Road trip to France with Suzy, time in La Teillée, our Kiwi family came, kayaking in Vivonne, cycling with my cousins and this year’s cousinade in Île de Ré.

Île de Ré, Sunday 11th August, 2019

Cycling in Île de Ré  - first time I have ridden a bike in more than 30 years!

Dear all,

Here I am in the lovely area of Île de Ré where the well heeled Parisians flock in the summer. It is a beautiful island in South West France where some of my cousins have family houses in the village of Les Portes-en-Ré. It's the first time the Cousinade has taken place here and it's been great so far. Today it ends and we shall be going back later in the afternoon to La Teillée and then it's back home tomorrow.

It started last Sunday when Suzy and I set off on our road trip to France to my cousin Zuka's house in the little village of La Teillée near Saint Sauvant (in the Poitiers region and about 2h north of Bordeaux). It was to be a 900 km hour drive and our satnav told us it would take us about 9 hours. We said goodbye to everyone, the dogs included and I felt like a criminal for leaving little Pippa behind but she would have hated the drive as she doesn't like the car. Eladio took this great photo of us both just as we were setting off which was at around 9.30 although as we stopped at Carrefour Market to get some fruit and water for the drive, our road trip didn't really start until 9.45.

Setting off last Sunday

Suzy drove the whole way and what a champion driver she is. We listened to music, made stops for coffee and for stretching our legs and of course filling the tank in Spain before crossing the border as petrol is much more expensive in France. We stopped for lunch on the motorway just before San Sebastian but the place was awful and there were only really sandwiches for sale. Thus I used the option to find a restaurant on our google maps route and it took us to a place off route in Anoeta to a restaurant that was closed. Luckily there was a bar opposite which served acceptable food and had a menu of the day. Here we are sitting on the terrace surrounded by cars. It was not my choice of restaurant and I thought perhaps we should have gone into the centre of San Sebastian or to the port to have tapas but that would have delayed us a lot, so we went for what there was at the modest little bar in Anoeta just outside the city.

Lunch on the road near San Sebastian

We continued our journey, crossing into France and hardly noticed we had passed the border and I thought "oh for the joys of belonging to the EU".  What we did notice though were the multiple "peages" (motorway tolls) and I think we stopped at least 5 times between the frontier and Bordeaux to pay an extortionate amount of money. The roads though are good in France and there was not much traffic on our side of the motorway. What were not good though were the "aires" (places to stop on the roadside). I found them filthy and the loos were of the Turkish type which of course I didn't use, preferring to go behind a tree.

We continued our drive and when we took the turn off on the road from Bordeaux to Poitiers, into deep French countryside to La Teillée, a tiny village, we encountered narrow little roads. Without the satnav I'm not sure we would have made it. But even the satnav had problems when it made us turn off onto a track across a field in the middle of nowhere. We were literally off road and had no idea how we would make it to Zuka's place. I had to take a video of the last kilometre or so through the fields of our 900km road trip, for the fun of it. You can see it here. It might have taken us off road but it did take us to our destination which we reached at 7.45. Zuka was amazed at how fast we had got there. I think we were too.

Waiting for us with Zuka was her mother, my Aunty Valya, the wife of my mother's youngest brother, Kolya. She is aged 94 and still smokes like a chimney and drinks wine every day. She has good hearing too and looked in good health. At the end of each cousinade every year when I say goodbye, she always says "I hope I will see you next year". So when I hugged her on Sunday I laughingly said to her "it's good to see you are still here". I think she is eternal and would love to be like her if I ever reach her age.

Also there was a young Ukrainian woman called Oxana who is Zuka's home help. She is my weekend carer, Zena's daughter and the arrangement for Oxana to work for Zuka happened when my cousin came for my father's 100th last May.

With Oxana, Zena's daughter in La Teillée

A lot had happened since my last stay in July last year. Most noticeable was a new swimming pool, a fence around the garden and the fact that Zuka had bought more of the land and buildings surrounding her plot and now has 6000m2 of land which includes, if you count the house, 5 buildings. I am encouraging my cousin to start being an Airbn host as the place she has is spectacular.

What I always love when I am in La Teillée is "aperitif" time with Zuka and her mother and after the hugs and welcoming, we all had a glass or two or three of lovely chilled white wine.  I was so happy to have brought Suzy with me. Aunty Valya, her great aunt hadn't seen her for 20 years when Suzy was 15. It was at my mother's funeral in 1999. This time the reunion was far sweeter. We had to capture the moment of the four of us together, 3 generations of the Lieven family that evening. And here we are.

3 generations of the Lieven family reunited in La Teilée this week

I only wished my mother could have been with us. Oh how I missed her at that moment. I also wished Olivia could have been with us but of course she couldn't as no way could she have risked the 900km journey at 8 months pregnant.

We sat outside on the terrace with our white wine, something I never do as I usually get a headache from wine but luckily that night I didn't. We had a delicious late dinner and carried on with the wine afterwards talking until nearly midnight. I had been up since 5 in the morning but I wasn't tired. I was just happy.

Suzy and I slept in the same room together. She fell asleep immediately but I unpacked and got leisurely ready for bed. I thought it would be difficult to sleep but I was lucky and slept well and only got a slight headache from the wine. In fact I slept so well I didn't wake up until 7 o'clock the next day.

Monday was one of the most relaxing days I have had in a long time. At home I am in charge of all meals, have to look after guests, etc and at Zuka's place, although I helped a lot, I was a guest and it was a wonderful feeling not to have all the normal responsibilities. Thus I had a leisurely breakfast and later wondered into the garden, or rather my cousin's enormous plot of land and took photos to send to the family. This is an overall view of the house and just some of the barns as well as of the new pool.

A view of Zuka's house and garden in La Teilée

The morning was spent leisurely too. Meanwhile, Zuka's daughter, my cousin Katty and her children who I call "our kiwi family" were on their way here from New Zealand but were stuck in Hong Kong. Because of all the unrest 200 flights were cancelled including theirs to Paris. The whole place was in chaos but luckily they eventually were put on a new flight leaving there at midnight and getting to Paris on Tuesday in the early morning. They took the metro or train to Montparnasse station to catch the 9.07   TGV to Poitiers. They would be with us before lunch on Tuesday and we couldn't wait, especially my aunt and cousin who hadn't seen them since last year. Both Zuka and I can commiserate as both our daughters live on the other side of the world. However, they see each other quite often as Katty is an air hostess with Air Zealand which takes her to Bali quite frequently where she and Suzy meet up. 

It was a lovely warm day in La Teillée but far cooler than Madrid which was a relief for both Suzy and I. She had her lessons of course to her Chinese kids which she gave from our bedroom. When she came down for lunch at 2.40 she was quite shocked as during the last lesson, her 8 year old Chinese pupil had shown his "willy" to her. She had to immediately report the situation to the company who employs her who in return would have alerted the parents. It was a sort of funny situation but also rather alarming.

