A trip to Montrondo and back, Easter, the clocks went forward, Suzy’s coming home and other stories.

A trek to the snow on the slopes of the mountains above Montrondo

Hi my friends and Happy Easter

That is, Happy Easter to those of you who believe, those of you who don’t and those of you, who, like me, always doubt.  A picture someone posted on Facebook was very to the point as regards Easter and it tells us that it is not about the bunny.  That picture has been in my head ever since I saw it and got me thinking as usual about my own faith.  You probably think I am a believer with all my stories about the new Pope.  Well yes, I wonder too and have done so all my life.  I cannot deny, especially today, that God exists but, unfortunately for me perhaps, I am not one of his faithful and only turn to him at the worst times in my life.  

I agree Easter should not be about the bunny

Let me stop being profound and get back to my usual pragmatic self and tell you about the week.  On Monday I fasted for the first time since my flu and I felt great.  I mean I felt great the next day and a lot lighter.  

On Tuesday Eladio and I set off for Montrondo to spend a few days at Eladio’s beloved village in the mountains in the north of Spain with his family.  We stopped in Rueda in the pouring rain at about midday for the usual glass of wonderful white wine and plate of ham.  Instead of doing so at the Palacio de Bornos, we skipped tradition to try out a new place next door called “La Cuba”.  It was nice enough and sold mostly the same produce as its neighbour but it lacked the charm of Bornos.  Apart from consuming some wine and ham, we stocked up on 3 boxes of Ribera de Duero red wine, chocolate and local biscuits to share with the family in Montrondo.

Our stop at Rueda on our way to Montrondo on Tuesday

Our next stop was for lunch at the Parador in Benavente in the province of Zamora.  Here we always order the soup made of local chickpeas which are grown in the small village of Fuentesauco nearby.  We really are creatures of tradition.

Chickpeas from Fuentesauco at the Parador in Benavente

We arrived in Montrondo at just after 4pm where it was raining as it was to do so during most of our stay and were greeted by José Antonio and Dolores and also my mother-in-law, Ernestina. 

Eladio and his brother José Antonio (in green) happy to be together in Montrondo

While they pottered around the house and surrounding terrain, Dolores and I went for a walk to Murias de Paredes – the nearest village – and back and of course were joined by their mongrel, little Nubah of terrier descent.  

Dolores on the walk to Murias on Tuesday afternoon, wet but nice and fresh

On Wednesday, over breakfast, I was happy to hear that Spain had beaten France in a very decisive qualifying match the night before for the Football World Cup.  You remember I asked you to cross your fingers after Spain drew with Finland?  Well, thanks my friends, if you did because they now lead the group and thus have nearly earned their place to play in Brazil in 2014. It seems unfair to me that the reigning champions do not earn an automatic place in the following championship, but these are the rules of the game.  

When I am in Montrondo and the weather is not good, I like to cook.  It relaxes me and is something to do. I made a huge chicken Korma curry that morning, not a very local dish I know, but very popular with José Antonio and Dolores and ourselves. I’m not so sure Ernestina likes it very much; it must be very strange for her palette, but she never said anything and stoically ate most of her portion.

The chicken korma curry I made in Montrondo on Thursday

The highlight of the day was a funeral in the village.  I had nothing else to do, so decided to join the family and attend the 12.30 mass at the little stone church along with most of the villagers and people who had come from afar to say goodbye to “Maruja”. 

We went to this lady's funeral on Wednesday in Montrondo

Maruja, aged 84 and officially called Tecla was the mother of Lourdes – very well known in Montrondo - and had a big family to judge by what I read on the announcement above of her death which was posted in the village and of course by the turnout. 

A very big turnout at the funeral for such a sparsely populated small village (just 10 people or so live there all year round)

I met and greeted many of the villagers, some I knew and many I didn’t.  Of course Eladio was in his element as he knew nearly everyone.  On Wednesday at the funeral mass I met for the first time a lady called Paz, the mother of the very famous friend of all our children, commonly known as J.M and probably only called by his real name, José Manuel, by his Mother who incidentally looks exactly like her son.

Paz, Ernestina and Dolores at the funeral

After the curry lunch, the men and their mother went off to sleep the siesta.  The sun was shining for once, so Dolores and I took the opportunity for another walk with Nubah to Murias de Paredes.  The official excuse was to fetch some medicine at the chemist but really we needed a walk to work off the heavy but delicious lunch. 

