The World Cup heats up, an insight into Saudi Arabia from my Airbnb guests, off to France, our annual cousin reunion and other stories.

Sunday 8^th July 2018

The group photo of this year's "cousinade".

Good morning all.

I am writing today from La Teilée, a small village in France, not far from Poitiers, where my cousin Zuka and her Mother my Aunt Valya live. Zuka is the daughter of my Mother's youngest brother Nicky and one of my very few cousins. I only have 3 on my Mother's side and none on my Father's side. However, I have many second and third cousins on my Mother's side and my visit to France this week was to attend this year's "cousinade" (cousin reunion), the third in a row. Nearly all of them live in France and are of Russian descent. It was great to see them again and there are even some more members this year. We were to be 22 all in all, quite a challenge for Zuka to accommodate and feed  everyone I am sure.

But let me start at the beginning, from last Sunday, 1st July. That day our Airbnb group of youngsters from Madrid were leaving. They were lovely guests if a bit untidy and noisy but generally very well brought up. They didn't get up until way past our return from our morning walk. I helped them prepare a picnic as, after leaving, they were going to spend the day at the San Juan reservoir, a popular summer destination for "madrileños". But before they left I took a photo of them to remember their stay. Very sweetly, they left a glowing and beautifully handwritten review in my guest book, bless them.

Last weekend's guests

They left me in the throes of cooking. Oli and Miguel were coming for lunch that day and I had lots to do. I made bread for the first time in weeks or months which left the kitchen smelling delicious.

The multicereal bread I made last Sunday

I also made chicken casserole and in case there wasn't enough to eat I decided to make risotto from the last of the rice I had bought in Italy. Meanwhile, Lucy was busy cleaning the rooms and changing the sheets to get them ready for our next guests, the 6 member Saudi family arriving that night. 

On the other side of the world, Suzy was making her way to the "Gily Islands" which one day I should love to visit. 

After lunch we watched Spain play Russia the host country. My Father joined us and for the occasion I got out the Spanish flag. Even Pippa joined us.

My family watching the Spain Russia match on Sunday

Spain started off as the favourite; Russia has never got through a group stage but there again they are the hosts and that always improves a country's chances. Spain started well with an early goal which was later equalised by Russia. Spain played their usual way, passing the ball and possessing it most of the time but their tactics are now too well known and the weaker teams like Iran, Morocco and Russia faced their competitor by simply defending the whole time making it practically impossible for Spain to score. It was a terrible match to watch. Then came the prologue which ended with a draw and so to the penalty shoot out which I think is the most unfair way to settle the score of a match. I couldn't and didn't watch it and very soon after heard Spain had missed two penalties and that the Russian goalie had saved one. Really Degea, Spain's goalkeeper, who has not been on form this World Cup should have been replaced by a substitute goalkeeper and perhaps now we would be playing the Quarter Final. But that was not to be. So, like Germany, Spain was out and it was another national tragedy. However, luckily for me, I had 2 teams to support, and I my hopes turned to England. 

While the awful penalty shootout was taking place I turned to my book, "The Great Alone", set in Alaska. By Kristin Hanna, the author of "The Nightingale", it is my third book by her and she is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. 

Oli and Miguel didn't see the penalty shootout either as they had to leave if Miguel was to catch his train back to Valencia for the week. I said goodbye to both of them and I won't see Oli until I am back from France. 

I made a delicious potato salad out of leftovers in the fridge for dinner which we ate watching the news on my iPad. We stayed up later than usual waiting for our Saudi guests who didn't arrive until way past 10 pm when my latest check in time is 9 pm. They are a family of 6, the father, Saleh, his wife Padria, eldest son, Mohammed (19), his 17 year old sister and 10 year old brother whose names I haven't learned yet and the youngest child, 8 year old Mishal an adorable little boy. We liked them immediately and after welcoming them and showing them their rooms we went to bed. Eladio later went down to inspect the lights, etc, only to find they had invaded all the lounges, had all the lights on and were trying to watch the Denmark Croatia match which had actually finished with a win to the Croatians. Their things were already all over the house and suitcases open everywhere. Only Mohammed speaks good English (he is at University in Canada!) and I tried to explain that they should unpack in their rooms. To no avail I am afraid. We gave up in the end, left them to it and went to bed feeling more than invaded. They would continue to invade during their whole stay. It's funny but they spent a lot of time indoors, lounging on all our sofas, something no other guest has ever done. They tell me they thought it was a bit cold here (around 30ºc) as they are used to 50º in Saudi Arabia at this time of year!!! One evening the little boys wanted to bathe when it was around 27ºc in the evening and the mother wouldn't let them saying it was too cold. Imagine!