In any case we all had lunch to look forward to. Oxana had made a delicious Ukrainian dish of no name. It was a sort of courgette pancake cake which she decorated beautifully. We loved every morsel and I shall have to learn how to make it. This was it:

Oxana's courgette pancake tart 

In the afternoon, Suzy and I went for our first walk since our arrival and we were in much need of it. I was keen to show my daughter just what a beautiful area La Teillée is located in. We walked along the old paths past farm houses until we came to a forest path where The Chair of Moses is located and which is a famous landmark around here. I'm afraid I don't know its background. We both had to sit on it of course and here is a photo of Suzy doing just that.

Suzy on Moses' chair

I recognised all the paths and roads we took from my walks every year here with Katty but they always look the same to me and if I went on my own I would get lost. We came to a lovely old farm house with blue shutters and doors which even has its own well. Suzy was bowled over by its prettiness. I love it too. We stopped to take photos pf both of the house and the well.

The old French country house with its blue shutters and door

The pretty little well

We walked past corn fields too and were struck by this one by its absolute vastness and we had to have a photo there too.

Suzy in the corn field

I have always been a country girl rather than a town girl and I remarked to Suzy that I could quite easily live in a small village in the country. There were some old farm houses for sale which go for a song in this area; some at only about 45k pounds or euros but of course they need restoring. I just love the peace and beauty of the area and of course the slow pace. We hardly saw a soul on our way, just a few farmers and a man grooming a beautiful horse.

Then we came upon a small patch of grass with children's swings, slides, a roundabout and a seesaw. That's when the child in me came out and I told Suzy I wanted  to have a go at least on the roundabout. She was game for it and once on she took a video which you can see here. I always loved roundabouts when I was a child and it was such fun. But then I spied the old fashioned wooden seesaw and I had to go on that too. Here we had a ball and took  more videos as we were having such a great time. If you want a laugh, click on video 1  and on video 2 here. Oh how we laughed while we were going up and down both of us being reminded of our childhood. 

Somehow we found our way back and came home all hot and sweaty after an hour's walk in the sunshine. Zuka was in the pool and we soon joined her. Here she is enjoying the cool of the water. Well, actually she had heated it. Her pool has all the mod cons I can think of or didn't even know existed like her water exercise bike. 

Zuka in her new pool

Later we sat by the pool drying off and enjoying the sun. Back home, there was a bit of fun going on too. Eladio sent us a message to tell us that a delivery man had come with his van bringing lots of parcels of stuff for little Eliott that Oli and Miguel had bought at the weekend. Eladio told us the man had driven the van to the garage, unloaded the parcels and then driven off. Half an hour later he drove back to deliver, guess what? Norah, our beagle. She must have got into his van when no one was looking. She was apparently quite nonplussed about her little adventure. Oh naughty, curious Norah I thought but was relieved she was brought back none the worse for her little adventure. That was just so funny. 

Soon it was "aperitif" time on Zuka's terrace where she plied us with delicious chilled white wine and the four of sat talking. One of the main topics here is of course about my mother and her family's past. Aunty Valya is a mine of information as of course she knew my mother since she married my uncle just after WW2. She even came up with my grandmother's passport issued by the Russian authorities in Bulgaria in 1922. What a document. She was 36 at the time and her children who had been born - she was to have two more -  Zuka's father Nicolai and my mother's youngest sister, my Aunty Masha - are all included in the passport; her eldest son Alexander (Sasha) aged 10, Olga aged 9, Darya aged 5 and my mother, Elena, aged just 2. This is it. It's only a piece of paper, not a proper passport. It will come in handy for the book I shall be starting on about my mother and the family saga shortly.

My grandmother, Princess Sophie (Sonya) - her passport issued in 1922 in Bulgaria and where her children are mentioned including my mother. 

The "aperitif" time at La Teilée is my favourite time of day there. It's when I get to talk to my Aunt who as I say is a trove of information about the Lieven and Stachovich family.  We had dinner late, a beautiful salad made of lettuce from the garden and then went out onto the terrace again chatting until past 11 pm. We went to bed earlier that day and I read a bit while Suzy was on the phone to a friend and I had another good night's sleep. It must be the air or my state of relaxation in La Teillée that helps me sleep better.

I was up at 6.20 on Tuesday morning. By 7.30 I had a message from Katty to say they had arrived safely and were on their way to Montparnasse station to catch the TGV to Poitiers where Zuka would be waiting to pick them up. No doubt she would be in a state of nerves, after all she hadn't seen them for a whole year. Soon we would be all together.

Meanwhile, Suzy and I took the time to go to a local market in small village about 12km away called Lezay where they hold a market every Tuesday. We went in search of good French bread, tomatoes and anything that might take our fancy. At the bread stall they were also selling lovely tarts and huge meringues. I had to get an apricot tart and some almond meringue; I just couldn't resist. Here I am paying for my purchases.

Buying bread and cakes at the market in Lezay on Tuesday

Apart from shopping I also enjoyed practicing my French which everyone tells me has come on since last year. There was time for a "café au lait" too with Suzy at a little French bar in the market square. Next door was a post office and there I bought some stamps to send post cards to my Father. As a family we always sent post cards to each other on our travels and it is a tradition I have continued.

At the market we also had a look at the clothes and apart from the usual rubbish you see in markets all around the world there were actually some rather nice garments. Suzy bought a yellow and black spotted dress and I could not resist a straight tunic style summer dress that caught my eye. They had it many different colours and it was difficult to choose. Here I am trying them on inside the van of the stall owners, hahahaha.

Trying on dresses at the market in Lezay

In the end I got the white and green one and wore it the next day and in Ile de Ré.

Soon it was time to go home as we did not want to miss the arrival of our "kiwi family". We had to wait a while though as after arriving they went shopping in Poitiers as that is where all the big supermarkets are.  They arrived just before lunch and oh how emotional the reunion was. But we were in for a surprise. We knew Katty was coming with Ruby (10) and Sam (15) but we had no idea Luc (17) was coming too and we were overjoyed. For Suzy the reunion was even more special as she hadn't seen them since 2010, 9 years ago.

We all had lunch  and it was so lovely to be together. In the afternoon the kids swam and then Suzy and Sam got together and he played the guitar and Suzy sang. It ended up being a beautiful jamming session. It was a joy to see them together making music and taking off where they had left off 9 years ago and feeling like family.

Suzy and Sam singing and playing the guitar

But soon our kiwi family began to get very tired. After all they had left Auckland on the 4th August and spent a whole day in the chaos of HK airport and two very long haul flights, not to mention the time difference of I think 11 hours. Both Ruby's and Katty's eyes began to droop at around 7 pm and they went to bed and wouldn't get up until the next morning. Suzy had to work so that day I had to go on my walk on my own.

Not knowing my way around this area very well as it all looks the same and not having a very good sense of direction I decided to take an easy way and walk on just one path and turn back again. On my way I only saw a hare and a man on a horse.

The man on the horse on my walk on Tuesday

What I saw a lot of though were corn fields and sunflower fields. The latter are synonymous for me of summer in France and conjure up images of Le Tour de France. I had to have a photo but unfortunately the flowers were facing the sun and away from me.

A sunflower field as seen near La Teillée. They are synonymous for me with a French summer

I came back to have an aperitif with Zuka and my Aunt while Suzy was still working. For dinner that night of the kiwi family only Luc and Sam stayed up, determined to get rid of their jet lag by going to bed at 10 pm and sleeping the night through. Suzy, Zuka, Aunty Valya and I stayed up drinking more wine I'm afraid until it was just Suzy and I left. For some reason we were not tired and that day went to bed at nearly 1 in the morning talking and having mother and daughter time.