On Maundy Thursday I cooked again.  I made a huge fabada (bean stew) and boeuf stroganoff for the other members of the family who would be joining us in Montrondo for the Easter break.  

Eladio and José Antonio spent the better part of the morning warming up and cleaning the old house for their brothers and sisters.  I thought the picture below of Eladio was very funny - he said "habemus papam" and asked me to take a picture. It's quite obvious why isn't it?

Eladio after lighting the fire in the kitchen in the old house in preparation for the arrival of his brothers and sisters - he said "habemus papam"!!

  At about 11 they all arrived: Adela and Primo, Pili and Andrés and Isidro and Yoli and their daughter, Alicia who is the youngest of all the nieces and nephews and who is also my god daughter.  Trebol, Pili’s beautiful Dalmatian came too and enjoyed freedom with Nubah in and around Montrondo.

Beautiful Trébol in Montrondo

5 of the 6 brothers and sisters were to be together – in descending order: Eladio, José Antonio, Adela, Pili and Isidro.  Only Alejandro, the brother in the middle, was missing, as his Mother pointed out.

With my sisters-in-law in Montrondo - lunch on Thursday at José Antonio and Dolores house

After a short siesta, we all decided to go on a walking trek up into the mountains of Montrondo to find the snow.  We were lucky the weather behaved and although we were all clad in warm clothes, gradually we shed the outer layers as we got warm from the walk.  In fact, unusually for the time of year, it was not at all cold during our stay.

The trek was the real highlight of our stay and we all enjoyed it immensely.  We found the snow after 45 minutes of climbing and the photo illustrating this week’s blog is of us all at the snowiest moment of our trek.  The day before we arrived in Montrondo it had snowed but unfortunately it had disappeared by the time we arrived.  Determined to see some snow this year, the trek on Thursday was my one chance to see some. 

Nubah enjoying the snow on our trek

 At certain points of the walk which is known as La Ruta de las Fuentes de Omaña, you can spy the highest peak called “El Tambarón” which is over 2.100 metres high and impossible to climb when there is snow.  In the photo below it is just behind Eladio and I.  During our 2.5 hour trek I vowed to climb it in the summer.  I wonder if I will.  Maybe, but it is a long trek, some 3hours to reach but of course less to come down. 

Eladio and I on the trek to the snow on Thursday in Montrondo with the El Tambarón Peak behind us

You can see a short video of part of the trek here on You Tube.

On our return we were greeted by Juan (José Antonio and Dolores’ youngest son) and his girlfriend Cristina who had just arrived and later we all had tea or coffee at Adela and Primo’s new and very little but charming house.

Tea and coffee at Adela and Primo's house after our excursion to the snow

Whilst we were on our trek, the new Pontifice, Pope Francis was saying mass at the Casal del Marmo prison outside Rome. Following the tradition of washing the feet of the faithful by his predecessors on the day before Good Friday, he astonished the world by washing the feet of a woman inmate whilst there.  The fact that she was a Muslim was another big break with tradition.  The piety of the moment is of course laudable, but that it was so public, for me, at least, diminishes its humility, but then again if Pope Francis had done so in private, we would never have known.

Pope Francis washing the feet of a Serbian Muslim woman prison inmate on Maundy Thursday

The next day was Good Friday and true to tradition I had brought some hot cross buns.  Amazingly they had been in our deep freeze for a year but were none the worse for wear.  We enjoyed them split in half and toasted at breakfast and I commented to Dolores that I had been brought up on the tradition of only eating them on or after Good Friday, never before.  Funny eh?  The same applies to Easter Eggs so when I received a message from Olivia to ask whether they could start on one of the delicious Hotel Chocolate eggs I had ordered, I replied with a very firm “not until Sunday, Easter Day”. I had left a packet of hot cross buns at home for my Father with strict instructions to Oufa to toast them for my Father on Good Friday

