Last day in Peñacaballera, home again, a new Government in Spain, All Saints’ Day holiday,“The Crown” on Netflix and other stories.

Sunday 6th November 2016

A photo of myself in the mirror in Suzy's empty bedroom on Saturday morning,  looking decidedly slimmer.  I hope you can notice it too.

Dear all,

It's Saturday 5th November and if you are British and in England you will probably be celebrating Guy Fawkes' night with a bonfire and fireworks; eating "parkin", home made toffee, baked potatoes and sausages. I won't as that was one of the things I had to give up when I left England for Spain so many years ago in 1981.  In any case I wish you all a great time.  "Remember remember, the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot".  All I can do today is "remember".

It's raining today.  Just one week ago we were in Peñacaballera staying with friends and the sun shone all weekend.  I left off last Sunday morning from their delightful house, so let me start from there.

It was to be our last day.  Dolores was interested in buying wicker goods so our hosts took us to nearby Baños de Montemayor which is actually in the province of Cáceres, on the border of Salamanca.  Baños is equally famous for its spa and wicker making and there were plenty of shops with hand made local goods.  Dolores was the one who was interested but it was I who did the buying hahaha.  I bought two lovely baskets, an old miniature iron and a lovely miniature wicker chair for Eladio to sit on whilst lighting the fire in Montrondo.  There and then Javier and I got him to pose outside the shop with my purchases hahaha.  It was a freak moment with people going by thinking I was a bit eccentric which I suppose I am.

Eladio with my purchases at Baños de Montemayor last Sunday

After exploring the little town, our friends took us on a steep walk up the hill to see a pretty house which is now a rural apartment type hotel called Villa Asunción. The views on the way up were to die for, especially those of Baños like this one.

The view of Baños de Montemayor on our way up the steep hill to Villa Asunción.

The walk down was even more beautiful through thick woods and paths carpeted in autumn leaves. We came across a flour mill with waterfalls and stopped to admire our surroundings.

Eladio by one of the waterfalls near Baños de Montemayor

Once back in the village my companions enjoyed a drink and some tapas.  All I could have was water so I wondered off to see more wicker shops.  One of them sold walking sticks which Toño and Eladio couldn't resist. They both have quite a collection and bought the ones you can see in the picture below.  Dolores, if you are reading this, Toño left his in the back of our car!

The two brothers, Toño and Eladio, pleased with the new walking sticks they bought in Baños de Montemayor

Once back in Peñacaballera or "Peña" as the locals call it, it was time for lunch which we had outside thanks to the pleasant weather.  Here is the table we would sit around later.  Someone mentioned it looked like a scene out of Tuscany with the pretty blue chairs.  I tend to agree.

The table set for lunch last Sunday in Peñacaballera

Whilst the men dozed a short siesta, we women went out to gather chestnuts for Dolores.  We also went to get more tomatoes from Jorge's greenhouse but it seemed as if the locusts had been there, hahaha.  All his friends and relations had been after us and there were hardly any left.  However we did not go home empty handed as our hosts gave both couples a bag of the amazing sweet and juicy tomatoes to take home.  The difference in taste between them and the supermarket kind is just vast.

All good things come to an end and at around 5pm we said our goodbyes and thank yous and started on our journey home. It should have taken 2.5 hours but due to an accident on the A6 coming into Madrid, it took a further 30 minutes and we were not home until 8pm.  Oli and Miguel were there to greet us but left shortly so we had a quiet and frugal meal for dinner alone together.  We fell asleep that night watching another episode from Season 5 of Homeland.

Monday, the last day of October, was a lovely sunny day.  I got good news on my walk. The results my brother-in-law was waiting for after his operation a month ago were negative.  I jumped for joy.  I was so happy for him and all the family.   I would go for another walk in the afternoon.  Believe it or not I was wearing shorts and a short sleeved t-shirt. I probably won't be wearing them again until the spring.  I would be in for a shock later in the week when the temperatures plummeted and the rain made its appearance with a vengeance.

