Family time, aftermath of the Valencia floods, Trump won the US elections. And we are off to the USA. Staying at the Carlyle, Hi and cheers from New York. A day in Brooklyn and Manhattan with Juana, Oscar and Pati

 Carlyle Hotel, New York, Sunday 10th November, 2024.

With our dear friends Oscar, Juana and Pati on Brooklyn Bridge yesterday

Good morning all or should I say good day or good afternoon to those of you reading this from Europe. 

It's quite extraordinary but I am in New York with Olivia, my youngest daughter. We travelled on Friday and are here till Wednesday. I have come as Oli's luggage and we are here because she will be moderating an awards ceremony for the Italian coffee company, Illy,  this Tuesday. It was the perfect excuse to come and has been something we have both been looking forward to for quite a while. 

Before I tell you all about it, let me rewind to last Sunday and recap what I did this week before we left which wasn't much really. The highlight was last Sunday when Olivia, Miguel and the kids came for lunch and part of the afternoon. It was precious family time and I made curry for the occasion which everyone always loves. Here are some photos to remember the day.

Precious moments with the family last Sunday. I love this one of Suzy and Pippa with Elliot. 

While we were enjoying family time, the King and Queen of Spain were visiting the Ground Zero area of Valencia where 74 towns or villages were hit by flash flooding on Tuesday 29th October. More than 200 died, many people lost their homes and cars and livelihood, businesses were destroyed as well as most infrastructure in the worst natural disaster in Spain's history. People were angry at the slow reaction of the central and local government so when the King and Queen and PM and local Governor, Carlos Mazón arrived to see the town of Paiporta where 70 people perished, tempers were high. They were pelted with mud and the PM was hit on the head. It's understandable that people are cross but violence is not acceptable. However, in his favour, the King and the Queen, stood firm and faced the music by talking to the people and listening to them. They ended up hugging some of them. Since then the emergency services have got their act together and with the amazing help of thousands of volunteers, the path to normality is being built. It will take months though for a total reconstruction of the area. It has been and still is a total tragedy. 

The TVs covered it all week and that day, Oli had to go into work for a special programme recorded mostly from the worst affected areas in Valencia. Good for her.

The rest of the week was pretty normal for us. We went on our walks, had coffee out, did the shopping and errands, etc so won't go into that as it's quite boring.  The only real news I have is about the wooden house which, after receiving an extortionate estimate for making it livable in, we are now having second thoughts. 

The biggest news of course this week were the US elections and the massive win by Donald Trump who we will have to put with now for another 4 years. Despite all his misdoings, his court cases, .his crazy personality and behaviour, Kamal Harris, a coloured woman, was just not a good enough candidate for the Democrats. I wonder if America is ready for a woman President. I fear not. Israel will be happy with Trump at the White House but I'm not so sure about Zelensky in Kiev. Undocumented immigrants in the USA won't be happy either as the upcoming President has vowed to deport them. It's a mess in my view.  I wondered what sort of atmosphere we would find in the Big Apple just a few days after the elections. 

The week progressed quietly while my reisefeber progressed too. That's a German word my mother always used before we travelled and means something like butterflies in your stomach and literally "travel fever". Before leaving the house on trips, my mother would gather us in the porch at 6 Heaton Grove, Bradford, to pray. She had reason too. In 1971, my father's sister, Gloria and all her family perished in a plane crash in Rijeka Croatia. So, when I board a plane, I still cross myself, the Russian Orthodox way. 

Friday, the big day came and I was ready or as ready as I could be. It was also the third anniversary of the passing away of my wonderful father who died on 8th November 2021 aged 102. I still miss him every day of my life. I inherited my travel bug from him, so no doubt, he would love to know that I am in New York this week. Bless you Daddy (and Mummy and George) always.