Hot cross buns are a must on Good Friday but not before

Good Friday of course is the day Christians remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and it is the saddest day of the Easter period. In Spain Easter is synonymous with religious processions and although religion is apparently on the decline, the processions are ever important.  Interestingly after having written this paragraph about Easter in Spain I read an article from the New York Times entitled: “Easter gets an exemption from Spanish austerity” about how much is spent on the processions in contrast to the current economic crisis.  Here I also read that only 18% of Spaniards confess to be practicing Catholics, yet as I wrote above, the traditions at Easter continue.  This is the time precious church figures are paraded in the streets by the fervently faithful and the streets are lined with onlookers, many of whom will be amazed tourists.  The weather of course is always a damper and the “cofradías” (brotherhoods) who spend most of the year preparing for the processions hope and pray for good weather.  But it always rains at Easter in my experience, although, luckily for the “cofradías” and spectators, the sun usually makes an appearance at some stage during Easter and only a few processions have to be cancelled.  This year it was the same old story or so we saw on the TV as I haven’t seen a procession for some years now.  I just dug out the picture of the last one we saw.  It was Palm Sunday in Granada in 2008 when we stayed there with my Father on a trip to Gibraltar and Andalucía which you can read about here.

Palm Sunday procession in Granada as seen by us in 2008

On Friday it rained all day, so after the very copious family lunch and long siesta, taken by some, we decided to pack our bags and come home.  When it rains in Montrondo there is not much to do.  Internet works badly and we are not a card or board playing family, so being cooped up becomes a strain. We left at about 6pm and were home before 10.  It was good to see the rain already disappear when we were passing León, an hour away from Montrondo.  It was good too to greet my Father and Oufa on our return and to find my online purchases waiting for me: Decaf Yorkshire tea to last me a year (I always buy in bulk, like the meringue nests hahahaha), the Hotel Chocolate Easter Eggs and my new TV series, Call the Midwife which I am looking forward to watching. 

I look forward to watching series one of Call the Midwife set in East London in 1957 the year I was born

We slept so well in our own bed and it was great to wake up at home.  Yesterday, Saturday, was a quiet day.  I did the food shopping with Oufa in the morning.  Olivia joined us for lunch but not Susana because as you will have seen from this week’s headline, she is moving out of her flat and was very busy.  So I went with Olivia after lunch to see her there for the last time.  She was with Juli, Chati and her Russian friend Emil who we all call “Vladimir”.  Her flat was full of bags and suitcases and boxes because today Sunday she will be moving home.  It will be just for one month though as in May, you probably know, she and Chati will be going to London to seek their fortune.  Believe it or not, all of us spent my time there playing a new addictive mobile phone application version of Trivial called Triviados.  It seems to be taking over my life so I really must start to ration myself.

Suzy's flat full of boxes and bags in the throes of her removal this weekend

I came back home on time for our daily walk.  We left at 7.30pm and I remarked to Eladio that it was still daylight and that at the same time the next day it would be just as light one hour later.  That of course is because the clocks were to go forward last night – Saturday 30^th March.  Conscious of that, we put some of the clocks and watches forward before we went to bed and I put the alarm on my iPhone for 8 am this morning.  I wasn’t sure whether I would be woken up at 8 or 9, but these days technology works so well because devices are programmed to change the time automatically.  Thus I was up early and didn’t feel cheated of an hour in the day as I normally would have done.

And today of course is Sunday and Easter day and I have been busy, with my morning divided between writing this week’s post, playing online Triviados mainly with Olivia and of course making the big Easter Day roast chicken for lunch.  It had to be with all the trimmings: sage and onion stuffing, roast potatoes, various types of veg, gravy and never to be forgotten cranberry sauce.  All this was washed down by a wonderful glass of Quercus wine from a magnum bottle given to me at Christmas by Samsung – thank you Samsung.  It was delicious. Also delicious and very filling were the Easter eggs.  Thank goodness tomorrow I will be fasting and again on Thursday.  

There was time this morning too for more online purchases from my favourite online store, Amazon.  Prompted by a promotional mail from them I bought the complete collections of Colditz and Cold Feet.  We used to enjoy Colditz at home as a family in the 70’s, the BBC TV series about the special camp designed by the Nazis to hold high risk and politically important prisoners of war. So I hope it lives up to my memory and expectations.

I look forward to watching Colditz again but am not sure I will enjoy it as much as I did in the 70's.

As to Cold Feet, it was made in the late 90’s and is the wonderfully tragic and comic story of the lives of three very different types of couples in their thirties set in Manchester.  Cold Feet is one of my favourite British TV series and it was introduced to me by my dear friend Anne N whose taste in films and TV series is very akin to my own.

A great British TV series made in the late 90's

Meanwhile Suzy, helped mostly by Emil and Juli, are packing furiously and at some stage they will be arriving here with vanloads of clothes, furniture and kitchen appliances.  All this will join the boxes of Olivia’s discarded clothes in the garage. It will be great to have Suzy back if only for a month and half before she goes.