Monday was the day the newly elected Spanish President Mariano Rajoy took his oath during a ceremony at the Zarzuela Palace with the King.  If you notice in the photo below you can see that he has his hands on both the bible and the Spanish constitution with a Christian cross on the table while he takes the oath. This was much commented on here as Spain is supposed to be a lay state.  I have no comments to make by the way. So finally we were to have a new government, albeit the same one as before.  That's not to everyone's taste but you have to give it to them that they have turned around Spain's economy which is now set in the right direction. They have also lessened the unemployment figures but there is still so much need for improvement.  Rajoy and his party will govern in minority which is good and bad.  Only time will tell how things work out.

Mariano Rajoy taking his oath on Monday as the "new" President of Spain's government. Notice the bible and the cross as well as the Spanish constitution on the table where he takes his oath. 

Meanwhile in the UK, the high court ruled that Parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU; i.e. invoking the now famous article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.  This has caused a hoo-hah in the UK and even brought a glimmer of hope that Brexit might not actually mean Brexit anymore.  We have one person to thank here and that is a young woman caled Gina Miller who singlehandely took on the government on this issue.  This London based investment manager is described as "the woman leading the Brexit legal battle". She said as the ruling was made: "This result is about all our futures" and she is damned right.   Straight afterwards Teresa May said they would fight the sentence and I'm sure she will; although I believe she has met more than her match in Gina Miller.  

Gina Miller speaking to the press after the historic ruling from the High Court

Monday night saw the showing of Oli's third programme with "Mi Cámara y yo" which this week was about tourism in Madrid.  Did you know that Spain is the third most visited country after the US and France?  Yeah well it is.  There is of course a battle between Barcelona and Madrid and I think the former is the winner in the tourism market although more and more people are visiting Madrid and many of them are Japanese and Chinese.  Oli was critical of the programme but I was pleased to learn of new places to see and take future visitors.  She gave a bird's eye view of 3 lesser known gems of museums such as "El Museo Cerralbo", "El Museo Lázaro Galdiano" or the Museum of Romanticism.  They are well worth visiting after you have seen The Prado, the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Thyssen Museum. But Madrid is not only about musuems, there is wonderful gastronomy too and Oli included a piece on the Bar La Campana which serves the famous calamari sandwiches (bocadillos de calamares) and has been doing so since 1870.  Here is Olivia making one of the 1000 sandwiches served there every day. I have to admit I've never been but now I shall put Bar La Campana on my Madrid to visit list. 

Oli making and serving a calamari sandwich at Bar La Campana in her programme about tourism on Monday night

Another bar to add to this list is the "Chocolatería San Ginés" which is famous for its "churros" - you know the Spanish fritters which you dip in thick chocolate.  The programme ended with a visit to Chinchón, a famous medieval village outside Madrid, where Oli joined a group of British tourists.  I particularly liked it when she got them to try and pronounce the name of the town and also made a toast in Spanish - the words being "chinchin in Chinchón"; chinchin meaning cheers. We thoroughly enjoyed the programme which you can browse here if you are interested.

Tuesday was 1st November, All Saints' Day and a national holiday in Spain. It's the day people traditionally take flowers to the graves of their loved ones; although Eladio pointed out to me that the official day for that is 2nd November. 

All Saints' Day in Spain

It was also Halloween, a festival, I have said here many times, means nothing to me.  In any case it was a nice day at home and we were joined by Oli and Miguel for lunch. It's always lovely to have them, one of the reasons being they bring down the average age in the house by quite a few notches hahaha.

The worst thing about this week was getting used to the clocks having gone back an hour resulting in it being dark at 6.30pm.  That meant that on many of our evening walks we would come home in the dark.  On All Saints' Day I was back at 7pm and found Oli and Miguel making pancakes in the kitchen with nutella and cream. This was in stark contrast to the prawn salad I would have for my dinner.

I had a long chat with Suzy on the phone that night before going to bed to watch more of Homeland Season 5. She was well or seemed to be and had no particular news.  I was happy to hear she is still pleased with her job as a dietitian for Pronokal (my diet remember!) in Harley Street and is getting on very well with her "Manada" flat mates, Chati and Anita.  She has been commenting lately that she thinks this might be her last year in London. She's not sure where she wants to go but Barcelona seems to be in her plans. Well, it's still far from Madrid but nearer than from London.  I imagine one of the reasons is the weather.  If it's dark here at 6.30, it's getting dark in England even earlier and that would be something she is taking into consideration and I totally understand.  Time will tell .......