Wednesday came and I woke up to rain. It rained very strongly for about 2 hours and then thankfully the sun came out again. That morning, "the girls"; i.e. Katty, Suzy, Ruby and I, went on a walk together with the aim of taking Ruby to the roundabout and seesaw for a bit of fun together.  We actually found a bit of fun before getting there when we spied blackberry bushes and saw that some of the berries were quite ripe. They were a bit high up so we got Ruby to sit on Suzy's shoulders to pick some of them. Thankfully I had a bio bag in my little purse to put them in.

"The girls" having fun picking blackberries on our walk on Wednesday morning

We picked as many as we could and Ruby and I decided we would make a fruit crumble later in the day. We did get to the children's playground to go on the seesaw and roundabout. However, we realised that it was private property and had to ask the owner's permission to go on. We asked for permission for Ruby who is only 10 and was the only child and then gradually we joined her. The man who was mowing his lawn didn't seem to mind thank goodness. 

We came back to chill out and Suzy went off to give her lessons. Lunch was late, even later than Spanish times, at 3.30 or nearly 4 pm hahaha. Later we lazed in the garden and Suzy, Katty and her kids lay chatting and making plans for new activities to do together. Suzy took a selfie of the moment. 

Chilling in the garden with our kiwi family

Soon another cousin arrived, Marie Helene with her German husband, Christophe, who works in Saudi Arabia. Zuka had to go shopping and took the girls with her while I sat and chatted to Marie Helene and Christophe catching up on our lives from when we had met a year ago at the last cousinade.

The "girls" came back from shopping and while Zuka made the main meal for everyone, Ruby and I made our fruit crumble from the blackberries to which we added bilberries, raspberries and peaches. This is what it looked like when it came out of the oven.

The fruit crumble made by Ruby with my help on Wednesday

We were 10 or 11 for dinner that night. I got Oxana to take a photo of the group of us all together. This is us, just part of the cousinade but still a lot of people and aged from 10 to 94!!!

Dinner with my cousins in La Teillée on Wednesday night

We all agreed the fruit crumble which we had with ice cream - I insisted on buying pistachio flavour which is my favourite and hard to come by in Spain - was just delicious. Later, gradually the children crept up to bed as they still had a bit of jet lag. 

I stayed up to see off Marie Helene and Christophe who were leaving in their 2 cars for their house which is a spectacular "maison de maitre" in the Cognac region just over an hour from La Teilée. However, one of the cars wouldn't start as the battery had run flat. Zuka couldn't find her jump starter. Christophe tried all sorts of tricks but nothing would start it. Thus Marie Helene had to drive home alone and her husband stayed overnight so as he could fix the car in the morning with a neighbour's jump starter.

I went to bed late to find Suzy asleep and leisurely got ready to go to bed myself. On the home front that day, Eladio had called - that's news as we don't often call each other hahaha. He told me the English family that was coming that day for a week had arrived ok. The good news of the day though was a message from the Passport Office in Belfast to say my father's passport application had been approved and that the passport would be sent on Thursday. That's a lot less than the 4 or so weeks I had expected the process to last. 

I woke up on Thursday morning at just past 6 and was happy to read I had a new Airbnb reservation from 3 Honduran students who will be coming in September for 10 days. New reservations are always uplifting because it means the "business" is working hahaha.

Thursday was a wonderful day. In the morning Suzy and I went on our walk in the beautiful countryside of La Teilée and were joined by our "kiwi family", Katty, Luc, Sam and Ruby. This time we didn't pick blackberries and concentrated on a fast pace as we all wanted the exercise. We got some more exercise too of a different kind when we went on the seesaw and roundabout again, hahaha.

On the roundabout

What fun it was.  It was also fun to do a "jumping photo", Olivia style. My youngest daughter loves them so we did one for her.

On the roundabout

We came back to chill out and while Suzy was giving her lessons, Katty and I went off to the local supermarket at a village nearby to get provisions to take to Ile de Ré. We also went to the local "boulangerie" as I was determined to get some good French bread which is much better at the local bakeries than at the supermarkets.

After lunch, at Katty's and her kids' suggestion, the 6 of us drove to Vivonne to go kayaking. The kids go every year when they are here but neither Suzy nor I had ever done kayaking. I was a little reluctant thinking it might be a sport a bit beyond me at my age but actually I loved it. Here we are all ready to go.

Ready for action

The kids are naturals and were to be our teachers. We did the 5km course along the river which was so beautiful it was breathtaking. We were lucky too as we had the river to ourselves. Katty dared take her phone with her and it's thanks to her we have the pictures of our adventure. It was a total first for Suzy and I and although we didn't actually take to it like ducks to water we soon got the hang of it. It's not difficult to do. What I found difficult or tiring was swinging the oars for 2 hours as my arms are not used to so much exercise. Here are Suzy and I in a great picture laughing our heads off.

Suzy and I kayaking 

It was all quite simple until we got to the first waterfall. Ruby went first and sailed through as did everyone else. I'm afraid my kayak capsized and I fell fully clothed into the water. All I could do was laugh. Dear Luc came to the rescue and after that little surprise, I had no more incidents. I managed the next waterfall and this time it was Sam who capsized. The rapids were a little challenge too but I got past them ok. However after a rapid the kayak seems to have a mind of its own and thanks to the currant takes you to the shore and you have to paddle your way back onto the course of the river.

Katty even took a video of part of the course which you can see here. The 2 hours seemed eternal and by the end my arms and hands were aching. Zuka and Oxana were waiting for us when we all got out of the kayaks. I was soaking of course but thankfully had brought a towel.

We came home to swim - some of us - and I had to take a well needed shower and wash my hair. I also had to wash our clothes as unfortunately Zuka's washing machine had broken down.

Of course after the shower it was "aperitif time" and we had a ball, drinking, talking and Sam playing the guitar and Suzy and Katty singing. We had dinner late on the terrace and ate lovely Ukrainian dishes Oxana had made for us. It was to be her last night here as the next day she was going home for the summer. She would be taking the bus from Paris which must be a very long journey.

It had been just a wonderful day, exhilarating, fun and just sheer pleasure to be in the company of our lovely "kiwi family".  The next day we would be off to Île de Ré for more fun and excitement, this time in the company of the rest of the family, our cousins from the "Stachovich" side; that is the side of my mother's mothers family.

I was awake at 6 and came down to have my fix of caffeine for the day from my Nespresso machine which I had brought with me from Madrid. Soon people were up to as some of us had to be off early. Zuka's son, Sasha, and his son Miles had arrived the night before at 1 a.m. after having driven all the way from Lancashire. Thus the Lieven side of the family was complete. At about 8.45, Suzy, Katty, Ruby and I were off to Île de Ré in order to avoid the mid August holiday traffic and be there on time for Suzy to give her lessons. Thankfully she cancelled them that day and there was no stress to get there. The others would leave later; Zuka being the last to leave with my 94 year old Aunty Valya as my cousin had so much to do before setting off.

