Last days in Santa Pola with Phil and Kathy, a visit to Altea, all good things come to an end, home again, Elliot turns 6, on the road once more and other stories of the week.

 El Cuetu, Asturias, Sunday 21st September, 2025

Elliot and his family celebrating his 6th birthday this week

Good morning to you all this week from Asturias on this first day of  autumn. 

It seems like we have been on the road all summer. Last Sunday we were still in Santa Pola with our friends Kathy and Phil. On Tuesday returned home to Madrid and yesterday we drove to Asturias. We haven't come on holiday though as you will read later.

This time last week we were probably on our way to the beach where we spent another lovely morning getting tanned, swimming in the sea, walking to "our rock" and having a little something at the "chirringuito" bar before returning home for a shower and lunch. In the evening, we took our friends to dinner to Tutti's which had been recommended to us and is across the road. Tutti's has the same owners as Atípico but we far preferred the latter. That's not to say we didn't have a good time or a good meal as the food was rather good. 

Dinner at Tutti's last Sunday night

Monday, our last day with Phil and Kath, was reserved for visiting Altea, perhaps the most beautiful town in the province of Alicante and always in the top ten in Spain. Altea is very near Callosa where my parents bought a town house in the early 70's. In the summer of 1980 when Eladio and I met and fell in love our first date was dinner in Altea. I think the restaurant was called El Caballo Blanco which no longer exists I am afraid. Altea has two parts, the old town and the new town by the beach. We visited the old town which is the place to go with its lovely white houses and cobbled streets, blue skies and vibrant atmosphere. Here are some photos of our visit to share with you.

Pretty and charming Altea 

We had lunch at La Capella recommended to me by Ignacio, a Motorola colleague, who has a house in Altea - lucky him. And here we are round the table on their beautiful terrace.

Lunch in La Capella in Altea last Monday

Phil, Eladio and I shared the most delicious "fideua" (like paella but made with vermicelli noodles instead of rice). This was it.

The Fideua at La Capella in Altea last Monday

Dessert was an ice cream in the street and coffee for Phil and Kathy in the main square. On our way back to the car we looked in lots of the enticing boutiques and I fell for a gorgeous light turquoise linen shirt for Eladio which he wore when we got home.  On our way back from Altea, we stopped at the Russian Orthodox Church of Archangel St. Michael which is a replica 17th century Russian church with materials brought from the Urals. 

The Russian Orthodox  church in Altea

It was finished in 2007 so a bit late for my mother who was Orthodox to see it. But I lit my candle for her and prayed for all those I have lost. Both Kathy and I donned head scarves at the entrance before we went in. I think it was our friends' first visit to an Orthodox church and I am sure they were impressed. For once I did not cry as we went out. 

Tuesday came, the day of our departure. As I said to my friends, "all good things come to an end". They always do don't they? I am not complaining though as we had a very relaxing and enjoyable time together with amazing weather. Unfortunately it's horrible here in the north of Spain with lots of drizzle which makes me want to go back to Santa Pola boohoo. The Asturian word "orballu" describes well the very light mist like drizzle so typical of the area.

We left the apartment at around 9.30 and dropped our friends off at the airport. They of course were going back to bad weather in Yorkshire. I do love Yorkshire but hate the weather there. We had a smooth drive and were home in time for lunch which had been organised by Suzy and Tana - thank you. It was great to see them and Pippa too. Waiting for us too was our dear friend and ex lodger, Mohammad who we had seen briefly at the beginning of the summer. It was great to have him in the house again. He is like a son to me and always lends a hand. He helped a new student lodger from Jordan who would have been absolutely lost without him. 

Tuesday was also the day Robert Redford, the Hollywood actor, died aged 89. He was my favourite actor of these times and I will always remember him in Out of Africa, one of my favourite films. RIP.

Wednesday was a big day for my grandson Elliot who turned 6 this week. Where did the years go? In all the photos of us with him when he was born we all look so much younger. Turning 6 reminded me of AA Milne's famous poem about his son who is also Christopher Robbin in his Winnie the Pooh books which all children should read. This is the lovely poem, one of the few I know off by heart: 

When I was One,

I had just begun.

When I was Two,

I was nearly new.

When I was Three

I was hardly me.

When I was Four,

I was not much more.

When I was Five,

I was just alive.

But now I am Six,

I'm as clever as clever,

So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.

Isn't it lovely? I must remember to tell it to Elliot but I am not sure he will want to be six forever, haha.

Wednesday was also a big day for Donald Trump who was in England for his second state visit. The Brits went all out with their pomp and lavish royal welcome.Why on earth would my country want to host the worst US President of all time I asked myself?  Apparently the idea behind it was money of course. The British government led by Starmer was hoping for a 150 billion pound investment and the price to pay was going all out with this incredible royal pageant. I can only imagine the Queen cringing in her grave and I bet her son King Charles was feeling the same but had to put on a show to get US money. Isn't that pathetic? 

