After the wedding, Olivia MC at the The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, The irony of the submarine that imploded while visiting the Titanic, dinner at La Espiga, Putin in trouble after Wagner mutiny and other stories.

Sunday, 25th June, 2022

Dinner in a garden - at La Espiga on Friday night with my husband. A wonderful find

Dear all,

Well, this week has been very different to last week. I now have behind me our amazing road trip and my beautiful daughter Olivia's wedding. But this week she brought us joy again in her performance as the MC for the prestigious World's 50 Best Restaurant awards on Tuesday. I had hoped to go with her to Valencia where it took place but  the Palace of Arts was packed. However, we were able to watch her live as the event was streamed globally on YouTube.

But last Sunday we were still getting over the wedding and clearing away. We had a quiet day and I even managed a swim on my own. I actually took a skinny dip as it was just Eladio, Suzy and I in the house. 

Skinny dipping in our pool 

At 6.30 I had a lovely Skype call with my dear Uni friends, Sandra and Adele. We had last spoken on the eve of our road trip. There was lots to catch up on. I think we spoke for at least an hour or until I heard noise below. Oli and co had arrived - for dinner - which Oli made but I did most of the clearing away as it was Tana's afternoon off. 

A seed was planted in my head that day after posting my Sunday blog. I had mentioned I may print the 8 blogs posts of our road trip and turn them into a booklet. Well, a friend, Veronica, suggested I actually turn them into a proper book. Ah but that would require quite a lot of work. Will I do it? The seed is planted. I think I should. My friend Sandra got enthusiastic and suggested titles. I will have a think and see if I am inspired enough to write "Travels in our Mini from Madrid to Armenia" - any better suggestions? How about "An elderly couple's road trip in a Mini from Madrid to Armenia"? hahahaha. If anything it will be a travel diary/memoir. What do you think? I doubt it would sell but I could get my Spanish publishers to make a few hard copies for me and publish it on Amazon as an e-book. 

Those were my thoughts on Monday morning. So I set about doing the background work and updated the final maps of both the outgoing and return journeys which came to a total o 12.500 km. We did more as we moved around off route at times. I then updated the itinerary so that I have all the information at my finger tips when I start properly on the book/diary. 

Otherwise it was a quiet day. The catering people came to get their chairs and tables and glasses, etc which we had moved from the grass. More people came, this time, to buy 3 of the 4 the parasols Miguel bought for the wedding. It was a sort of after the event blues day if you know what I mean. Oli duly went off to Valencia, on her own, for the awards ceremony as there would be at least 2 rehearsals. 

The highlight of Monday was my now restored weekly Skype call with Amanda. We hadn't spoken for a while so it was great to catch up. My news of course was the wedding, Oli's MC event and of course more memories of our road trip. I also asked her for ideas for the title of the diary as she helped me with my father's book. 

We had one guest only that day. José Antonio comes nearly once a week for 2 or 3 nights and is now part of the furniture, so to speak.

It was dinner on the terrace alone with my wonderful husband before we retired to our quarters to watch the news and then a film which I don't recommend. The Son is very depressing.

Tuesday came and I began work in earnest on the diary after excited calls from my dear friend Sandra who is keen for me to write it, bless her. She caught me at the end of our early morning walk - another routine we have reincorporated into our lives and which is so necessary for our minds and bodies. We went at 8.15 as any time after that is too hot already. We are about to experience the first heatwave of this summer with temperatures reaching 40'ºc and I only wish I was writing from Montrondo. We had planned to go this week but have something on on 27th but will definitely go after that. Montrondo is in the north of the country and it always at least 10 degrees less than in Madrid.

We were out in the garden and I noticed just how heavy our plum tree is looking. The plums look nearly ripe to me and I hope we get to eat them before the birds do. 

Just look at all the fruit on our plum tree - they are a sort of greengage and are delicious

While in the garden we decided to put up Miguel's parasol on the back patio to see what it looks like and we left it up as it looks great. It's a wonderful place to work quietly from but not when there is too much sun so the parasol will come in handy. Very kindly they have given us one of the parasols, selling the other 3. The patio looks a lot better with it. 

