Boris Johnson out, Rishi Sunak in, a day in the city, goodbye Phil and Kathy, KIng Charles greets the new PM with Diwali sweets, Elon Musk, now "Chief Twit", best Airbnb review ever, a 60th birthday party, the clocks go back and other stories of the week.

Sunday 30th October, 2022

A wonderful moment with Javier at last night's party to celebrate his 60th birthday

Good morning all after another historical week in UK politics. Last week Liz Truss, the UK's shortest serving Prime Minister, quit and the competition was on for who would replace her. It was to be between the unknown Penny Mordaunt, Rish Sunak and God forbid, Boris Johnson. I think the Lord heard my prayers and many other people's because last Sunday night, he announced he was not in the running. He said he had the support of 102 MP, 2 more than needed, but I doubt he had that number. If he had, he would have run. I hear that at Eton you are told never to give up. Ah, but he hasn't given up yet as in his statement he refers to a come back in the next election. A day later Mordaunt dropped out and that left just Rishi Sunak and he won. I suppose he is the better of the three but he has a very daunting task to face;  the British economy at its lowest in a long time and a very fragmented Tory party.  The news didn't come till Monday morning so more about this  historic  moment later. 

Last Sunday, although we were alert to any news from London, was a family day with our dear friends Kathy and Phil from Yorkshire. We had spent a wonderful week in Asturias together and Sunday was our first day back. The cupboards were bare so we went shopping as it would be full house for lunch. It was to be a full house of guests too;  who is half Japanese and half Malayan - pretty interesting cocktail, a Colombian and an Argentinian. The later got along and I saw them having dinner together. Later in the day we too had the opportunity to get to know Hayley - the young girl from Japan. She is a pastry chef in Antwerp. We do get people from all walks of life here. She is too a fanatic of "matcha" - a sort of green tea from South East Asia. On her Instagram all you see are food creations in green. Maybe I should try matcha one day. 

But back to our day. We went out shopping but first for a coffee at Alverán. Here are Phil and Kathy enjoying the moment.

Coffee with Phil and Kathy last Sunday at Alverán

We did the shopping at Carrefour and were home by about 1 pm. Oli had arrived with Juliet and Elliot whom I hadn't seen for more than a week. It was a lovely reunion. For lunch I made pumpkin and carrot soup followed by baked salmon and leeks with melon with strawberries for dessert.  True to custom, we went and had a siesta and sadly when I got up at about 5.30, my grandchildren had left, their toys strewn all over the lounges. 

We should have gone for a walk but instead sat in the big lounge drinking tea - oh so British. We were then joined by Hayley and I missed most of the conversation while I was making our dinner in the kitchen in the presence of our two Latin American guests. This week Switzerland was added to the big list of countries my guests have come from this year. This weekend I have a group of students from Spain, France and Portugal. I love meeting people from all over the world. It helps to maintain the house but is also very enriching in a cultural sense.

Dinner was a blast with Suzy who seems so bubbly these days. It was Phil and Kath's last but one with us and it was a good one. We do all get on so well. 

We were in bed before 11 and I kept telling my husband that our bed is the most comfortable in the world. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed is there?

Monday dawned, our friends' last day with us, and we had planned a trip into the city. After all they had come to Madrid but had not been into the centre so Monday was the day. We set off just after 10 am and drove to the nearest metro stop leaving the car there. It takes 10 to 15 minutes to the station and a further 10 minutes by train to Plaza de España. I remarked to Eladio that as it's really quite a short journey why do we not go more often. Laziness, I suppose, is the answer. I couldn't believe the city was so full of tourists on a Monday at the end of October but it was. We decided to wander round the newly refurbished square which now goes as far as the beautiful Royal Palace. Built by Philip V it is a copy of Versailles but unbelievably even bigger. I hadn't walked around the square for years and didn't even recognise the main statue - a homage to Cervantes and his greatest creation, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. It is said that both Cervantes and the English bard Shakespeare died on the same day - 23rd April 1616 but I think it depends on which calendar is referred to. Cervantes is definitely Spain's Shakespeare and Don Quixote is considered the first modern novel. It is also the most published book in the world - apart from the Bible - with 500 million copies printed. I am one of those who bought the book. I had to as a student of Hispanic Studies at University. But I am ashamed to say I bought it in English and not in Spanish and never got past the first two chapters. I suspect that has happened to many. But as a former student of the language of Cervantes I had to have a photo next to his monument in the famous Plaza de España. 

By the statue of Cervantes with Don Quixote and Sancho Panza on Monday in the Plaza de España in Madrid. 

From the square we wandered along the new pedestrian precinct which now partially covers the Calle de Bailén, towards the Royal Palace. I once went on a guided tour many moons ago with my parents and both Eladio and I agreed we must go one day. It is the official residence of the King of Spain who does not actually live there. He lives in the Palacio de la Zarzuela on the outskirts of Madrid  and the Royal Palace is only used for state occasions.

Eladio in front of the Royal Palace which you can now walk to from the Plaza de España

From there we walked back to the beginning of the Plaza de España towards the new luxury Hotel Rui Plaza. It has an amazing roof top terrace where we had been twice before. The singularity of the terrace at the top of the building on the 27th floor is a glass walkway separating the terrace in two which people flock to. I honestly was not able to walk across it but many people do.

The glass walk way on the Rui Plaza hotel roof top terrace 

When we got to the top, our friends were just as awed as we were when we first went. The place is really spectacular and quite luxurious. We were ushered to a table with a view by a beautiful young girl called Bianca who is a student of journalism originally from Romania. I talked to so many people that day from many places in the world - Romania, England (Manchester and Warrington), Senegal (or was it Nigeria?) and even Mexico. We enjoyed a coffee together at the top admiring the views and had to have lots of pictures taken like this one and the one below of my friends and me.

Feeling on top of the world at one of Madrid's best roof top terraces - Hotel Rui Plaza - on Monday. It commands the most amazing views of the city. 

Feeling great with Phil and Kathy at the rooftop bar

On our way out we spied a wonderful view of the Royal Palace and the park called "Casa del Campo"  which our train had come through on our way into the city. 

The Royal Palace and part of the Casa del Campo park as seen from the roof top bar

We could also see the Gran Via - the main thoroughfare in the old part of Madrid which we would be walking up next towards Callao and then onto the Puerta del Sol which was undergoing huge refurbishment works. I wonder what they will do with it?

The Gran Via as seen from the rooftop bar in Plaza de España

Our walk from Plaza de España to Callao was up the beautiful Gran Via. Once at Callao we walked along Calle Preciados said to be Spain's most commercial street. I told my friends to hang on to their belongings for fear of pick pockets and so they did. Preciados leads to the Puerta del Sol which we could hardly see because of the works going on. Thus we rushed by and made our way to the beautiful Plaza Mayor. We rushed a bit as we had a table booked for 1.30 at Casa Lucio in Cava Baja just off the square and we didn't want to be late. It's usually really difficult to get a table but I must have been lucky. This restaurant is one of the most traditional and popular in the city, both with locals and tourists. It was frequented often by Spain's former King Juan Carlos and once when I was having lunch there I saw the Spanish PM, Aznar, on another table. The food is traditional but comes from the finest fresh produce. It's most famous dish is broken eggs with chips which most people go to eat. I was on a diet so went for prawns followed by one of the best pieces of steak I have eaten in a long time. My fellow diners thought the food was excellent and agreed it had been our best meal during their stay. Here they are outside after our wonderful meal. 

