Madrid, Kings's Night, Sunday 5th January 2025
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| Happy New Year to you all. I was blessed to celebrate it with all my family. |
Good morning and Happy New Year once again. I'm still getting used to it being 2025. It always takes me time to get into the swing of it on 1st January. But before I tell you about this week, just let me look back on 2024 before I say hello to 2025.
It was a year of ups and downs both on the world scene and at home. Two things remained the same; the ongoing wars in the Middle East and in Ukraine. My Airbnb business went as well in 2024 as in 2023. My official stats were 541 stays but there were many more thanks to direct bookings. My favourite guest was Mohammad who became part of the family.
In January Brits living outside the UK for more than 15 years finally regained their suffrage rights.That means I can now vote in the UK. That month saw us visit Suzy in SP which we did on a regular basis this year while she was living there alone. In February the King of England announced he had cancer and in Russia, Putin's opposer, Navalny was killed in prison. In March the Princess of Wales announced she also had cancer. That month saw us spend time both in Asturias and in Santa Pola where each time we went we found Suzy to be in a worse mental state. Eladio gave me a shock that month when he fell and lost consciousness and had to be taken to hospital. Happily it came to nothing. In April Suzy turned 40 and she spent it with us alone in Santa Pola.
From May 4th to 28th June we went on our second road trip. As I wrote in June "It’s hard to believe our road trip is over. Did we really drive over 10.500 kilometres and visit France, Italy, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Greece and Turkey without forgetting little San Marino in 55 days?". Well we did and had a grand time and are already planning this year's road trip from here to the Nordic countries via central Europe and the Baltics. Watch this space.
We came back to extreme heat in the Spain where the highest temperatures ever were recorded. That didn't matter in July in El Cuetu, Asturias where we went to prepare the house for the influx of guests coming in the summer. I have just read that Spain received over 88 million visitors from abroad from January to November 2024 and will no doubt keep its second place in the ranking of countries most visited. France is number one but not by much. July was the month Kier Starmer won a landslide victory for Labour and became PM. However, I'm not sure he is very popular anymore. Time will tell. It was also the month that Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon beating Djokovic. He also won the French Open in May. What a man. It was lovely to see Kate Middleton hand him the winner's cup in her first public appearance since it was announced she had cancer. Spain did well too by winning the Euro Cup but it was bitter sweet for me as they played England in the final. France did well in the Olympics which took place in Paris. I saw the opening ceremony which I found radical. Did you like it? In parts I would answer "like the curate's egg".
August was the most difficult month of the year for us. If you follow my blog you will know Suzy was admitted into a psychiatric ward and diagnosed with Chronic delusional disorder. For a while she took her meds, quit weed and went to see a psychiatrist. The bottom line is that this type of psychosis is most probably brought on by her drug addiction. We had high hopes for her. Since then she has quit the meds and the therapy and we suspect she is still smoking dope but at least she is calm and her delusions seem to have gone away for the most part. It got as bad as her believing we were not her parents and that she was the secret twin sister of Prince Harry and her parents Lady Diana and King Charles! We did, however, manage to celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary at
La Finca in Elche. Life continues; it has to.
Lots of things happened in
September. Juliet and Elliot turned 3 and 5 which we missed because we had to go to Santa Pola to rescue Suzy after another crisis. We left her settled or so we thought. Eladio turned 80 and we celebrated by staying 2 nights at the wonderful
Hotel Landa near Burgos. No one, just no one would believe my husband's age. We also spent some time in Montrondo where we haven't been back since. I'm missing it. Sadly in September, my dear friend Grainne from school who moved to Spain like me (but to Badalona) died suddenly of blood cancer. I can't believe she has gone. On the bright side I spent 4 glorious nights with Olivia in London in great weather. She was to be the presenter of the 50 World's best hotels prize ceremony at the Guildhall and I was to accompany her. We stayed at one of the city's best hotels,
Rosewood in High Holborn. Fate had it we met the Rosewood group President who invited us to stay for free at the
Carlyle in New York in November where Oli was hosting another event and I was accompanying her once again. Without a doubt my three highlights of 2024 were my road trip with Eladio and my trips with Oli to London and New York. I consider myself very lucky.