Suzy in the throes of her removal home with the help of Emil and Juli

 As I come to the end of this week’s story, it is raining furiously again outside and I am wondering when it will stop to be able to go on our walk.  

Meanwhile I hope you have enjoyed reading this week’s story and wish you all a great week ahead.  Mine promises to be busy – lots of work and two days of fasting!

Cheers till next time my friends,

Masha

PS You can see the rest of the photos of our stay in Montrondo here on Facebook.

To Oropesa and back, Easter week, the latest social networks and other stories.

Eladio and I enjoying the countryside in Oropesa this week

Hello again and Happy Easter.

Today is Easter Sunday and I am writing from the kitchen table with the dogs asleep under my feet.

Elsa our labrador and Norah our beagle love to sleep under the table in the kitchen in the mornings.

Eladio and my Father are reading the papers in the dining room and I’m not really sure where the girls are.  The sun is shining in great contrast to the very rainy Easter weather we have had for more than a week now.  I should not complain though as Spain was in great need of water, it not having rained properly since about last November. The girls have a great social life so who knows where they are right now?  Suzy promised to be home for an Easter Sunday lunch but Oli will be off at 13h.  A car will be coming for her from TVE to take her to the airport, as she is going to Santander for the coming week to cover news from the north of Spain for the programme she works for, La Mañana de la1, TVE’s 4 hour long morning programme.  So we can expect to see quite a lot of her on the TV in the next few days.  

Last week she covered one of the worst stories in recent times, the story of a Mother, Adoración Cano whose 9 year old daughter, Ana Maria Jérez was raped and murdered some 20 years ago by the unrepentant José Franco de la Cruz, alias El Boca.  Adoración was protesting, something I can quite understand, because her daughter’s killer had been let out of prison, rather than finishing his supposed life sentence.  Olivia said the interview was traumatic and told me some of the ghastly details the Mother had revealed, details I have been trying to shake out of my system but which keep coming back.  On the bright side, I am left thinking what a fortunate and lucky person I am to have my whole life intact. How awful it would be to live with something like that.  

The week has been quiet, the highlight being of course our surprise two day trip to Oropesa to stay at the 15^th century Parador which was once a palace belonging to a noble family, the Alvarez de Toledo, the Counts of Oropesa.  Oropesa is in the province of Toledo, just some 150km from Madrid.  We were there just before lunch and were delighted with the accommodation.  Our room was tucked right away at the top of the building and had three windows with great views over the nearby Gredos Mountains.  If you ever go there, I highly recommend room 403.  The receptionist told us it was one of the most sought after rooms because of the views.

The Parador in Oropesa is housed in a 15th century palace

The Parador, set in a magnificent courtyard with its wonderful open air balconies (soportales), sits directly opposite the equally magnificent castle, also belonging to the Counts of Toledo.  The castle dates back to the 12^th or 13^th century and was built by the Moors.

The castle in Oropesa, directly opposite the Parador

Off one of the walls hangs a relic from the cruel past, a cage where criminals were placed until their death, for all to witness, until they became a skeleton.  Thank goodness justice has evolved into something less cruel, at least in this part of the world.

A cruel relic of justice in past times hangs on the castle wall.

Lunch was in the wonderful dining room with its high wooden ceiling.  The gastronomy of the area is a little too heavy for me and I thought the menu was rather limited in choice.  Usually Paradors have better food on offer but not this one I’m afraid.

We spent the afternoon exploring the little town famous for its lace and pottery, although there is more choice of the latter in nearby Puente del Arzobispo or Talavera.  We had a great walk all around the town of some 4 or 5 kilometres where we saw signs of Spring with green grass and flowers like my favourite poppies all along the sides of the road.

Poppies on our walk in Oropesa

The next day we drove to nearby Puente del Arzobispo in search of ceramics.  We sort of collect bowls from different places which we use for salads at home.  Here there were plenty on offer.  We bought 9 small bowls and 1 salad bowl in the typical green pattern popular in these parts.  Just look what was on offer at this wonderful shop, all hand made by the owner in his own pottery factory of which I gather there are very few left.

The pottery shop where we bought some bowls in Puente del Arzobispo.

We discovered Puente del Arzobispo was actually much prettier than Oropesa although it didn’t have a palace or a castle.  However it has a stone bridge built in the 14^th century, one of the most beautiful I have ever seen with great walks on both sides.