On Wednesday I was very busy. I had a meeting that morning and I also went into the office on a few errands.  On my way back I went to pick my watch up from a local shopping centre and very naughtilly ventured into H+M. There I bought a pair of trousers and two jumpers. I know I should wait until I shed all the weight I need to before I reward myself with new clothes but I couldn't stop myself. For the first time in my life I bought some fashionable "torn jeans".  It wasn't the torn bit that made me buy them actually but the good fit. If you are interested these are the ones I got. They are called "patchwork jeans" and this is their description: "5-pocket low-rise jeans in washed stretch denim with hard-worn details and slightly wider, tapered legs with patchwork details".

My new "patchwork" and "torn" jeans from H`M

 In any case I'm happy with them. Soon they will be too big as this week I made more progress with my diet and have now lost almost 6 kilos.  Still more to go and I am sticking to this incredibly difficult diet. I think when it's over I will never want to eat cauliflower, mushrooms, courgettes or lettuce ever again as I will always associate them with the diet.  But, I shall soldier on I promise.

Oli was busy this week filming for her upcoming programme which will be about young entrepreneurs in Madrid.  Wednesday saw her at the astonishing Google Campus in the city which she came back entralled about.  In the picture below she is with an organiser and a woman entrepreneur who takes her baby to work.  

Olivia at the Google Campus on Wednesday

She and Miguel joined us for dinner that night as she would be off shooting the next day near home. I'ts always lovely to have them.

Thursday was the last sunny day of the week. It was also the day Mariano Rajoy announced the cabinet reshuffle.  It certainly wasn't a new one as only 3 members left.  This is the new government.  5 men and 8 women. 

The "family photo" of the new Spanish cabinet. Soraya stands next to Rajoy and Cospedal is far right.

Rajoy has 2 strong women he depends on in his close circle and the main one is Soraya Saenz de Santamaría, his right hand woman. The other is Dolores de Cospedal who was appointed Minister of Defence; a very unpolitical post really.  Rumour has it the two women can't stand each other and the clear winner of the two was the former when she was reinforced and remains the only Vice President, the Prime Minister's deputy and also his troubleshooter.  Soraya is more popular than Dolores and actually much more popular than Rajoy himself and will have as her main task to deal with the Catalan issue. Let's see how she does that.

While the country was digesting the news broadcast that night on television, we turned to Netflix for our entertainment. Having finished Homeland Season 5, we started watching Peaky Blinders, a British saga based on the story of the gang of the same name based in Birmingham in 1919.  We've only watched 2 episodes so far and have yet to get hooked. I'm not sure we will. The next day, season 1 of The Crown, the story of the first decade of Queen Elizabeth's reign would be premiered on Netflix and I know where my loyalties lie and couldn't wait to watch it.

As predicted, the rain came on Friday.  It poured it down putting an end to the St. Martin's summer (veranillo de San Martín) which had come early this year.  It was a very grey and cold day. The highlight was having Oli for lunch as she had been shooting nearby at El Ganso, a new Spanish clothes chain with shops in over 150 countries believe it or not. She came loaded with a tray of cakes as she had also been shooting the story of a woman entrepreneur who left her legal career to become a very successful confectioner. Here is Oli with her.

Oli shooting the story of a woman who left her legal career to become a successful confectioner

When Oli left late on Friday afternoon it was still raining and so there and then I decided to start watching The Crown on Netflix. I didn't think my Spanish husband would be interested but he was game for it. However, I inisted this time that I had to watch it in English. After all, I couldn't possibly hear the Queen speaking in Spanish and he  agreed as long as there were subtitles in Spanish:-(

The beautiful series about Queen Elizabeth II by Netflix

We went on to watch 2 more episodes that night and we are rivetted.  I had big expectations as everything about the series created by Peter Morgan was supposed to be lavish, including Princess Elizabeth's 35.000 pound replica wedding dress; despite it supposedly having been made thanks to ration coupons at the time!  They even got real surgeons to perfom surgery of the time on a dummy of the sick King George VII in a ballroom at the palace.  Amazing. My only complaint is that the actors who play the Queen, Prince Philip, the Queen Mother and Churchill don't look like them enough.