It was  a lovely girly road trip to the beautiful island in the South West of France where we were told hordes would flock this weekend and to be wary of crossing the bridge as it gets very congested. The warnings were for nothing in the end as we encountered little traffic and got to the little village at the far end of the island, Les Portes en Ré, within 2 hours. And a beautiful island it is. It's about the size of Formentera, some 85km2 with a  population of about 15.000 people all year around. That figure must go up a lot in the holidays. People here go round on bikes everywhere as the streets are narrow and on many of them cars are not allowed. In Formentera, people go around on mopeds. I far prefer the former.

Katty was our guide as she had been to the island before and stayed at the family houses which once belonged to Aunty Olga and Aunty Nastushka - my mother's first cousins on her mother's side. Aunty Olga's house is called "Paix" (peace) and Aunty Nastushka's house is called "Paradis" which is exactly what the latter is. With a little difficulty Katty found "Paix", a great big rambling house with a huge garden but no one had arrived. Both houses have been in the family for many years but after the death of Aunty Olga last year "Paix" and  "Paradis" are on the market  so this would be the last time the our group of cousins could use them. We were lucky to have had the chance to come and stay here otherwise I would probably never have visited this magical place.  I couldn't imagine the family ever wanting to sell either of the properties but then again it is understandable as there are quite a lot of siblings.

Suzy, Ruby and Katty at Aunty Olga's house

Aunty Olga's house from the back

Thus we went off  to find "Paix" where we found Marie Helene's brother, Paul, and his family moving out for us after their vacation. And what a beautiful place it was and so clean and tidy. I loved it immediately.

"Paradis", the house we stayed at and it was paradise I can tell you.

After greeting Paul and his family, we decided to amble around the centre of Les Portes en Ré which was full of people and bikes but a beautiful village. There was a market on, as there is every day and things looked enticing but expensive. The island is expensive too. A cup of coffee here costs 5 euros, more than double than in Spain. We had a little something to keep us going until lunch which would be late as people were arriving at different times.  By the time we got back to "Paix", Marie Helene and her husband Christophe were there sorting things out. The Aunts were in charge of different meals on different days and it was their turn on Friday. They made salads and a lovely chicken casserole. Here we all are around the old kitchen table.

Lunch on Friday with the first arrivals to the cousinade in Île de Ré

After lunch we all went walking into the village apart from Marie Helene and Christophe who had to do some food shopping. We were the first arrivals and all the rest would be arriving at different stages that afternoon and night. I never counted but we are about 20 people. The boys wanted to go biking so off we all went to find a place to hire bikes for them. In the end, I think it was at my crazy suggestion, we hired bikes for all of us. I had not ridden a bike for more than 30 years and I knew I would feel wobbly. Thankfully though the bikes were a bit vintage with handle breaks and they were very comfortable. The only thing was I was wearing a dress which is bit awkward on a bike. If I had known we would go cycling I would have worn shorts or trousers but I had to manage. It was a wonderful sensation to be cycling along the old streets of the village "en famille" so to say. Oh, wow, I can't describe it. Sasha was at the rear, looking out for me - bless him and at one stage I said I'd love a photo of us on the bikes. A minute later he rode over to me and took the photo which I have chosen as this week's feature photo. I was so happy at that moment, feeling free as a bird and like a younger woman.

We all rode to the beach, Katty at the front and Sasha, her brother, at the back as they both know the area quite well from childhood holidays here. They took us to a lovely beach where we parked and locked our bikes and went down to the sand and rocks. It was here I spied a Pippa lookalike, a miniature chocolate coloured dachshund. She was trembling by the shore of the sea - dachshunds hate water - as her owners, two French ladies, were swimming. Both Ruby and I went to stroke her; she was very friendly and the ladies told me her name was "hola" (hello in Spanish). They asked us to look after her while they bathed which both Ruby and I did with pleasure.

Ruby and I on the beach with little "Hola".

Everyone did their own thing on the beach. Suzy sat on a rock contemplating the view, Luc went in search of crabs which he caught, Ruby picked up shells and we all generally just enjoyed being together in such lovely surroundings.

Suzy on the beach

Part of the group on the beach

As you can see we were all dressed and none of us swum because it wasn't really warm enough - about 22c. When we had had our fill it was time to get on our bikes and ride home as some of the others had arrived. Here is a photo of part of the group with our bikes which I love.

On our rented bikes by the beach on Friday

We rode home, incident free which was quite an achievement for me precisely because I hadn't ridden a bike for so many years. My mother used to say remembering a language is like remembering how to ride a bike; it's something you never forget even if you get rusty. That piece of wisdom was much on my mind as I rode with my cousins along the lanes and streets of the village. I was pretty proud of myself at having gone cycling aged 62. I wondered what the next activity would be after kayaking on Thursday and biking on Friday. I really have to thank my Kiwi family for all this. They are so adventurous. Also, all being so young, I think some of their youth rubbed off onto me hahah.

We came "home" to "Paix" to find Marie and Anas had arrived. We had last seen them at their wedding in Geneva and in France (they had two weddings, one a muslim ceremony in the Swiss city and one, a Russian Orthodox ceremony at a beautiful chateau in Haute Savoie in France). Like Suzy, it was to be their first time at the cousinade and it was great to see them. Soon we were all glasses in hand sitting and standing in the garden when Zuka and her mother, Aunty Valya, finally arrived. I have to say that my 94 year old Aunt is an example of healthy long living. Believe it or not she smokes and drinks alcohol and has done for a long time. I just hope I can be like her if and when I reach her age. Here she is drinking a glass of wine and smoking a cigarette and looking the picture of health despite what the medical world says. She, at least, has proved them wrong and enjoys these little pleasures in life.

My amazing 94 year old Russian aunt, "Tyotya" Valya with a glass of wine and cigarette in hand at the cousinade in Île de Ré on Friday evening.

Before dinner we of course had aperetifs. Here I am, glass in hand, wearing my Lezay dress and chatting to Marie Helene. Her husband Christophe had taken the photo while we were not looking.

Aperitif time in Ile de Re. Here in my Lezay dress  with my cousin Marie Helene, our hostess.

Katty and Ruby had brought lots of wigs and party glitter and make up for the cousinade and that evening they started dressing us up which was huge fun.

Katty and Zuka 

Suzy, Katty and Ruby

Zuka and her grandson Luc

Marie and Anas getting into the spirit of things

As you see the cousinade got off to a great start. It was definitely party time in Île de Ré for us that night. More cousins arrived, Anna, her husband Chouchou, who was ill poor thing, and their darling baby boy, Maxime, Sophie, Marie's sister and her partner Olivier too. However their mother Masha wouldn't arrive with their youngest sister, Elizabeth, until nearly 1 in the morning. My poor cousin had landed in Paris that morning from Siberia and then had to drive all the way here.

We all had dinner and there was lots of after dinner talk until we all felt so tired it was time to go to bed. Suzy and I after many changes were to stay with the boys, Marie, Anas and Sophie and Olivier at Aunty Nastusha's lovely house, appropriately called "Paradis" which had just been cleaned that morning. There was even a Nespresso machine there.  How wonderful to sleep in "paradise" I thought haha. We all got our beds ready, unpacked, etc and I came downstairs to set up my PC. The other added advantage of this newer house is that it has wifi. Yes, my friends, something I can't live without. Later, Luc and I sat outside in the delightful patio and were joined by Miles. We talked until nearly 1.30 when I just had to crash out and get some sleep.

