1 year since Russia invaded Ukraine, fun in the park, my fight with Movistar continues, Shrove Tuesday / Pancake day, Elliot and Juliet in Cáceres and other stories of the week.

 Sunday, 26th February, 2023

Me behaving like a child instead of a grandmother in a park last Sunday

Good morning friends and readers. How are you all? Enjoying life, I hope. 

February is nearly at its end. This week, of course, marks the 1st anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Putin, for he and he alone is responsible for this. 

Like the majority of people in the world, last year on 24th February, I couldn't believe he had gone and done what we all feared. He didn't just want the Crimea and the Donbas region, he wanted to overtake the whole of Ukraine which he believes is part of "Mother Russia". It may have historical roots, but it became an independent country in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Frankly this is something Putin never got over. In his mind too he was afraid of Ukraine joining NATO as well as the EU and wanted to stop it. What else was in his mind apart from madness?  Last week I watched the excellent BBC documentary, "Putin vs the West" which details just how he built up his plan and how the US and European leaders tried to stop him but couldn't. Are they to blame? I don't really think so. The whole world changed after the invasion and didn't just affect Ukrainians who have suffered the most. Putin caused a world recession, inflation went up and things like food shopping is now at least 15% higher. How long can this go on? If in one year he hasn't managed to crush this incredibly valiant country, it is obviously thanks to the help of the EU and NATO countries in arming it  but also because of how Zelenski has handled it.  The  former comedian,  more than rose to the occasion. Frankly this man is remarkable in how he is fighting Russia, has gained support from all the western world and how he rallies his countrymen in their relentless fight against the invader. I suspect Putin totally underestimated the man. He is part of the reason Ukraine is still fighting and won't give up. 

Ukraine could not have a better leader to fight the war against Russia

For me he is the best politician I could imagine fighting Putin. But, he needs more help. Meanwhile, this week we heard that China is musing sending Russia weapons. Then we will be in another dimension entirely. Things are not looking good, one year on. With my heart and soul and my Russian roots, I only want to see a good end in this conflict for Zelenski and his brave people.  Slava Ukraini!

But last Sunday, I wasn't thinking about Ukraine. I have the luxury of freedom and no bombs or building crashing around me. I have the luck of living in the civilised western world with all its faults. I always feel for people, especially repressed women, who don't. 

It was another sunny day in February and Oli suggested we meet for coffee at Alverán (where else?). Not wanting to miss our walk, we went on foot. And there we were greeted with the sight of Oli and her two babies sitting outside in the sun. It was a lovely moment. Elliot who is such a chatterbox sat next to his grandfather who he always calls "booboo" - and I hope it stays that way. They were talking about numbers and he was saying them first in Spanish and then in English, with a Spanish accent, I'm afraid. Hopefully, that will be corrected not too long in the future. He was also telling him how that night he had not worn a nappy for the first time and that he is now a big boy! He hasn't worn a daytime nappy since last summer in Montrondo and it wasn't until last week he no longer needs one at night.  All minor progress steps are a wonder and children have to be praised so that they can  develop happily.  They were so engrossed they made for a lovely picture and this what I got. Don't tell me it isn't beautiful?

Elliot having a conversation with "Booboo"

Juliet hasn't taken to talking yet but she understands so much, both in English and in Spanish, bless her. Here they are all together last week at a lovely little family reunion at our favourite café, Alverán.

Eladio with Oli and the babies

It was such a lovely day that instead of going home we took our grandchildren to a nearby park; not the big flashy one near their house but a small one in the centre of Boadilla. It was practically empty and we had it to ourselves. It was also more adapted to Juliet's age and she loved it. What I loved was seeing an outdoor ludo table. You may not know that I am a huge ludo fan, the pity being that hardly anyone ever plays with me. Suzy later told me there were two men sitting at it smoking weed:( Oh, well).  I had to send a photo to my friend Amanda who got hooked on the game when she came to stay with me last September. When she comes back I shall take her there.

The outdoor ludo table I saw at a park in Boadilla last Sunday. I would love one of them. 

The kids had a grand time and so did I. Oli challenged me to go down the slide and that's what I did. I maybe be 66 but there is still the child inside me. She took a video to record the happy moment which you can see on my You tube channel. The still she took has to be this week's feature photo of me feeling happy. Happiness is in the small moments isn't it?

It was the swings Juliet loved most and here she is with her mother, Elliot and  "Booboo"; another lovely photo of our fun day in the park last Sunday.

Fun in the park last Sunday

We came home to have a quiet lunch and while the children played with my ornaments - damn it - I went to have some quiet time hoping to sleep. As usual, it eluded me. The rest of the day was as quiet as a Sunday afternoon could be.

I won't go into how I slept that night. Suffice it to say it was another sleepless night. I was glad it was Monday when I woke up and that my horrible night was over. 

We had errands to do, so off we went together. The first stop was to that godforsaken suburb town of Móstoles to mend Eladio's hearing aids; poor him. From there we went to the very swish El Corté Inglés in Pozuelo, a sort of Spanish answer to Debenhams. It exudes quality and the surroundings are "posh" - hate that word. We had an expensive coffee then went to pick up yet another Nespresso machine which I bought in the sales with a Corté Inglés voucher. It is for Montrondo. Eladio then suggested we go in search of a camping gas stove for our long trip in the spring. We can't be having 3 meals out a day so it will come in useful. He also wanted an anti theft device for the Mini. We didn't find either at Decathlon or Norauto and concluded that, as usual, the best place to purchase anything, in my opinion, is Amazon although I hate feeding a giant. 

We had lunch with Suzy and then spent a leisurely afternoon. I tried to sleep but it evaded me. I was **ackered but was still looking forward to my weekly Skype call with Amanda which we had missed last week. I do so miss her. She is like a sister to me as are Adele, Sandra and Kathy. No longer on that list is my dearest Fátima who I miss every day. Amanda also suffers from sleep deprivation so most of our conversation was about that. Later I made an appointment with a doctor friend of my urologist who I am seeing on 3rd March, this week. Ill let you know how I get on.

That night we watched the German film All Quiet on the Western Front which had won so many prizes at this year's Bafta awards.  After seeing it, it would not have been my choice. That name rings a bell for us all and I, wrongly, thought it was a British book but, no, it is German and recounts the terrible situation soldiers faced in World War 1. I did not like it at all - too many gruesome deaths and OMG, those trenches! The one good thing though is that it helped me fall asleep and that night I got a relatively better night's sleep.

The biggest news that day was also about war. In all secrecy, Joe Biden, the US President made a surprise visit to Kiev (sorry Kyiv) to show his support to Zelenski on the first anniversary of the invasion. I think that was pretty brave. Good for him. The Ukrainians need all the support they can get. He promised another 4 or 500 million dollars in weapons but no mention of jets for the moment.

Biden with Zelenski on Monday in a surprise and secret visit to Kyiv to show US support for Ukraine on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. 

Biden's main message was "The US will back Ukraine in its fight against Russia for as long as it takes". I was glad to hear that. 

I was awake at around 6.20 on Tuesday morning.  That day I had to face having an ultra scan on my bladder to see how well or badly it voids. I suspected the latter and the solution for that is not good; not good at all. It would involve self voiding once a day with a catheter. I prayed and hoped that my bladder retention was minor and wouldn't need such an invasive solution. Sorry if I keep telling you about my bl**** bladder but it is constantly on my mind and interrupts normal life, not to mention sleep. But I had great news. The ultra scan showed everything was in order and that there is no bladder retention. That  made me happy. Other things did not.