Outside Casa Lucio on Monday

From the relatively quiet Cava Baja street, mostly because a lot of restaurants - but not Casa Lucio - close on Mondays, we made our way back to the Plaza Mayor. 

Kathy and Phil in the Plaza Mayor on Monday

Many people there were eating the popular Spanish Madrid sandwich or "bocadillo" with fried squid. I wanted to show our friends the well known San Miguel Market nearby. The place was teeming with tourists and tourist gimmicks and offers of trips on tuc tucs more suitable to Delhi I think. But when I saw a Mexican playing a guitar with his sombrero I really thought Madrid was getting a bit tacky. But you know what? He came up to sing me a song - "Cielito Lindo" and I was actually delighted. 

An encounter with a Mexican Mariachi in Madrid on Monday

I told him how when I was about 18 and on holiday in Acapulco with my mother and brother who was living in Jalapa (Veracruz) as part of his Latin American studies degree, the Mariachis used to sing for me on the beach. It took me right back to that happy holiday in 1978 I think. We later spoke to him again as he kept finding us. He told us his dream was to go to Italy to find the love of his life. I told him I had found mine in Spain and to keep looking. Oh what fun.

The market which is a great gastro centre was too full, as always, to appreciate so we came out and sat outside in a bar to rest. I couldn't believe seeing and hearing an English waiter in his 50's talking Spanish very well but with a strong northern English accent. Kathy asked him if he was from Liverpool. He told us he was from Warrington which is in between Lancashire and Liverpool. He asked where I was from and I said Yorkshire - not strictly true as I was born in Cambridge and only lived in Yorkshire from 1964 to 1976 or so. As I don't have a Yorkshire accent he asked if I was from Harrogate, the poshest town in the county.  If only, I replied. It was another funny encounter of which there were too many that day to recount here. I certainly am my mother's daughter. My mother, and my brother too, would talk to anyone be they be a pauper or a prince.  I think Eladio gets a bit embarrassed when I engage in conversations with strangers and walks away looking on in amusement.

From the Mercado de San Miguel area we had to walk all the way back to the Plaza de España to take the metro and I think we were all tired. My watch told me we had done about 10km that day which is much more than the usual. But soon we were home and later I came downstairs with my cup of decaf tea to have it by the pool. It was not cold but we needed a jumper or a cardigan. Dinner that night was to be our last with Phil and Kathy as they were leaving on Tuesday morning at the crack of dawn. It was to be goodbye to our dear friends after a wonderful time together. But I was only saying farewell as I will be going to stay with them in Yorkshire next month. Roll on November I say.

The news of the day which we heard about while enjoying wandering around Madrid, was that the UK had a new PM in Rushi Sunak, who aged just 42 is the youngest in history after William the Pitt who was  24 when he took on the role in 1783. But actually there is not much between Sunak and Tony Blair who was 43 when he became PM. What is news is that Britain has its first PM of Asian origin - a bit like the Obama moment.  It shouldn't be news in multicultural UK. but it is for its historic significance. If England now how a PM of Indian origin I wonder how long it will take for France or Spain to have an Algerian or Moroccan premiere - certainly not in my lifetime. It says so much about multicultural UK.  but I couldn't help thinking how the world has come round for Britain and its Empire when it more or less owned India and how not so many years later an Indian would be installed at Downing Street.  One Indian paper put it this way which I thought was rather apt; "Indian son rises over the Empire, history comes full circle in Britain! Not even  Mathatma Gandhi could have dreamed of  a PM of Indian origin in England when he visited London to meet Ramsay MacDonald in 1931 to beg for independence. 

Mahatma Gandhi with Ramsay MacDonald at Downing Street in 1931. He would be pleased the UK now has a PM of Indian origin

That is less than 100 years ago! But a lot has happened since then. Whether Sunak is of Indian origin or not doesn't really matter. What matters is if he is up to the job. His background is very privileged and I wonder if the father of India would approve of him being the richest PM in history with an estimated fortune of over 700 million pounds with his wife who is the daughter of an Indian millionaire. He is the MP for Richmond, another posh town in North Yorkshire where he is dubbed "The Maharajah of Yorkshire" with double the King's wealth. Again, I'm not sure Gandhi would approve as he preached austerity.  How on earth can Sumat relate to the estimated 14 million people in the UK who cannot even afford regular meals? The other question is how on earth is he going to manage the financial and political turmoil he now has to deal with. I would have preferred a General Election. But let's give this Westminster College and Oxford educated,  very rich man some time before we judge him. That's what I thought the day he was elected. But when I read that in his cabinet of 24 - a mixture of the old and new -  he has only appointed 7 women, well, I was frankly disappointed. Asian men, and I am not being racist here, are well known for their repression of women. Rishi Sunak probably isn't but the statement he is making when appointing so few women doesn't make for a good start. The bottom line is at least we have got rid of Truss and Boris Johnson is not coming back and it seems we now have a "grown up" at Downing Street. 

On Wednesday morning, while my friends were flying back to Manchester, Liz Truss would make the sad journey to see the King to hand in her resignation formally, shortly after which Rish Sunak would be driven to Buckingham Palace for the "kissing of the hands" ceremony. 

The kissing of the hands ceremony this week

I was interested to read that the new King - we will never call him THE King - received Sunak, offering him Diwali sweets.  Charles (yes, we still call him Charles), the great promoter of interfaith relations in today's multicultural Britain,  met the new PM in the 1844 Room of Buckingham Palace where there was a table with a selection of Diwali treats.  I'm sure you know this is the  five day "Festival of Lights" celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains. It  marks the triumph of good over evil  which I think is very applicable to Sunak beating Johnson ,don't you agree?

While the exciting process of the change of yet another PM - 5 since Brexit - was happening in London, we had a quiet morning. It seemed strange not to have Phil and Kathy here but life goes on. We skipped the walk so as to do the food shopping which would involve me cooking some of the ingredients I bought that morning. Oh roll on the return of Lucy, our Paraguayan home help who had been with us for more than 3 years since one month ago. The great news is that she is coming back soon and I can't wait for the day. We had coffee at Alverán on our own with no sign of our nasty ex squatter Felipe Turover whom we haven't seen for quite a few days. I took a photo of my dear husband who looked so dapper in a bright yellow Zara jumper I had bought for him a while back but which he is rather hesitant to wear. This is him.  Who would believe he is 78? Impossible you will say. Me too.

Eladio in yellow which suits him so well - coffee at Alveran on Tuesday

We came home to unpack and put everything away and I got down to making our lunch. I think I was tired after walking 16000 steps in Madrid the day before so slept for an hour after our meal. The highlight of the day was a long girly Skype call with my dear friend Amanda. I can't wait to see her again when I go to Yorkshire in November. That is something I am really looking forward to I can tell you.

I then started reading a new book. In fact I downloaded two samples of books by the British author Helen Rappaport. It was my father's old pupil, Michael, who recommended her latest book; "After the Romanovs: Russian exiles in Paris between wars. Oh how exciting I thought as so many of my mother's relatives exiled there too after they escaped the revolution. I later read that the author studied Russian at Leeds University where my mother taught Russian and Bulgarian for many years. I wondered if my mother had taught her but sadly no, as she was born in 1947. In any case I would love to reach out to her. I then scrolled through other books she has written and came across one which I had to start reading there and then. Called "The Romanov Sisters: the lost lives of the daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra", it is wonderfully written and I am enjoying every  page. Thanks Michael for the tip. 