I was, of course, the first one up on Saturday morning and had the house to myself. There was a lot of "peace" in "paradise" I thought haha. I made my coffee and then sat writing my blog and uploading some of the photos. Soon Suzy joined me and then Marie. We decided to go out for breakfast as there is nothing I like best in France than a café au lait with a croissant in a bar. Later Anas joined us, Suzy went off to cycle and the three of us explored the market. We then split up as they had to go to the supermarket and I was keen to look at the clothes. I bought a red linen dress, a green smock and some lovely pink and white spotted summer trousers. I then ambled to the big house, Paix, to find Zuka and co making lunch as it was her turn that day. Mine would be dinner that night. Here we all are in the garden having lunch on Saturday, the main day of the cousinade.

Lunch on Saturday

Later Suzy, Ruby and Katty helped prepare the meal I was to make that night. Suzy and I had decided to make a Spanish dinner consisting of gazpacho, tortillas, roast peppers, ham, chorizo and "lomo" with a green salad and followed by a water melon we had brought from Spain. Making tortilla for 20 is a challenge, especially in a kitchen that is not yours and a dubious frying pan. It took me from about 3.30 until nearly 8 pm to have everything ready. As I was so busy working in the afternoon I missed out on the afternoon cycling excursion. I also missed out on the hairdressing activity where Katty plaited both Ruby's and Suzy's hair. I have to say they looked so sweet.

Suzy and Ruby with their plaited hair

By about 8.30 my tortillas were ready and I have to say they looked yummy.

Some of the tortillas I made for the Spanish dinner on Saturday night.

They turned out well, juicy inside and with the right amount of salt. Sam took a photo of the dinner table which was a difficult task as it was impossible to get everyone in and all the food on the table.

The Spanish dinner last night

It was such fun round the table. I sat with Marie and Anas, Ruby and Sam, Luc, Suzy and Miles. Miles is a joke a minute and had us all in stitches with his very British humour even though he has lived most of his life in Germany and South Korea.

Suzy and the boys. From left to right: Sam, Luc, Suzy and Miles

When everyone had had their fill it was time for people to perform party tricks. Ruby did an amazing gym number after which she went to bed as the poor lamb was tired at the end of the day. Later Suzy and Katty sang to the tune of Sam's guitar. Then my Russian cousins, Masha and her girls, Ana, Elizabeth and Marie joined in and sang a variety of lovely Russian songs using harmony which took me right back to my roots and to memories of singing with my Mother and Aunty Masha. Suzy remembered a couple of songs her grandmother taught her years ago and soon we had a choir going. Oh if only Oli had been there too to join this lovely family choir. It was just the perfect end to a perfect day. It was after midnight when the party finished, mainly because we were tired and it was getting cold. Thus Marie, Anas, Suzy and I walked the short distance back to "Paradis" to go to bed, except that Suzy didn't. The boys were there, about to go out to have a drink in the village and Suzy went with them. I would have gone but was just too tired after nearly 5 hours cooking in the afternoon.

With everyone out or asleep I got slowly ready for bed and to help me fall asleep I read a bit of my book on my kindle. I didn't hear Suzy come back and woke up at 5.55 with a splitting headache and only 4 hours sleep. So I took a tablet, applied some tiger balm and slept another hour. I woke up again and this time got up to go down and make my coffee. I was surprised to see it raining outside and as I write it is still raining.

Today is the last day of the cousinade; all good things always come to an end.

You will of course hear about the end of the cousinade in next Sunday's blog post.  I sincerely hope you have enjoyed today's.

Cheers then friends, family and readers until next week,
Masha

The end of our stay in Montrondo, Pippa meets her lookalike, home again, a nasty surprise: my father's bank account blocked by Bankia and all that that implied, mother and daughter in the same dress, "reisefieber" and other stories.

Sunday  4th August, 2019

My eldest daughter, Suzy and I, wearing the same dress this week

Good morning my friends,

Well here I am early in the morning.  In an hour or so I shall be setting off on a road trip to La Teillée in the Saint-Sauvant region near Poitiers in France, about 2 hours north of Bordeaux, in the middle of the French countryside.  Joy of joys, Suzy will be coming with me; well she will be the driver of our 900 km  long trip. We will be staying with my dear cousin Zuka and family until Friday when we we will all travel to Île de Ré, about 1.5h from there, for the annual cousin reunion we call the "cousinade". It will be the first time I am not attending alone and I am dying for everyone to meet Suzy and for her to get to know a bit more about her Russian roots.

Last Sunday we were still in Montrondo on what was to be our final full day there after a 12 day holiday. All good things come to an end I always say.

Last Sunday we were rewarded with a beautiful sunny day which was a relief and a joy after the downpour which washed out the annual Santa Marta fiesta.  Suzy had been out all night and got back at 7 in the morning, just when I was making my coffee,  and slept till lunch time. Oli, Miguel, Pippa and I went on a long walk to Senra and back which was made even longer by greeting anyone we met on our way. 

What we didn't expect to greet was a chocolate coloured dachshund of the same type as Pippa but a bit bigger, a lovely dog called "Tejón" (meaning badger - fitting as dachshund in German means "badger hound") on the old path to Murias. Their owners, two young men, must have been on holiday in Murias as they were not local. It was so funny for Pippa to meet her lookalike. Tejón was a "boy" and thus both dogs made an immediate friendship, playing together. It was such a lovely encounter as it's very rare to see a dog that is similar to Pippa. We must have stayed a quarter of an hour talking and admiring each other's dogs as the encounter was most unique. Here they are together playing. Normally Pippa is not keen on other dogs and I wondered why she took to Tejón so quickly. I wondered if she recognised that they were of a very similar breed? Maybe.

Pippa meets her lookalike on our walk to Senra last Sunday 

It was such a lovely day, we really enjoyed our walk. I was worried the 8 km maybe be a bit long for Olivia but she seemed happy enough. Apparently walking is good for her as it will help Elliot get into position for birth. Here we are on the walk, me walking with Pippa towards Oli with her back to the camera. I do like it. Of course, our photographer was Miguel, her partner who, being a TV cameraman, takes great pictures. We are very lucky in that respect.

Oli, Pippa and I on our walk last Sunday

Once in Senra we went to the old bakery to buy bread for the day. I love the old bakery which has not changed since Eladio was a boy and had the task of fetching bread for the family for a week every Sunday. He didn't find it  pleasurable as  he had a very heavy load to carry and the walk is long but for us it was a pleasure to buy freshly baked bread made the old fashioned way from a bakery where time has stood still.

From the bakery we walked down the hill to the bar, Cumbres de Omaña, where we chose a table in the shade. I was surprised to hear English spoken by people at the next table. That is very unusual as this is no tourist area I can tell you. It's very much off the beaten track. Of course, I couldn't resist talking to the group who told me they were from South Africa! They had a connection to the area though as one of the group, a Spaniard, was from the area. 