To increase the Wifi signal on the upstairs floor after recently changing from Yoigo to Movistar - what a battle - the new so called "smart wifi" range extender arrived. It felt like science fiction to set it up FGS. That meant a few frustrating phone calls to 1004 where we got some limited help. In the end it took 2 hours to set up and you know what? It didn't achieve its objective as our big new Samsung smart TV doesn't support a 5 Ghz Wifi network. The whole objective of changing operators was to get Movistar TV but the signal is not too good and we get kicked out a lot. I feel such a fool for even having contemplated changing operators. The experience has been a nightmare and the fight continues.  Damn them. But that wasn't the end of the story as you will read on. 

The best thing about Tuesday was that it was Pancake Day; i.e. Shrove Tuesday - Mardi Gras or Martes de Carnaval in Spain. It's the feast before 40 days of Lent and tradition has it in England that the day before Lent we make pancakes; to eat up all that's in the cupboards before the fasting period.  I broke my diet big time that evening when I made a plate full of them with the help of Lucy while Suzy looked on. There was a choice of fillings; honey, bananas, maple syrup (my favourite), spray whipped cream, fresh raspberries, Bonne Maman strawberry jam and most importantly for Suzy, "nocilla" - the Spanish equivalent of Nutella which all kids love in Spain. Eladio ate each of his with honey. (he is a honey freak).  I had mine with raspberrries, cream  and maple syrup and my daughter's favourite was "nocilla". Oh what a feast. This is what the table looked like.

Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday which in turn is the first day of Lent, a holy day of prayer and fasting. I remember at my catholic school, St. Joseph's College, how the priest would mark the girls' foreheads with a cross from ash. He didn't mark mine as I was not Catholic. 

I was in need of prayer that night when I found out my daughter Suzy is flirting with the Mormon Cult of all things. I have always been frightened of her joining a sect. I was so upset when I heard I just couldn't sleep. Maybe I shouldn't write about this here but oh my God, it hit me like a ton of bricks.But she is 38, nearly 39 and there is nothing I can to do stop her from going down the road of self destruction. But, oh, it hurts so much. 

For obvious reasons I got even less sleep that night than on my worst nights and woke up late after falling asleep after 3 in the morning. It was Ash Wednesday, a day of prayer and I reached out to my mother. I always do that when I feel desperate. She left this world in 1999 - 24 years ago - I just hoped she was listening. Who am I to know?

I was **ackered again and somehow got through the day but with little will. I am usually a very positive person but that day I was not me. I went through the motions, including our walk, ate my lunch with not much appetite and then couldn't sleep a siesta even though my body needed it so much. I ate three pieces of chocolate, reminding myself of my younger days when I would binge on chocolate. I did not feel guilty. I felt as if I deserved the chocolate and to hell with the diet I thought. I watched the end of Putin vs the West and started on the BBC's latest thriller "Gold". It whiled the time away until dinner with my husband. I fell asleep during the news, thank God, and that night although I woke up countless times, I managed quite a few hours sleep. I just hoped Thursday would be a better day. Luckily, it turned out it would be. 

Thursday was shopping day again. Yes again. It's amazing how much we buy and how soon we run out of everything. I buy countless punnets of expensive raspberries, blueberries and blackberries and they disappear like there is no tomorrow. On the topic of fruit (and veg), not only have the prices gone up but there is a shortage due mainly to bad weather in Spain and Morocco. Some supermarket shelves are pretty empty in the UK. I read also that once again Brexit is part of the problem as Spanish growers find it easier to sell to other countries rather than dealing with the paperwork now imposed. Haven't noticed any lack of anything here but have noticed how the prices have rocketed. The government is mulling on how to solve the problem like they did with petrol, although that subsidy finished at the beginning of the year. 

The temperature dropped that day and it was cold on our walk. For shopping I wore my new and incredibly warm Uniqlo coat. But first for coffee at Alveran, then to pick up my sleeping tablet prescription. Only then did we do our shopping first at Mercadona and Carrefour and lastly at BM. 

Meanwhile Telefonica/Movistar were in touch with me again. The only good thing is that as I am over 65 I get priority treatment. Plus I have made a lot of noise on social media they don't like. Finally I got them to agree to send a technician that afternoon. It was Enrique, the same one who installed it. He's a darling. He sorted out the new range extender and brought me another one. Within an hour we had perfect coverage in the whole house but it had cost me a fight of nearly a month. The range extenders and installation will cost me a pretty penny but I am already in touch with the social media people of the company and have warned them I will contest the charge. The reason is that their sales people duped me by telling me I would get a better router and better coverage than with Yoigo which turned out not to be true. Only with the range extenders is it better. So by the 7 pm, I had finally finished by fight with Movistar but envisage another one when I have to contest the invoice. 

But it was one big problem solved, one of them that had been robbing me of my sleep lately.  

Friday came and the sun was out although it was cold again. No doubt it had snowed in Montrondo and we would like to go again except that we have engagements next week we can't postpone.

Friday was, of course, the 1st anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine (still have it in my head that it is called The Ukraine). There was fear of a huge attack by the Russians but it never came. In Moscow there seemed to be no recognition of the event. I suppose there is nothing to celebrate as this war has become a war of attrition, something Putin never imagined. Ukraine had a population of some 43 million before the war. Since then about 19 million left the country while 10 million or so have returned. It is the largest figure for migration since WW2 and that is saying something. I feel for all those people displaced to foreign countries while their houses and country are being destroyed. I mentioned China supplying weapons to Russia - dangerous. Well, I think it was on Friday that the Chinese government has now offered to lead negotiations for peace; so long as the west stops sending weapons to Russia. I'm afraid, that no one can accept this condition. On the other hand I think China knows that if they do send weapons, they will become a pariah state too and will suffer sanctions like Russia. The western world is their main market so I imagine they will have to think this through very carefully. So what is the way out of this war of attrition? I think no one knows, not even Putin. Meanwhile Zelenski has deservedly become the most admired political leader in the world. It's funny to think he spent his whole career as a comedian and starred in a show about a run of the mill teacher becoming a President. But my goodness, against all odds, he has come up trumps. Again I say "Slava Ukraini".  

Friday for us was just another ordinary day without much to recount. Anything we did pales into comparison with world events.

I was up at 5.30 on Saturday morning. I spent at least 2 hours fighting with my Samsung Classic 4 watch and my Galaxy S20 as it had stopped connecting the day before. That had me on the phone to customer service who were useless. They suggested restoring my phone to factory settings or alternatively taking my devices to their only repair and tech centre in Madrid (only one?) on Saturday morning. Well, I trumped them by realising that what I had to do was reset the phone. Using You Tube tutorials - I managed to do it alone and felt victorious when all was working again. 