Diner time came and I was uninspired so just had gazpacho, ham and kiwis. Shortly afterwards my new guest, Andre, from the German speaking part of Switzerland arrived. He fittingly stayed in "Andy's room" - Andy was our Scottish guest here for 1.5 years and left just as the first Covid lockdown began. Since then that is what we call this room. Andre liked both the room and the house and we wouldn't see much of him as he came for work and didn't even make his appearance in the kitchen where guests often convene.

That night we started watching the rather disturbing new documentary series called The Vatican Girl. Do you remember the story of a girl called Emanuela Orlandi who disappeared one night in 1983 - the year we married - after not returning home from a music class? She was just 15 and her disappearance has been a mystery ever since. I think the series wants to hint that the Vatican was somehow involved. Poor girl, poor family. 

Wednesday came and we had a date that day; coffee with our friends Roberto and Mari Carmen. They are an amicably divorced couple who still spend a lot of time together. Or at least I thought we had and when we set off I texted Mari Carmen to say we were leaving when she reminded us the date was on Thursday. Thus we drove home and went on our walk. I had made lunch in between; meat loaf again. The autumn sun was out that day and the rain has now gone and we are experiencing unusually high temperatures for the end of October.

There is not much more to tell about Wednesday, so let me move on to Thursday. It was a busy day and started with our regular walk. My new Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 later recorded I had done over 10k steps which is my daily objective. I would walk a bit more later when we went to have coffee with our friends Roberto and Mari Carmen whom we hadn't seen since my father's funeral nearly a year ago (8th November 2021 - a date never to be forgotten). We met at Alverán and again our nasty squatter wasn't there. Our friends were keen to show us a new flat that they had bought for letting which involved a short but pleasant walk. We congratulated them on their initiative and we all remarked the safest place for money is in bricks and mortar these days. No way would I ever dare invest money anywhere else given the volatility of markets now and nearly always.

They certainly are volatile in the UK with all the political unrest. This week Sunak began his government not on the best footing. In Spain it was reported that new Foreign Minister had warned about visiting Qatar for the World Cup and to respect their culture; i.e. being gay mean a death sentence. On the other hand there were calls for the newly elected Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, to resign again as she did under Liz Truss for data breaches. This was her main reason for resigning but the breach or breaches haven't gone away. There are concerns too that her immigration policy is far too strict. As this woman herself is an immigrant her views seem so paradoxical.  I was amazed to read in The Times on Friday that there were plans for immigrants crossing the channel to be "housed" in tents in London Parks! For God's Sake. And while the UN is telling us that "time is running out very fast" to save our planet I read that Sunak will not even be attending the next Climate Summit. For God's sake (again), please Richi let the new King go. Whether you like him or not he is a world leader on the subject. Maybe Richi has more immediate troubles at home. One is the NHS and there is no need to go into details about the problems of the British health service. I was appalled to read recently that half of all maternity units in the UK are under standard. I had no idea that it is only midwives who deliver babies. When I had mine in Spain they were delivered by gynecologists. Not only that. Ever since I gave birth the last time in 1985, I have had a check up with a gynecologist year in year out. In the UK, I am told this only happens when you get to 50 and then only on a bi annual basis. That is shameful. My friend defended midwives as being very professional but said the problem is there aren't enough of them. The nurses are going on strike in the UK calling for better pay which they well deserve and it is estimated that more than 30.000 will be leaving their jobs soon. Brexit again is to blame when so many EU medical workers had to leave. 

That was more or less the main news in the UK that day when we watched it after lunch and just before our siesta. The other warning came from Russia from the warmonger Putin. He warned the world was entering its most dangerous decade since WW2. As if we didn't know that already, all I could think was that it was thanks to him. My heart goes out to those brave Ukrainians living through war, many of them without basic services as Putin strikes at essential infrastructure. Damn the man. 

We were out of the house again later as I had my first appointment with a physiotherapist specialising in women's pelvic floor. This is because of my lovely prolapse - both bladder and womb. It was an interesting session and there are signs that with exercise I may be able to avoid an operation. In the times when I gave birth and before, women's pelvic health was never even thought about leading to all sorts of problems in later life. Thankfully, today, this is less so.

I came home to watch the end of a ghastly film I had started on Wednesday. Called The Good Nurse, it is based on the true story of a "bad nurse", Charles Cullen who killed many patients for years owing to a broken healthcare system. He was able to get away with it until another nurse he befriended began to suspect him. Wow what a story! 

Dinner was just Eladio and I which we could have had outside. It was 22c or so at 8pm - amazing. Spain is having a very mild late autumn with temperature in many places 10 degrees higher than normal. That means, thankfully, that, so far, we haven't had to put on the central heating. It will hit our pockets but we will manage, unlike so many people elsewhere, some who have to leave it off and instead wear layers of clothing. 

Friday came. The big financial news was the purchase of  Twitter by the richest men in the world who doesn't have to think about the cost of central heating. Elon Musk bought Twitter after a second attempt.  He bought it for 44bn dollars which it is said will do down as "one of the most overpaid tech acquisitions in history". He walked into the Twitter HQ carrying a kitchen sink and saying "I hope this sinks in"! Of course he  immediately sacked the management team. But don't worry about them as they have received millions in compensation.   Dubbing himself "Chief Twit" (hahaha), I  read he bought it mostly to help Twitter be a better place in social media and to "help humanity". 

Elon Musk of Tesla fame, now the new owner of Twitter

He also said he wanted civilisation to have a "common digital town square". So how will he change it I wonder? I also read he may let Donald Trump come back. That is not good news. For the moment though there will be no changes as he puts in place a council to moderate posts. His first post was "The bird is free" but I do hope Twitter stops being the main place on internet for hate speech. I really do. 

Before I read the news though, I had an important task to do. I had invested in a DNA kit from My Heritage, prompted by a friend. 

My DNA kit arrived on Thursday

It's not the health version, just the one that discovers your ethnic and geographical origins and also apparently finds new relatives. I had long been thinking about it and the other day I signed up. The kit arrived on Thursday afternoon and on Friday morning I did the test. I then activated it by filling in details about my parents and grandparents - names, dates and places of birth - and that day I sent off the two samples I had to fill with swabs from the inside of my cheeks.  I won't get the results for another 3 weeks or so. So what do I expect? Well, obviously some English,  Welsh, Irish, Russian, maybe Polish and Scandinavian or even Baltic blood. It will be interesting to see in what percentages and if there are any other origins that I didn't know of. As to relatives, well, who knows what I may discover. 

That day we had one person leaving and a group of 7 arriving. That meant quite a lot of preparation and by the time I had finished my part it was a bit late for our walk. Thus we opted to go out on our errands - post office to send my DNA kit and to retrieve a registered letter, pick up a watch Eladio had mended, coffee of course at Alverán, a visit to the hole in the wall and finally to the opticians. There we went to order Eladio's new prescription glasses for reading. We only went home after visiting a cobbler to put a leather strap on the folding glasses case for my husband to wear on his belt. All this was done in brilliant sunshine - I am so blessed living in Europe's warmest country; except that when climate change really hits us it may not be such a blessing. If that happens we can always move up north to either Montrondo or to Asturias.

Lunch was an Asturian dish for Eladio - fabada - which I had prepared early in the morning. Being on a diet - now for over a month - I had a bit of leftover meat loaf with fresh asparagus. I have still not gone on the scales but am happy to announce I now fit into my M+S size 12 jeans again. Hurrah!