I packed on Thursday and made sure I had all my necessary documents and checked in online. Oli flew business class paid for by Illy and I went tourist class of course. I was happy for Oli though as I have travelled business class many times during my corporate years. One of the things I had to pack or carry with me were all my pills. Not wanting to get detained for carrying "narcotics" which happened to me crossing into Georgia from Armenia (codeine), I looked up the rules. You can take prescription medication but must carry the prescription in English. Obviously I only had them in Spanish and on my phone. I hoped that would be enough. I dreaded US immigration from so many bad experiences in the past even with a British passport so that was the part of travelling to the US I was not looking forward to. 

Olivia sent me a taxi at 11.30 even though our flight wasn't until 3.30. It takes about an hour to the airport but she wanted to be cautious because of the rigmaroles of flying to the US. She was probably right.  We were flying, against our wishes with Air Europa, instead of with Iberia at the insistence of Illy and you knew the quality wouldn't be great but who cares I thought. And here we are waiting at Terminal 1 for our big journey.

In the departure lounge at Barajas Airport

The flight was on time and quite smooth really. While Oli enjoyed a good meal in Business Class, mine wasn't too bad as I had pre ordered a special meal. The flight was long, just over 8h but with a few pills I managed to get some sleep.

We had left Madrid at 3.30 pm and arrived at JFK around 6pm. Immigration was not as daunting as usual and by 7 we were at our fabulous hotel. I think I told you we managed to get treated to a two nights The Carlyle while we were in London for the World's 50 best hotels. This was courtesy of the President of the Rosewood Hotel chain. We were even give a double suite which costs at least 2000 euros a night, imagine!  The other three nights were courtesy of Illy and we will be moving today to the Times Square Edition, another 5 star hotel. What luxury. 

The Carlyle is an iconic hotel in the city and wee were astounded to be given the suite Roger Federer always stayed at when he played in the US Open. The suite was astounding and beyond our imagination; comprising 2 master ensuite master bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, various closets, a kitchen, a huge lounge and a near wrap around terrace. 

The view from our terrace

That is where I could smoke and enjoy part of the NY skyline. What luxury. I have stayed at some incredible hotels over the years but this takes the biscuit. Here is a video I took of us entering and oohing and aahing at everything. 

We were so tired we were soon in bed and I think I managed about 4 hours sleep until I woke up at 5 am. We obviously had jet lag but who cared. First things first and were down for breakfast at 6.30 where we specially enjoyed the pancakes; mine with maple syrup.

By 9.30 we were ready to go. We were meeting our ex Nokia colleagues who live in New York, Juana, Oscar and their daughter Pati. We hadn't seen them since they left Madrid in 2022. We decided to walk and enjoy seeing some of the main streets of the city that never sleeps. Here is Oli outside the Carlyle for starters.

Oli outside our first hotel

We were meeting our friends at Bryant Park and walked there via some of Mid town's most famous avenues; mostly along Madison and 5th Avenue. Oli, being a huge fan of Audrey Hepburn had to step inside. We also went past the Trump Tower and had no inclination to go inside. Bryant Park was full of Christmas stalls but I loved most was the outdoor rink.

The ice rink at Bryant Park 

It was great to reunite with Juana and Oscar and their daughter that morning. I mean, what better hosts than them in the city of NY which they know so well. Our friendship dates back to the year 2000 where I worked with them at Nokia.  They took us first to the Grand Station and then to  42nd street right by the UN building and to the ferry that crosses to Brooklyn which is worth visiting and far less touristy than Manhattan. I enjoyed the boat trip. Here are some pics to remember it.

On the ferry to Brooklyn

At my suggestion we got off at Williamsburg which is where the majority of the NY Hasidic jews live. Having read and watched Unorthodox and always being interested in groups of people who live outside mainstream society, it was going to be quite an experience. We got to see some of the men in their Jewish finery on the Sabbath. 

In Williamsburg yesterday

If you want to see what it was like, here is a good video taken by Olivia who I think was pretty taken by our experience in Williamsburg yesterday. 