We had quite a few guests this weekend. Carmen, a vet arrived on Thursday to do a course in surgery at the UEM. Andre, my Swiss guest who I only saw once left on Saturday morning and Faz (Fazal) and his son arrived on Friday night from Canada.  Two more guests - repeat guests - came last night too so we were pretty full house. Faz has brought his son for 10 days football training at La Liga school which is 1km from here. They came needing to order a pizza and I had to help. I have never ordered a pizza from my phone but I did it with Just Eat. I felt quite victorious again. It came and my guests offered me some of their terribly cheesy pizza and I had to say I do not eat cheese - besides I had already had dinner. Faz remarked he found it puzzling the pizza didn't come already cut into pieces. I told him in Spain they don't cut pizzas as they don't know what size people want. He told he me liked that as being a Muslim he is wary if knives used to cut pizza may have accidentally also touched pork or something else that Muslims can't eat!!!! I thought this was an interesting piece of information to add to my ever widening knowledge of different cultures thanks to all our guests. 

This weekend we haven't had the pleasure of the company of our grandchildren. Oli and family went to stay at a house in Cáceres that belongs to Miguel's mother. They are still there I think and complaining the house is cold but they are well wrapped up. I got some photos of their stay there to share with you and who knows? Maybe, one day, when they are older, Elliot and Juliet  will read this and love seeing the photos.

Oli and family in Madrigal de la Vera this weekend

So we had a quiet day. Our walk was to the nearest shopping centre. On our way to have a coffee with churros, we bumped into Faizal, our Canadian guest of Fiji Island origin btw. He had just left his son at the La Liga and NBA school and I think he didn't really know what to do with himself. We invited him to have a coffee with us and we walked to the centre. That's when he told us he had lost his British wife 3 years ago and that he is a widower bringing up 3 adolescent children. My hear went out to him. 

Coffee with Eladio in the sun at the local "Churrrería" was the highlight of the day. Here is Eladio enjoying the moment.

Eladio in the sun yesterday - coffee time at the churros place

At the table next to us was a family with a lovely beagle - you probably know we used to breed them and that Norah who died last year was our last beagle. The family had a little girl who fell in love with Pippa. Pippa is very wary of children so I intervened to make sure nothing untoward happened. I remember as a child being bitten by a dog and it was a sausage dog but it never put me off loving dogs. It just taught me to be careful before touching one. So I showed the little girl how to gain a dog's confidence - feeding it with care and an open hand and also to stroke it from the side like you would a horse. It worked. 

Today is Sunday and we shall go on our walk again of course. They are so good for our soul, body and mind. It will be a very quiet Sunday but I am not complaining.

I have now come to the end of the stories of this week, the most important being the first anniversary of the terrible war with Ukraine. I fear very much that my blog will continue to report on it for a long time as I can see no easy end to it. Let me finish this post by saying again "Slava Ukraini" (glory to Ukraine).

Cheers friends and readers till next week.

Masha

c

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St. Valentine's, route planning for our trip to Georgia and Armenia, grandparent duty, sleepless nights and other stories of the week.

Madrid, 19th February, 2023

This year's St. Valentine's dinner photo

Hi again friends and readers. We are now past the half way mark of February and I just can't wait for spring. I love it when nature revives the green, flowers, trees, shrubs, ... Our garden this time last Sunday looked pretty forlorn after all the pruning and trimming. It seems a miracle that soon everything will be green again.

It was sunny but cold on our walk that day but we came back feeling refreshed. Our walks are essential for our health. It was then that we finally came up with a date for the start of our trip - the trip of our life time. We shall set off around 21st April and the first objective will be to stop in Venice, a city we have never visited. We talked about all the indumentary we shall need and I hope it all fits in the Mini.

The day was quiet with just one guest and no family visits. We had a lovely lunch though - my famed "cocido madrileño" - chickpea based stew, the perfect winter dish.

If Sunday was quiet and relaxing, Monday was quite the opposite. I was up at 5.45 and had promised myself that that day I would write a letter to the Convent which my Aunt Olga built in 1944 in Sofia. As you know, part of our trip will be an important stop there for more gathering of my my mother's family roots. I wrote it in English and then google translated it into Russian. For the envelope I had to put the address in Bulgarian and again Google Translate helped.  I really hope the new mother superior will answer. I'll keep you posted. 

Then it was time to get ready to go to the final session with my urologist. Eladio went with me, bless him. I have to do more tests so my sessions are not over, damn it. Our errands afterwards led us to pick up a fine for driving in the centre of Madrid in my Mini - 100 euros, thank you very much. 

In the afternoon I got an urgent message for help from Simon, our young padel player from Sweden. He was ill so I had to play nurse and mother at the same time, holding him while he was sick poor boy. We took his temperature and I gave him a paracetamol and then when he felt better and slightly hungry I made him his dinner; rice with lean ham and an apple. I made his breakfast too the next day and finally by Wednesday morning he was better. He left on Thursday after more than 2 weeks here. He was a wonderful guest and I hope he will be back. 

Monday afternoon was hectic as we had to look after the kids. They are lovely but a bit of an endurance test. Miguel picked them up sooner than expected so I had some quiet time before dinner. I did miss my weekly Skype call with Amanda though. 

Tuesday was St. Valentine's Day and perhaps the wrong day  to go and have a blood test. I hate going on an empty stomach so had to cheat and had a cup of milky coffee - hope that didn't alter the results. Usually after a blood test on an empty stomach, I feel bad for the rest of the day. Add to that the ingredient of so much lost sleep, I  felt absolutely drained. Once home I continued my battle with Movistar (aka Telefónica) - over the miserable router they have installed which doesn't have a strong enough signal to reach all of the house. I was promised a better one than with Yoigo and they lied and I am cross. They want me to pay for a faster one and I have been refusing so far. Let the battle continue

Our walk that day was to the local shopping centre to have a coffee together and in my case a "porra" - a thicker kind of "churro". It was to cheer me up and I argued I could have one as it was St. Valentine's Day. I have been lax about my diet since the day before my birthday but am on track again  well, more or less.  All I seem to have achieved after Christmas is to stay at the same weight, not losing even a pound. I must be more strict. I must. 

It was a cold but sunny day and I long for warmer temperatures. Lunch was leftovers and then there was no siesta again as we had to look after the children once more. Oli brought Juliet at around 4.15 and Suzy went to get Elliot at 5. We spent the time with them in the library lounge or toy lounge. It is or was also called the "cat lounge" but now that Phoebe is not with us, this name is no longer applicable. Suzy fed them fruit and biscuits and there were crumbs everywhere as well as sticky fingers. 

With the children on Wednesday afternoon - feeding them and keeping them busy

That day they behaved quite well with no tantrums or Elliot hitting his sister. He does tend to take her toys away from her though or rather snatch any of his she might have got hold of - poor Juliet.

Juliet had come back from school with her face painted - probably something to do with St. Valentines and Elliot had a heart sticker on his hand. Juliet did look funny. We put some baby cartoons on with English nursery rhymes and she danced to the music, clapping her hands. 

Juliet dancing - notice her painted face

Meanwhile their mother, Oli, sent a photo of herself about to start her class. 

Olivia teaching this week

She told me later they are 3 hours long and quite tiring. Of course they are but I know she is doing a good job and I'm sure her students love her.

Miguel picked the kids up earlier than we had thought, so again we had some quiet time before dinner. I was so tired I was tempted to cancel our St. Valentine's dinner but made the effort not to. It's a special date and I couldn't ruin it could I? In the end I was pleased we went. My choice was El  Jardín de la Máquina where I went recently to have dinner with Julio and Augustin. It used to be called "La Leyenda" and I have been many times. It's very near my old Nokia offices and I have been to company events there, lunches with friends and even my goodbye Nokia dinner was held there. It's a nice place.