Season 1 spans the first decade of the life of the Queen since she married Philip Mountbatten, a penniless Greek prince,  in 1947 and became Queen at the tender age of 25 when her beloved Father died in 1952 of lung cancer.  He smoked, by the way, until the very end.  I am loving it but still after 3 episodes I keep having to explain to my non British royalist husband who is George V, George VI, Queen Mary and who is Princess Margaret not to mention the Duke of Windsor  and then go on to explain that he was Edward VIII who abdicated in favour of his brother "Bertie" who was crowned George VI to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson and whose real name was David!.  My explanations go on to tell him who was The Queen Mother Elizabeth (Bowes Lyon), George VI's wife as well as Antony Eden, Peter Townsend, Lord Mountbatten, the origins of Prince Philip and a long etc. It's such recent history to me but chinese checkers to him I'm afraid.

On Saturday it rained again, but when there was a glimpse of it stopping, out we went for our walk. It rained again until the mid afternoon when I ventured out again for my second walk, always accompanied by my music lists on spotify thanks to my cordless bluetooth headphones. I came back to re watch episode 3 of The Queen as I had slept through parts of it the night before.  After my diet dinner last night, we were to watch 3 more. Talk about binge watching!  I can't get enough of it although, today Sunday, I shall have to re watch episode 6 as I partly slept through that too.  It's dreadful to think we have only 4 more episodes to watch of season 1 and that season 2 is only being filmed now.  Maybe I shall resort to re watching the whole of Downton Abbey for the 3rd time as a substitute.  That remains to be seen hahaa.



So yes today is Sunday and thankfully the sky is clear and I shall go for my first walk shortly.  The music I play on Spotify will be my collection of favourite church hymns; suitable music for a Sunday and will take me straight back in my mind to morning assembly at my school, St. Joseph's College Bradford, or to evening service at St. Peter's church in Shipley.


It's a happy Sunday for two men in particular.  Yesterday Andrew Murray became the number one tennis player in the world. That's great for British sport.  A less known achievement comes from the prowess of Spanish ice skater, Javier Fernández who  yesterday won the prestigious Rostelcom Cup in Russia for the third time by the way.  Ice skating is no big sport in Spain and I am always disappointed in such achievements being under reported in the Spanish press.  I have had to resort to finding the news from Canadian media.  Isn't that sad?

Javier Fernández, the unsung hero of Spanish ice skating whose prowess is under reported on in his home country

I'm not sure how the day will pan out for us as Olivia hasn't told us her plans for lunch.  My lunch, of course, will be according to my strict diet which is the norm these days.



So I will leave you now, publish this and print a copy for my Father before my walk.



Wishing you all a great week ahead,

Cheers till next time
Masha

Sunday in Montrondo, home again, week 3 of the diet brings good news, the end of the “jungle” camp in Calais, a weekend with friends in Peñacaballera, the clocks go back and more stories.

Sunday 30th October 2016

On our walk from Peñacaballera to Puerto de Béjar on Saturday morning.  From left to right: Javier, Ana, me, Dolores and Toño

Good morning all.  I am writing early on Friday morning to get ahead with this blog post before we set off for a long weekend in Peñacaballera (Salamanca) to spend the weekend with friends.  But more about that later.

Sunday was our last day in Montrondo and it rained. Even so we ventured out in our rain outfits, Pippa included.

Getting ready to go out in the rain.  Pippa in her raincoat!

All ready for the rain hahaha outside our house in Montrondo.

We only made it as far as Murias and back as the terrain was too soggy for our new walk through the woods.  The autumn colours were making their appearance and we just had to have a photo by the path called "el camino valle" with its nearly all yellow birch trees.  We remembered doing a similar photo there last year when we had just moved into our new house.

With Eladio, Pippa and Oli at the beginning of "el camino valle"

Once home Oli bathed Pippa in our clawfoot bathtub, as, being so short, she gets very dirty in the rain. I decided to follow suit and enjoy a luxurious hot bath after the cold and wet walk.  And here I am, photo courtesy of my dear husband who thought I looked very funny in the tub.  

The height of luxury, a warm bath after our walk in the rain on Sunday.  I felt like the lady of the manour hahaha.

We were having a lazy day in Montrondo.  Lunch together was next on the agenda and then a short siesta before leaving at around 5pm.  Meanwhile the socialist party was gathered in Madrid and voted, finally, to abstain in acting Prime Minister Rajoy's re-election.  The problem was the hung parliament result in 2 recent elections.  Rajoy needed them to abstain to be elected and they have made it very difficult for him.