We went to watch the news and take a siesta. But I couldn't sleep as I was waiting for my 7 guests who were supposed to arrive at around 2pm. They did not arrive until well after 5 but hey no worries as this is my new job. It turned out this group had been here before but in our absence so I didn't remember them but they remembered the house and were pleased to be here again. They are a group of students from Spain, France and Portugal. When they had settled in, I returned greedily to my book - The Four (Romanov) Sisters and my cup of tea.

We had a quiet dinner and then it was time for bed, the news and more of The Vatican Girl. 

Saturday dawned. One guest was leaving and another was arriving. We really have had a full house this weekend but even so it is very quiet. Of course many of them leave me reviews and I review them too.  As an Airbnb host I am a slave to reviews.  But, I am blessed in that I have many many really wonderful reviews. Yesterday I got my best review ever and it made my day. .It came from dear Hayley who not only gave me 5 stars for everything but said the most wonderful things about our home. 

Hayley's review which referred to our home as as "place of love and wonder". 

My Swiss guest also sent a great review writing -  "This is exactly how Airbnb should work". But it was Hayley's text that reached my heart. This is what she wrote: "Words can't describe how much I enjoyed and loved my stay with Masha and her beautiful family - not only is her home truly gorgeous but they even when out of their way to pick me up from the bus station to ensure I didn't get lost in the dark which I usually do. Their hearts and souls truly touched me from the moment I got invited in to their home  - it's a place of love and wonder - and these personal touches made my trip the whole lot more beautiful - thank you so much Masha and truly hope to see you and Suzy again somewhere around the world" Isn't that beautiful? It really filled my heart but also made me think that a lot of our success has to do with how we interact with our guests. Thank you Hayley from the bottom of my heart. 

On our walk that morning we spoke, as we often do, about our extraordinary experience of hosting guests in our main house and in Santa Pola and Asturias. Never in our lives could we have imagined it. Just for the record here is a lovely photo of my husband - again in yellow (M&S Rugby shirt I love) - with Pippa, of course.

Eladio and Pippa on our walk yesterday

We spoke too about our grandchildren and how we hadn't seen them for a week at least. But Oli sent me a photo of Elliot and Juliet playing happily together that morning.

Juliet and Elliot playing yesterday morning

As more than a week cannot go past without seeing these little darlings, I invited Oli and co for lunch today. We will be having the last barbecue of the season - pics next week.

The rest of the day was quiet and we spent it together and alone as our guests were all out, except for one new guest who arrived at 2 pm. He had come for a Halloween Party which is next week. Oh, how I hate Halloween and always have. It is not an Anglo Saxon tradition; it comes from America and has invaded the rest of the world. I was appalled to read this morning of a crush of people at a Halloween party in South Korea with more than 150 people dead, all in their Halloween outfits. Ghastly!

We were going to a party too but nothing to do with Halloween. Our friend Javier and my ex colleague from the sector had invited us to his 60th birthday party. I have known Javier for many years when he was the Press Officer for Telefonica and I had the same job with Motorola, Nokia and then Yoigo. We later got to know his wonderful wife, Ana, and their great family - 3 girls and 1 boy, all now married. They have 4 grandchildren so far and are blessed in many ways. They have moved to El Escorial, that beautiful town in the mountains of Madrid where Philip II built a huge Monastery where he lived and where most of the past Kings and Queens of Spain are buried.  His party was to be held at a very chic place belonging or next to the golf club in El Escorial. We didn't know what the dress code was, so went smart casual. I wore the dress I had bought for a wedding in July and Eladio wore his new jeans with a new M+S shirt together with a bow tie and a very old dark blue blazer. It is so old, it was only when we were at the party that I realised all the men's blazers were far shorter than Eladio's. I felt a bit ashamed. I later remarked we must have it shortened. Before we left I got Suzy to take some photos of the 2 of us as it is not often we are all dressed up to go to a party. 

All ready to go to Javier's 60th birthday party

We set off at around 7.15 while it was still light - tonight it won't be as last night DST began (boohoo). But soon it was dark and I hate driving in the dark. But we made it in under an hour and were soon inside the lovely glass terrace at the golf course. We were made very welcome and got to see people we already knew and to meet new people. Javier had all his friends and family there so the atmosphere couldn't have been warmer. There was great food, and drink - as well as a cake. I was good and had not much wine, very little food and resisted the amazing carrot cake. Here are some pics from last night, a wonderful 60th birthday celebration. Many happy returns Javier and thank you for inviting us.

Some pics from last night's party

Before we left, we actually joined in the dancing and Eladio and I are not ones for dancing. I generally step on my partner's feet unless it is slow dancing which I much enjoyed last night with my husband. A bit like Cinderella, we wanted to be home by midnight so were probably the first to leave. This time we had the roads to ourselves and got home safely. We came home to find our student guests about to go to  bed. They seemed a lovely group of students. Suzy had Pippa with her who I heard had been scared stiff in our absence and hers. She only calmed down when we arrived. Soon though we gave her a bath (and brushed her teeth) and she was curled up on our bed feeling safe again. To fall asleep I read a few more chapters of The Four Sisters. I was awake at the 5ish which of course was 6ish still for me but forced myself to stay in bed until it was the new 7 am. 

The clocks went back last night, to Daylight Saving Time but I would far prefer us to stay on Summer Time all through the year. Why on earth do we have to change the clocks? It means now that we will have one hour  less of light in the evenings and I, like many others, would prefer more light in the evening rather than in the morning. 

Today is Sunday and I have the family coming for lunch so must hurry to finish this and get on with the day. 

Cheers then my friends until next week,

Masha

A week in El Cuetu with our friends from Yorkshire. Showing them our favourite places in Asturias and discovering more. Political turmoil in the UK, Liz Truss resigns and home again.

Home again. Sunday, 23rd October, 2022

Feeling happy to be back in wonderful Asturias

Good morning everyone .How are you all? Well, what a week it has been. 

I think I could only have guessed last Sunday as I watched events unfold at Downing Street that Liz Truss, the 45 day  old PM, would be out one week later. It was on the cards though, ever since she announced her disastrous and anything but mini budget. She now will go down in history as  the shortest serving PM in the UK and one of the shortest in the world. The previous UK PM who held that record was George Canning who died of TB after just 4 months in office in 1827. In less than one year we have seen 4 chancellors  and very soon 3 prime ministers. King Charles, whose mother lived through 15, will shortly be appointing his second. I wonder if he said to  her "back again" or uttered "oh dear" when she offered her resignation. I also wonder what he said in private. Those words will come back to haunt Ms. Truss. I read that both Charles I and Charles II dissolved parliament. Many think, that instead of another leadership race, Charles III should also dissolve parliament and leave it up to the people as to who is the next PM. A new PM will need the backing of 100 MPs and there are only 2 or 3 contenders; Rishi Sunak of course, the lesser known Penny Mordaunt and God forbid Boris Johnson who was on holiday in the Caribbean but has now rushed back. 

I bet Truss  can't sleep and has been crying her eyes out. How on earth someone who has been in politics for so many years and in ministerial posts could make such a botch of the job at the top is baffling. My daughter Oli felt sorry for her but she had it coming.  She may have become Britain's Prime Minister but can never be proud of the fact. Very annoyingly, as such she will be entitled to an allowance of about 115.000 pounds a year. I sincerely hope she doesn't meet the criteria. 

We, on the other hand, are feeling rejuvenated and full of life after a wonderful week at our house in El Cuetu. We loved showing all our favourite places to our dear friends Kathy and Phil from Yorkshire and discovering others.

Last Sunday was our first full day there. We made the best of it and the weather helped. It was so mild our friends had their breakfast on the terrace as you can see in the photo below.