Life continued in El Bosque and we went for our much needed walk and then to do the shopping for Elliot's birthday dinner. And here is a photo to prove we went on our walk that day and to show you the beautiful shirt I bought for Eladio in Altea. There you go:

Eladio's new shirt

We managed a siesta in the afternoon to recharge our batteries although I got up early to prepare the dinner which was tiring but a huge success.  Oli and family including Miguel's mother Merche, his brother Alberto and his son Ruben arrived bringing a huge cake made by Merche. While Tana and I were preparing the dinner, they were all outside playing cards. I love this photo I took of Elliot with his grandfather.

Eladio with Elliot on his birthday

We were 10 around the table and it was literally groaning with good food. Just look.

Birthday dinner

Before we dug in, we managed a few photos and I have chosen one of them as this week's feature photo.  I look ghastly with my white hair - must go to the hairdresser soon:(

Of course the cake moment was the most awaited moment of the day and it didn't disappoint. Just look at little Elliot's happy face. 

Photo of the day on Elliot's birthday

We helped Tana clear everything away and I have to say she did a stellar job. She is such a treasure. 

We went to bed happy but rather exhausted. No doubt Elliot too.

Thursday came and we did our usual thing, go for our morning walk and out for coffee and some errands which I love doing with Eladio. Unfortunately Suzy cancelled her job interview which she said she just wasn't up to. She is pretty down these days and I don't know how to help her, poor love. 

Mohammad left that morning and it was sad to see him go and I just hope he comes back soon. We had to pick the kids up in the afternoon and take Elliot to athletics which we just about managed to do. I then had an appointment at my local nail bar which was the highlight of the day. 

I was waiting for my English guests who were arriving late but arrived even later as their flight coincided with Trump on Air Force 1 leaving the UK - damn the man. Thus you had us greeting them at midnight. But it is part of my job and English guests always get special treatment.

 It was lovely to have a chat over a cup of coffee and tea with Emma on Friday morning. She came to help her daughter Eris find accommodation for her year in Spain as a language assistant at a local school. I told her I did the same in 1978 when I was studying Spanish at Nottingham University and came to Madrid to work at a school in Moratalaz. That is where I met Dolores and later my dear husband Eladio but that's another story. Who knows, Eris may fall in love with a Spaniard like me? When I was 20 or 21 I never envisaged living in Spain. Life is full of surprises. 

Friday was quiet and still hot so we went for our walk in the morning.  Suzy was looking forward to Copi coming to stay with her this weekend. If you follow my blog you will know they have been friends since  they met at St. Michael's school when they were only 4. It was lovely to have Copi for lunch and we congratulated her on her wedding and she told us all about her honeymoon in the US and Antigua and Barbuda of all places. We didn't see them again until yesterday morning just before we left for Asturias. They were planning a little party for friends around the pool which is big progress for Suzy who had distanced herself so much from her friends for so long. 

I was up at 7 am on Saturday morning and had breakfast and read the news alone with Pippa who we left at home with Suzy and Tana.  By 10 o'clock we were ready to leave but before our long drive we had to buy food to take here. It's a long journey broken only by coffee at Area in Villacastin where Eladio left his phone on our trip to Galicia. He held on to it tight yesterday though hahahah. We also broke it for lunch at Alar del Rei in Palencia which was so-so. By about 4 we arrived to "orballo" rain at our house. We had brought along so much stuff, a table for the entrance as well as lots of bedding the house needs for all the guests who come and go. Thankfully we now have a new cleaner, Andrea, to replace our nightmare cleaner Rosa who made such a mess of things this summer. Our main mission here is to sort it all out and store it properly. I started on the job and got into such a state I was sweating (and swearing) that Eladio made me leave it for later. Nothing was in its place so I put everything where we like it. I even had to sign out of a Prime Video account set in German by one of our guests which was a bit of a challenge, hahahaha.

I stopped working at around 7 pm to write today's blog and at 8.30 or so we sat down to dinner; a chicken salad and fruit. I carried on writing until I was so tired I had to go to bed. Once in bed I continued watching one of my favourite Spanish series, La Señora, on Prime Video. It tells the tale of a rich girl falling in love with a poor boy who are not allowed to continue their relationship and the boy "Angel" is made to become a priest. Sounds familiar right? It was cold in the house and would you believe we had to put the central heating on? You wouldn't believe this was Spain but the north coast is like that and reminds me of my home country.

Thankfully, today, Sunday, the sun has come out and rain is only forecast for the afternoon. I am going to suggest to Eladio we make the most of the morning and start on all  the sheets and towels this afternoon when it rains. We have a huge task ahead of us but we shall do it, come what may. 

Wishing we were still in Santa Pola and heading to the beach, I send you all greetings and good wishes until next week,

Cheers Masha