Graphic from the WSJ 

This put an end to 10 months of political deadlock and uncertainty.  If all things go well he will be reelected by the end of this week although he will have to govern in minority, no mean feat with the budget coming up.  

Once in Madrid we drove Oli and Miguel to their flat in Mirasierra and weren't home till past 9pm.  A good time had been had by all but it was far too short a time in Montrondo, just 2 nights.

Monday brought more rain.  I did two walks on the trot first thing in the morning which left me feeling exhausted.  I would go on to do so for most of the week and I am hoping the intensive exercise is playing its part in my losing weight.

I was to see my weight management doctor at midday after having been on the Pronokal diet for 3 weeks.  I was nervous about his scales as usually clinic scales show higher numbers.  But no I was in for good news.  According to his scales I had lost just under 5 kilos!  Wow! I had done 3 weeks of phase 1 which includes just vegetables and Pronokal products. I think it is the hardest diet I have ever done but it works. Thankfully Dr Ramírez put me straight on to Phase 2b which meant I could eat real protein (150g of lean meat or 200g of white fish or sea food) both at lunch and dinner always accompanied by vegetables. I couldn't wait to eat real food as I was sick and tired of the Pronokal products which taste nice at the first bite but leave a nasty after taste.

Of note, on Monday night Eladio and I started watching Season 5 of Homeland. I had already seen it but was happy to watch Carrie, Saul and Quinn in action again.  The plot is so up to date, all about ISIS terrorism and based in Berlin. 

If Monday had brought good news from the scales, Tuesday brought good news too on my measurements.  I had lost 8cm around my waist and 7cm on my hips.  My BMI (body mass index) was down to to 25 - just one more figure to get to 24 which is healthy. If you are wondering what your BMI is, you check out this chart here.

Now I am getting into clothes I couldn't wear before and that is such an inspiration. My goal is to get into a black sleeveless size M leather dress from Zara which I probably only ever wore once. Can't wait.  

That day I had a lunch engagement with a former boss and was able to eat real meat for the first time and wow did it taste good.  Unfortunately I couldn't join him drinking wine but we had a good old gossip about the sector.  It was such fun to see him and exchange news. For the record lunch was at El Buey in Boadilla, perhaps the best restaurant in the area.

Afterwards I went on an errand to the Quiron Hospital in Pozuelo to pick up the results of my recent densitometry test; a test that measures bones to diagnose osteoporosis, the dreaded illness of older women.  I jumped for joy when I saw the all clear.  My recent mammogram test and breast scan  had also given me the all clear.  These plus my recent blood tests taken during the diet, show I am fighting fit and I am extremely glad that I am.  I wonder if the walks have anything to do with it or perhaps I have inherited my 97 year old Father's genes. I do hope so. 

Whilst waiting for the results, I read the news on my mobile.  I was astonished to read that the Vatican or the Pope had announced it was to be forbidden to  keep loved ones’ ashes at home or scattering them. The church says they should be kept in sacred ground. I mean who is the Catholic Church to tell parishioners what to do with their loved ones' ashes?  I find that a complete intrusion. One interpretation is that they make money from them being kept in cemeteries.  As a friend of mine commented on FB "business is business".  Well, I think it is none of their business. 

No more urns at home says the Pope

Feeling great after leaving the hospital I drove to the upmarket Supercor supermarket to buy first class quality protein products for this next phase of my diet.  I had fresh prawns in a salad that night for dinner which tasted divine.  

Who did not have fresh prawns that night were the migrants being kicked out of the so called "jungle" refugee camp in Calais that day. It was being dismantled.  Some 6 to 10.000 occupants mostly from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan had fled violence in their countries and made their way to Calais hoping to get to the UK and begin a new life.

The dismantling of the refugee camp this week  in Calais called The Jungle

The camp has been called the a "symbol of Europe's failure to resolve its migrant crisis" and that is certainly true. The occupants are to be moved by bus to other areas of France.  Who knows what their eventual fate will be?  Meanwhile in the UK there have been promises of taking in unaccompanied minors who have families in England and this has caused a hoohah all through the country.  At the moment the UK seems to be getting more and more racist, especially after Brexit. As no one really knows their ages, there have even been suggestions the children should be submitted to dental tests to prove their ages before being admitted for entry to the UK.  I am ashamed of my birth country.  They have done little or nothing to help the migrant crisis.  Even today, days after the dismantling, some children have been left behind, alone and vulnerable to human traffickers in some of the remaining huts.  It's a disgrace and upsets me.  This is the greatest migrant tragedy since the second world war and no one wants the migrants who have suffered so much leaving their war stricken countries, often fueled by the west and now no one cares about them. This is a nasty world and the unsolved refugee crisis makes my blood curl. 