I woke up early the next morning only to find their stuff all over the place. That makes me mad as we are zealously tidy in this house I'm afraid and hate to see belongings strewed everywhere. They left their used breakfast things on a tray on one of the tables in one of the lounges and later that evening I presented it to them asking them politely to clear up after themselves. I'm not sure they understood as they left the tray with crumbs in the kitchen aarrgghh. 

We came back from our walk happy to see their car wasn't their. Obviously they were out for the day. But no, they had only gone out shopping for junk food - you should see the stuff they eat: popcorn, coca cola, chocolate, ice cream, crisps and not much else - and would not be going out again that day. 

I escaped to the hairdresser to get my roots dyed as my hair was beginning to look white hahaha. On my way back to the car I spotted a sale at a small local boutique where I sometimes shop. Their I spied some lovely t-shirts as well as a pair of  "Bereber" style flowing white cotton trousers. I tried them on and fell in love with them. They are so comfortable and actually quite stylish. Here I am wearing them.

With my new summer "Bereber" trousers, love them.

After lunch, with the Saudis all over the house and garden, I looked for a quiet spot to read in the garden, far from the pool. Both house and pool were totally invaded by them; some of the kids were lying on the sofas and the others were playing with the dogs in the garden and kept appearing. There was no peace that day, so I was happy to leave for an appointment just before 6 pm to escape the chaos. 

I wore the new trousers for the appointment I had that evening. At 6 pm I was meeting an old boss from the radio side of Motorola Spain, Luis P.B. at his golf club which happens to be near where we live, the "Las Lomas Bosque Club de Golf". It's funny but in the 12 years we have lived here I have never been although I once saw it from the outside when we were house hunting.

I had no idea just how beautiful it was and started snapping on my camera as soon as I arrived. I particularly like the lake or lakes there. 

The golf club where I met my ex Motorola boss

I sat at a table on the terrace of the cafeteria with this view in front of me and had to take a selfie. This is it.

At the golf club on Monday

Luis soon arrived and we took off from where we left, many years ago. When I worked for the mobile phone division, he was head of the Radio division and we have many ex colleagues in common. I got to know all the people from the various divisions when I was in charge of the cycling team and champions league sponsorships - those were the days. Today Luis heads up a company called Radiotrans, the biggest Spanish walkie talkie company. He needed a contact at an operator which I was happy to help him with. We caught up quickly on our lives; he is soon to be a grandfather (lucky him) and of course turned to how some of our ex colleagues are doing. Many familiar names were mentioned; Jesus S, Paul, Manuel, Luis, Ignacio C, Jaime M, Eusebio B, and it was good to talk about old times. To think I was just 33 when I joined. I told him I remembered using the walkie talkies he gave me for family use, such as when we went shopping with the girls to "Pryca" (how Carrefour used to be called here) and all in all spent a great time reminiscing. 