The back patio with Miguel's new parasol from the wedding

Before dinner I had a quick chat with my cousin Zuka on my mother's side who lives in France. We shall be going together to a wedding at the end of August and between us we agreed on the arrangements. We shall be going to her lovely country house in La Teillée and from there will travel to the coast and stay  near Talmont-sur-Gironde for one night as the wedding ceremony is in Talmont. The reception takes place about 75km away at the pretty village of Mareuil which is in the Poitou-Charentes region somewhere between Cognac and Angouleme.  I have booked a lovely place in Mareuil for one night after which we shall return to La Teillée (Saint-Sauvant). I have to be precise about where Mareuil and La Teillée are as there are more than one of each in France which is confusing for many. It's exciting to have a wedding in France to look forward to. It will of course also be another "Cousinade" (cousin reunion) which we haven't celebrated since before Covid. The Cousinade is made up of the descendants of my mother's first cousins on her mother's side: Maria, Olga and Natasha. It also includes Zuka her niece, the daughter of her youngest brother, Nicolai (Kolya) and of course me. Today the younger generations outnumber us and it is sad that the matriarch, Nicolai's wife, my Aunty Valya, won't be there as she passed away last autum. She always loved the Cousinades. It will be our second Cousinade wedding which will make it so much fun. Watch this space.

Dinner was a small affair as at 8.40 pm The World's 50 best restaurants awards were being streamed live on YouTube and being the parents of the Presenter we watched from beginning to end. Prior to the start of the ceremony, Olivia sent me photos after her hair and make up had been done in her own dressing room - isn't that nice? She looked amazing. 

Olivia ready, except for the shoes - backstage

These awards are probably as big as the Michelin star guide in the hospitality and restaurant business. The World's 50 Best is owned and managed by William Reed and based in the UK. The dress was spectacular too, don't you think? BTW she wore different shoes to the ones in the picture hahaha. 

The event was live streamed from the company's YouTube TV channel and we made sure all was working properly so we could see it from our big smart TV in the comfort of our bedroom. If you didn't see it, you can still watch it on the link above. Olivia, the host, introduced by William Reed, comes on at about minute 37.10 and wow did she do a great job. It was practically all in English although they had looked for a Spanish English presenter. Here is a quick snippet of a video I took of her for you to get an idea and to remember her performance. 

Olivia has been an MC at many events over the years, sporadically and for different industries but I think this was her real first global event. She handled it beautifully, with poise,  some humour and didn't put one foot wrong. She told me later she felt in control and had fun. That came across while we watched her. She was natural too and I loved her entry speech when she said food was her favourite thing in life and that she had fallen in love in Valencia where the event took place. I took some stills, my friend Sandra did, as did her new husband Miguel who, as I you now know, she met in Valencia at RTVE - the national broadcaster they both work for.

Olivia on stage loving her job as the MC for the Worlds 50 best restaurants

This is like the Oscars of food and 50 prizes can be slow and boring, but Olivia did it fast and made it fun. So apart from enjoying seeing my daughter, I actually enjoyed the show. My friend Amanda wrote later: "I honestly thought I would watch it for a bit to see her but then couldn't stop, I had to watch it to the end, it was great". 

I imagined the General Manager would announce the winner - the Peruvian restaurant from Lima, Central, but, no, it was Olivia. I didn't capture that on camera but the Peru tourist Instagram site did and this is the moment. Enjoy.  That was great for Peru although I had hoped a Spanish or British restaurant would win. Spain did very well with 3 places in the top 5. So did Latin America all round and of course there were lots of representatives from France and Italy but not as many as usual. 

After the show was over, it was a bit of an anti climax - we were left on a high and nothing from Netflix that night could beat what we had just seen. Wow, as a  parent I was very, very proud of my professional and beautiful daughter who did a great job and was congratulated all round. It was her first time away from her babies - two whole nights. No doubt they missed her and she missed them but it must have been lovely to change roles for a while and be a star which is what she was. 

So I didn't sleep well that night after all the excitement only getting about 5 and a half hours sleep - boohoo. I was up just before 7 am on Wednesday morning. It was food shopping day, again - after our morning walk I should add.  Yes, again. We buy so much yet it all gets eaten. That was our most important job of the day. It's all part of running a huge house I suppose and we do love our food - as Oli said at the awards event, hahahahhaa. 