The weather on Wednesday was amazing. The thermometer reached 25c in Madrid that day. My Father remarked it was the second Indian summer here which is called "el veranillo de San Martín" which he said is called "the old woman's summer" in Russian!!!  My Father is always interested in the weather hahaha. I looked up the expression in Spanish and it seems the second Indian summer here is actually around 11th November.  So either it has come sooner than usual or its an effect of global warming. Whatever the case I love the unexpected sunshine and warm temperatures at this time of year, especially for my two morning walks. 

Whilst on my walk I was whatsapping with Oli trying to help her with contacts for a new programme she was making about entrepeneurs in Madrid.  She is amazed at the contacts I have. I am too but then again the technology world is the world I live in.  I hope some of them bear their fruit and that I can have helped her in her search for stories to report on. 

In preparation for our visit this weekend to Peñacaballera, Eladio and I went to the upmarket gourmet store called Mallorca in Pozuelo to buy our hosts a gift.  We decided on a hamper of lovely food which we chose ourselves.  And here it is. 

The food hamper from Mallorca we bought for our friends Javier and Ana

It contains a good bottle of Rioja, ham, asparagus, foie gras, biscuits, cheese, honey and other delicacies which I hope they will enjoy. We are invited together with Eladio's brother José Antonio and his wife, our sister-in-law, Dolores and we are all looking forward to a great weekend together at their house in Peñacaballera in the province of Salamanca.  What's going to make it even better is the weather as the forecast is dry and sunny for this weekend!  

Thursday was another beautiful sunny day.  Of note that morning, Eladio and I bought flu vaccine from the chemists after our weekly food shopping expedition.  Eladio had his jab done by a doctor at the small clinic near the supermarket.  Once home, Eladio, my own personal doctor, gave me my jab. So now we are protected from winter flu. 

There was relatively good news that day when it was announced that unemployment in Spain had fallen below 20% for the first time in 6 years. That is a sure sign of economic recovery although it should be pointed out that most of the new jobs are temporary ones! It's still very difficult to find a job here but no longer mission impossible. 

There's not much else to report about Thursday except that is was another sunny day.  Oli was to be coming for dinner and we waited for her until 9.30 pm.  However she had some sort of crisis at work and didn't leave until very late, so we had dinner alone.  We haven't seen her since last Sunday when we drove back from Montrondo and hopefully we will be more lucky next week. We look forward to watching her latest programme of "Mi Cámara y Yo" on Monday coming about tourism. 

On Friday morning, we set off with José Antonio and Dolores at 11.15 for a 2.5h drive in the sun to Peñacaballera near Béjar in the province of Salamanca which is just on the border of Cáceres.  Our friends, Javier and Ana, were waiting for us with open arms.  It was lovely to be back but we just couldn't remember when we had last been there.  However we have happy memories of our stay at our friends's fabulous house on lots of occasions and were looking forward to another great time with them.  

Beautiful autumn colours were awaiting us this weekend

Our friends' house

Ana prepared a wholesome lunch I couldn't partake in.  No way was I going to break my diet so had unashamedly taken along my own food for the weekend. The weather was so good we ate outside.  Later we women enjoyed a long chat in the patio.  Below are Ana and Dolores happily nattering away.

Dolores and Ana happily nattering away after lunch on Friday

Soon Jorge, our friends' neighbour, arrived. He would invite us to visit his vegetable patch and orchard.  But what was most impressive was his huge greenhouse where he grows tomatoes and peppers of various varieties.  After so much rain and sun, we were stunned to see just how many and big they were. Here is the group holding some of the tomatoes to show you.

Toño, Ana, Jorge, Eladio and Dolores at the tomato greenhouse

Me holding tomatoes and a pepper at Jorge's greenhouse.

We had a lot of fun picking them.  We brought back two big bags holding about 40kg between them. I couldn't wait to taste one.