I was home before dinner and joined Eladio on the pool terrace with my kindle. Shortly the Saudi family joined us one by one and soon we were having a discussion about Saudi Arabia. It was a very interesting one. Only Mohammed speaks good English so he spent his time translating as well as answering many of my questions.  He is a very quick minded boy and very mature for his age. He told us Saudi Arabia was a dictatorship and that the country was built for just one man; the king. I asked them about the reforms of the new Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salem. They told me his reforms were just a move to appease the people but dictatorship was not changing. I also asked about the previous Crown Prince who had been ousted and Mohammed told me he had just "vanished". So my Saudi family seemed quite liberal and they told me they were but when I quizzed the mother on arranged marriages and driving, she seemed a lot more conservative than her husband Saleh. I asked Saleh if he would allow  his son to marry a Canadian girl for example and he said "sure". I then asked him if he had changed his children's nappies. He said yes but then his wife, said no way, he had never done that. So could I believe his "sure" about his son marrying whom he wanted?  I'm not sure they were always telling the truth as when I also asked the wife whether all women wore black burkas in Saudi, she said, oh no but later I found 2 crumpled up black ones on the chest in the hall which she and her daughter must have worn when they left home and took off when they got to Madrid. Saleh's wife also mentioned her husband never enters the kitchen and doesn't even know where the door is. I also asked the 17 year old girl if she would prefer to marry someone of her choice rather than have an arranged marriage. She preferred the latter. I gave her a high five for that and she giggled. Both women giggle a lot. She also looks forward to being able to drive but her Mother will not, saying she is afraid of cars. Stupidly, I asked the family if women could vote to which they answered men could not vote and that no one could vote. Of course, it's an absolute monarchy. Mohammed said that with some of the social reforms on women's rights the new Crown Prince had said he was bringing Saudi Arabia into the 21st century but that in his opinion it was bringing it into the 20th century. I corrected him and said it was bringing it into the 19th century!  I also asked about men being allowed to marry up to 4 women and whether the practice continued. Mohammed said it was quite common but that it was not happening as much as before. I asked Saleh if he wanted a second wife and he smiled and said no. I suspect his wife would kill him if he did. When we first sat down, I told the wife, who, by the way is a teacher of Arabic, Pradia  is her name I think, to take off her veil in front of me. She did so but,  as soon as Eladio appeared, she quickly put it on again. As you can see we had a very interesting conversation. If this is a supposedly liberal family, who for me seem extremely conservative,  what must a non liberal Saudi family be like I wonder? I truly feel sorry for women who live there. My heart goes out to them. But many, like Pradia, have been brainwashed, don't even seem to question the subject and accept it as their lot. I hope things change with Mohammed's generation. 

We went to bed a bit wiser about life in Saudi Arabia and watched the Oliver Stone film, Heaven and Earth, also about an oppressed woman, a Vietnamese American bride from the Vietnam War. 

On Tuesday I was up early as always and the first thing I did was to pick up all the Saudi family belongings strewn all over the house and garden, including all their shoes and put them in a supermarket bag on the stairs. It was my way of telling them to pick their things up. No doubt back where they live they have an in house maid or maids who do all the picking up for them. It drives me mad. I can't stand untidinss; I really can't and it puts me in a bad mood. Lucy cant' stand it either and remarked that they were the worst guests we have ever had. I am undecided because, as people, they are really nice. 

We missed the football that day. Unsurprisingly Brazil beat Mexico and valiant Belgium went from 0-2 to Japan to win 3-2. It really is an interesting World Cup this year.

On Tuesday, there was more mess from my Saudis and once again I packed all their strewed belongings into a bag and this time left it outside the parent's room. When we came back from our walk, hallelujah, we saw them driving out of our gate. They were off to Madrid for the day. We were worried they would never leave the house. 

Eladio and I had to do the food shopping that morning which took up quite a lot of time. I especially hate the unpacking and putting away when we return with all the provisions. 

We had the pool terrace to ourselves in the afternoon and at about 6ish, I took Lucy to the boutique where I had bought my white trousers. She deserves the odd trip out as she is doing her own job and Zena's who will be away for 2 months in the Ukraine. That means she won't have any days off until 8th September. So off we went, the two of us to the boutique in Boadilla. Here she bought lots of clothes. I bought the same trousers in black as well as a t-shirt each for my cousin Zuka and her darling daughter Katty which I would take to France. 

I came home just as England and Colombia were about to start their Last 16 match. I put the TV on to hear the National Anthem - my favourite part of the World Cup matches hahaha and posted "God Save the Queen" on Facebook! Earlier in the day, Sweden had beaten Switzerland by 1-0 in St. Petersburg. An eccentric ex Swedish boss of mine had gone out specially to see it so I was pleased for him and all my Swedish friends from my Yoigo and Nokia years. If England got through they would play Sweden which is what you all know happened. 