We weren't back in the village until well past 1 o'clock. There was a family party going on in the old courtyard in front of our houses with people dancing. I am no dancer and have never been and besides it was late and I had to make lunch, so left everyone to it. That day, to the delight of my family, I made fish and chips. Suzy was up just on time to join us hahaha. If I had I been up all night, the last thing I would have wanted was fish and chips, far preferring a cup of coffee.

Later everyone, except Pippa and I, took a siesta. I preferred to read outside to enjoy the sunshine in the back garden, on the sun beds. I spent the whole afternoon there. Everyone else continued the party in the old courtyard but I preferred my peace. That afternoon I started reading another WW2 biography, "The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery". Written by Jack Fairweather, a former American war correspondent, it tells the remarkable story of how Witold Pilecki, a Polish Army officer and member of the Polish resistance, volunteered to be arrested and sent to the infamous camp in order to smuggle out information about it to the allies. Unfortunately his reports fell on deaf ears. He also took on the  task of organising resistance from within the camp, something nearly impossible. What a man, what a hero, what a story. It had me reading all afternoon. 

Later Eladio joined Pippa and I. His choice of book at the moment is one about the Spanish Civil War, one of his favourite genres. He, like me with WW2, was brought up on stories of that most bloody war in Spain. 

Eladio reading in the back garden at Montrondo last Sunday afternoon with Pippa

The girls spent the afternoon with their cousins and later came to join us when it was time for dinner. We had nearly run out of provisions, despite our massive food shopping in Villablino, and the cupboards were a bit bare. Even so, we managed to rustle something up. Later we gathered on the uncomfortable Ikea sofa around the TV to watch the news and then Netflix. The girls were tired so soon left us to go up to bed while Eladio and I finished a film we had started the night before and watched another, "Toro", a rather violent one about gangsters on the Costa del Sol. Not for nothing it's often referred to as "la costa del crimen" (Crime Coast). 

I slept quite well that night and woke up at 6.45 on Monday morning our last day in the village. It was sunny again but with a chill in the air. Miguel, the girls and I set off on our walk to Senra while Eladio stayed behind to hoover the house (what a good husband I have:-)). As usual Miguel took photos of his beloved Oli and that day took a lovely one of both girls with little Elliot inside Oli's tummy. I loved it.

Suzy, Elliot and Oli on our last walk in Montrondo on Monday

We had our last coffee at the grumpy man's bar, Cumbres de Omaña, before walking back. Eladio had to drop his hoovering to come and pick Suzy up so she wouldn't be late for her lessons starting at noon.

I came home to a bit of a nasty surprise. The previous week, my father's bank and ours, Bankia, had rung to say his account was blocked as his residency card had expired. I proved it hadn't by sending them a copy and was told everything was ok and the account would be restored in 24 hours. Meanwhile one of his pension payments had come and gone while it was blocked. On Monday the account remained blocked and I rang the bank and after an hour's trying I got through to the very unsympathetic manager of our branch. He told me that it was blocked because my father's passport had expired and that was the root of the problem, not the residency card. I told him, that of course it had expired (6 years ago) as as my father no longer travels I had never seen the need to renew it. In England a passport is for travel not for identity but in Spain it is considered an identity document. I had no idea that a bank account could be closed if it expires and complained that if it had expired 6 years ago why was the bank now closing his account and why, hadn't they, at least, advised us with some leeway?  I told him that to get a new passport it could take from 4 to 6 weeks as it has to be done directly with the Passport Office in Belfast. The British Consulate here no longer issues passports. As I was getting nowhere with him, I then rang the Consular Service  to see if there was any way I could get a new passport quickly. They said no and to ring Belfast. I rang the Passport Office in Belfast who said there is no fast tracking if applying for a new passport from abroad. They did however let me know that if the British Consulate or Embassy here in Madrid really want to they could issue a passport. That's when I wrote to the British Ambassador here, Simon Manley, to ask for his help for a "British WW2 hero aged 100" - that was Oli's tip. The tip worked as he replied shortly afterwards. He didn't promise anything, just that he would ask his consular team if they could do anything. Meanwhile, my father's pension payments were being returned to England. From someone I know who works in banking, it is the bank's responsibility to tell the issuing bank the matter but Bankia says it is my responsibility. I felt very frustrated being in Montrondo as all my father's paperwork was in Madrid. It would be a hard task getting in touch with his pension payers as I didn't  really know who they were. Oh what a nightmare. I just don't understand why Bankia blocked his account now with hardly any warning because of his expired passport. It has been expired for 6 yeas and it never seemed to be an issue before.

That was on my mind as we made the journey back after lunch, Eladio, Suzy, Pippa and I. Oli and Miguel had left before while I was in the middle of trying to sort out the problem with my father's bank account.

Stopping only once to get some petrol, we were home by 9. It was too late to greet my father who was already asleep. I got the mail from our postbox  which Lucy had not opened since we left (aarrgghh) and was a bit annoyed to see that half of the postcards I had sent to my father weeks and weeks ago from The Cotswolds, Shrewsbury and Anglesey had arrived in one big batch such a long time after they were sent. Was this the fault of British Mail or Correos I wondered.

We had a quiet meal on the terrace where we were joined by our Scottish lodger, Andy. Then it was time for bed, unpacking, etc. Suzy went out to see her friend Chati. We tried watching Stranger Things which so many people rave about but it wasn't our thing. Eladio soon fell asleep but I just couldn't sleep over the worry of fixing the problem with my father's bank account, getting in touch with the Pension people and renewing his passport.

I had to take a double dose of sleeping tablets and only fell asleep well after 1 in the morning.  I got about 6 hours sleep which isn't too bad and was awake the next morning at 7.15 raring to go. My first challenge would be getting a photo of my father, not an easy thing to do for a house bound centenarian. The challenge was solved when I found out there is a new online service to apply for a new passport and that the photo can be taken from home. Halleluya I thought as we moved the sofa in our study to sit my father in front of a white background - well greyish actually. The instructions on how to take the photo were three pages long and I did my best to follow them. This was the result.

My father's passport photo taken by me at home on Tuesday

The only good thing about the whole process was to find out that the passport was free of charge for my father as it is, apparently, for all people born before 1929! Before the application could be processed at HM Passport Office in Belfast, yes in Northern Ireland, I would have to return the old passport which I did the next day.

With the passport application done, I set about ringing my father's different pension schemes to alert them to the fact that his bank account was blocked and to make sure he would be paid the arrears. That was three international phone  calls at a cost and then I stumbled upon the issue of my not being authorised to speak on my father's behalf. "Do you have a power of attorney?" I was asked and I had to say no. But of course they couldn't speak to my father on the phone as he is nearly tone deaf and wouldn't be able to explain what had happened. Thankfully the Teachers' Pensions people were more sympathetic and said I could send a letter, written by me, but signed by my father with his authorisation.

Just as I was doing this I received a phone call from the British Consular Services here in Madrid, thanks to the British Ambassador. The lady, a Spaniard called Virginia, was extremely sympathetic but told me the Embassy and Consulate cannot in any way issue passports. But I did get a good tip from her when she advised me to apply for an "LPA" (Lasting Power of Attorney) and sent me the links.  After the frustrating contact with my father's pension people I realised I would need the LPA now and in the future. I had to explain all this to my father and did so by typing him a one page word document explaining the situation.  Thus I spent the rest of the morning applying for two types; financial and health and welfare. This could all be done online but then I had to download the documents and have them signed by my father (the donor), myself (the attorney!) and by a "certificate provider". Each of these signatures would require a witness and the witness' signature. The forms  were 22 pages long and quite complicated.