My husband is not into buying me flowers - I love them but he thinks they are not worth the money as they wither so soon. I totally disagree so was delighted when the maître handed me a beautiful long stemmed red rose. I asked him for a photo. He took a few and they are not good but at least record this year's St. Valentine's dinner. The tiredness on my face seems almost palpable. I have a feeling I look like my mother in it when she was in her 60's. 

This year's St. Valentine's dinner photo - not one of our best

The food was wonderful as El Jardín de la Máquina is quite a top class restaurant. I went for small scallops, artichokes (my favourite vegetable) and lamb chops. Eladio made a beeline guess what for? Tripe, would you believe? He loves offal which I, obviously, do not. 

We were home to a very quiet house at around 10.45 with only Pippa up to greet us. That night, at last I got some decent sleep even if I did wake up 3 times. But I was less drained on Wednesday. We had nothing planned for that day and, hurray, would be free of grandparent duty until Thursday and Friday

That morning we began working properly on the route from Madrid to Georgia to include the places we want to visit on our way. It's not about reaching Georgia and Armenia, it's also about all the stops we will be making. That morning too I made our first accommodation reservations. We decided the first night would be near Barcelona, in the seaside town of Blanes where I booked a room. The next night will be spent on the Côte d'Azure and I found a lovely place in the medieval town of Biot but I haven't booked it yet. From there we will probably travel to Genoa and then to Venice. The next day I would plan our route through the Balkans.

It was a quiet day without the babies. We went on our walk in the sunshine, had lunch with Suzy and a quiet afternoon and evening. The biggest news of the day in the UK  was the surprise resignation of the Scottish independence firebrand Nicola Sturgeon who, it seems, has had enough of politics. Good luck to her successor. 

Thursday was the day Simon was leaving and on Friday both Pilar and Javier came. Both are students and Pilar is a regular. She studied journalism but is now doing a degree in Pharmacy; the idea being to inherit and run her parent's chemist shop. She seems very determined.   

That morning I planned the Balkan part of our trip. It's looking like this at the moment but it keeps changing. It will probably change even more once we hit the road. It's difficult to fit in all the countries going there and coming back and I think in the end we will have to skip some. But which? That is the question. 

The possible route through the Balkans from Venice to Sofia

I will not be making more than 2 accommodation bookings until we are on the road as we want to be free to change our minds if we want to go off route. 

Thursday was shopping day and another day of looking after the babies in the afternoon. I actually like our shopping trips together, especially the coffee at Alverán where one of the waitresses, Rahma - from North Africa, makes my coffee to perfection.

Babysitting began at 4.15 when Oli dropped off Juliet. I spent an hour with her on my own trying to entertain her while keeping her away from my ornaments - mostly my china ducks and miniature houses. I resorted to a baby cartoon programme on Netflix. The nursery rhymes made her fall asleep which wasn't my intention as if she sleeps in the afternoon she won't sleep at night. Oh dear. Eladio took over at 5.15 just before Suzy brought Elliot. He had been on his first school trip. It was to a farm and I only got out of him that he had seen a horse. He pronounced the "h" like a heavy Spanish "j" which I tried to correct. We fed them fruit. Here is a photo of Juliet eating a strawberry. But, like me, she prefers raspberries which we also gave her. 

Eladio and Juliet - eating a strawberry - during our baby sitting session on Thursday afternoon. 

When we didn't know what else to do to keep them entertained, my husband  took them to the swings where Elliot fell asleep too because of the rocking I suppose. I had to wake him up by offering him a sweet hahahaha. Thankfully at around 6.30, Miguel arrived to relieve us of  our grandparent baby sitting duties.

Before dinner I watched a bit more of Better - the detective series set in Leeds about a "bent cop" - are there so many of them really?  It's a sort of poor substitute of Happy Valley. The main actress Leila Farzard is actually of Persian origin and has never lived in Yorkshire. Forgive me but her accent is just not up to it. If you are going to do a series set in Yorkshire then the actors have to be credible. Even so, it's not a bad series but is no way a substitute for Happy Valley. 

It was then that my urologist rang me after having spoken to a doctor friend who specialises in sleep problems, like mine. He prescribed me what seems like a very heavy drug - Noctamid (1mg). It belongs to the family of drugs called benzodiazepines aka "benzos". I looked it up of course and read the prospectus which made me very wary. I decided I would try it for 2 nights to see how I got on but I know myself. As soon as I pop one in my mouth I will worry about what it is doing to my body which in turn will make my mind race and elude sleep.  I do not want to take drugs to sleep but if I don't get enough sleep it will harm  my health in many ways. Oh dear, we all have our crosses to bear don't we? On the bright side, I got my blood test results which I shared with Dr. Litton. But Eladio had a look first and both coincided they were splendid results. The only thing that was a bit low was Vitamin D, the so-called "sun vitamin" which is surprising as I live in a sunny country. I shall be taking a supplement for that. I was pleased there was nothing untoward such as high cholesterol or glucose. 

Friday came, the last day of grandparent duty for this week. I slept badly, less than 5 hours and got up at 5.15. I wondered if when I took the new pills my sleep might get better ...... Would it?

 I woke up to two new bookings, one for our house in Asturias in August which is now nearly full and one for this house for next week. A chap from Canada is bringing his son to the exclusive La Liga and NBA school which opened a year ago. He will be staying for 10 days. I got two more that day; 4 in one day. I now have about 12 for our house in El Cueto and 10 for Santa Pola; amazing so early in the year. New bookings always lift my spirits.

What didn't lift my spirits but rather boiled my blood was another  ****dy traffic fine that day This time it was attributed to the Volvo and was for 200 euros for driving through a red light. The car is in my name but I was not the driver. The awful thing is that they have taken 4 points from my driving licence. Now you see why I am cross? The date of the traffic offense is 17th December and the time is 15.46. It's difficult to remember where we were on that day but the time is a time we are always at home. The place is somewhere in Villaviciosa. I did a bit of investigating - on my blog, the best place - and the culprit turns out to be Eladio who was in a hurry to go to a demonstration damn it.  Anyway, .....

I spent the morning waiting for Telefónica to come and install a new router -  I finally caved in -  They were supposed come at 09.30 but didn't arrive till 12.30 which meant I had to sacrifice my walk that day. Then the guy told me I didn't need a new router; that what  I needed was a good 5 mhz range extender which they promptly sold me. Hopefully it will improve the signal upstairs. So my story with changing operators is not yet over. It felt like a uselessly spent morning. 

I did have time to cook though and that day made my new signature dish; stuffed shoulder of lamb, followed by baked apples with orange juice, cinnamon, sultanas and walnuts - great combination. 

Stuffed shoulder of lamb - stuffed with breadcrumbs, pistachios and dried apricots - delicious and so easy to make. 

Oli arrived with Juliet and Elliot at 4.15 and even though I was trying to catch some shut eye, little Elliot came and knocked on my door. He wanted some of my spearmint chewing gum which he is allowed to have as long as he doesn't swallow it. It was a sunny day so we took them to the park which we thought they would enjoy more and they did, especially Elliot. He loves the helter skelter type slides. Juliet who weighs 12 kilos, prefers to be in her grandfather.- Booboo's arms, poor chap. Here are some photos of our time in the park and what a wonderful park it is and just round the corner from where Oli and family live.