While Eladio watched, I went to the kitchen to make our dinner - prawn cocktail. By then the Saudis had returned and all 4 kids were in the pool; the girl in a "burkini" (Oh my God). I'm sorry but I'm just not comfortable with women wearing veils, burkas or burkinis in my house. Maybe I should be more tolerant but for me they are a symbol of the oppression of women. 

Thankfully they left us alone and we were able to have dinner and watch the match in peace in the TV lounge together with Pippa. It was another nerve biting match. England were awarded a penalty at the beginning, shot by none other than England's captain, the amazing striker, Harry Kane. But in injury time the Colombians hit back and suddenly there was a draw and we would have to suffer a prologue. After the prologue the score was the same and once again a World Cup Last 16 match was to go to a penalty shoot out. How I hate them and how unfair they are. But I was able to watch this one.  Both teams missed one shot but the England goalkeeper saved one brilliantly taking the Three Lions through to the Quarter Finals which I would watch in France yesterday. I was so happy for England.

We went to bed to watch the episode 6 of the TV series "La Verdad". I was falling asleep towards the end but suddenly got a new Airbnb booking I had to respond to. That made me wake up completely after which I found it really difficult to fall asleep. I think I did so at about 2 in the morning. On Wednesday morning I woke up at 5.45 which meant I had only slept 3.45h, not enough I can tell you. 

On Wednesday, Eladio said I was already more in France than in Spain what with all my preparations hahaha. We came back from our walk and bumped into the Saudis. I asked them what they would be doing that day and they said they would be staying in the house. Oh no, I said, you can't waste your time here, there is nothing to see here, you must visit blabla and recommended they went to El Escorial or to Toledo. I was happy they heeded my words.

Wednesday was a quiet day with our guests away and we enjoyed a quiet lunch, me a needy siesta as well as some quiet time in the afternoon.  

After a light dinner our guests returned and it was time to tell them I was leaving for France the next day and would only come back after they had left. I was actually sorry to say goodbye because I really liked them, despite their untidiness. I had to have a photo of them of course and we spent quite a while on a photo shoot. Here they are saying goodbye to me. When they leave on Saturday they will be off to Barcelona and then to Italy. They travel every year. Maybe they should learn the phrase "when in Rome do as the Romans". 

My untidy but lovely Saudi family

When we were saying goodbye, they said sorry for having done anything "inconvenient" to which I replied that yes they had been untidy but I liked them. They then said they just didn't understand our "system". Isn't our system the same all over the world? I then asked them that maybe in their home they had lots of maids to pick up their belongings, etc and they nodded that they did. So, that was the reason for their untidiness; they are just not used to clearing up after themselves. So, of course, they wouldn't understand "our system" hahaha. What a culture shock for both them and us but also a great insight into the life of a family in Saudi Arabia.

Thursday came and I had to be up early but blow me, I woke up at 5 in the morning when I didn't actually have to leave for the airport until 7.45. Oh well, it meant I had a leisurely breakfast on my own with the dogs and reading the "papers" on my iPad. 

Eladio drove me to the airport, to Terminal 4 where I was to catch the 10.40 Vueling flight to Paris CDG, the same flight that left me grounded 2 years ago. This time it didn't. In fact everything went well and even the steward at check-in changed by 29A window seat for a 4D aisle seat as I hate window seats. The first few rows on Vueling have more space so I was very grateful. Normally you would have to pay extra to choose a seat but that day was my lucky day. 

I had to have a coffee and croissant at the Paul Boulangerie at Madrid airport in anticipation of my trip to France. There is nothing I love more in France than dunking a croissant in café au lait. I learned to do so on Inter rail at Gare du Nord in Paris many many years ago.