On Thursday again we went on an early morning walk before the sun became to hot. We had errands again to do that morning. One was to inflate the tyres of the Mini - they were at 1.5 ,2.2, 2.2 and 2.2 when they should be at 24, 2.4, 2.2 and 2.2.  - I am impressing myself with this knowledge which I learned on our road trip - oh I learned so much on that journey. The other was to go to an office in Boadilla to request a duplicate driving licence after I lost mine at some border in the Caucusus. But first we had to have coffee at Alverán. The tyres were soon inflated, I had about a 20 minute wait at the driving licence place and came out with a temporary one that lasts 6 months until they post me a duplicate. 

Once home, we found Oli there with little Juliet who had a temperature that day so didn't go to nursery school.  What a high she is on. On Monday they are taking their "honeymoon" and will spend a week at some fancy hotel by the beach in the Cádiz area. Good for them. They joined us for lunch which we had in harmony and basically alone. Our next guests, 3 guys from Sweden were not arriving until night time and our other guest had left early in the morning. 

Even this week it has been difficult for me to adjust to "normal life" and our home routine; my mind straying to places like Sarajevo, Sofia or Yerevan. I told Eladio at lunchtime that day that what I would really love to do next year is take the same route with different stops and visit the other countries that border with Turkey; i.e. Iran, Iraq and Syria. Am I crazy? Is it doable? That would be really off the tourist track wouldn't it. I have always been fascinated by these countries which are a bit taboo for European folk like us. Who knows? The very idea of a package tour or cruise to over touristy destinations puts me off completely. To tell the truth I have never been on either. Maybe it's the Aquarian in me, I like to do things my way, independently and in my own time. That's why retirement is wonderful, at least this first stage when I not to old to take on an "edgy" road trip.

The only news I have really followed this week is the ironic loss of a submarine type vessel (Titan Sub) with 5 people on board that went down to see the most famous ship that ever sunk, the Titanic. It cost them 250.000 dollars each and in the end cost them their lives. 

The Titan mini submarine that went missing and imploded while visiting the remains of the Titanic. 

Run by a company called Ocean Gate, when the sub lost contact, its navigation and communication systems failing at the same time, a disaster was suspected. But nobody knew what had happened. James Cameron, the director of the film, Titanic, did though. He said he "felt it in his bones". Only on Thursday night did we hear that debris had been found consistent with what is thought to have been a "catastrophic implosion" probably caused by a sudden lack of pressure in the vessel. What a horrible way to die. Even before Cameron likened this tragedy to the tragedy of the Titanic, I had already thought likewise. His words could have been mine except that his are better. He told the media "I think there's a great, almost surreal irony here, which is the Titanic sank because the captain took it full steam into an ice field after he had been repeatedly warned. We are seeing a parallel here, unheeded warnings about a sub that was not certified".

I am very sorry for the passengers but they were warned even as early as in 2018. Ocean Gate was warned of the dangers of the vessel and that an accident like this could happen any time. . I also echo the words of a letter to The Times on Saturday from Angela Galbraith. She wrote "Sir. Although our utmost sympathies will lie with the families of those have been lost in the submersible, perhaps it is time to remember the more than 1500 people who died when their ship, the Titanic, sank, and to leave that graveyard in peace". There is a huge fascination with the greatest sea tragedy ever, yet she is right. It is better to leave its graveyard in peace. 

Very rich people don't know how to get fun anymore for their money if it isn't doing extreme things that cost a million and that "normal" folk can't do. The whole world has been focused on their rescue. Why then, I wonder, isn't the whole world focused on the rescue of all the poor immigrants who attempt to reach the west in rickety boats. The Times, again, questioned this with a fabulous cartoon which I would like to reproduce here. 

All out rescue for the Titan and less interest in rescuing immigrants - from The Times Saturday 24th June, 2023

The bottom line is  because no one wants them in their countries. Sad isn't it? If only the super wealthy could spend their money helping them rather than spending it on bizarre tourist stunts.  Just my humble opinion.

I like to go where other tourists don't - hence our trip to Yerevan - but I am not into extreme adventurer. My little hospitality business is very very modest in comparison. That night my 3 new guests from Sweden arrived, late at night, past 10 pm. They have come to see their sons who are studying at the La Liga and the NBA football and basketball school, just 1km from us. They looked like great guests but I was a bit worried when they asked if they could bring friends; other parents of boys at the school. Guests bringing guests is not allowed so I gently told them so. The last thing I want is a large group of guests swigging alcohol by the pool hahahaha. 