By the 14th century bridge in Puente del Arzobispo

Our next port of call was the lovely 5 star Hotel Valdepalacios which I mentioned last week.  It is on the road between Puente del Arzobispo and Oropesa.  Here we were to have a wonderful although expensive lunch and were nearly the only diners in the hotel.  The hotel is just beautiful with lots of land around it where you can do all sorts of things like go hunting, ride 4x4 cars, take cooking classes or enjoy the spa.  One day we will spend the night there, maybe on our next wedding anniversary in August.

Leaving the Hotel Valdepalacios where we had lunch on Wednesday

The afternoon was spent sleeping, reading and lounging around in our comfortable room after which we went for another walk, the same one as the day before.  We took our umbrella as it had been raining all day, but were lucky that it had stopped so that we could get some more pictures of our time in Oropesa, like this lovely one of Eladio in his green jumper against the very green grass in the field.

Eladio in green against green on the walk around Oropesa

In the evening, I dragged Eladio away from the boring quarter final Champions League match between Barcelona and Milan.  They won, as did Madrid against the Cyprus team, the name of which I cannot remember.  That means they will both play the semi finals and may even meet in the finals.  Everyone’s guess is that Barcelona will win the championship once again.

Eladio watching football from our room in the Parador . the Champions League Quarter Finals between Barcelona and Milan

Dinner that night was at the nearby La Hosteria, which was much cheaper than the Parador and had a better menu.  Here we feasted on what we love, a simple plate of typical Spanish lentils.  That night I learned from Facebook and Twitter that Instagram was finally available for Android phones, like my Samsung Galaxy S2, so of course I had to download the programme immediately.  Instagram is a social network which only works on mobile phones (so far iPhones and now Androids) where you can share photos.  I thought to myself that I just couldn’t take another social network, what with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Tuenti and now this.  But after initial worries, I was hooked of course.  Well I love photography, or capturing my life on camera, and I love sharing things, so of course Instagram is for me.  This was the first photo I took and uploaded to Instagram.  If you are not familiar with the programme, you can also share the photo which can be enhanced, with Facebook or Twitter and other social networks. 

My first Instagram photo was of our dinner at La Hosteria in Oropesa

Instagram is my latest social network.  The one I joined just before is Pinterest, a different sort of social media and one which apparently has now been adopted by more than 11 million people.  How can I describe it?  It’s probably easier to take this quote from Wikipedia: “Pinterest is a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies and more. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to their own collections and or 'like' photos. Pinterest's mission is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting"^[via a global platform of inspiration and idea sharing”. If you haven’t tried it you should, it’s lovely.  

The next day was Maundy Thursday and time to go home.  It was pouring down with rain, so instead of further exploring the area, we decided to come home.  Olga was leaving that day to go on holiday, believe it or not, to Turkey, sponsored by a wealthier friend of hers who was coming from Brazil the next day.  You are probably wondering how we are going to cope without her.  During her absence we have hired the services of a friend of hers called Hilda who will come twice a week to look after my Father’s hygiene.  If you thought I was going to clean and iron, then you are wrong.  Zena, the wonderful Ukrainian cleaner who worked here before Olga came, will be coming two whole mornings a week and I can’t wait for her arrival tomorrow.  First because she will make the house spick and span as Olga’s forte, I’m afraid, is not cleaning, and the house is in dire need of a thorough spring cleaning. And secondly because I have asked her to cook us some borsch, the Russian soup made of beetroot which my Father and I are longing to try again.  This is the typical Russian meat and vegetable soup my Mother used to make often and which I have never learned to make, mostly because you need fresh beetroot to make it which I have never found in the shops I go to here.  Like pelmeni and many other Russian dishes, it is very often accompanied by rich Smetana (sour cream) as in the picture here.

Russian "borsch" soup or stew

When we came back on Thursday the girls were out and about and on the spur of the moment we agreed to have lunch together in town; something we used to do more often.  So Oli picked me up and we drove to near where Susana was working last week, at a hospital near the Bernabeu Stadium.  Later Suzy had to go back to work and I accompanied Oli to the dentist.  

That night, fittingly for Maundy Thursday, the television was showing typical Easter films and we watched the 4 hour long 1951 Quo Vadis starring Tony Curtis, Deborah Kerr and a very young Peter Ustinov, this last in the role of Neron, the crazed Roman Emperor who burned down Rome.  I have seen this film many times, but never from beginning to end and I just loved it.  Luckily for me, Eladio seemed equally entertained.