Brooklyn has a lot going for it and is far less crowded than Manhattan. By 1.30 or so, despite the pancakes, we were peckish. Pati found us a great pseudo Italian place for "brunch" called Evelina.  The weather was so good we were able to eat outside and what a wonderful lunch we had. From there Oscar and Pati guided us to the famous Brooklyn Bridge which I had crossed in 2010 with Eladio in my last and only other trip to NY. We caught it just before sunset and the views of the NY skyline, now excluding the Twin Towers, was to quote New Yorkers, "awesome". It's not a word I like as it gets over used but I think it's fitting for yesterday.

Crossing Brooklyn Bridge yesterday with our dear friends 

A passerby took a photo of the 5 of us which I have chosen as this week's feature photo. We are so grateful to Juana, Oscar and Pati for being our guides yesterday. Unfortunately we won't see them again as they will be away. So it was  great that we managed to see them for at least  one day. Juana is a veritable expert on NY and all things American. She has a high powered job with Microsoft but finds the time to be an Instagram influencer and even appears weekly on a Spanish chat show (La Roca on La Sexta) where she talks about America. I'm very proud of her. If you want to follow her, this is her handle @juanadream

Once back in Manhattan, we found ourselves next to the City Hall and from there we took the subway together. We  took the same line, the Green one, and parted ways at one of the streets - most just have numbers here. We got off at 77 street and it was a short walk to our hotel on 76th street but near Lexington Avenue, Madison Avenue, The Met and of course Central Park. We were not hungry for dinner but decided to buy some fruit (and chocolate) from a local deli to have with the bottle of Moet Chandon that the hotel had left in our suite. And that's what we had for dinner. Just look.

Dinner last night was champagne, fruit and chocolate, the best combination

There wasn't much we could watch on telly apart from some rather bad local TV channels and were unable to watch Netflix despite using some mirroring app. We gave up in the end and retired to our rooms and incredibly comfortable beds at around 9.30 local time. I slept like a baby but was awake this morning at 5 am - around 11ish in Spain. And here I am now writing from the beautiful lounge while Oli is going over the script for the awards ceremony she has on Tuesday.

So that's it for now from New York. As you can see we are having the time of our life. What  a wonderful break from our routines at home. Aren't we lucky. I keep pinching myself to see if this is real and it is my friends.

Thus I shall love and leave you now until next week.

Cheers Masha 

Our girlies together, quality time with Elliot and Juliet. Flash floods cause death and destruction in Valencia; a country in mourning, time out in Madrid, visit to the Lázaro Galdiano Museum, lunch with Julio and other stories of the week.

Madrid, Sunday 3rd November, 2024.

A lovely moment this week; photo with Julio after a reunion lunch at El Cuenco de Pepa in Madrid on Thursday

Good morning everyone.

This week has been tragic for Spain. You will have followed the news of the flash floods which caused death and destruction in the Valencia area. As I write, 211 have died and 1900 are missing. The chaos caused by the storms never seen in Spain before, turned streets into rivers on such a scale many people lost their lives. In some places more than a year's worth of rain fell in just a few hours. The country is reeling, the country is in mourning and my heart goes out to all those victims, their families and friends and in sheer sympathy for how people's lives have been turned upside down. People are angry they were not warned well enough in advance. Should it have come from the central government or from the autonomous government? Thereby lies the question. Spain is like a federal state and in many cases the autonomous or regional governments have more power than the state. Political blaming has reared its ugly head as it always does in Spain. People are also angry at what they think was a slow response from the administrations. Meanwhile, over 15000 volunteers are cleaning up as best they can. But the task is gargantuan and no government could ever have been prepared for Tuesday's disaster. 

Last Sunday when the clocks went back, no one could have known this would happen. Spain is known as the country of sunshine but climate change no longer just affects far away countries as the damage done this week is on a par with hurricanes in the US and Latin America and Spain is just not prepared. How could anyone be prepared for a year's rainfall in one day? 

It was a quiet day for us and we enjoyed our walk and lunch with Suzy who is still here.