Friday came. I was thinking about our trip to France, a mini road trip. Last time we went to La Teillée, we stopped for lunch at the coastal town of St-Jean-de-Luz near Biarritz. We had been there in the 80's too but only for a stop off. So I swore then that next time we would stay there.  True to my promise, I booked 2 nights. I look forward also to revisiting Biarritz where I used to go on holiday with my parents when we stay at my Uncle Kolya's apartment. Uncle Kolya was Zuka's father. And then I did another crazy thing and extended our trip to France in August by addeng 2 nights in Ars-en-Ré, the last village in the lovely peninsula of Île-de-Ré. We had a cousinade there a few years ago and I swore I would come back one day and bring Eladio. Our trip to France which coincides with our 40th wedding anniversary is going to be another road trip, albeit a small one and in just one country but I love France, love St-Jean-de-Luz and Île-de-Ré. That is something to look forward to and I love having something to look forward to, don't you?

Friday was a family day again. Oli had to handle both kids and they came for lunch. Thankfully I had lots of leftovers. Poor Juliet has some sort of infection so couldn't go to the nursery and Elliot's school broke up for the summer. They left just before a new guest arrived which was a bit of a panic moment with cars having to be moved, etc. Then there was peace and we had something to look forward to that night, dinner out together. You may have noticed we have more or less stopped our Friday night dinners out but this week I thought we should resume them. Oli had recommended a new place to me; Finca La Espiga on the road from Boadilla to Brunete.  It's actually like an estate in huge grounds and we found ourselves having dinner in a garden. It was stunning. Eladio took this week's feature photo of me feeling relaxed at La Espiga about to enjoy a romantic and delicious dinner. Here are some other pics of the place which I'm sure we will go back to.

Finca La Espiga grounds

It wasn't cheap but the food was delicious.  We could have had a first and second course but the starters were so enticing, we ordered 4 between us. But, oh, my, they were too big we had to take more than half home. This is what we had, for the record: tripe (Eladio - not me), croquettes, artichokes and small squid. We couldn't even fit in a small dessert but no worries. I had the the rest of a nearly empty tub of Magnum ice cream when I got home, hahaha. Can't resist ice cream but then you know that. 

We were in bed by 10.30 or so and it was so hot we had to put the air con on. I got a decent night's sleep and was awake at 6.40 on Saturday morning. We went for our morning walk at 8.30 and were sweating by the time we got home. Here are Eladio and Pippa at the end of our walk with our house in the background. We have to go under a fence to reach the path. 

Coming back from our walk on Saturday morning

Our Swedes, meanwhile, were cooling off in the pool but later went out for the whole day and we didn't see them again. Suzy strained her ankle that day so was served lunch on a tray in her bedroom. The restaurant doggy bag came in handy for lunch after which Tana went out to get a change of scenery. She was going to see Lucy who we haven't heard from since she upped and left our house in mysterious circumstances. I really don't know why she left. With no one in the house, we grabbed the pool for ourselves and frankly there was nowhere else to be on a Saturday afternoon in June with 35ºc - so hot. This week Midsummer came. It was the summer solstice this week and the days are now so long, it is my favourite time of the year, if only it wasn't so hot. I kipped one of the sun loungers in the shade and this was my view.

By the pool yesterday

It was so hot, even Eladio couldn't resist going in and he hardly ever does. When he did go in, I sent a photo to the girls saying a miracle had occurred hahahaha. We then enjoyed a cool swim together.