We enjoyed watching Quo Vadis on the TV this week

Friday of course was Good Friday and again it was raining.  The rain spoiled a lot of the Spanish Easter processions.  Easter or Semana Santa in Spain is hugely celebrated with these amazing processions in many of the big and smaller cities.  Despite increase laicism, the processions are very popular.  I think they are also popular with tourists.  The most famous of all is the Macarena which is carried on a huge float through the streets of Seville by what are known as the “costaleros”.  In my experience it nearly always rains at Easter in Spain and I wonder when the brotherhoods who organize the different processions will start covering these medieval statues from the churches with glass to protect them from the rain, rather like the Pope’s car as that would certainly put an end to the problem.

The most famous Easter procession of all, the Macarena in Seville

Good Friday is of course the day most of the Christian religions commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  I say most as I know from my childhood that Russian Easter takes place at a later date as it observes the Julian calendar. In England, we always ate hot cross buns for breakfast, a tradition I have carried on in my own family.  So, I have been naughty and have been eating them on Saturday and today too.  I promise I will return to the Dukan fold tomorrow Monday!  Nowadays I think you can buy hot cross buns almost all through the year but when I was a child they were only on sale at Easter.  I, of course, have to buy them online.  Not a problem these days you will agree.

We have been having hot cross buns toasted for breakfast every day since Good Friday

In the morning I went with Susana to the huge Xanadu shopping centre.  I had warned her it would probably be closed as most businesses and trade are closed on this day in Spain.  I well remember when we first came to Spain that this was indeed so.  I was wrong and Xanadu was open.  Obviously times have changed. I promise you this time I did not get any more clothes.  The time was spent getting some items for Suzy’s new flat.  Ah and there was some quality time at Starbucks together too of course.

Later the girls were off to El Escorial to stay the night with their friends Rocío, David, Elena whose parents own the flat, Ana and another Elena.  It was bitterly cold that day and would have been even more so in El Escorial, a town in the mountains just outside Madrid.  Here is a photo of the 6 of them taken by Rocío.  They look like the front cover of an 80’s LP to quote Suzy’s friend Erika.

The girls and their friends in El Escorial this weekend.  Susana in brown on the far left and Oli in the middle with the only boy, David.

On Saturday the house was empty without the girls but I suppose I should get used to that as someday soon there will be just the three of us left, my Father, Eladio and I.  Luckily we have the dogs for extra company.  As usual, we enjoyed our walk with them on Saturday as we have done most days this week and will again today.

That brings me to the end of this week, to where I began, today Sunday, Easter Day.  Oli came home later to pack for her trip to Santander and went off duly at 13h when she was picked up by a car from Spanish TVE.  She will be back on Friday and we will be watching out for her on TVE in the mornings.  I never cease to be excited when I see her reporting live.  Well done little Oli.

Olivia being picked up by a van from Spanish TVE this morning to go to the airport

Meanwhile, whilst Eladio was mowing the lawn, taking advantage of today’s sun, I prepared the big Easter Sunday lunch.  I am very traditional at Easter so if on Good Friday we had hot cross buns and then fish for lunch, today I made roast lamb.  I make it the English way with all the trimmings, such as mint sauce.  I have to add I did this whilst writing some of this blog; multi tasking you know.  Suzy was home at 14.30 and we had a later lunch than usual.  Being Easter Day it was time to eat the amazing looking chocolate Easter egg I had ordered online from The Hotel Chocolate.  Here is the photo I took this morning before we attacked it after lunch.

The slightly disappointing Easter Egg from Hotel Chocolate which we opened today

It looked great, but actually it was not so amazing to taste.  I had expected it to be both bigger and the chocolate tastier, something similar to  the taste you get with Lindt or Belgian chocolate.  But no, it was nowhere near as smooth.  Next year I will go to the Lindt or Godiva website.

And now I am alone again.  Eladio and my Father are having their siesta, Olivia has now arrived in Santander and Suzy has gone off again to see her new friends from work.

Next week will bring with it routine, not a bad thing, as 4 quiet days at home have left me wanting more activity.  I wish you all a Happy Easter and a great week ahead.

Cheers till next week

Masha

PS You can see some more photos of our trip to Oropesa here.