I didn't rest that day until I had the signatures of a certificate provider and witness. These would be my best friend Fátima and our lodger and friend, Andy. I invited Fátima to dinner when the three of us would go over the papers and do the signing but had to wait until the evening of course.

Meanwhile, that afternoon, I did something for myself that needed doing and that was my hair. All the roots were showing and it was looking white after so much sun on our walks. For most women, going to the hairdresser is usually a pleasurable activity. Not so for me. I find it a huge bore and don't like to be trapped in a chair with hair dye all over my head. While I was there I got my eyebrows and eyelashes done too as they were also going white hahahah.

I didn't get out of "Bella Brasil" until nearly 7 pm. Then I rushed to my favourite supermarket, Carrefour Market - the gourmet version  - to get something nice for dinner. I got giant prawns, delicious "ibérico" ham, thinly sliced chicken and some gluten free bread for my friend Fátima.

I got home to find the girls were going out to dinner with a friend too. It was so funny as Suzy was wearing the same dress as me, a midi length dress from H+M. Suzy had bought it a while ago and when I tried it on I loved it so ordered one for myself hahaha. Oli had to catch the moment on camera. That is the photo I have chosen to illustrate this week's blog post; mother and daughter wearing the same dress. It's not the first time it's happened with both Suzy and Oli. It's lovely that we can wear each other's clothes. My girls certainly keep me feeling and hopefully looking young. Here is another one of us but looking at each other. Many people say Suzy looks like me and that Oli looks like Eladio but I don't see the resemblance. Do you?

Mother and daughter

Seeing each other in the same dress and having the photos taken was a lovely moment of light relief in what had been a very stressful day.

Fátima came with her little dog, Chispa, to add to our "menagerie" of three dogs and one cat, just after 8 pm and caught Eladio and I making a delicious dinner we would have on the kitchen terrace.  Later we were joined by Andy when he came back from work. Our "pudding" by the way was more of the green plums or greengages that the fruit tree is still producing. We would pick even more the next day and there are still quite a few left on the tree. This year there has been an excellent harvest.

After dinner Fátima, Andy and I poured over the documents, page by page, and signing where necessary. It was great to have their help. When we finished, I brought out a bottle of one of our favourite red wines to celebrate. Called "Juan Gil Etiqueta de plata" and produced in the Jumilla region of Murcia, we were first introduced to it by Miguel, Oli's boyfriend. When we were at our beach apartment near Santa Pola a year or so ago, we visited Jumilla to buy some of the wine at a winery called "Vinotería Los Chilines". From then on we order it online and it comes in two days and transport free also. I highly recommend it. For just under 9 euros a bottle, as I wrote on "Vivino", "it is superb for the price. Juan Gil's wines are in such demand now there is a shortage. The Jumilla wine growing area is one to look out for". There you go, it's not only Rioja and Ribera wines to look out for in Spain, there are many others, like the Juan Gil from Jumilla we had that night. I think both Andy and Fátima agreed.

The excellent Juan Gil Etiqueta de Plata wine from the Jumilla regions

That glass of wine must have helped me sleep that night, sleep I much needed after all the tossing and turning the night before over the worry of my father's bank account issue. But the story didn't end there. The next day I would be busy too and would not stop until it was solved.

I was up on Wednesday morning early as usual and as soon as I had breakfast, I took the LPA papers into my father for him to sign. It's amazing but at the age of 100 he can still sign, even if his hand is shaky and his handwriting a little spidery.

I would have gone straight to the post office but it was too early in the morning and Eladio reminded me we had to go on our walk with the dogs as I hadn't been able to the day before, so engrossed was I in solving my father's matters. So, we went on our walk, the first since we got back from Montrondo. The two elder dogs, Norah our beagle and Elsa our Lab, hadn't had one since we went to the village and were raring to go, bless them.

The rest of the morning was taken up with going to the post office to send the LPA's by registered post and  to return my father's old passport by "Correos Express" as well as with a visit to our bank. I paid 80 euros which I think is sheer robbery but at least my father's passport would get to Belfast by Friday rather than next week. The earlier they get it the earlier they process it.  I think we were in the post office for at least an hour. From there we went to our bank, Bankia, in the centre of Boadilla, to see how my father's account could be reopened. Luckily, with the passport application slip, proving a new passport had been applied for, Bankia was able to restore his bank account. Halleluya I thought again. It has been restored for 4 weeks until he gets his new passport.

We were home just on time for me to put the finishing touches to our lunch: vegetable soup followed by grilled cod with roast peppers, mushrooms and broccoli. Dessert was plums from the garden of course.

I later caught up on more sleep by taking a long siesta. Normally I can't sleep much after lunch but on Wednesday I slept from about 3.15 to 5.45. I woke up feeling a bit zombie like, made myself a cup of tea and then joined my family in the garden under the trees by the pool. It was lovely to be together and with our dogs. We looked like the "reading family" hahaha. Suzy had another date that night with her friend Mónica from when she lived in Whitechapel in London, so it was just three for dinner that night.  Just as we were finishing our dinner, it began to rain but there were only a few drops unlike the terrible downpours in the north of England.

Watching the news after dinner, I was horrified to learn of flash flooding in my beloved Yorkshire Dales where one month's rain fell in one day. Horrific. Bridges collapsed, people's homes were ruined, roads were blocked and even the railway between Skipton and Carlisle was disrupted as well as other routes. I also read the Army was called in to deal with the destruction.

A bridge that collapsed in the Yorkshire Dales this week after flash flooding

Our entertainment that night was to continue watching the hospital series, New Amsterdam, on Amazon Prime. It was a much cooler night after the slight rain and we were able to sleep without the air conditioning on.

Thursday was 1st August but it was also "Yorkshire Day". I had no idea that my adopted county where I grew up but wasn't born had its own day. Oh how I love and miss Yorkshire. It's funny, when I went to University, I couldn't get out of Yorkshire fast enough and swore I would never live there. Well, we did live in the worst part; Bradford so maybe that's why. Now in my early 60's I have nostalgia for Yorkshire and miss it dreadfully. I miss the Yorkshire Dales, I miss the friendly people - totally different from people in the south - I miss Ilkley, Harrogate, Bolton Abbey, the Moors and I even now miss Bradford which at this age I see with different eyes. I don't miss the climate though. In my head I have an objective of spending part of the year in Yorkshire after I retire. Maybe we will do just that.

Thursday marked the end of the nightmare caused by my father's bank account being closed. I heard from "correos express" that his old passport had been delivered to HM Passport Office in Belfast, spoke to one of his pension schemes who assured me the arrears had been sent again and payment from another source arrived safely too. I just have to cross my fingers the passport arrives within the 4 weeks; otherwise the account will be closed again.