In October Suzy left Santa Pola and came to live with us permanently. She was just too lonely there and frightened too I think. She has had her moments since coming in October but on the whole is quite stable and seems to have enjoyed Christmas. She is back in the fold of her family for now and I hope forever. It was that month I met my friend Geraldine in Madrid in her stop off from the US to Malaga. What a wonderful day we had together, despite the rain. October was the 25th anniversary of the passing away of my dear mother who lives on in my heart as does my father although I miss them every day. Of note Eladio had his cataracts operated on which worked to some extent but he still complains he can see the odd spider. The end of October brought the dreadful flash floods to Valencia where more than 230 people died. The destruction was so massive the area is nowhere near recovered. It was Spain's worst natural disaster ever at least in modern times.
Not unexpectedly, in November, Spain's number one ambassador, Rafa Nadal retired. We have so much to thank him for. Not unexpectedly too and very frighteningly so, Trump won the US Presidential Elections and he is back again. Can't stand the man. Can't stand that horrible Frenchman, Dominique Pelicot either who drugged and had his wife raped by more than 55 men for years. I was glad to see him sentenced to 25 years jail that month. The highlight of November was our trip to New York which if you read my blog you will already know about it. What an amazing place it is but not somewhere I could ever live. However I could have happily moved into the luxurious suite we were assigned at the Carlyle for free when it costs over 7000 dollars a night. The suite we stayed in was where Roger Federer stayed for the US Open. I have experienced luxury many times in my 67 years on this earth but never at that level.
The best news of the year on the international scene was the toppling of Syrian dictator, Bashar Al-Assad in December. We have still to see what the future brings for Syria but it cannot be worse than under the sadist Assad. That month I mourned the 5th anniversary of the death of my best friend Fátima Sánchez Martin. She would have been happy to know we met with her daughter (also Fátima) in New York the month before and very proud that she works for an NGO for widowed women associated to the UN. And Christmas was good as you read in last week's post. But for some reason, my heart wasn't in it as much as usual and I don't really know why. Maybe I'm just becoming an old codger.
I hope I haven't bored you with my recap. So yes it is now goodbye to 2024 and welcome 2025 which I sincerely hope doesn't bring nasty things like a virus, more wars or more family problems.
As this is a weekly blog, now I come to this week after leaving off on Sunday 29th December. That was the day of the crash of an airplane in South Korea. I always hate hearing about air crashes as my father's sister, husband and children all died in one in May 1971 in Croatia. That was the worst tragedy of our life.
On Monday I was in a rush to get ready for New Year - I had not done anything and also to get presents for King's Day tomorrow 6th January. That day Jimmy Carter aged 100 died. I shall always remember him as President at the White House in the 70's wearing a track suit and jogging. To think he was a peanut farmer before. I remember him most though for the US Embassy siege in Iran. The 52 hostages were only released on the day he handed over the baton to Ronald Reagan. Carter went on to win the Nobel Peace prize.He always struck me as the US' most decent President in my lifetime. RIP. We did the food and present shopping that day and had the kids both for lunch and for dinner. They always bring chaos, fun and some tantrums. Thankfully Suzy and Oli took them out cycling and gave us a rest in the afternoon.
Tuesday 31st was the last day of the year. I don't really like the New Year's celebrations but go along with them. Frankly I would have preferred a quiet dinner and going to bed before midnight but that would have spoiled Oli and family's plans so I went along with them. The girls made most of the dinner and before I even had time to take a photo of us by our Happy New Year banner and make a toast, everyone was already digging in. I did get a photo when I got out the sparklers to the delight of our grandchildren though.