Monday was busy. I made lots of food - bitki and meatballs thinking of Elliot, my 5 year old grandson, who adores the latter and who would be coming on Tuesday with his sister Juliet while his parents were at work.  Once finished, I accompanied Eladio to the hospital where he had had cataract surgery; now in both eyes. If he had increased vision from 40 to 80% in his left eye, he wasn't so lucky with the right eye which only increased from 25 to 35%. However, I think he was having a bad day and it's still early to tell. As I write, I am still administering him all the drops his eyes need after surgery. We will be going back in a month's time so watch this space.

We were home just before Olivia came for lunch on Monday and we had a lovely family meal together. I caught our two girlies on camera as she left. It's not often I can  as they are rarely together so I was pleased with the result.

Our girlies together on Monday (Suzy left, Oli right - with the hat)

Our girlies are now 39 and 40 and have been semi estranged for quite some time now while Suzy was living in Santa Pola as a bit of a recluse. So it's great to see them spending time together and catching up. That makes me happy. When I posted the photo many people remarked just how much Suzy looks like me. I see more of a resemblance with my dear mother but I am not objective Someone told me they thought Suzy was me after a face lift, hahahaha. No way would I have one but my dear mother and Aunty Masha did back in the 60's in Germany on a very famous family road trip but that's another story. 

I shared the photo with Amanda during our weekly Monday afternoon Skype call which we both look forward to so much. As I always tell you, she is my therapist. She doesn't read my blog though, hahaha.

On Tuesday we had foul weather. The Spanish weather agency (AEMET), apparently issued a red weather warning for the Valencia and nearby regions. For whatever reason, and now we are experiencing a political blame game, an alert was sent to the population well after the storms had begun. If only the people had been more prepared .....

But I wasn't reading about the weather that morning at breakfast. I was reading about the Balon D'Or football awards the night before in Paris.  Real Madrid thought their Brazilian striker, Vinicius was to be given the top prize but it went to Spaniard, Rodri (Rodrigo Hernández) who plays for Manchester City. The news was leaked to them just as they were boarding a plane with 50 representatives from the club. They boycotted the event even though they went on to win best coach, Ancelotti, and Club of the Year. Isn't that enough?. Honestly, how pathetic can you get? What a stupid snub. I was actually pleased that Rodri was the first Spanish footballer to win the award since 1960. Spain actually did a double as the women's award also went to a Spaniard, Aitana Bonmati from FC Barcelona. 

I told Eladio as much over coffee at Centro Oeste in Majadahonda where we went to get some of my jewellery mended. We had a chance meeting there with our sister-in-law's sister, Ester and her husband Pachi. We hadn't seen them since our nephew Miguel's wedding to Claudia 8 years ago. We remember them well when we first lived in Madrid as they were practically our neighbours. It was a great chance meeting. We were to have another chance meeting later in the week. 

We had the children to babysit for in the afternoon so Oli could go to her French lessons. I have to say they behaved very well and even ate well too. We fed them both meatballs and perushki which they loved. Elliot told his mother she must learn how to make the latter. The fact is it was my own mother who taught our girlies how to make them when they were small and it is something they always remember fondly. 

I had organised the play section of the TV lounge and honestly it looked like a toy shop. Here they are enjoying the moment. 

Quality time with our grandchildren this week

It was quality time with our grandchildren who are now 3 and 5; lovely ages. I had to go out for a short while to get this year's double flu and Covid jab but was home on time for dinner together with the kids. Oli was grateful that we had kept them occupied and that we had fed, bathed and clothed them so all she had to do was take them home to bed when she came to pick them up.

That night there was a tremendous storm with torrential rain, thunder and lightning which had us somewhat worried. Pippa was petrified of course. We had no idea though, what was happening in the Valencia region and some parts of Castilla la Mancha. We only read about it on Wednesday morning.

That morning Oli was to be the moderator at an event organised by the Canadian Embassy in Madrid when I know she would have preferred to be in the news room at TVE covering the dreadful stories of the flooding. When we spoke that morning the death toll was 50. Now it is over 200. It is the worst natural disaster in Spain's history and something the whole country is reeling from.