Time in the park with the babies on Friday afternoon

By the time Miguel arrived at 6.30, both babies were getting tired and it was time for them to go home. We said our goodbyes. On our way home we stopped at the chemist to get my new sleeping tablets. I had also ordered Melatonin (1.9g) which many people have been telling me to take - it's the natural sleep hormone. I did try it once and it didn't work but I thought I would give it a try again. 

I fell asleep naturally at 21.50, very early for me but I was shattered after less than 5 hours sleep the night before. So this is what happened. I woke up  at 23.45 just under two hours later and knew I wouldn't be able to continue without help so took the Melatonin. It was strange. I thought I hadn't slept but I did and had some very strange dreams, including having to wipe myself on a staircase and having a phone call with the Queen. According to my smart watch I then slept from 23.54 until 02.14 and woke up feeling wide awake. That is when I took the new pill, the benzo called Noctamid (1mg). I had read up about benzodiazepines and they seemed very very strong and even rather dangerous. I took one pill and tried to keep calm. I was worried I would end up sedated. That didn't happen. From that pill I got 2h 20 minutes sleep when you are supposed to get at least 7. I took it at 02.14 but it only kicked in at 02.55. I woke up again at 04.29. It was too early to get up, so feeling desperate I took my old sleeping pill - somnovit (alprazolam). It kicked in at 05.19 and the effect lasted just 1h 12 minutes. At 06.31 I finally gave in. I think I shall have to visit my Doctor's friend, the sleep expert, as nothing seems to work and I am desperate.  Here is the chart.

How I slept using a variety of pills from Friday night to Saturday morning

On Saturday I was shattered once again, damn it. My friends Andy and Amanda commiserated with me. I spent a lot of the day researching chronic insomnia. Exercise is vital so we went on our walk but I was naughty and had a "porra" again which sort of defeats the object.

After lunch, Eladio left me to catch up on some sleep on my own while he got on with the task of painting the side of the drive so he can see where he is going while reversing in the dark. I took some melatonin just before lunch hoping it would help me sleep a siesta but it didn't work. There was nothing for it but to read and then watch more telly. They say screens are not good for sleep but at night it is the "telly" that helps me fall asleep. I finished Better and then started on a  BBC documentary series . Putin vs the West, It's on the iPlayer which only UK residents or those with a fake VPN, like me, can see,  but it's also on You Tube. This is probably because what it reveals is so important that the BBC want the rest of the world to have the opportunity to watch it. Well documented, it explores how Western leaders got it wrong, especially when Putin annexed the Crimea and a host of other things. Highly recommendable. 

Dinner was just Eladio and myself, no sign of guests, Suzy or babies. I had a glass or red wine - also helps me to fall asleep. There was no TV entertainment for me that night except for the news - all about the aftermath of the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria and the war in Ukraine which is nearing a year since Russia invaded. While Eladio watched a film, I took my usual tablets and soon fell asleep. I woke up a few times but promptly fell asleep again and believe it or not got up this morning at 6.21 - total sleep count was 7h 9 minutes. I felt so restored and just hope my nightmare sleepless nights are a phase. 

There are no plans for today. It will be quiet and if there is anything to report you will hear about it next Sunday. Meanwhile I wish you all the best until then and sorry this week's post is not very upbeat. 

Masha

Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, a day when everything went wrong, to Toledo to celebrate my birthday, rediscovering Spain's medieval capital; the city of three cultures, RIP Phoebe, home again, family celebration and other stories.

Sunday, 12th February, 2023

In Toledo by the Bridge of St. Martin over the Tagus River 

Good morning again. 

This week was my birthday and we celebrated in style.  Today, however,  would have been my brother George's 68th birthday. 2 years older than me, he died, sadly, of melanoma, aged just 46 in 2001 - 22 years ago. I think of him often as well as all the others I have lost; my mother, my father, Aunty Masha, Aunty Gloria, Uncle Derek, Jacqueline, Michael and Anthony and of those who died who I never met such as my maternal grandfather and my mother's older sister, the nun, Aunty Olga. I also think of  Aunty Valya, my mother's younger brother Nicky's wife who died last year aged 97. It's just me now but I am lucky to have my own family; my beloved husband Eladio, daughters Suzy and Oli and my grandchildren Elliot and Juliet. I always regret my mother never got to know them nor dear George. Maybe it's my trauma that makes me feel like an orphan even at my age. Yes, I turned 66 this week and am nearing old age. Young people will already see me as an old person. 

I wasn't thinking about any of this last Sunday. That morning we went to a big shopping centre; Gran Plaza 2 to get our new SIM cards after changing from Yoigo to Movistar and also to drop off the old Yoigo router at a shop. Both errands were in vain. The cards were not ready and the router has to be returned by mail, not dropped off at a shop. I spent a lot of the day on the phone to Movistar and in each attempt I got conflicting information. It didn't seem like a good beginning. The story didn't end until I got home on Friday and in a way rather spoiled my birthday. 

We then had a quick coffee and rushed to Oli's house to help her with the kids or rather look after them while she showered as Miguel was not back from Benidorm. We had thought we were free of grandparent duty but it seems we are always on standby.

It was a relief to come home and have a quiet lunch together. I spent the afternoon, in between calls with Movistar, watching a new series - well new for me - called The Capture on the BBC iPlayer. It's a detective series focusing on deep fake images, specifically fake CCTV cameras. It was on Sunday that the last episode of the final season 3 of Happy Valley was broadcast but I waited till Monday to watch it and savour every moment of the extended episode lasting 70 minutes. I would miss Sergeant Catherine Cawood played divinely by Catherine Lancashire. Without exaggerating, it is one of the BBC's best ever detective series. The fact that it is filmed in  West Yorkshire makes it even more special for me. 

The rest of Sunday panned out quietly. This leads me to Monday 6th February. I was up at 6.15 after nearly 7 hours sleep which is not bad at all for me. 

Monday was the day Eladio chose to mow our massive lawn. He also called on some Peruvian gardeners to come later in the week to trim the trees, hedges and bushes - a huge task he no longer takes on himself and so he shouldn't. Thus I went on my walk alone with Pippa. I was accompanied by my classical favourites list on Spotify but I couldn't get the thought out of my head of my brother's death and my parents' which actually made me cry. So, Monday was a bit of a down day. I am not a negative person, preferring to enjoy life to the full but I have my down moments. Oli announced she was coming to lunch so it was the four of us together for once and it was pleasant. 

I had a free hour before lunch and used it to watch the final episode of Happy Valley. Enough has been written about it but I do agree it was a quite a satisfying end. It's the authenticity of people's lives and conversations that make it so appealing. I think it should have been called Dark Valley as Calderdale is not a particularly happy place (called Happy because of the drug problems in the area). 

The news on Monday which no doubt Olivia probably worked on at TVE, was all about a terrible double earthquake in southern Turkey and Syria - as if Syria hadn't already had enough. Thousands have died and it is a tragedy. It made me think we will be going that way in the spring but surely there won't be an earthquake when we are there. That's probably what the locals thought. They were asleep in their beds at about 4 am when it happened and the pictures of whole buildings crumbling was horrendous - dantesque. These natural disasters always seem to happen at the other end of the world but that's not always so is it anymore? Probably more than 20000 will have lost their lives in an area stretching around 100.000 square kilometres. In Spain that is equivalent to the whole of Castilla Leon and Madrid combined.  