I arrived in Paris  Charles de Gaulle, well on time and walked out of Terminal 3 not quite knowing how to get to the TGV or SNCF station which was located in Terminal 2. My idea was to walk but when I asked 2 young pilots they said I had to take the shuttle train and to follow them. They were complete gentlemen and escorted me until I got to the train station. It  turned out they were Czech pilots. I told them that in 1968 after the Russian invasion of Prague, when many Czechs fled the country that my non communist Russian mother had taken in a Czech family to live with us for many months free of charge and that maybe today they were repaying the favour. Sadly one of them told me that his grandfather had been jailed in 1968 because of the uprising and had died in prison. What a story.

We parted at the train station and off I went to see if I could change my train ticket to an earlier train. I had arrived at 12.30 but my train wasn't until 16.17.  This time I was not in luck, there was no other train and I just had to wait to catch the TGV which would get me to Poitiers at 18.30 or so. I had a boring time at the station and wondered to myself why it was such a dreadful one, pretty dirty and with hardly anything to offer. There was the ubiquitous Starbucks and Paul and some other rotten bar with not much to offer as in lunch. In the end I went for a tuna sandwich and a cake from Paul. There was hardly anywhere to sit so I went up to the top floor to eat outside only to find myself at a horrible bus and taxi terminal which was even dirtier than the station and nowhere to sit. I ended up sitting on the dirty floor on my coat eating my lunch. You would think a TGV station in Paris would be much more swish. The Atocha Ave (highspeed) station in Madrid is luxury compared. I whiled away the time writing my blog from the dirty floor until it was time to catch the train.

The train was a bit late and I got a window seat (hate them) and started reading my new book, a history book on the demise of the Romanov family, quite in keeping with the upcoming "cousinade", all descendants of the Russian Revolution. By the historian Helen Rappaport it is called "The race to save the Romanovs" -  the Truth behind the secret plans to rescue Russia's Imperial family. It has only been recently published and seems a very seriously studied topic by Rappaport an expert on Queen Victoria and the Romanov family.  It kept me occupied during the just over 2h journey to Poitiers. I shall be ordering a physical copy for my Father who I know will be very interested in this new and enlightening book.

Just as I got out of the station with my huge suitcase - I never travel light - dear Katty and Tony my cousins from New Zealand had arrived to pick me. Katty is Zuka's daughter and my soul mate. She is like a sister to me and I adore her three kids, Luc aged 16, Sam aged 14 and little Ruby aged 9. I had seen Katty at last year's "cousinade" but not the kids since the year before and I hadn't seen Tony since the family visit to our house about 8 years ago just before they left England to move to New Zealand. You see, Tony is from New Zealand. We call them "our Kiwi family".  It was  great drive to La Teille catching up on our lives since last year. Soon we were at Zuka and her Mother's house, Aunty Valya who was the wife of my Mother's younger brother Nicky. Only Aunty Valya was at home when we arrived. Aged 93 she is in great shape and it was wonderful to see her again.  Soon Zuka arrived with the kids, Luc, Sam and Ruby and a friend of Luc's from school in Bolton England where they used to live, Luke; same name different spelling.

It was a wonderful moment hugging the kids from my kiwi family. This is one of the photos I took of them when they arrived.

Our Kiwi family, Tony, Sam, Katty and Ruby

Zuka and her Mother had extended their veranda and soon we were all sitting around having drinks. I was a bit hesitant about drinking wine but instantly gave in and ended up having at least 3 glasses. Thankfully I only had a bit of a headache the next day. Dinner was prepared for the 9 of us on the veranda; delicious French patés, salads and then barbecued king prawns. It was a lovely family meal. Having got up at 5 in the morning, by midnight I was exhausted and had to turn in. I am sharing a room with little Ruby which is a delight for us both as we adore each other.  The sleeping arrangements were all in place and had to be as on Saturday we would be 22 people. The kids would sleep in tents in the garden.

Friday dawned and I was up early although Tyotya (Aunt in Russian) Valya had beaten me to it. I enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee on the veranda enjoying being away and in the French countryside.

Zuka's sprawling farm house in La Teilee

We had a busy day ahead of us before the "cousinade" began on Saturday, except that, unknowingly, nearly everyone was to arrive on Friday and there would be 17 for dinner that night. 