With few worries on my mind, I did the food shopping with Olivia while Eladio mowed the lawn. Suzy had her lessons and we didn't see much of her during the day. I shall make up for that when I have her to myself this week in France. It was a hot day and there seem to be a lot of nasty flies everywhere. I was attacked by them when we brought the shopping back and I started making lunch. I think it is the heat that attracts them.

Thursday was our last "guestless" day apart from Andy and the four of us enjoyed quality time together by the pool. This was interrupted for me by going to a doctor appointment to get my 2 month prescription of sleeping tablets. It was 37ºc at 5.45 when I left and walking from my car to the clinic felt like walking in an open air sauna. As soon as I got back I went straight in the pool, taking Pippa with me. She doesn't like swimming but allows me to hold her in my arms in the water so long as I don't get her head wet.

That night we had dinner together on the terrace and sat lingering around the table until very late when finally the temperature went down and it would be possible to sleep. Eladio and I continued watching "New Amsterdam", the hospital TV series. For some reason I just couldn't sleep that night and didn't fall asleep until nearly 2 am. I was up on Friday at 6.15 so just got a mere 4 hours sleep and this was despite the sleeping tablets. I would make up for lost sleep with a siesta later.

On Friday we would be receiving our new Airbnb guests; a family of 5 who were coming for 4 nights. They were bringing two small children. Pippa is not good with children; in fact she is not good for Airbnb business, so I would have to keep a strict eye on her and keep her away from the children. I wondered where S. Jung, who lives in Istanbul and works for Samsung was really from; China, Taiwan and Korea where my guesses.  The family turned out to be South Korean. At around 5.30 pm, S. Jung arrived with his two little boys aged 7 and 8, his sister and his parents. He had booked for 5 guests but his party included 6 people. He would have to pay the extra. They are very nice people - only Steve who is Country Manager of a division of Samsung in Istanbul, speaks English. But I have to say we felt rather invaded when they brought out all the kids' pool toys and gear and left it there all night. It strictly states in the house rules to put away all things not in use and to leave the kitchen and everything as they found it. Well I found unwashed glasses in the kitchen the next day, empty glasses around the pool and a dirty stove which they hadn't cleaned after their very late night dinner. I had a feeling they were not going to be exemplary guests I'm afraid. Thankfully they are only here for 4 nights and I will only be here for 2 of them. Poor Eladio and Oli will have to suffer them when Suzy and I go today. They will also have to take care of the next arrivals, a family from England, until I get back.

We spent the morning getting everything ready for them. After our walk, Eladio cleaned the pool which is quite a task, Lucy prepared their rooms and I arranged for flowers and fruit to be put in their room. After organising lunch I joined Oli by the pool. She went inside the water with her hat on and with little Pippa in her arms. It was peaceful pool time before the guests arrived and we enjoyed it. When the Koreans were here we let them have the pool to themselves, retiring to our sunbeds which we had moved to a shaded part of the garden.  Here is a photo of the pool before the invasion hahahah.

Peaceful pool time on Friday morning before our guests arrived. Spot Oli and Pippa in the pool

We had lunch together, without Suzy as her lessons coincide, after which we watched the news and had a siesta. The news that caught my attention that day was that finally women in that most repressive state, Saudi Arabia, will be allowed to get a passport once they are 21 and travel, without permission from a man. However the guardian system will still be in place. This is the most significant step towards a bit more freedom for women in the kingdom after the ban on driving was lifted last year. Women will also be able to lodge papers, register a marriage or a divorce and apply for guardianship of children, although they will probably never get the latter. It's a big step and very overdue but there are more restrictions that should be lifted if the kingdom wants to move into the 21st century such as marrying or even leaving prison without permission. As I say, it is a big step for women and very overdue. However, I wonder if in practice it will work and if it does, I also wonder how many women will apply for passports in order to flee their restrictive country of birth. If I were a woman there I would leave on the next place to proper freedom.  For me, perhaps one of the most restrictive policies is women having to cover themselves in public in ghastly burka like garments. That I could not stand. Will the ban ever be lifted I wonder? I truly hope so.

The news this week that women in S.Arabia will be able to apply for passports when they are 21 or over and travel without permission from a man is a long overdue policy. 

I always count my lucky stars I was born in the west in the UK and live in Spain. As a woman I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like to live as a second class citizen or be treated like a child all my life which is the situation of Saudi women and many women in other restrictive countries. Life here is not perfect for women as there is still a big gap between men and women. We hear of wife bashing every day or sexual assault, salaries are not equal in most work places and men still dominate the corporate world. So, yes we have moved on but there is still an awful lot that has to change to achieve gender equality.

I was able to have a siesta with Eladio and Pippa before our new guests arrived. Once I had welcomed them, showed them around, etc, I left them to it and Eladio and I retired to the sunbeds to read in the garden. The girls went off, Oli to pick up Miguel from the airport who was coming from Valencia for the weekend and Suzy to see a friend in Madrid. They would both sleep at Oli and Miguel's pad that night. While our Korean guests went out food shopping, Eladio and I had a quick dinner on the terrace and were in bed by the time they got back. We watched the news again and then a few more episodes of New Amsterdam.

Yesterday, Saturday, I was up early. I had a lot to do, mostly preparations for our trip today. We went on our walk and then I made a quick dash to Carrefour Market to get some pork ribs for lunch and fresh fish for the family today. The Koreans had gone by then, into the centre to visit Madrid. I prepared lunch, including a broccoli and mushroom soup. I was in a bit of  a rush as that morning I also had to fit in a quick trip to a big shopping centre to get presents for my cousin and Aunty Valya. Suzy who was home from Oli's by then, went with me as she had a few things to buy too. We were home just on time for lunch with my father. Lunch always has to be at about 2 pm and I like to keep to that time to appease both my husband and father who love routine. I am looking forward to a week away with no responsibility for family lunches, I can tell you.

Later we read in the garden and I swam in the pool as the Koreans were out. Then I had to get down to my packing as did Suzy if we were to be ready to leave early this morning. When we had both finished, it was time for dinner. As usual we had a salad  with gazpacho and some ham which seems to be what we eat at nearly every dinnertime in the summer. There was no lingering around the table last night as it was already late and I was hoping for an early night.

I didn't get the best of sleep and "core blimey" I was awake at 5.10 this morning. I tried to fall asleep again but my mind began racing and I began to feel  the oncoming of "reisefieber" so  I decided to get up. "Reisefieber" is a German term or word literally meaning "travel fever" which doesn't translate well into other languages. "Reise" means trip, travel or journey and "fieber" means fever. It doesn't refer to "fever" as in having a temperature but more like what we would call "butterflies in the stomach", a sort of excitement and nervousness or even fear and in this case about setting off on holiday.

Got a bit of "reisefieber" this morning 

When we would go off on holiday as a family, my Mother would gather us in the porch at 6 Heaton Grove where we lived, for a short prayer just before setting off. This is a very Russian custom but perhaps had to do too with her own  "reisefieber". So yes, I have a little "reisefieber" this morning too but mostly in excited anticipation of our trip today.

It is now 7.30 a.m. and time for me to sign off as I really have to get ready to go. You will hear all about our trip to France in next Sunday's post which hopefully, if there is a good internet connection, will be published from the very chic and popular Île de Ré.

So goodbye till then,
Cheers as always, Masha.

c