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The sparkler moment on New Year's Eve
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I reflected how lucky I was to have all my family together that night even if I was feeling a little like Grinch or Scrooge and would have preferred to be in bed hahaha. After a late dinner we moved to the TV room to wait for midnight to welcome in the new year. For this, as in most Spanish homes, I had a box of 12 grapes per person to be eaten one by one on each chime at midnight. This is a very Spanish habit and one I go along with. They say it brings luck. Suzy took a video of us munching with the chimes but Juliet photo bombed it or rather pushed the phone off the shelf just before the end. Here it is.
Munching gapes video which was cut short by my 3 year old granddaughter Juliet, haha.
As soon as it was over and we had all hugged, Oli and family departed and we went to bed. But that is when the fireworks began from neighbours in the area. They went on until well past 2 in the morning frightening poor Pippa stiff. I only wish people would realise how fireworks affect dogs. She was terrified and I had to hold her in my arms until at least 3 in the morning.
Wednesday was 1st January, the first day of the year and for the record I don't have any New Year's resolutions. Sorry. It's a day I am never fond of. Maybe it's because I don't like new beginnings. I really don't know. What I did know was that before making our roast beef and Yorkshire pud, I was in desperate need of a walk. It was just the 4 of us for New Year's Day lunch and we had a splendid time although we all ate far too much. Miguel was working and Oli had taken the kids to his mother's. We missed them but didn't miss their chaos. I was very proud of my Yorkshire pudding. Just look.
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| Very proud of my Yorkshire pudding |
Roast beef (sirloin) and Yorkshire pudding is one of my favourite meals and it's my family's too. Even Suzy ate the meat that day which surprised us all pleasantly. Here is a photo of the table and a very bad one of my husband and girlies by said banner.
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| Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for our festive New Year's Day lunch |
I had a long siesta and later binge watched more of The Split, that legal drama TV series starring Nicola Walker who I loved from Last Tango in Halifax. I was hoping she was a Yorkshire woman but she is in fact from Stepney, East London. I was incapable of eating dinner that night after such a copious lunch. Later in the day Oli sent a message to say she was having a great Christmas thanks to me. If only she knew I hadn't put my heart into it and was only going through the motions at times. I have to count my blessings. Far away that day or night, in New Orleans, Louisiana in the US, a terrorist with ISIS leanings, drove into a crowd killing 15. So what am I complaining about? Nothing.
I spent most of Thursday not leaving my chair. I was registering the properties we rent on the new Government website and then adding them to an app called Partee. All this is to comply with the new Spanish laws of registering guests at hotels and any sort of lodging. What a nightmare. But by the end of the day I had done it and sent my first app link to my first new official guest who is coming this week from Mexico. The guest receives the message and has to fill out 13 fields and then resend after which Partee uploads the information on the Government site. I read somewhere that Spain is the only country that requires lodgings/hotels to share guest information with the government. It's very draconian and off putting. You have to be quite computer savvy to comply with these new rules and no doubt some people will no longer rent on Airbnb because it has become too difficult to manage. But I did it and am proud of myself. Once it was done it felt like a huge weight off my shoulders as it had been worrying me for weeks, ever since the new law came into force.
Friday came and we went to El Corte Inglés to get the last Kings' Day present. It was for my dear friend Julio who invited us out for lunch yesterday for our annual Christmas reciprocal festive reunion. At the Corte Inglés (Spain's flagship department store) I always have a cappuccino at Starbucks. I love the store, especially the perfume section and fell in love with it when I was a young student living in Madrid for my year in Spain (part of my degree in Hispanic Studies) in 1978/1979. I worked as a teacher assistant earning 20.000 pesetas a month which I supplemented with income from teaching English privately. At the end of the month I would always buy myself something from El Corte Inglés and spray myself with perfume for free. I loved it too in the summer months because of the air conditioning. While at the store we bumped into old friends, Ana (ex Nokia colleague) and Tommy. We haven't seen each other for years and it was a pleasure to stop to talk and catch up.