Dreadful news this week

Had it been Japan where buildings are made to resist earthquakes, no doubt far fewer would have lost their lives. There are some terrible stories out there. One particular story really troubled me. A new born baby was found with the cord still attached to its dead mother. She had died  just after giving birth in the middle of the quake, along with her husband and 4 other children. This tiny tot  has just been born an orphan. So what am I complaining about? Nothing. Stories like this don't bare thinking about. 

The afternoon was quiet. I couldn't sleep much so watched the much more inspiring Call the Midwife on the BBC, thanks to my Express VPN (thanks Michael) which seems to work a lot better now. Being Monday, Amanda and I had our Skype call which always uplifts me and her too I suspect. If only she lived nearer. While we were Skyping my dearest friend Sandra rang me from Brussels - I would call her back afterwards. I would love my two friends to meet. When Amanda heard Sandra she commented on what a posh accent she has - she does. To think she was born in Bombay to an Italian father and Hungarian mother yet speaks English like the Queen did. Probably that is because she went to the Queenswood girls' boarding school. It was great to talk to Sandie later. She wanted to be the first to wish me a happy birthday but she was second, after Amanda. This month will be difficult also for her as one year ago on 28th February, she lost her mother Magda who was central to her life. I am hoping to see Sandra this spring if she can come to Madrid before our spring trip.

Monday ended with more of Fauda - getting a bit tired of it but it's great entertainment and very realistic.

Tuesday was a day when everything that could went wrong. We were to take the Volvo to the garage as there was a leak. Turns out it is losing diesel petrol and at today's prices that is no joke. We had to take the Mini too so as to leave the Volvo there, except that it wouldn't start. So my husband went off in the Volvo leaving me with my car which seemed to have a flat battery again. Thus I rung our insurance company, La Mutua. They came shortly after Eladio arrived by taxi.  Here is the picture to remember the moment.

La Mutua to the rescue once again

The mechanic measured the battery and declared it dead. He charged it and off Eladio went again to another garage I had rung, making sure they could change the battery that very morning. He spent 3 hours there. 

Meanwhile, I fought a battle with HP to restore the connection to our printer which wouldn't connect after we had changed our internet and mobile operator. Would you believe I had to make up to 7 calls and that it took me about 2.5h for the thing to work again but I managed? I was a wreck afterwards. All this in between managing new bookings. Iban was coming again that very day and we needed to prepare his room. Lucy had gone off on a paperwork trail to get her residency card so I was alone and Eladio had switched off the heating in Iban's room. 

We were supposed to do the food shopping as we were going away on my birthday but Eladio wasn't back until 13.30. We had no lunch prepared and decided on eating out - a hamburger at J. something Carls - famous in the US but not here. What a messy lunch Eladio pronounced. Why do hamburgers have to be eaten using your fingers with sauces oozing out? Next time I shall take along a plate and a knife and fork if I ever go back. From the hamburger "joint" we still had more errands to do. Finally I got a message from Movistar to say I would be "porting" (changing operators) that night and could go and pick up the new SIM cards.  We did get the cards and were finally home by about 4 pm. Then Eladio had to go to the garage to pick up the Volvo who hadn't solved why it was losing petrol. This time Suzy, who is the main user of my Mini, went with him. Later she went off in it. I don't mind her using it. What I really mind is that she uses up the petrol  so that when I do use it the first thing I have to do is fill the "bl****" tank. 

None of this put me in a good mood that day, the day before my birthday and I wondered to myself why on earth I had booked 2 nights at a hotel on the outskirts of Toledo. I just didn't feel like going.

I slept dreadfully that night. The treatment I am receiving from my urologist, sadly, is not working as I hoped it would. I was awake at 5 am on Wednesday,  my birthday and not feeling in the best of spirits and, no, I did not feel like going to Toledo. 

My thoughts at 5 am were not about my birthday. Rather it was on Movistatr - our new operator who we had switched to. By then our new sim cards were connected to Telefónica. Great I thought except that it wasn't great. I could not get the TV connected which was the main reason we changed. Later I realised too that internet at home was slower than before with Yoigo. When I saw that we had gone from 600mb to just 300 I was furious. That made Internet so slow it was not just enough for the house. Do you know I was on the phone to them all day sorting it out and that basically they ruined my birthday?   It was the guy who runs their Twitter, Diego, who came to my rescue and by the end of the day I had the TV working and supposedly 1 Giga at home. It was a huge mistake to change network providers during my birthday. Thus, I hardly noticed it was my birthday until late in the evening. Damn them. 

There was one highlight at home though before we left for Toledo at around 11 am. Eladio who thought my birthday was the next day (haha), gave me my present - a grey Uniqlo long down coat I chose. Here I am wearing it. It's not that pretty but it is so warm and comfortable which was the purpose. It was to be cold in Toledo and kept me beautifully warm. Here I am trying it on in the lounge. 

My birthday present - the Uniqulo coat. 

We reached our hotel, Cigarral El Bosque just outside the city in about 1 hour.  It is supposedly a 5 star hotel but it's more like a 4 star. The hotel itself which I knew from an event I did there with Adamo a few years ago, is ugly on the outside but the architect did one clever thing. He or she made sure all the rooms had views of the old part of the city with its spires, churches and monuments. That is its salient point. 

The hotel from the outside

View of Toledo from the hotel

I had booked a normal room but then upgraded to a "romantic" package of some sort. But I had no  idea they would give us a huge suite. It was amazing with a large terrace on the ground floor with direct access to the gardens with more views of the city. I read later it measures 52m which is like a small flat. We loved it and could have moved in. We were bowled over as we had not expected a suite with a large bedroom, large bathroom with both shower and bath and loads of lovely mini toiletries and huge lounge and dining room. Honestly 6 people could have slept there. 

As soon as we had unpacked - mainly all the technology stuff - we set off by taxi to the old walled town. Toledo was once the capital of Spain until 1561 and is known as the City of three cultures due to the influence of its successive Muslim, Jewish and Christian inhabitants. They supposedly lived in harmony at some stage but in 1492 all Jews were expelled from Spain. They were called the Sephardi Jews and were dispersed all over the world.  The city is also where the famous painter, El Greco, lived and his heritage is to be seen everywhere. Toledo is most popular with tourists and we saw a lot of Jewish and Muslim tourists probably exploring their heritage. 

We have been to Toledo on countless occasions but it was only really this week that I got to know it better and discovered places I had not visited before or even heard of. But before we discovered some of them we had to eat. We chose a wrong place, the touristy Restaurante Museo de Productos de Castilla La Mancha. We ate a menu of the day which was not up to standard, especially on a birthday but I didn't really mind or notice because I was on the phone to Movistar throughout. What a pain. 

From the restaurant we walked down into the heart of the city. Toledo has two synagogues. That day we visited the one I already knew which I already knew. Called Synagogue of St. Mary the White or also Ibn Shoshan Synagogue it was built in the late 12th century. It is considered the oldest synagogue still standing in Europe. This is it on the inside. 

