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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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.
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.
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Eladio with Phil and Kathy at the Mirador de Toró restaurant last Sunday
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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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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Outside the Gran Hotel del Sella - marvelous place for lunch
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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.
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| 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.
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| Eladio inside the Cuevona |
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| 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.
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Lake Ercina this week
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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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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 ....
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| On the cliff above Playa de Torimbia I took this great photo of Phil and Kathy |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Phil and Kathy on the coastal walk, San Pedro, above Llanes |
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| 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?
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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?
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| 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.
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| 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.
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By the Playa de la Franca
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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