Our friends having their breakfast on the terrace last Sunday

There are many places we love that  we wanted to share with our friends and our first choice was the Playa de Poó (yes, Pooh beach) and the beautiful coastal town of Llanes of course. They are our favourite beach and town in this area. We are so lucky there are so many places to choose from.  

It's quite a short drive and being the middle of October we found a parking spot just in front of this singular beach - a bit like a fjord and protected by the mountains. They say it is the safest beach in the area for children as the water is very shallow. This is the sight that greeted us as we got out of the car. 

Playa de Poó 

When I first saw this view, 2 years ago, just after we had bought the house, I was gobsmacked at its beauty. I think our friends were too. So we took lots of pictures like the one below. 

Phil and Kathy by the Playa de Poó last Sunday

I wished we had brought our swimming costumes. We hadn't, so made do with a walk on the beach as far as we could go as the tide was coming in. We were practically alone. The next place we wanted to show our friends were the cliffs above the beach which never disappoint unless it is foggy or raining. But the sun was out so everything looked just splendid. It's a bit of a walk up but an enjoyable one where once again we were rewarded with a great view. Just look at the rugged coastline visible from the cliffs above the Poó beach. Again we took lots of photos like the one below. Being 2 couples we were able to get lots of photos together - much better than selfies hahahaha. 
jjj

Eladio and I on the clifftop above the Poó beach. I love it up there. 

The next item on the agenda was a drive to Llanes to have a coffee at the bar Galerna where, true to tradition, we always go. It was packed but we got a table. Opposite the bar is that wonderful gourmet shop, Aramburu,  which I also wanted to show my friends. There we bought cheese for them - I hate it as you know - but also fresh farm eggs, ham, lomo, quince, sardines and local jam. They kindly let us leave our shopping there for when we returned from lunch at the Mirador de Toró on the other side of town. 

It's a lovely walk through Llanes, across the harbour and over to the other side of of the town. It ends at  Playa de Toró which is another beautiful beach. I like the rock formations on the sand which are typical of this area.

Playa de Toró

I was lucky to get a table as it was a Sunday and this restaurant is very popular with the locals. Just look where we got ours, overlooking the beach. It was the perfect setting for a delicious lunch. 

Eladio with Phil and Kathy at the Mirador de Toró restaurant last Sunday

The food is divine, if a little expensive - but who cares? It's nice to splash out occasionally. I had the mini scallops as did Kathy and they were divine.

Scallops at Mirador de Toró restaurant last Sunday

Before heading home we were keen to show our friends another favourite spot - the beach bar "Castru" (chiringuito) above the Playa de Andrín. We got there ok but unfortunately there was a thick mist so my friends couldn't really appreciate the beauty of this lovely spot. 

We were all tired after that so drove home - about 30 minutes - to rest and lie down in front of the telly - in my case. I fell asleep watching the Good Doctor. We all rested after a wonderful day showing our friends some of our favourite places in the area. Kathy and Phil have loved the places and our house too - bless them. They especially like the stable door as we do. Here is Kathy leaning out of it. 

Kathy leaning out of our front door which is  stable door

I rustled up a quick dinner of salad which we had with the cold cuts we had bought at the gourmet shop in Llanes - Aramburu - and chatted afterwards until it was time for bed.

Again I slept well and woke up at 7.40 on Monday morning. After a leisurely breakfast and reading the headlines, we set off for another full day of exploring the area. That day we took our friends to the pretty coastal town of Ribadasella. Avoiding the motorway, we stopped less than half way to take the path to the cliffs of Castro Arenas in the pretty little village of Cuerres. We love these cliffs where one of my favourite Spanish period dramas, La Señora, is set (the story of forbidden love with a rich young girl and a priest - sound familiar?). They are rather hidden away and difficult to get to and the sat nav kept getting it wrong but we made it.Shortly before the cliffs there is a tiny but exquisite little beach called Guadamia which I was keen to show our friends from Yorkshire. I long to bathe there one day. Here they are posing on a fence above the beach. 

Guadamia beach - Cuerres

Shortly afterwards we reached the cliffs which I had actually been to with my friend Amanda in September but which Eladio hadn't seen since we went there about 15 years ago. Like the in-love couple from the TV series, we had our photo taken there too. 

The Castro Arenas clifftops in Cuerres

From there we continued our journey to Ribadasella. It was time for a coffee and we took our friends to a little bar we always go to on the main street in this rather chic town. You will be interested to know that the Queen of Spain, Queen Letizia, is from this area. She was born in Oviedo but her maternal grandmother had a house in Ribadasella. We were later told by a farmer in Cuevas that the Queen's grandparents hailed from Sardeu, a tiny and very poor village 5km from Ribadasella! But I wasn't thinking about the Queen or her relationship to the town while we had our coffee. I had spied a boutique where a couple of years ago I had bought some clothes for Eladio. I wanted to go in and see if I could find anything for him. Eladio is not interested in clothes really but did need some new trousers and while we were at at why not a jumper and a shirt too? Knowing he hates clothes shopping, Kathy and I went in and I chose a few items for him to try on. He then had to be dragged in and made to try them on. The silly thing is, that he looked great in everything he tried and I think, secretly, he was rather pleased himself. I didn't like what he was wearing - some very old and rather baggy jeans with a bad quality Primark striped jumper, so I made him walk out in part of his new outfit. Bless the man, he agreed and was actually beaming when I took his photo outside the shop. I had got a new man I said and I had. He looked so dashing. For the record he is wearing new tight fitting but comfy jeans, a white checkered shirt with pink and blue and a lovely blue jumper. Blue suits him. 

Eladio in his new clothes; a new man. 

After our successful clothes shopping, we set off again, taking our friends across the bridge over the River Sella which gives its name to the town - Ribadasella. The river is famous for canoeing and in the summer there is a very popular race called El descensco del Sella - the Descent of the Sella which flows from the nearby Picos de Europa. The bridge leads to the port where people have yachts and there were fishing boats too. Our friends were most interested in the fish they could see in the river as Phil and Kath's son, Sam, are keen fishermen. I had no idea that in England now fishing is just a sport and that when you have caught a fish it has to go back in the river. In Spain and in France, fish are caught for eating. I hardly see the point in catching a fish and letting it back in the water but each to their own.

Eladio with our friends by the port in Ribadasella

From the port we walked to the main town beach - Playa de la Marina - a magnificent beach front similar to others in the north of Spain such as  El Sardinero in Santander or La Concha in San Sebastian. It was a warm and sunny day with intervals of cloud but when we got there the sun was shining. It was lunch time and I took my friends to a place I had spied with Amanda last time; The Gran Hotel del Sella. It was the only restaurant open on the beach front and looked like  the perfect place for lunch. The menu was not cheap though - 35 euros and if we wanted a 15 euro one we would have had to walk back in to town  But the lady (i.e. me) was not for turning and I immediately asked for a table for 4 at 2 pm. I later mused that when I was a child, in our house we never went out for meals, we never went to expensive hotels and everything we did was on a budget. I remember an event in Lincoln as a child which I have never forgotten.  It was probably late for lunch so my mother went from restaurant to restaurant checking the prices while I looked on in great expectation of having lunch out. We didn't in the end and I was so disappointed.  Perhaps my penchant for the good life comes from my semi austere background. It't not that we were poor but my parents were both teachers and there was never money for luxury. Later I worked in the corporate world where I got a taste for luxury. And now at this age - 65, after a whole life of working I think paying 35 euros for a menu of the day is something I deserve. Sorry for that incursion but I think it explains why I want to live the best I can. After all we don't have many years left to do so. Maybe in 10 years time we won't even want to go out for lunch. So we seized the moment. My companions agreed. 