One of the two medieval synagogues in Toledo

For the record there are only 3 medieval synagogues still standing in Spain. The 3rd is in Córdoba another city of 3 cultures. 

We walked on afterwards along the well kept stone streets of this very well preserved medieval city. Normally Toledo is full of tourists and usually rather too hot. So it was wonderful to visit it during the low season. We got to one of the main squares and I spied a Moorish type entrance where I had to have a photo. Moorish architecture of the time is called Mudéjar and there is plenty of it in Toledo. 

Enjoying Toledo but well wrapped up. 

What we wanted to see most was the Alcazar (fortress or castle) which dominates the city and was built in 1531. 

Eladio outside the Alcázar

Visiting the Alcázar

The Alcázar de Toledo

It has an interesting history. More recently, during the Spanish Civil War when the city was under siege a  famous Colonel , Moscardo held,  the building against the Republican forces The Republicans took Moscardo's son Luis hostage and demanded the surrender of the fortress or otherwise they would kill the boy. The Colonel spoke to his son on the phone - a recording has been kept - where he says to him "Command your soul to God, shout Viva España and die like a hero" . Refusing to surrender, his son was killed. It's quite a story isn't it? 

It was getting dark and time to go home which is what we did after so much walking. We also wanted to enjoy our suite. Here is Eladio sitting on the sofa with his PC: 

Relaxing in our huge suite

Dinner was better that night. We ordered room service - my favourite. Here is Eladio receiving it. Our upgrade also included a bottle of Cava and some chocolates. Wow!

Room service, the height of luxury

I must also share with you the view of the moonlit city at night which we could see from our room - spectacular. 

Toledo illuminated by the moon - view from our room

All too soon my birthday was over and it was Thursday but we were to have a full day in Toledo and that day I enjoyed our stay here with no interruptions from Movistar - thank goodness although they still kept ringing me. 

Despite the huge 2 meter bed which was comfortable I slept badly and only got about 4 hours sleep. It would have to do. It was on Thursday we discovered places and monuments we had never seen as well as visited some we had and what a wonderful day it was. I was most impressed with what I found. 

That day after a sumptuous breakfast - oh I love hotel buffet breakfasts - we set off to the city, this time on foot. It is only about 1.6km so not far at all. We crossed into the walled city over the 14th century  Bridge of Saint Martin.  We couldn't get enough of the beautiful views of the city where the Monastery of St. John is at its most visible,  and the river. The Tagus river is the longest in Spain. It measures 1006 km, starts in Albarracín (Teruel) and ends in Lisbon. Of course it is Madrid's main river too. 

St. Martin's bridge in Toledo

This is where we got the only photo of the two of us thanks to a kindly Mexican tourist. That's the photo I have chosen as this week's feature photo, the two of us enjoying my birthday get away. 

We walked across the bridge  and came to the entrance into the city where we had to have another photo. These entrances or gateways all have names and reminded me of the gates into the city of Jerusalem. I'm not sure but think this one is called La Puerta del Cambrón. 

The gateway into the walled city of Toledo from the Bridge of St. Martin

Toledo is a feast for the eyes. Everywhere you look, there is a beautiful medieval building or monument and the old part of the city is very well kept. I'm not surprised it is such a magnet for tourists. There is history looking in the eye from every corner of the city. Below is the Monastery of St. John

Outside the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes

The Monastery of St. John of the Monarchs was a Franciscan order and built by the Catholic King and Queen Isabel and Fernando between 1477 and 1504 whose reign coincided with the expulsion of the Spanish Jews - The Sephardi Jews - in 1492 (the year Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue!).  Jews, as in many parts of the world, were not popular but at one time they lived in harmony in Toledo - for a while. There is evidence of them everywhere, especially in the Jewish Quarter (La Judería). It was on Thursday that we saw the other Synagogue, the Synagogue of the Transition which I had never seen before. It is housed in the Sephardi Museum and is a national treasure. I think it is what impressed me most. 

It was built in the 1350's by a powerful Jewish courtier, Samuel Halevi, after an order that prohibited the building of more synagogues. He was the treasurer to King Pedro I of Castille, known as King Pedro the Cruel. Halevi from the powerful Abulafía family was a sort of unnamed leader of the Jewish community. The King allowed him to build the synagogue but later during his reign, bowing to public pressure, tortured him to confess a sin he hadn't committed - robbing court treasures - after which he was tortured with all his family. That is a very cruel story but thanks to Halevi, Spain now houses one of the most important symbols of Jewish repression in history. 

Inside the Synagogue of Transition in Toledo

To the right, on the next floor up, is of course the Women's gallery. There are displays which show the history of Jewish customs. I was especially interested to see this Circumcision chair as well as the instruments needed for the ritual on baby boys.

The circumcision chair and instruments used to perform the "nip" 

We walked outside feeling a little bit more knowledgeable about the history of Jews in Spain. What a beautiful location for the museum too. The street outside is, naturally, called after its founder, Samuel Halevi.

Outside the second synagogue (Sinagoga de la transición). 

And there too was his bust. My cultured husband wanted a photo with it and I obliged. That's when we read up on the history of his influence on Toledo - a wonderful nugget of culture. 

Eladio next to the statue of Samuel Halevi - the founder of the Transition Synagogue

If Toledo is known as the city of 3 cultures, it is still a city that attracts people from all corners of the world, like El Greco in his time, or Darya today who plays the cimbalom. We listened and watched her play and were in awe. We spoke too. Darya is from Belarus and has lived in Spain for 20 years. I wish I could get to know her better. How wonderfully she plays. 

Darya from Belarus, playing her cimbalom in Toledo

She couldn't have chosen a better place - right in front of the 14th century  Church of St. Thomas. It is famous because it houses one of El Greco's most iconic paintings; the burial of the Count of Orgaz. We had to go in of course. 

The Burial of the Count of Orgaz by El Greco

Inside St. Tomas' Church

The altar includes a painting of "Doubting Thomas" - always my favourite disciple. 

So we had gone from a Jewish museum to a Christian church of much importance in Toledo. What we wanted to see next was the Mosque that represents for me the Muslim heritage of the city. But before reaching the now christianised Mosque of Christ of the Light we stopped in front of a large and impressive Baroque church called the Church of the Jesuits or of St. Ildefonso. We were curious as there signs indicating it had the best views of the city from the tower of this church. So in we went. And what a climb up to the top; not for the faint hearted. The climb was hard but oh what a prize at the end, the best views of Toledo as advertised. From the top you can see both the Fortress and the Cathedral.

The best views of Toledo are to be seen from the tower of the Church of St. Ildephonso

From the Church of the Jesuits we carried on on foot until we reached the jewel of Muslim heritage in Toledo, the little Mosque of the Light of Christ - you see once again christianised as was the Mosque in Córdoba. But it was still beautiful. Just look at these arches. 

Inside the 10th century mosque.

This gem of a mosque hidden away in Toledo

It is surrounded by gardens with more views of Toledo from the other side of the Fortress and Cathedral. This is the view my eyes feasted on. 

View from the Mosque

To the right of it is the Puerta del Sol - Sun gateway, the same name as Madrid's most famous square but nothing like it. It existed in the 1st century after Christ as part of the Roman walls; another treasure of Toledo. 