Ana and Dolores with just one of the bags full of tomatoes and peppers

 On the Pronokal diet I am allowed 100grammes of tomato a day which would only allow me to taste a small slice of these huge tomatoes.  To see how much they weighed I put one of the medium ones on the scales I had brought (I have to weigh everything I eat on this diet), I was amazed to see that this one weighed over 400 grammes hahaha.

Just one of the medium sized tomatoes weighed this much!

The tomatoes and peppers we brought back from Jorge's greenhouse

I would include the 100 grammes in my salad that night.

The load was pretty heavy so we could only go on a short walk that afternoon, back from the greenhouse. The countryside was a picture to see; cows and sheep in the fields, a horse in the distance, a glimpse of  a pigsty on the path home, walnut trees all enhanced by the autumn colours.  What a pretty area this is.

A view of the fields on our walk back. The tomato greenhouse is in the middle behind the trees.

We came back to have tea and coffee. Thank God I can drink tea on this diet.  We talked until late and our list of topics was long; religion, politics, homosexuality, Plato and Socrates and more mundane topics such as cooking or TV programmes.  We had a late dinner.  Well it was late for me as I was hungry and had got up at 6.15 that morning.

Dinner on Friday night. Notice the delicious home grown and hand picked tomatoes

Meanwhile Oli was busy at work, putting the finishing touches to her upcoming programme for Mi Camara y Yo about tourism in Madrid. It will be aired on Monday on TeleMadrid just after 22.30, prime time here but very late in my view.

The advertisement for Oli's upcoming programme on tourism in Madrid which will be aired on Monday

You can see the ad here.  The ladies in the picture are from a group of British tourists visiting Chinchón, a pretty medieval village outside Madrid. 

After dinner we retired to our hosts's cozy lounge where Javier had lit the fire.  We continued our conversations and added topics such as books, films and travelling as well as more anecdotes about Plato and the ancient Greeks - this coming from my erudite and intellectual husband and brother-in-law Toño.  I couldn't believe it when I looked at my watch and saw it was 12.30 at night.  I had been up since 6 in the morning and it was time for bed.  I was exhausted when my head hit the feather pillow I had brought with me.

Saturday was another sunny day. I was up early and as soon as it was light explored outside admiring the autumn colours and my surroundings.  I just love the countryside.  I am not a town girl and never have been.  

Javier and Ana's delightful patio with autumn colours, especially from the little maple tree with its bright orange and red leaves.

I am also a dog person as well you know.  I was missing ours, especially little Pippa, our miniature smooth haired chocolate coloured dachshund.  However our hosts' neighbours, Jorge and María have 2, a border collie and a miniature short haired dachshund called Gas.  Gas is very similar to Pippa and was to be her substitute this weekend hahaha.

Little Gas, so like Pippa in many ways.

At about 10.30 we set off for a long walk to the pretty village of Puerto de Béjar.  Our hosts Javier and Ana took us on a delightful and romantic path surrounded by lush fields with cows.  There were horses too and we were even passed by by a man on horseback.  Here I am making friends with a brown horse.  I held my hand out which the animal touched with care only to find nothing in it. But then I found some blackberries which it ate with gusto.

Making friends with a horse on our walk on Saturday morning

We walked through forests, on the flat, uphill and down and across bridges.  These days I stride ahead and in the photo below I am sitting on an old bridge waiting for my fellow walkers.  It was a moment of relax. I felt vibrant, happy and at home in the countryside.  Thanks Javier for the photo.  By the way, I was noticing from all the photos taken that I was looking slimmer thanks to the diet. That is sure motivation for me to continue.

Resting during our long walk on Saturday morning

We reached the pretty village of Puerto de Béjar.  It's very similar to all the villages in this region and has an air of the most famous ones such as Candelario or Alberca.  I particularly liked the main square where the town hall and church are the focal points.  Here I got into conversation with an old man sitting in the sun on a bench by the church.  We had seen there was to be a mass to welcome the new priest. He told me the priest coming was from Colombia; a sure sign there are fewer and fewer Spanish priests these days. I wonder how he will adapt to this area where it's much colder than his native country.