Outside the Gran Hotel del Sella - marvelous place for lunch

While waiting for our table we sat outside enjoying the view of the sea. Lunch was magnificent. I had a vegetable soup as I'm on a diet and resisted the fabada (bean stew) followed by the most delicious grilled hake with a variety of vegetables. I have to point out that even in Asturias I have been following my diet. It made me feel better with myself. 

As we walked out of the stunning hotel, a mature couple called out to Kathy and I in English to say hello. We thought they might be British, but no they were from Miami which made me think immediately about the hurricane. They were a fascinating couple who had retired in nearby Oviedo. It turned out that the husband was born in Cuba in 1954 and escaped with his family in 1961 just after Castro came to power - and on the last plane allowed out he said. He also told us how he cannot ever go back which I found very sad. His wife, a lovely woman, was born in Miami to a Spanish father from Oviedo who had emigrated - like so many - from Asturias, probably in the 40's - where he met her mother. They left Cuba too and settled in the States in Miami where she was born. We spoke for a long time as we found them so interesting and because their roots were similar to Eladio's. His father had been born in Pinar del Río in Cuba because his grandparents had also emigrated. The people who left Spain for Cuba and other countries in Latin America in the first part of the last century did so to find jobs and make money. They were called "indianos". Those who did make a lot of money returned to Spain and showed it off by building stunning houses in the colonial style they had seen in the "Indias" which is what Latin America was called then. Eladio's paternal grandfather did make money and did come back to Spain to his village in Galicia. He set up a bar but sadly he was its main customer and later died of cirrhosis. On his mother's side, his uncle left Montrondo in the early 1920's for Cuba in search of a better life. He never returned and lived through the revolution and today Eladio has cousins there, some of whom we met when we went to Havana in 2017. Eladio's uncle's grandson, Rochi, did though and visited Montrondo about 10 years ago. He is a staunch supporter of Castro and when we visited his house on the outskirts of the city, I can only say that his house is very, very humble. It is sad how poor the Cubans are thanks to communism. The American couple from Miami agreed.

Our day did not end in Ribadasella. In our plans for that day I had included a visit to a place called La Cuevona (literally great big cave). I had been told the day before by someone in our village of its existence. The cave is about 8km from Ribadasella and is under a mountain where a road has been built which leads to a small village called Cuevas del Agua (Water caves). It is apparently the only village in Spain that can be reached via a cave. I was intrigued and so were my fellow travelers. So we drove there. We chose to drive through and park on the other side in the village and later walk back and through it. What an experience. This is what the cave looks like inside. 

La Cuevona

We drove through it and parked at the end of the village where there is also a small train station - a narrow railway line where the train goes from Oviedo to Santander with stops in many villages. We were lucky to see one go by while we were there. The village itself is very pretty and we both remarked that maybe if we had known of its existence we might have looked at Cuevas while searching for our house in Asturias. The most amazing part of our visit was walking through the cave to the other side. It is about 300 metres long and full of stalactites and stalagmites and just has to be centuries old. It is lit up in parts and felt slightly eerie but also like being inside a cathedral. I could only imagine what wonderful acoustics it must have.  Here are some more photos for you to get an idea. 

Eladio inside the Cuevona

The entrance from the village

Each time we come to Asturias we usually return to our favourite haunts and sometimes we get lucky and find new gems such as La Cuevona.  It was a wonderful place and we will be back.

It was a 40 minute drive home which is not that far and the countryside on the way is beautiful. We stopped in Posada de Llanes - our nearest town - to do some shopping to stock up for a few more days.

We were home late at about 7 pm and there would be no siesta that day. Sorry Eladio. Funnily enough we were hungry again that night and I again rustled up a quick meal for the four of us - we managed to finish the broccoli soup and we had it with an omelet and fresh asparagus. Dessert was delicious melon sprinkled with raspberries, strawberries and blackberries.

I had another good night's sleep and woke up again at around 7.30 am on Tuesday morning. It was to be the warmest day of our stay. Furthermore, that day, private car access up to the famous Lakes of Cavodonga was permitted. It is closed to private traffic in the high season, the only way up being by shuttle bus or taxi. That's how Amanda and I got up when we were there in September but it's nicer to drive up yourself. Thus, we didn't think twice and decided that was the THE day to take our friends up to the centre of the famous Peaks of Europe to see the beautiful Lakes of Covadonga, one of Spain's most famous beauty spots. 

It's just under an hour's drive from our house on a beautiful country road with sights of the Peaks. The road up to the Lakes has stunning scenery and I felt happy for the cows, sheep and horses that live up there for most of the year. We weren't the only ones on the road. Every man and his brother had thought likewise and the road was full of traffic creeping up and slowed down by a coach - hate coaches going to beauty spots. We were lucky then to get a parking spot at the second lake - Ercina. 

Lake Ercina this week

As we got out of the car, the wind hit us and made it a bit of  a struggle to walk down to the lake shore. Before though we sat and had a coffee at the popular bar there - the only one.   Called Maria Rosa it has been a going concern for years - who knows maybe since the Picos de Europa national park was created in 1920.   I have been many times but never had a meal there. We all agreed we should have lunch there as  it's so authentic and of course the views are stunning. 

To work up an appetite we then walked down to the shore of the lake, took lots of pictures and then decided on a walk to see if we could go all the way round. We could have done but it would have taken us too long and of course we had lunch waiting for us.  By then the wind had gone. The walk was marvelous and we are determined to go back one day and walk all the way round next time. The Lakes of Covadonga with their mountain backdrop make you think you could be in Switzerland or a mini Switzerland. It's not the image most people have of Spain, yet is is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, for Spaniards at least. The road up is often used as a stage during the Tour of Spain, a stage won at least twice by Pedro Delgado the famous cyclist who I have the honour to say is my friend. You can see his name painted across the road while driving up, still today. He is a legend in this country having won the Tour of Spain twice and the Tour of France in 1988.

Eladio on our walk around Lake Ercina on Tuesday 

Our table was ready at 1.30 and we were to enjoy a great meal with the produce coming from the owner's own farm - mostly the beef. Eladio and Phil went for the baby goat. Cider is the drink to have in Asturias and that's what we drank with our meal. Here is Eladio pouring it the way it should be poured from above so that the liquid comes out with a sparkle. 

Eladio pouring the cider

After our meal I suggested a walk up to a viewing point at the top of some steep steps where I knew you get great views of Lake Ercina and Lake Enol further down below. It's a bit of a climb but well worth the effort as the views are stunning. Here are just two of the photos we took or had taken there. 

Photos of us at the viewing point where you can see both lakes. 

When we had had our fill of the area, it was time to drive down. This time we were  slowed down by a herd of sheep and then a herd of cows crossing the mountain road. We didn't mind though - quite the opposite as I love four legged animals - that is, if they are bigger than a rabbit hahahahah. I thought the cow below was enjoying the Lakes as much as we had. The warm weather of course was  a huge plus. 

A cow on our way down enjoying the Lakes - a great place for cows and sheep to graze. 