An important task after breakfast was to put up the flag bunting outside the gates of the house; something Katty, Ruby and I did together. When our cousins began to arrive they weren't sure if they were to symbolise our multiple international origins or if it was because of the football. I'm not quite sure either but it made the place look festive. 

Ruby and Katty putting up the flag bunting on Friday morning.

Later the boys went off kayaking for the day with Tony, Katty's New Zealand husband, while we "girls", 9 year old Ruby, Katty, Zuka and I went off to the bank in nearby Couhé. From there Ruby, Katty and I drove to Poitiers to Lidl and Auchamp to do the main shopping for the food this weekend. Bread and croissants are not what they were in France, unless, maybe if you go to a posh boulangerie in Paris; we got ours at Lidl haha and had to get lots to cater for 22 people's breakfasts and all the meals. It was difficult to calculate how much to buy, so I just picked up about everything I could find: lots of croissants and pain au chocolat which I love hahah. Here are Ruby and I helping ourselves at the rather complicated bakery dispensary. 

Ruby and I getting bread and croissants at Lidl in Poitiers on Friday morning. 

From Lidl we went to Auchamp and my goodness it was gigantic and as we didn't know where anything was we took ages. Suddenly it was 13.30 and we had to drop off Ruby at the water park to join the boys after their kayaking. Meanwhile I was dropped off on a road at the entrance to the town of Vivonne with lots of restaurants to grab a table for lunch for Katty and I as if I didn't they would all shut at 2 pm which I think is very uncivilised for France but that's how it is.  I finally found one which looked French and open called "Le Jimmy's and which offered a fixed menu at 12 euros each which is quite cheap for here. Katty came soon bringing little Ruby with her as the boys were late at the water park. The 3 of us had a pretty lousy lunch actually, again disappointing for France, and then had to rush off to take Ruby to join her Father and brothers. 

On our way home we heard that nearly all the cousins were arriving that day rather than on Saturday so it was panic stations to get back, unload the food and begin lots of cooking. And that's what we did all afternoon; or rather Katty and Zuka cooked and I did the skivvying hahahah. I was exhausted by the early evening and had to take a break. Katty continued till around 10.30 pm and we all had a very late dinner.

The boys and men, including Sasha, Katty's brother and his son Myles, who had come from England, kept me updated on the France Uruguay Quarter Final match which the French won 2-0. I was rooting for France as I though when in France do as the French. Later Belgium, the "Red Devils" played their Quarter Final match against the grand and almighty 5 time winners of the World Cup, Brazil and believe it or not valiant Belgium won 2-1. Thus they will meet France in the semi finals. And here are all the men watching the match.

Some of the cousins watching the Belgium Brazil Quarter Final

lndeed the World Cup was continuing to surprise.  

By then all the cousins except 4 who were to come on Saturday, had arrived and 17 of us sat down to dinner on Zuka's veranda. The main dish was barbecued sausages accompanied by my elder cousin's quiches and lots of salads. Ice cream was for dessert as I had spied my favourite flavours at Auchamp; pistachio, coconut and raspberry. I also got chocolate as I thought that would be a favourite with the kids. Funnily enough the favourite was pistachio, practically impossible to find in Spain, and raspberry.

There was lots of clearing up to do as well as washing up and I don't think we were finished till way past midnight. We then sat around drinking (not me) and chatting till far too late for me as that night I went to bed at nearly 2 am. 

Saturday came, the official day of the "cousinade" and I had slept very little waking up during the night. I was downstairs at 6.30 to find my 93 year old Aunt unloading the washing machine and poor Myles sitting up on the sofa bed he had tried to sleep on awake as he had hardly slept a wink because of the flies. There are lots here as we are in the countryside with many farms in the area.

Saturday was to be England's turn to play their Quarter Final game against Sweden and the English section of the house were rooting for England, hoping for the Three Lions to go through to the semi finals for the first time since 1990. 

Katty and I finally managed to go on a morning walk as we did daily last year and this year her husband Tony joined us. We left at 8.30 and didn't get back until 10.30 by when the sun was very hot. 

Tony and Katty on our walk yesterday

It was to be scorcher of a day with little respite from the sun. The heat here is very humid here and we all looked for shade in the garden drinking litres of water throughout the day.