Eladio cooling off by the pool yesterday when he took his first bathe of the season

While we were cooling off, trouble was brewing in Moscow. There have been some extraordinary developments since Friday which may well be the catalyst of Putin's downfall, if that is ever to occur. It started with his henchman and ex chef, the oligarch  Prigozhin who heads up the Wagner group - a sort of private army - made up of prisoners and other thugs and merceneraies - blasting against Putin's army chiefs. This has been long going on from the Ukrainian front with Prigozhin blaming the Russian army for not supplying it with the munition it needs and for its incompetence which has sent many of his men to death needlessly . On Friday he went on to accuse Russia of having attacked a group of his men and that is when he launched his insurrection. He took over the big city of Rostov in Russia which looked like a coup and then started marching his forces to Moscow. Putin responded on TV with strong threats and then seemed to disappear. No one knows where he is at the moment. Meanwhile the Russian capital prepared for an attack in unprecedented developments of the war against Ukraine. It was an extraordinary day with extraordinary events. But last night, just 150km from Moscow, Prigozhin called off his troops saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed. I think that is a volte face which came about as the Belarus President - Livashinko - mediated - not the nicest person to do so. It seems they reached a pact whereby Wagner stopped his convoy and in exchange would be freed of mutiny charges and be allowed to live in exile in Belarus. Do you believe any of this? What happened really? What will happen now? Where is Putin? How will this affect the war with Ukraine? All these questions rose last night after the coup was aborted. It doesn't make sense to me that Prigozhin who was on his way to shed blood then turned back to avoid bloodshed. What did the pact include? We don't know. All we do know is that in some way this will benefit Ukraine and will certainly affect the credibility of Russia's dictator. That is my analysis for the moment but who knows what will happen today or in the short and midterm future. My only hope is that Putin falls and that the war ends. 

The headlines this morning were full of the story which I read over my early breakfast. 

So guys, I must leave you now to publish this and then go on our walk before it gets too hot - 39º is the forecast for today - boohoo. 

Cheers then till next Sunday when I hope we will be in cooler Montrondo.

Masha

Getting used to being home again, wedding planning, the big day came and Olivia and Miguel finally tied the knot. A beautiful wedding reception in our own garden.

 Madrid. Sunday, 18th June, 2023

The photo of the day. 

Good morning friends.

This time last Sunday was our first day home after our 50 day road trip. And in just a week since then Olivia and Miguel finally tied the knot. I say finally as they have been together for more than 10 years and already have children; rather untraditional to say the least. 

So it's been a very hectic week for all. But last Sunday was a quiet family day. I couldn't get enough of my family after such a long absence. But first things first and Suzy and I went to get some provisions as the cupboards were bare. We then met up with Oli and co for coffee and croissants.

Eladio with Juliet and Elliot last Sunday

It was wonderful to be together again. It was not so wonderful to go to large ball park with them which was so noisy. We only stayed a few minutes concluding we were too old for such things. I have never liked crowded indoor places with lots of people and noise - at heart I am a country girl. 

At the entrance to the bouncy ball park 

So we left the young family to it and drove home to get lunch prepared. As you will know, Lucy who had been with us for 4 years, upped and left while we were away but thankfully she brought another lady from Paraguay, Tana  (Sebastiana) , to replace her  -initially for 4 days but now she is staying on and so far so good.

The whole day was dedicated to the family and for once we had no guests. At dinner time though Eladio and I were alone and enjoyed a simple meal on the kitchen terrace. Tana prepared "tortilla española" - thankfully she knows how to make it as it's a staple part of our diet here.

It was lovely to be home but strange and it took time to get into our usual routines. We couldn't get our trip out of our heads and that day I reread some of my blog posts. I wrote 8 all in all and am thinking of printing them and turning them into a booklet to keep. They are an amazing momentum to recall everywhere we went and everything we did. Thank you for reading them. 

Monday came and there would be lots to do. It was a day full of action, mostly wedding planning but also food shopping which included coffee at Alverán. It was nice to be back in Spain, if only for the coffee there. 2 coffees and a croissant cost 4 euros vs 10 euros in France. That says something doesn't it? Why Spaniards complain about life here is beyond me. They should do our road trip to come back and realise what a great country this is.

It also included a much needed haircut and a welcome Skype call with my friend Amanda. We shall be resuming our Monday afternoon calls. I love to share my life with her and only wish we lived nearer each other. 

We caught up with the news too - having taken a huge break during our trip. There were 2 big stories that day; Boris Johnson resigned from politics - good riddance - and Silvio Berlusconi, that colourful and controversial Italian politician, Italy's version of Donald Trump - died aged 86.

Meals outside were a delight too with Tana helping and serving them although I cooked - boeuf stroganof for the record. On Monday I got the best night's sleep in a long time and slept the night through - a bit of a miracle for me - waking up at 7 am on Tuesday morning. 