But she had to be where she had to be, at the Canada Investment and Innovation Roadshow held at the Casa de America in Madrid. I asked for a photo and this is what I got. 

Oliva ready for her role at the Canadian Embassy event on Wednesday morning

All I heard later is that the Embassy and the Ambassador were very pleased with her. Of course they were.

Once it was over, she had to rush back to work as all of her TV station (RTVE)  programmes were changed that day and hers, La Hora, was to do a special programme about the floods from 6 to 8pm.  She sent me this dreadful photo which is perhaps one of the most disturbing I have yet to see.

This photo says it all

While she was at TVE, we had to pick the kids up and entertain them again. This time we took them to the park. We also took little Pippa who turned out to be the main attraction for Elliot, Juliet and their friends. Here are some photos.

Picking up the kids from school and taking them to the park with Pippa

We entertained them, fed them and bathed them as best we could before their father came to collect them. That was just after they were sick on our bed from jumping up and down. The joys of being grandparents, I suppose, hahaha. Bless them.

Only when they went could we follow the coverage of the flash flood disaster which we watched till past midnight. It felt like watching images from the Tsunami in Far East Asia in 2004.  Here are some photos which, no doubt, will go down in history and  I want to add them here for anyone reading this blog in years to come, including, hopefully, Elliot and Juliet.

Scenes from the flooding

The rain, of course, caused the rivers to flood and streets were turned into rivers. One of the main causes of damage and death was from people running out to get their cars. Very soon the water was so high, they were swept away by the water. People died that way but also those whose houses were on a ground or first floor of buildings. Soon, all these cars piled up, many of them blocking access to people's homes. Businesses also have been destroyed and there was a lot of looting from flooded supermarkets; some out of desperation from a lack of water as the floods affected all the infrastructure you can imagine; electricity, water, mobile phones, gas, railway lines, roads and bridges. I won't go on as I'm sure you have seen the coverage which was front page news worldwide. It seems such a paradox when Spain is normally known for being a country of sunshine. Not this week. It will take weeks and months for the areas affected to return to normal and this is a national tragedy; one we shall never forget. As the week progressed the death toll grew and we watched in horror and in sympathy, hardly believing what we were seeing.

Thursday came and we woke up to sunshine. Madrid is  300km from Valencia but we only had rain on Tuesday night. That day, Jen, our lovely guest from The Philippines left but she will be back at the end of November. Alan and Jorge from Ireland and Argentina came later in the day and on Friday morning, Oleksander from Ukraine and his colleague, Jonas, from Denmark arrived. These two are pilots in the civilian sector and are in Madrid for training They soon got to know Betty from Mexico and Mohammad from Iraq, our long staying guests. It really was the UN this week. 

We did something different that day. We actually went into Madrid which we don't do often but should. We had a lunch appointment with our dear friend Julio so decided to spend the morning in the capital, visiting the fabulous Lázaro Galdiano Museum. It's a jewel of a place which I saw once when I was in my 20's and always vowed to go back. Eladio had never been and Thursday was the occasion. We took the tube and were there before 11 am. It's a palace where the editor and art collector of the same name lived and which was turned into as museum in 1951 about 10 years after his death. And what a collection it has.  But first for the outside.

Outside the palace/museum on one of Madrid's most chic streets, Serrano

On his death, Galdiano bequeathed his whole collection of over 12.000 items to the Spanish state, governed by Franco at the time. I can only surmise he didn't have children. What I cannot possibly understand is how he got the money to buy such a collection which includes paintings by Velazquez, Goya, El Greco, Hieronymus Bosch and countless Italian, Flemish, French and even English authors, including T.E. Lawrence, Reynolds and Constable. As to the artefacts, they are everywhere and from all parts of the world and times in history. We also loved the palace itself; ornate of course with wonderful furniture and ceilings. 

Just two of his amazing Goyas

By Constable

I later read more about the museum which when opened was described by one critic as "second only to the Prado". I could not agree more. After more than 1.5h inside, we sat in the garden contemplating the beautiful palace and talking about what we had seen. 

