine Yamal who turned 17 yesterday, just a day ahead of the final. He has been continually praised and even more so when he scored an incredible equaliser early in the game. It was Dani del Olmo, yet again, who scored next for Spain to reach 2-1. They held the score till the whistle blew and then they were through to the final. Spain can be proud of their squad. And man of the match was the young Lamine, the youngest scorer ever in a Euro Cup. Deservedly,  he was given the MOTM award.

16 year old Lamine Yamal, Man of the match in the semi finals against Les Bleues

What a win for Spain. There are a lot of wins for Spain in many sports. It's funny how the country has progressed so much in the last decades to become a force in football, tennis, cycling and many sports. It used to be just golf thanks to Severiano Ballesteros. Somehow you don't think of Spain as a country good at sport but the reality is there. We saw it this week at both Wimbledon and in Germany. Today is a great day for Spain - we are in the Euro Cup final and in the Wimbledon final. Carlitos Alcaraz made it again and will play Djokovic again. It's strange  that the Spanish press does not give much attention to Wimbledon. Unless you have pay per view, you can't even see the matches. I think Carlos Alcaraz gets more international media attention than Spanish. I suppose that's because Wimbledon is not what it is for the Spaniards, like it is for the English. While most of England will be glued to the TV this afternoon, very few Spaniards will be watching. 

I didn't sleep well that night; just 5h but had slept on the TV lounge after the match so maybe it was a bit more. On Wednesday we had lots to do. The first would be to buy another television. We also had to get a couple of things that had gone missing (i.e. stolen) such as a chopping board and a toilet brush (of all things). Thus we went to Llanes again, the nearest big town. We got the TV which the efficient shop set up for us. We would have to take it home and finish installing but as it is a Samsung, I was familiar with it.

While they were doing that we went to have coffee - the highlight of the day. Instead of La Galerna, I took Eladio to a place I had discovered when I came with Sandra and Adele. He loved the terrace of the Hotel Don Paco and so do I. 

Coffee at a different place on Wednesday - Hotel Don Paco

I told Eladio that if we didn't have a house in the area I would love to stay at that hotel. 

Hotel Don Paco in Llanes where we had coffee on Wednesday morning

It's an old convent and has a great looking restaurant which we must go to one day. We then picked up the TV and drove Posada de Llanes to the local supermarket. We had to stock up on all the cleaning products our cleaner needs and the stuff we have to provide guests with. I had to make sure I bought enough to last the summer. As you can understand we didn't really go to Asturias on holiday. It was to get the house ready for all the summer guests.

We came home to quickly make lunch and then set up the TV. It was a disaster as the table was too small and there was no time to fix it on the wall. I then had the bright idea of using one of the two terrace tables and covering it with a table cloth until we can find a better solution.  So far, so good. It fitted but I don't know what we did, as we unraveled all the cables, removed the old TV and placed the new one, internet suddenly went. Oh that couldn't be happening surely? Well, it was. It honestly felt as if we have been on an obstacle race this week, sorting so many things put in our way. Thankfully I still have a good contact in Adamo, our internet provider and they came the next day. 

Eladio spent part of the afternoon removing all the earth from the old plants from the terrace. He had a bit of paving weeding to do too and clean the barbecue which was filthy. The cleaners here never go near it or the terrace, unfortunately. I can tell you I wasn't in the best of moods that day but finally was able to relax with Eladio on the terrace in the evening, surrounded by the new plants and enjoy some cider and pistachios. 

Pistachio and cider time on our terrace this week

We had run out of wine but had lots of bottles of local cider. That's because my guest welcome pack includes a bottle of cider and a large packet of crisps.

Soon it was dinner time and then the other Euro Cup semi final; England vs Holland. Of course I wanted England to win. But on the other hand I didn't want England and Spain to play against each other. 

An amazing final tonight and I'm divided. 

For me that's like seeing my two daughters competing. On the other hand, whichever country wins should make me happy. I actually slept through the winning goal. Now we have to see if "it's either coming home or a casa" to quote someone's twitter feed. 

Thursday came, our last full day in El Cuetu. Again it was full of obstacles. A parcel from Amazon containing new bed linen had got mislaid, we went in search of a TV table we didn't find and had to be back by 12 for the Adamo people to come and fix Internet. We found the parcel which had been delivered to another person in a nearby village (really?), we didn't find a table and the Internet people came. Apparently a cable had broken. They changed the cable and it was up and running. I then tried to connect the TV to the new internet network which it refused to do. I got so cross but had to leave it as we had booked a table for lunch in Asiego, up in the Picos de Europa. I really needed a break and so did Eladio.