We had more errands to do that day - I love our morning errands together. We went to the garden centre to get a big hydrangea plant to replace one that had died. We then headed back to Boadilla where I went to get some new sun glasses. You may not remember but mine fell into the canal  while having a photo taken by the Bridge of Sighs in Venice - shall never forget the moment, hahahaha. It was then time for our morning coffee which we had, yes, you guessed it, at Alverán. The lovely waitress served me the best capuccino I have ever had. So I had to have a photo which I must share here as it's one of the good ones I think. 

A wonderful capuccino at Alverán on Wednesday morning

As he took it, my husband remarked "España, sin ir más lejos" - meaning Spain, no need to go further away (sin ir más lejos also means  as a matter of fact) This comes from a slogan from years ago to encourage rural tourism in Spain. How right he was. After all the countries and cities we visited on our road trip, we both came back convinced Spain is one of the top countries to live in in the world. 

We were copying some new clicker remotes for the main gate - don't know where they all go - when I received a call from Bulgaria. Wow! It was from Vladimir, "Volodya" who was my mother's pupil in the 90's. We met him in Sofia and it was thanks to him that we got to visit my mother's house on Dante Street and where we met Ralitsa, the daughter of Antoinette,  my Aunty Masha's best friend. Ralitsa's family lived in the flat right under my grandparents. I shall never forget that moment. As Vladimir is not on Whatsapp I downloaded Viber which he uses and then we spoke again. He wanted to tell me how much he loved my mother, how she helped him when he arrived at Leeds University as a young foreign student who had never left his native Bulgaria. He told me she knitted a jumper for him as he didn't have one and she was worried he would be cold in the north of England. It was then that I found Ralitsa and later her brother Anton on Viber and FB. In 1992 on their second trip to Bulgaria after the Iron Curtain fell, my parents, Aunty Masha and Zuka stayed with them. Anton sent me a very old video of a birthday celebration they had together at their flat, the flat Vladimir took me to. It's grainy and bad quality of course, but so wonderful to see my mother, my Aunt and a very young Zuka. I'm so glad we included Sofia on our road trip - the emotional highlight for me. 

That was on my mind as we did more shopping, for items I had forgotten to add to the list on Monday. Once home we unpacked everything and I made lunch - fish this time. I am teaching Tana to make the dishes we like for our meals. Oh I do miss Lucy but I'm sure Tana will do a good job one day. The signs are there but only time will tell. 

There was a huge rain storm so we had to have lunch inside. There was even hail which I hoped wouldn't damage the new hydrangea. We had also bought some calla flower plants from a street seller by Alverán.  I love these flowers which grow wild in Asturias. Eladio planted them where we had a bald patch outside the garage and they look lovely. He does not have high hopes for them as he says they are very delicate. I hope he is wrong.

New calla flower plants in our garden

The rest of the day was spent quietly. I rewrote my speech and I hoped Eladio wrote his. He was reluctant to write one but I kept telling him it would be the highlight of the wedding and how much it would mean to his daughter Olivia. I did not badger him any more. 

Dinner was inside because of the weather and we had fresh gnocchi with the delicious pesto sauces I bought in Italy.  

We went to bed just on time for the news and to see Donald Trump in the dock for keeping White House secret papers at his luxury home in Mar a Lago. Will he be charged or sent to prison? I doubt it. 

The news on Wednesday morning was full of the same story but I'm not really following it. I skimped through The Times that day and am realising that the news right now, after our trip, is somehow not interesting me as much as it used to. 

That day we had a group of 8 people coming to stay, on top of one guest we already had. They were coming for 2 nights and would leave on the morning of Oli's wedding. I had blocked the calendar for 16th and 17th June and wished I had also blocked it for the 15th so we would be alone the day before the wedding.  Thus the house would be full and hectic for 2 nights. Well, we have places to escape to, namely our own quarters - our big bedroom and our study 

Oli and Miguel came as they did on many days, bringing stuff for the wedding. Miguel bought far too much of everything - as usual - and I imagined there would be loads of drinks leftover afterwards as there were after my 60th birthday party. They stayed for lunch which was cream of broccoli soup followed by "bitki" (Russian type hamburgers) with mashed potatoes. I taught Tana how to make the soup and the bitki and will be showing her how to make other dishes we like for our meals. 