We came home to a full house; Oli and the children were here for lunch and to spend the rest of the day. Thank God for Tana's help and Suzy's making dinner. Despite their presence we had our siesta or rather I took time off to write this week's post. We had a fun dinner as Juliet was asleep and Elliot was on top form and had us giggling when he made funny voices. I did not sleep well that night. Oh dear. A new year has come but that hasn't changed.
On Saturday we were going into Madrid for lunch with Julio but first to the Retiro Park for a walk and coffee with our sister-in-law Dolores. We left at around 11 and went by car and metro, arriving at the Retiro just under an hour later. We never drive into the city these days as there are so many restrictions. It was a cold and grey day, such a contrast to the wonderful crisp and sunny days we have enjoyed over Christmas. We both wished we had brought our gloves and scarves. Dolores was waiting for us and soon we were enjoying a cup of coffee served by a Venezuelan waiter at a bar overlooking the artificial lake in the very heart of this once royal park. It is Madrid's equivalent to Hyde Park or Central Park and is every bit as good if not better. You could hear all the languages in the world as Spain's capital has become so popular with the tourists and Spanish of course. We read recently that over a million Latin Americans live in Madrid which I find hard to believe if the overall population is 3.7 million. Our waiter told us how grateful he was to this country after leaving poverty behind in Venezuela. He was happy to tell us he had finally got a flat, having lived in a room with his family until now. Housing is a big issue here. We were soon walking along the main promenade as we have done countless times over the years and took photos with the amazing monument to Alfonso XII on the other side of the lake like this one.
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| In the Retiro park with the monument to Alfonso XII behind us on Saturday |
On our walk in the beautiful park we bumped into another ex Nokia colleague of mine. It was quite a coincidence to see Guillermo. I was very embarrassed I couldn't place him but later when I spoke to Julio I remembered him very well. He is a very good looking chap and I told him so. I was happy to hear he now works for Vodafone in Luxembourg. Good for him. Nice to see you again Guille and sorry I didn't remember you at first. I do now.
It was so cold (for us at least), we decided not to walk to the restaurant and took the metro instead. On the way I passed a Balbisiana cake shop and bakery and I couldn't resist going in to get some cakes to take home. Eladio remarked it looked a bit like Betty's in Yorkshire - not quite but it's lovely. Here I am with my cakes.
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| Buying cakes yesterday in Madrid at Balbisiana. |
Julio had booked a table at
Restaurante El Huerto Floren Domenzain (quite a name). It is very much in vogue and has gained popularity thanks to its home grown vegetables, especially lettuce and tomatoes. We were able to buy the latter at 12 euros a kilo. The tomato we got weighed well over a kilo. We would taste it later. Lunch was spectacular and it was great to see Julio again after he came here for dinner on 27th December. We gave him his presents, a shirt and jumper by Timberland a brand I hope he likes. If not he can always change them at El Corte Inglés. Just before we left we had a photo taken inside the restaurant by some of the amazing tomatoes.
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| Lunch with Julio yesterday in Madrid |
We parted promising to see each other again soon and not leave it until next Christmas. No way.
We were home by about 5 and I was dead, just wanting my bed. I managed to sleep for 1.5h and woke up feeling like a zombie. I knew the kids were in the house but needed my peace and also felt guilty for not going down earlier to join them. They were here for their first sleepover at our house but with their mother. I joined them just as they were about to have dinner but neither Eladio nor I had any appetite at all. We go bed early at around 9pm and so does Suzy. The kids were hoping for a bit of a bed party but we needed our peace, hahaha. I slept quite well last night and have my batteries recharged for a day to be spent again with our grandchildren who apparently kept Oli up most of the night, poor girl.
So let's see how today goes. We must do something different to entertain our grandchildren but the weather is not looking too good.
That's it now friends and readers for this week. All that remains is to wish you all a Happy New Year once again. Cheers now until next Sunday,