The next and last item on our agenda that day was to visit the spiritual home of Asturias, also the cradle of Spain's history - the place called Covadonga to which the lakes own their name. There was  a battle in the 8th century led by King Pelayo of Asturias which sparked the beginning of the reconquering of Spain from the Moors. It would take many centuries more until they were expelled in that all important date in Spain's history; 1492. Legend goes that King Pelayo  saw the virgin in the caves where he was hiding during the battle and that her inspiration helped him win it - or something like that. So that is how Covadonga and Our Lady of Covadonga came to mean so much to both Asturians and Spaniards in general. It is almost like a mini Lourdes. In the 19th century a huge basilica (cathedral without a bishop) was built in honour of Our Lady of Covadonga that can be seen from near and far. This is it. 

The Basílica of Covadonga built in honour of the Virgin of Covadonga

As we walked in, my dear husband Eladio remarked that he had once married a bride and her groom there 40 years ago. That was when he was in his first parish also located in the Peaks of Europe national park but in the León region - the park spans across 3 provinces; León, Asturias and Santander. I was quite struck by his remark as it must have been a huge honour for a young cleric - aged only 24, to perform a marriage ceremony in such an important place for Catholics. Unfortunately he didn't remember the name of the couple. No doubt they will never have forgotten him. Strange things ....

Eladio in the Basilica where he performed a marriage ceremony over 40 years ago. 

More important than the Basilica is the cave where the Virgin appeared before King Pelayo. It is the heart of the area as is this Virgin for most people from Asturias. She is a saint, a "santa" in Spanish, but the Asturians call her "la santina" - the little saint. Lots of diminutives in the local dialect end in "in" or "ina", in the same way that Spanish words ending in an "o" turn into a "u" there. We had been into the cave once when it was a little crowded but on Tuesday we had the place practically to ourselves. 

La Cuevina  - the holy cave in Covadonga.

We could have stayed for the rosary at 5 pm or mass there at 6.30 but we were more inclined to go home after a long day up in the Peaks. 

We came home to more sunshine and sat outside on our terrace which we did on most days. I love relaxing there. Eladio didn't join us as he wanted to change the location of the fridge in the pantry. So off he went to Posada to the ironmongers for what he needed. Oh how he loves ironmongers. I don't. 

By dinner time his job was done but I wasn't convinced really about the change of the silly little pantry. One day we shall pull down the wall between the kitchen and the pantry and make one big kitchen and even open a door to the back terrace and create an outdoor eating area. That is one of things we want to do with the house. There are many but for the moment they are only dreams.

I should have had a quiet time with my friends on the terrace but all sorts of things crept up to do with my little rental business I had to deal with. Two were guest related and  the other was more complicated. A reporter - Arancha -  from Antena 3 TV rang me out of the blue. She wanted to go to our house in Madrid that very afternoon to do a live report on the hiring of swimming pools by private owners like us. I wondered why she wanted to do one so late in the season. I do rent our pool on the French platform, Swimmy but haven't had as many swimmers this year because the house has been so full of Airbnb guests.   I couldn't be there for it of course but had dear Suzy to do my job. After quite a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on whatsapp, it was all set up. Suzy did a marvelous job according to Arancha and even dived in the pool herself for the report. I missed it when it came out live but later Arancha has promised to send  me a copy of the video. 

Suzy came up trumps that day. She has looked  after the house well, bless her. She also had to deal with the arrival of a piano tuner to tune my grandmother's piano which is more than 100 years old. Carlos, the piano tuner told Suzy that the make, a Broadway, was the same make Beethoven used - fancy that. He also said that for its age the piano was in a very good state. Suzy was so pleased with how the piano now sounds that she is tempted to try and play it. The girls both had piano lessons as children and as Suzy is so musical, I'm sure she just needs a bit of practice. It would be a joy to hear her play my grandmother's piano at home. 

Oli came up trumps too, but at work that day. It was funny to be called by a TV reporter as Arancha has a similar job to Olivia. My daughter works for TVE and was busy that day doing a live report on a horrible subject. At a school we know well as it is very near us - Virgen de Europa in Las Lomas - a catholic school, it had been reported that one of the teachers and the brother of the headmaster, had been filming girls undress for years. These girls were aged between 11 and 12. The culprit has since been expelled but is out on bail, damn the man. What a horrible story. You can see her reporting on the case here. 

But back to Tuesday evening at our humble abode in El Cuetu. Dinner was tuna salad which we all helped to make and we then spent quiet time, on the terrace again, until it was time for bed - around 11.30 pm.

I was up at just before 7 am on Wednesday morning and I had to think about where to take our friends that day. I came up with a visit to the cliffs above the Torimbia beach - photos of which you can see below. It is a famous nudist beach but we only saw one man and his two dogs there that day. 

On the cliff above Playa de Torimbia I took this great photo of Phil and Kathy

And here is Eladio looking very dapper in the same spot. 

From this beauty spot we drove to another, to Niembru, a place we always return to. It is like a mini fjord with a beautiful church and cemetery right on the beach. 

Niembru

It was there that I spied a restaurant that had been recommended to me - La Parrera. I rang to see if there was a table available for lunch and booked one for that very day. So we would be returning to Niembru later in the day. 

Our next stop was to Llanes again, for a coffee at La Galerna. There were loud road works going on so we did not enjoy a peaceful coffee together. Our destination in Llanes was the beautiful Saint Peter's coastal walkway above this pretty town. I think we fell in love with both Llanes and the whole area the first time we saw it and it is a sight for sore eyes. Our friends loved it too. We walked quite a way and of course took lots of pictures like these. 

Phil and Kathy on the coastal walk, San Pedro, above Llanes

Posing on the Paseo San Pedro

There are some stunning houses on the walk way such as the one in this picture. We once went to see this house which was on sale so each time we are there, we take a look at it and make pipe dreams. If we had been younger I would have loved to have bought it and turned it into a small hotel and a place for weddings. It is beautiful but would have needed a lot of work done inside. We can always dream can't we?

Our dream house

Soon it was time to set off again as we had booked our table for 1.45 at La Parrera in Niembru. I wasn't sure what it would be like but it did not disappoint. 

La Parrera restaurant in Niembru. 

It turned out to be a great choice. For the record I had prawns in garlic and a dish of clams - delicious but not very filling. As we walked out we were greeted with the sight of the field in front of us full of cows. Oh how I love the combination of beautiful scenery with animals. Kathy took a picture of us. It's a bit funny as one of the cows has its bum nearly in our faces hahahaha. But it was a great moment. 

The field of cows in front of the restaurant in Niembru on Wednesday

As was usual, after lunch we returned home. We did a tiny bit of food shopping for dinner at Alimerka in Posada and were home by about 4.30 - siesta time. 

While we were having a very peaceful and enjoyable day, political turmoil was boiling back home in the UK which would lead to the Prime Minister's resignation on Thursday. No doubt you will all know the turn of events since the worst PM the UK has ever had, Liz Truss, came into power about 6 weeks ago. After all the mini budget U turns, that Wednesday her Home Secretary, Suella Braverman resigned. In her resignation letter she explained she was resigning because of breaching the ministerial code by using her private mail for job purposes - a bit like Hilary Clinton, remember? 

The scathing letter

But she used the letter to criticise the PM saying if you make a mistake you have to go. It was very scathing. In about 1 week Truss had lost 2 of her staff from the great offices of state. Then she was in trouble for wanting to reintroduce fracking and  then she sort of disappeared off the map. I honestly thought her premiership was just not tenable. But what were the alternatives? A change in PM, stay on and face the music or call elections. And who would replace her? What a huge bloody political mess that has turned the UK into the laughing stock of the world. 