The gardeners came too and mowed the lawns and Eladio and Miguel put up some new parasols he had bought as the temperature forecast for the big day was 33ºc. I knew we would be sweltering but Olivia insisted on the reception being in the garden. I would have chosen the pool where there is a lot more shade. 

Our Airbnb guests arrived at around 4.30 and soon the house was mega full. I escaped to my room and Eladio escaped to his study. We only met again for dinner which we had on the kitchen terrace. It took me a while to fall asleep that night. I think I was suffering from wedding nerves.

 I was up at 6 am on Thursday morning, the day before the wedding; the day before the big day and there was so much to do.  Thankfully our 9 guests were all asleep so I had the kitchen to myself.

The catering people came, Miguel came multiple times to bring even more drinks which no longer fitted in any fridge. I went out to do some more shopping so as to have a decent lunch. With all the guests in the kitchen I managed to make a meal of bacalhua a bras. I tried to rest before the afternoon preparations for the wedding, namely getting the garden ready or as ready as it could be before the big day as most things would go up the next morning.

At about 5.30 Gloria arrived with two helpers. I have known Gloria for more than 20 years as she always worked at the PR and events agencies I hired when I was at Motorola, Nokia, Yoigo and even Adamo. It had to be Gloria who would "dress up" this wedding. And what a wonderful time we had. Here are some photos,  a sort of what is called "making of" in the industry.

Some of the photos of the "making of"

And here are some of the photos of the finished decorations. More would come, including the flowers, the next morning.

Getting the garden ready

While all this was going on, Suzy wanted to try out the sound system and she gave us a foretaste of what was to come on the day. I always wish Suzy had become a professional singer. Don't you agree?

Suzy trying out the sound system with Pippa at her feet

I took a short video for you to hear her singing. 

Suzy trying out the sound system. What a wonderful voice she has

It was getting late and what wasn't ready by then would be done the next morning so we bade goodbye to darling Gloria and her helpers.

It was just Eladio, Suzy and me for dinner then which we had on the kitchen patio - a mixture of lovely leftovers. Then it was early to bed to get as much sleep as possible for the next day.

Apart from waking up at 3 and not being able to fall asleep until 4, I actually slept until 7.20 so not bad at all. And what a day Friday would be, the day of the wedding of my youngest daughter Olivia to her partner and now our formal son-in-law, Miguel and in our own home which made it so much more intimate. 

It was all go from early morning. By 9 am the catering people were here, by 9.30 Gloria was here to finish decorating the garden and by 10 dear Copi was here to do Ol's make up and her hair. I was under strict instructions from Olivia to be with her throughout until she was dressed in her lovely bridal gown - a very simple off white slinky dress from Mango. I later gave her a beautiful bouquet. Her necklace was a diamond pendant worn by her great grandmother on my father's side. It's a family heirloom which now belongs to her. 

Very soon Copi had done her makeup and she looked stunning. 

The bride with her makeup on

For her hair I was the one who insisted on Austrian braids which is what Oli wanted too. Copi worked her magic to make it look like this. 

Her hair - Austrian braids

And here is a fun video of Oli being made up by Copi. 

Soon it was time to dress the bride and that was mainly Suzy's job who was also dressed by then. She looked lovely too. I love this photo of the two sisters. 

Suzy dressing her sister the bride

When she was ready, she walked down the stairs and I took another video. 

Here comes the bride

We walked towards the swimming pool for a session of family photos and that's when her father saw her. Only he knows how he felt. I felt as if a dream was coming true. 

Family photo session

Olivia was driven to the registry office in nearby Boadilla in Copi's car. I presume the 3 "girls" enjoyed every moment. 

The bridal car

Meanwhile the groom was getting ready at their flat accompanied by his mother Merche, his brother Alberto and his nephew Ruben. With them came little Elliot and Juliet looking gorgeous. I caught them on camera when I arrived at the Registry Office - no church, boohoo

Miguel and his family arriving

Miguel was in for a surprise. He thought his greatest buddies, Lolo, Karlanger and Jovi who were his colleagues at RTVE in Valencia were not coming. But Suzy made it happen and they were there on his big day. Here they are together with Elliot and Juliet. It is thanks to them that Oli and Miguel met so they had to be with us on Friday. 