The town hall in Puerto de Béjar

We stopped for refreshments before continuing back to Peñacaballera this time on a different route.  For the record I just had a welcome glass of water.  As we left the village and took the path to the old rail track we came across a wizened old man pushing a heavily loaded wheel barrow and we stopped to talk. The man nicknamed "cartucho" (cartridge) because of his love of shooting, showed us the produce he had brought from his allotment.  It carried huge pears, fresh eggs and an enormous pumpkin.  He happily posed with us for me to share with you the moment. Javier later carried his barrow up the hill for him. 

The pumpkin moment on our walk to Puerto de Béjar on Saturday morning

We came home to see, thanks to my fitbit, that we had walked a total of 9km.  It was good exercise and a beautiful walk, one we will remember for a long time.

Ana had made a winter dish called "cocido madrileño" made with chickpeas, meat and vegetables.  I, unfortunately, had to have cauliflower yet again thankfully accompanied by grilled fish.

We were all in need of a short siesta afterwards after the morning walk.  The sun was still shining and I curtailed my siesta to read my kindle outside in our hosts' lovely patio.  Then it was time for tea. Before it got dark at 7.30pm, Javier and Ana took us out, by car this time, to visit another pretty village called Montemayor del Rio.  Here we are outside their 18th century gate where I had to have a group photo.  Or rather here are the rest of the group, as I took the photo.

Outside the 18th century gate leading into the patio of our hosts' house in Peñacaballera

We went in Javier and Ana's 7 seater Volvo which was such fun.  They took us along narrow country roads where we could admire the green and yellow trees but especially the view of the village Montemayor.  

The main square in the pretty village of Montemayor del Río

We stopped to see a 13th century bridge called La Malena (La Magdalena). Below are Toño and Dolores on the bridge; a romantic photo in my view.

A romantic photo of Toño and Dolores on La Malena bridge outside the pretty village of Montemayor del Río

From there we made our way back by car to the village and drove up to the castle. It has two names; The castle of Paradise and St. Vicent Castle.  

The castle in Montemayor del Río

Built by the first Lord of Montemayor in the 13th century, it commands an amazing view and has all an old castle should have with its moat and portcullis.

Eladio caught Javier and I on camera with our backs to the castle admiring the view and I thought it was a lovely photo summing up the moment: two old friends in peace and harmony enjoying the twilight view from the walls of the castle.  I should add I was happy to see that my bottom is getting smaller.  Did that make you laugh? It was intended to.

Admiring the view from the castle at Montemayor del Río

We were home just as Spain's caretaker Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy had been re-elected in Parliament.  Finally we were to have a government after 10 months of deadlock.  Pedro Sánchez, the previous leader of the socialist party (PSOE) who had resigned last week, gave up his seat yesterday because he refused to abstain.  The socialist party's abstention was what allowed Rajoy to be re-elected.  He will, however, have to govern in a minority which could make it difficult to govern.  We shall see what happens in the coming months. 

Rajoy was re-elected PM yesterday after 10 months of political deadlock.

Just as the voting was finishing, Laura and María, Javier and Ana's oldest and youngest daughter arrived to join us in Peñacaballera.  What good looking girls they are.  Dinner was a bigger affair and joy of joys I had an omelet and lean ham with salad for the meal.  I say joy of joys because I hadn't eaten an egg or ham for over a month haha.

Our hosts with 2 of their daughters at dinner in Peñacaballera last night

We all went to bed quite early last night after a long day of exercise and sun.  We were to have an extra hour's sleep as the clocks went back an hour during the night.

The clocks went back last night.

However, I still woke up early; at 6.40, which for me was 07.40.  I hate it when the clocks go back as it means we have an hour less sun in the evening and tonight it will be dark at 6.30pm.  Not fair!  If I had a say in it, I would keep the same time throughout the year.  In the Balearic Islands, for example, in the far east of Spain, there is a motion to keep summer time all year round and they have a reason; tourism.  The lighter it is at night, the happier the tourists will be and of course it would be good for business.  Anyway, they have turned back now and we shall all have to adjust.  But I'm not for it.

Last night, apart from the clocks turning back, it was also Halloween.  But none of us in Peñacaballera cared. I have never liked this Yankee holiday which has been adopted in Spain and gets bigger and bigger each year.  

And today is Sunday morning and the last day here in Peñacaballera. We look forward to another sunny day and walk.  And now it is time to sign off and wish you all a great day and week ahead.

Cheers till next time,

Masha