Kathy, Phil and I sat in the kitchen  watching events unfold on the BBC and we were appalled. I understand that the new chancellor Jeremy Hunt has had to make the U turns as there is a black hole of about 50 billion pounds so no money to fulfill her promises of tax cuts, etc. but what that means for  the man on the street is that the cap on energy prices is no longer guaranteed and the promised rise in pensions too. These are dangerous times for my home country. I had no idea that the very next day Truss would go. There has been bad government but I also think that Brexit has a lot to do with UK's financial woes. The trouble is England alone cannot grow and therein lies the root of the problem. 

I felt blessed to be here in Spain. For all its faults, times are very peaceful in comparison. We had a peaceful evening ourselves and a lovely dinner - more salad and cold cuts, until it was time for bed.

Thursday came and  we had to think up a new itinerary for that day. I came up with somewhere new and somewhere old - Playa de la Franca and San Vicente de la Barquerea. The weather was even better than expected with temperatures rising to 26c and again I cursed myself for not having my bathing costume at hand. 

So, while British politics was in turmoil, we three Brits and my Spanish husband set off for another beautiful day on this lush green coast in the north of Spain. At Playa de la Franca I had wanted to walk on the beach and see the caves and rocks and other beaches it leads to. That is though when the tide is out and we missed it. To see the other beaches and caves we would have had to be there at low tide before 9 in the morning or after 8 in the evening. We will be back one day at low tide. Even so it is a beauty spot in itself. Just look. 

Playa de la Franca

Just in front of it is an enormous hotel called Hotel Mirador de la Franca and what a place.  Thus there was no other choice for our coffee and lunch but there that day. What a find. I told Kathy I could move in. It was just our sort of hotel. We would have our coffee there on the terrace overlooking the beach and then come back for lunch. Annoyingly I never got a walk on the beach. Some people were swimming that day and I envied them. We will be back for sure. 

By the Playa de la Franca

From there we drove to nearby San Vicente de la Barquera which is actually in Cantabria (Santander) but very near to our part of Asturias - towards the east. Eladio and I had been once, a year ago and Phil and Kathy too about 4 years ago. We parked at the port near the sign of the town where everyone takes photos. Me too as you can see below.

Happy to be back in San Vicente de la Barquera

San Vicente is a somewhat up market and chic little seaside town and with the sun it comes to life and seems so bustling. We walked towards the port and then along the main street to see the shops. 

The port in San Vicente

Kathy wanted to find an outfit for her new grandson soon to be born as well as a puffer jacket for Phil. That's not easy as he is 6.3ft. The last one they had bought was in San Vicente so we found the shop. I got a lovely red rain coat with stripes inside - me and my stripes - and was pleased to see it was made in Brittany. 

It was when we sat down to lunch a while later at the hotel by the Playa de la Franca, that we all learned Liz Truss had resigned. We were shocked, pleased and left feeling so utterly appalled at the political turmoil in England. A friend, Mark, was on the Channel Tunnel and only learned the news when the passengers got a phone signal back. He reported on Facebook that all the French passengers were laughing. That is an indication that the UK is the political laughing stock of the world. He said she should be sent to the Tower of London like in the times of Henry VIII. I sort of agreed. He added he felt ashamed to be British. I know the feeling. 

Liz Truss as she resigned on Thursday this week

Her speech was soulless frankly. It was just limited to her not being able to carry on as she had not been able to deliver the mandate upon which she was elected by the Tory party. I don't know who wrote it but I am appalled it didn't include the words "I am sorry".  Damn the woman, she didn't even look sorry.   She will stay on now until a new PM is elected by Friday 28th October. So political turmoil will continue now for quite a while. The main contenders as I wrote above, are  Rishi Sunak, Penny Mourdant  and oh dear me,  the clown himself, Boris Johnson. That cannot be, it really can't. 

Kathy, Phil and I were pretty much in shock after that. We came home after a long lunch at a lovely place but the food was not really up to our expectations unfortunately. We brought a lot of it back to feed the stray kittens in the village.

Eladio spent the rest of the afternoon laying down some ducting pipe where he had changed the position of the fridge in the pantry and also watering and pruning the rather wilting plants on the terrace. I laid down on the sofa in the lounge to watch more of The Good Doctor and fell asleep. Unbelievably I slept until 8.45, much later than our usual dinner time. I then had to rustle up dinner out of our dwindling provisions but came up trumps with omelet and salad and some already expired pork ribs for Eladio and Phil. 

As I had slept so long in the afternoon, I went to bed late. But I, unlike Liz Truss, without a bad conscience or my reputation in ruins, I slept quite well and didn't get up until 8 am on Friday morning, our last full morning there. 

Our last day was spent in and around Cangas de Onis, the sort of capital of the Peaks of Europe. It once was the capital of Asturias when the famous King Pelayo won the battle against the Moors in Covadonga. It's a beautiful medium sized mountain town with lots to offer, mainly adventure sports. But we were not going rafting on the river of hiring buggies to drive into the mountains. Funnily enough our first stop was at a shop called DMBO where we got baby clothes. I sent photos to Oli of things for Elliot and Juliet and in the end she went for trainers. Thus they got an expensive of Levi trainers and boots each. I hope their mother likes them. It was coffee time when we got to Cangas and we made a beeline for the cafe under the famous Roman bridge there. Before we walked down under it by the River Sella, we had to take photos. This is one of them. I always love this spot with the big cross and the countryside surrounding the bridge. Beautiful. 

By the Roman bridge in Cangas de Onis

Notice how my husband and friends are in their shirt sleeves at the table by the river. That's because it was so warm again on Friday.

Coffee time in Cangas de Onis and what a lovely setting. 

Normally when we are in Cangas, we book a table at Casa Pedro Parres nearby. I tried to book but I couldn't get through on the phone. Thus I made an even better choice when I booked a table at the Parador in Villanueva nearby. Paradors never disappoint and as we walked into the stunning dining room, my husband said to me "this is your kind of place". Yes it was but we all agreed it was a good choice. As most of the state run Paradors, the one at Cangas - Monastery of Saint Peter - is a beautiful ancient building. My husband guessed this old Benedectine monastery dates back to the 12th or 13th century. But I later read it was actually founded during the times of King Pelayo. After a luxury lunch we walked in the grounds and even down to the River Sella, that river that flows into the sea in Ribadasella. I took some photos to remember our visit to this splendid Parador. 

Exploring the grounds of the Parador near Cangas

We did some shopping at Alimerka in Posada before going home and the rest of the afternoon was spent quietly. Despite our lovely lunch we were all hungry at dinner time and that night we had tuna fish salad again and lots of it. 

Our last day had been perfect. My last night wasn't bad and I was awake at 7 am on Saturday, the day of our return to Madrid. We left at around 10.30 and made three stops, one for coffee, one for lunch at Frómista and then a loo stop near Madrid where I took over the steering wheel and drove some of the way. We came home to a quiet house.  Suzy had just left and two of the guests were out for the day. Another was coming, Haley, from Belgium who got lost (in translation). It was pouring it down last night - the first proper rain for months - so feeling sorry for her, we went to fetch her from the nearest bus stop. She is a solo traveler who lives in Antwerp but is actually half Japanese and half Malayan. Hayley came just after our dinner of leftovers - more tuna salad.

We went to bed early and wow it was great to sleep in our own bed. It was wonderful to be with Pippa again too who I know had missed us desperately although of course she had Suzy for company.

Today is Sunday and Oli and co will be here for lunch - great!

So now I shall leave you to get on with the day. Cheers then until next Sunday when we shall have a new Prime Minister. God forbid it is not Boris Johnson.

All the best/Masha