Surprise for Miguel - his greatest friends from Valencia were there with him on his big day

True to tradition, the bride was accompanied by her father and that is the photo I have chosen for this week's very special blog post. I know Friday was all about them, but this blog is written from my perspective and nothing made me happier that day then seeing Olivia being accompanied by her father. 

The session was short and Olivia made us all laugh when instead of saying "Yes, I consent", she said "No, I don't", then laughed out loud and had us in stitches. She soon rectified her words and said the right words. The magistrate told them how as a married couple they had to perform family tasks together at which moments Oli shoved her elbow into Miguel. That had us laughing too. Later Oli said she couldn't resist saying "no" to shock us all. After the not so serious marriage instructions, finally it was time to exchange rings and this is the moment when they finally tied the knot. 

Exchange of rings

The ceremony was soon over but we had a great reception and party to look forward to. The bride and groom were instructed to hide somewhere in the house before making their entrance as there was a surprise for them. 

There were already people on the lawn when I arrived and Gloria was still there adding some final touches. Everything looked beautiful with all the decoration and hydrangeas . It was very hot though and they would soon wilt - boo hoo. 

Here are some pics for you to get the idea. 

The decoration

Only when everyone was there could we start. I had organised silent fireworks for their reception. The men were given the coloured smoke torches and the women had bags of rice. They came out the wrong way but it didn't matter. This is them when they made their appearance. 

The bride and groom make their entrance

You can see the full effects here in this video taken by one of Miguel's ex colleagues. 

From what I can judge in this picture, they were very happy with the surprise coloured smoke and fire. It was great fun and a wonderful start to a wonderful reception.

The bride and groom kissing after the surprise entrance

Only then could the party begin. And here is our son-in-law, Miguel, on his wedding day in our garden with his father-in-law. 

Father-in-law and son-in-law

All in all there were about 40 guests, just immediate family and friends of the bride and groom. As the bride's parents we didn't invite any of our friends. The only family on our side were José Antonio and Dolores, who are Oli's god parents and one of their sons and his family. It was lovely to be together and we took this photo. I later realised Suzy is not in it - boohoo again. 

With some of Eladio's family at the wedding on Friday

I had prepared a schedule which we tried to stick to. This was it:

Bride and groom entrance with silent fireworks

Food and drink 

Speeches from the father of the bride, the god father and Miguel's friend Carlos

Toast with champagne

Waltz - father with the bride, the groom with his mother and then swapping until everyone dancing.

Suzy singing

Speeches - mother of the groom, my speech

Piñata moment

Cake moment

Speech from the bride and groom

Cocktails and karaoke

Here are some photos of these precious moments. 

The piñata moment

The beautiful and delicious cake

The bride and groom cutting the cake with the help of Juliet hahahaha

There are many more photos and videos of the day and we haven't even seen the professional ones yet,  but here is one that stands out - it's of Oli and me.

The bride with her mother

 I don't know what we were saying but I remember the moment. The reception lasted until quite late at night but as it was a day wedding, thankfully we weren't up until the early hours of the morning. We went to bed at about midnight, leaving the garden in one huge mess - boohoo. 

The bride and groom went home. They didn't go on honeymoon as they have two small children, hahahaha. It doesn't matter. What matters is that they are now legally husband and wife. It took them a while but they finally tied the knot. All I can say is that I hope they will be as happy as we are.

Saturday dawned and there was an awful lot of clearing up to do which took up most of the day. The caterers weren't coming until Monday but we couldn't leave the garden in such a mess; like a wedding hangover. I only wished people hadn't stubbed out their cigarettes in the grass - not right.

Yesterday was a family day again as we were joined by the bride and groom and our grandchildren and we had a great day together, mostly by the pool. I somehow managed to rustle up a decent lunch and an improvised dinner. Yesterday was the first time I went in the pool and we had it all to ourselves which was bliss. When the day was nearly over and just before getting into bed, I went and had a midnight swim - skinny dipping of course. 

And today is Sunday and we have nothing planned so far. I hope just to rest and chill out after all the excitement. 

I hope I haven't bored you with details of the wedding but I'm sure you understand just how important it was to us as a family and this blog is all about our family; not just me, hahahaha. 

Cheers then till next Sunday,

Masha