In the gardens of the palace on Thursday

We were both bowled over by our visit. 

Being well on time for our lunch appointment at Quënco de Pepa near Plaza Castilla, we decided to walk there. It was about 3km and took us at least 45 minutes. It was lovely to be walking in the centre of Madrid with all the bustle of a capital and in the sunshine. 

Julio was already there when we arrived at this rather chic restaurant which we both know so well from our corporate days. The restaurant owner, Pepa, has her own orchard and the most spectacular product are her tomatoes, some of which we bought later at the adjacent shop. We hadn't seen Julio since last Christmas which is far too long as we are close friends. He treated us  in celebration of his upcoming academic achievement as a University Professor. What a clever guy he is. We had a marvelous lunch and I am referring both to the company and to the food which was divine. Reluctantly we left the restaurant at around 4.30 pm until we meet again at Christmas. We had our photo taken outside the restaurant which I have chosen as this week's feature photo. Thanks Julio for a wonderful lunch and reunion. 

As we walked towards the metro at Plaza Castilla, we had our second chance encounter of the week. This time it was with our sister-in-law, Dolores and her husband José Antonio, Eladio's first sibling down. We had hoped to have coffee with them that morning but they told us they couldn't as at midday they were leaving on a hiking excursion to the Valley of Rondal (Navarra near the French border). So it was  a complete surprise to coincide with them getting on the bus that afternoon. I mean Madrid is big but it's small. Of course I had to have a photo to remember the occasion which was a complete surprise to us all. 

Chance encounter with Dolores and José Antonio in the centre of Madrid on Thursday afternoon

We were home within the hour, just before Suzy left for Oli's house to help her with the kids, it being Halloween. I hate this American tradition but I must say I loved the photo of our girlies and grandchildren. I especially love the smile on Suzy's face. So I must share it with you.

The girlies with Juliet and Elliot on Halloween

In case you can't see it well, Juliet is dressed as a witch and Elliot as Edward Scissor Hands who he is obsessed with; not me as I can't stand the scissors. 

We totally ignored Halloween as well as dinner after such a big lunch and spent the rest of the day watching the news coverage of the floods after which we watched a very good series "Querer" on Movistar Plus. 

Friday came, 1st November and All Saints' Day which is a national holiday in Spain; not that there was much to celebrate with the country in mourning. 

We went to the Centro Oeste shopping centre again, this time to meet a lovely girl called Paula who is an interior decorator. She did some of our house in Montrondo and we want her on board for the wooden cabin. It was a delight to see her again and I know she will come up with some good ideas. Meanwhile, the contractors came with their first estimate this week but it's rather steep and needs tweaking.

We had lunch alone - my cocido stew - as Suzy went out with Oli for lunch and shopping. The  girlies were together  again.  Suzy came back to tell me they had had a great time. I was so glad.

On Saturday we had a full house with 6 guests who I only saw sporadically but I did see Suzy talking to some of them which is so good after her lonely, lonely life in Santa Pola. We went on our walk and had the pleasure of her company for the first time since she has been here which is now over a month. We walked to the local shopping centre where we had coffee at La Flaca. We enjoyed the coffee and reminiscing about our girlies' childhood. Suzy admitted it had been good. Here are some pics too of coffee out yesterday with our eldest daughter.

Coffee out with Suzy yesterday which we combined with our walk

It was just the three of us for lunch and Eladio and I had the cocido stew again and no one was complaining. I caught up on my sleep splendidly during our siesta when I slept for nearly 2 hours. I did wake up a bit groggy though.

We went to bed again watching the footage of the aftermath of the disaster in Valencia and Eladio remarked it was like watching a film for real. What a tragedy for Valencia and for Spain. My heart goes out to the victims and all those affected. 

On that somber note, let me wish you a happy Sunday. Cheers now till next week where, my friends, I shall be writing from The Big Apple. 

All the best Masha