Lunch at Sidrería Casa Niembro was wonderful. It was our third time there and we always order the same; the "tortos" - sort of fried and puffed up corn - followed by "cabritu" (goat), all washed down with local cider. The dessert is "turrón" ice cream. We love that place. It's one of our favourites in the area.

These are the tortos

Goat casserole with chips

The setting couldn't be more rural or typical of Asturias

We drove back with full stomachs, stopped to pick up the Amazon parcel delivered to the wrong person, and came home. The parcel contained new white bed covers to replace the awful old ones. What a difference they made. I then had the task of trying to connect the new TV to internet again. All I did was reset the router and I got my Eureka moment. Eladio thinks I'm very good with technical things. I'm not; I'm just better than him. He's better at most things that's the truth although I did feel rather pleased with myself, or chuffed as they probably say in Yorkshire:-)

Friday came and we woke up to rain which was good for the terrace plants, hahaha. We had a smooth journey to Montrondo with an important stop in the nearest big town, Villablino. We got lots of provisions at Gadis, a superb supermarket. It was then a 20 minute drive to Montrondo. We hadn't been since last September, nearly a year. Oli and family had though and before settling in we had to do quite a bit of cleaning as you can imagine and rearranging to put things back in their normal places.  At 3.30 we were eating a hastily cooked pizza with gazpacho.

The afternoon was spent quietly and outside as the weather was much better than in Asturias and the sun was shining. Two of Eladio's distant cousins from his father's side of the family came to see us. This resulted in a big family gathering with lots of biscuits, etc with coffee. Oh dear.

Toño and Dolores joined us for dinner that night - it was good to see them again. We probably spent most of the dinner telling them about our road trip. I hope we didn't bore them. Who wasn't bored was Pippa who found a new friend in Pipo (yes Pipo) - my nephew Miguel's 6 month old large puppy. Here they are playing in the front garden.

Pippa had company in Montrondo with her neighbour Pipo!

It was great to sleep in our much more comfortable bed than in El Cuetu and I slept relatively well that night.  I was awake at 7 on Saturday morning. 

We had a long and lazy day. I cooked for the first time in ages and made "cocido" stew which had to be watched constantly. I took  a break at midday to drive down to Senra to the nearest open bar for my morning coffee. Everyone else was busy - everyone was Eladio's family - all his brothers and sisters were here on Saturday. And here I am enjoying the moment.

Coffee in Senra yesterday morning

I sat nursing my coffee with beautiful views of the mountains and did that day's New York Times Spelling Bee which is my daily addiction.

I was home on time to serve our lunch, the first proper one for a while. Eladio adored the soup and the chickpeas. The afternoon was spent with Eladio's brothers and sisters. For once we were the only generation and now there are three. It used to be Eladio's parents, their 6 offspring and our children. Now they have gone and we have replaced them. Our children now have children and that's how it goes. I took the annual photo of the 6 of them. This is the one I like best. 

Eladio with his 5 siblings - not often together

Sorry to say the very obvious but my husband is the most gorgeous looking but then again, I am biased. He is the oldest but doesn't look it, in my humble opinion. 

We spent the whole afternoon outside drinking coffee and talking. It was very funny to hear Eladio, Toño and their sister- the three oldest - reciting from books they read as children. Their memories are amazing and they had us in stitches.

As Montrondo is so high up in the mountains, it gets cold when the sun moves behind our houses and at about 7pm we all put jumpers on. Well, I don't; I put on my pyjamas and thick dressing gown. Eladio and I had a very light dinner and I stupidly had a glass of red wine which later gave me a headache. While he washed up, I joined the spectacle of hens being allowed to roam on the grass; hens that are being looked after by Toño and Dolores. Someone took a picture which I entitled, "village life". I felt so relaxed and look silly in my dressing gown but who cares?

Chilling out in Montrondo last night

We sat quite high up behind our houses where you get good views of the village. You can also see the back of our house so I snapped this picture. I do love our home here which we restored in 2015, nearly 10 years ago now. Wow!

Our house from the back. We are surrounded by green

It was a nice end to the day and I reflected it was good to be back. 

I slept well that night but woke up at 6 am with a blazing headache. Luckily, after my first cup of coffee it gradually went away. There will be no wine tonight. Or maybe I will eat my words and toast whichever team wins tonight. 

I will leave you now and get on with the day which must, come what may, include a walk. 

Cheers till next Sunday,

Masha.