The Puerta del Sol - another gateway into the walled city

But we had had enough of treasures. Ever heard of the Stendhal syndrome? It's when you have had enough of beauty and culture that you cannot take anymore in. By then it was nearly 3 pm and we had been walking and climbing steps all day. We were exhausted and despite our enormous breakfast, hungry again.

We were told by one local that actually the best restaurant in town was at our hotel, El Olivo so that is where we headed but by taxi this time.

We were the only diners but weren't complaining. The food was delicious. We had one course - suckling lamb and some fruit. 

Lunch yesterday at our hotel 

It was such a sunny day that after lunch we walked around what felt like our own private garden with views of the city. We were very wowed. Shortly after the doorbell rang and there was  man carrying us a tray with a bottle of rosé wine in a bucket of ice and a platter of freshly cut fruit. Gosh I thought, I could move in here.

We rested and everything was good and great until I received a phone call from Suzy. It was to tell me she had found our cat, Phoebe, dead in the garage. OMG! Suzy was crying her eyes out and I was so sad and shocked. Of course she was old - 16 - but for her to go like that and for Suzy to find her there was very traumatic, especially for my daughter who feels things very strongly. Sad myself, I tried to calm her down and advised her to cover the poor creature in a sheet or towel and place her in a box - with the help of Lucy. We would bury her on our return and leave a stone to mark the place, the garden she had lived in for so many years. Eladio did that the day we arrived but didn't include us as he thought it would be upsetting to see her dead body. Now there is a stone upon her grave so we know where she is. 

Dear little Phoebe - pic taken in about 2019 I think

RIP Phoebe.

In a way I'm glad I wasn't at home as it is not the same finding her dead as hearing about it on the phone.

I comforted myself with a glass of rosé and was soon in another place in my mind - in London, while watching the very addictive series The Capture on the BBC iPlayer. Eladio was engrossed in his own content and we only emerged from our screens from the super comfy sofa to realise it was past 9 pm and late for our dinner. 

We were not hungry. There is a saying in Spanish "comer y rascar, cuestión de empezar" - eating and scratching is about the beginning  - i.e. you start and can't stop. So we ate the leftovers of a fish dish from room service the night before with the fresh fruit. Then it was more screen time until we felt drowsy at around midnight.

And suddenly it was Friday, the morning of our departure. All good things always do come to an end. I was up at around 6.30 and we spent some leisure time, including another scrumptious breakfast. We aimed to leave at around 11.30 and were home by 12.30. It all felt like a dream, there we were at home again. It was good to greet Suzy, Lucy and my darling Pippa but the sight of the box in the garage containing Phoebe was not nice at all. 

My first task was to check the internet coverage and after moving a few of the extenders, all looked good. We have definitely noticed the speed is now quite a lot faster but not perfect. Last night Netflix froze.  What a palaver it has been to change operators. We then had a quiet lunch together in the dining room and only saw one guest, Simon, the Swedish padel player. Also there were some Peruvian gardeners who had come to prune the hedges, trees, roses  and bushes - heavy work.

For some reason I was feeling exhausted, probably due to lack of sleep. So I was pleased I managed over an hour's siesta which I desperately needed. I had quiet time that afternoon enjoying our own room - not as big as the Toledo hotel suite but still wonderful. I spent it watching the end of The Capture - wow what a series! It was good also to sleep in our own bed and I did get a better night's sleep on Friday. 

Saturday dawned and was the day we would celebrate my birthday "en famille". My birthday didn't really feel like my birthday without my family. Unknowingly to me, yesterday, my dear school friend, Geraldine, visited her parents' grave at the same cemetery where my parents are buried. She placed flowers on my parents' grave too as she has done so many times in the past. It was good to know that on the day I celebrated my birthday with the family; almost as if they were included.  I don't know how to thank you dear Geraldine; words are not enough. 

Yesterday was the coldest day of the year but we braced the freezing temperatures to go on our walk before all the preparations for the birthday meal. What greeted us outside was loads of foliage the gardeners had cut from our garden and that's just the half of it as they are coming back to finish the job today. 

Just some of the trimmings from our garden

We were pretty much on our own on our walk apart from cyclists. We wrapped up warmly - my new Uniqlo coat is divine for its warmth and by 10.30 we were home. I needed the walk as there would be a lot of calorie consumption that day hahahaha.

We went off to get the food; mainly fresh fish for fish and chips which is the dish we always have for family birthdays. Once finished, we drove to Alverán where we met Oli and the family to have coffee together as well as some delicious "vigilantes" - a sort of sugared thin croissant. It was great to see the kids again. Soon Elliot was sitting next to me talking 19 to the dozen and showing everyone his Spider Man clothes, including his underpants. So funny! He is such a chatterbox. And soon Juliet was in her grandfather's arms, one of her favourite places. The chemistry oozes between the two of them as shown in this lovely photo below. I don't know why but there is always a special relationship between a father and a daughter and a mother and a son - call me sexist but there is no denying it. 

Eladio and Juliet reunited

None of my birthday presents were a surprise, even the flowers in my hands in the photo below which Oli wanted to buy me at the local florist. It was Elliot who gave them to me but he refused to be in the photo. I do love tulips. 

Tulips from Oli for the birthday "girl"

Once home they were soon gracing our dining room table which was laid for our lunch. 

The birthday lunch table

Lucy made the chips - she is good at it - and I made the beer battered fish. Suzy made the mushy peas. They were not that authentic as both the fish and the chips were fried in olive oil. But they taste as good as the best in England, I promise. This was my plate. Divine. 

Fish and chips for the birthday lunch

And this was the splendid cake from Alverán. It's sponge and cream topped with raspberries and covered in white chocolate which I adore. Elliot loved the white chocolate and cream and in this he takes after his great grandfather, a great fan of whipped cream!!

My birthday cake - the one I always get

The cake moment is always the best. For the occasion I wore some silly glasses and a sash I bought for birthdays some years ago. They add to the fun. Adding to the fun too were the special firework like candles. Oli took a video which you can see on my YouTube channel. Then we had a photo shoot and the photo below is my favourite. Have you noticed we still have the Happy New Year banner on the wall? It's time to remove it hahahahaha. We do love a party in this house. 

The cake moment with my family 

We were  rather full afterwards and I all I wanted was my siesta. The children went straight into the main lounge making a beeline for my ornaments - specially the ducks and little houses. Another duck was broken that afternoon. Oh well:-(

I think I slept for 1.5h and by the time I was up, Oli and family had gone. But we shall see lots of them this week as we are on grandparent duty in the afternoons. Oli will be teaching a class of students doing a master in TV journalism at a private University. Called Core (Entertainment Science Campus), it belongs to the media group Planeta. Her subject is about being an MC which she knows a lot about. She herself did a master's degree in TV journalism with RTVE and now she will be a teacher to future TV journalists. I'm rather proud of her for being asked. As she will be tied up in the afternoons after her normal job at RTVE, we shall have to pick the kids up in the afternoon until Miguel finishes his shift at 7 pm this week. I shall try to make sure no more ornaments are broken hahahahaha.

The rest of the day was quiet after they left and panned out as most weekend afternoons do here. Today is Sunday; my brother's birthday and I'm glad the sun is out again. The sun always cheers me up. I could never live in an area where it rains a lot.

Now my friends, I have come to the end of the tales of this week - a rather different one from usual. Let's see what next week brings.

Till then, all the best,

Masha