Back home Oli was following our time here vicariously through my photos. She then, very sweetly, sent us one of her with my Father who I know would have loved to be here as he and my Mother were very close to Zuka and her husband Bruce RIP.

Oli and my 99 year old Father on Saturday

We even got a photo from Suzy from far away Bali too or rather lots of them enjoying local life. I especially like this one of her having gone native and laughing her head off. It makes me so happy to see her happy. Oh how I wish both girls could have been here at the Cousinade. It would have made it complete for me but it was not to be so. Hopefully they may be able to come next year.

Suzy happy in Bali yesterday

I even got a photo from Eladio. It was of him with the Saudi family who left yesterday just before midday. Oli finally got to meet them and loved them too. It was a challenge to write a review about them what with their untidiness hahaha.

The Saudi family who left yesterday, with Eladio. We grew very fond of them despite their untidiness. 

Later yesterday a Scottish family arrived for a few days. I look forward to meeting them when I get back. 

The morning was spent leisurely yesterday. Katty did all the cooking once again and at about nearly 3 pm all 23 of us sat down for lunch. The cooking, preparations and clearing away here are a mammoth job. My contribution was lowly chief skivvy most of the time hahaha.

After lunch it was time for the Three Lions to play their Quarter Final match against Sweden. Here are the group from the house watching the match.

Watching England play yesterday

It was great to see England go through after beating Sweden 2-0. They would then play the winners of the Russia Croatia match played yesterday evening. England go through to the semi finals for the first time since 1990. They thus have their first chance in many years to win the World Cup. Can they do it? Well we shall know when the play on Tuesday. 

It was then time for fun and games. Katty had devised a guessing game for all us and put us into teams of 4. We each had to submit a secret about ourselves. Katty read out all the secrets one by one and we had to guess which secret belonged to which person. It was not easy. I am happy to say though that our team comprised of Ruby, Zuka, Anna and Tony won by a tiny margin.

Afterwards was the perfect time for the group photo which of course is the photo I have chosen to illustrate this week's blog.

Just as we had finished our fun and games, most of our group rushed off to watch the Russia Croatia match. My cousins who live in France, being of Russian origin were all rooting for Russia to beat Croatia and they far outnumbered the England fans here hahaha. Here they are watching it in on Zuka's enormous screen.

Cheering for Russia at our Cousinade yesterday

It was a long and tense match and another one that went through to penalties. In the end the best team won as Croatia were clearly stronger although Russia put an enormous fight. 

Some of my older women cousins were not at all interested in football, especially my 93 year old Aunty Valya, hahahah and the long match meant also that dinner wouldn't be served till nearly 11 pm. 

Katty's lamb was delicious as was my apple crumble served with ice cream.  Once again I went to bed very late, at past 1 in the morning. It had been a great day and a great cousinade and today promises to be fun too. We shall be playing molky and croquet and as I write Katty has already begun cooking tonight's diner. Hopefully I shall get my walk in and then I will help her in my role as chief skivvy hahaha.

So my friends, that's it for this week. I hope you have enjoyed this week's post. Till next Sunday I send you my greetings and warm wished from this lovely part of France.

Cheers Masha

Olivia in Florida, Suzy continues her adventures in Bali, our time in Santa Pola, the World Cup continues to surprise, home again and other stories.

Sunday 1st July 2018

Happpy with my beloved Pippa in my arms on the cliffs of the Cape of Santa Pola this week

Good morning everyone.

Today is 1st July and summer is with us. We have had our first taste of part of our summer holidays this week in Santa Pola where we went to relax and recharge our batteries. We had a peaceful and quiet time as you will read.

Last Sunday, Pippa was better after her bout of diarrhea and sickness thanks to our visit to the vet on Saturday night. So we were able to leave her at home while we went to the beach from 10 to 12 in the morning which is what we did most days, mostly to avoid the crowds but also the heat. We are not people who like sitting in the sun and getting burnt; something I did as a teenager a bit like the British tourists still do today. I saw many of them with red and white marks that day on the beach. I did, however, make Eladio take off his t-shirt on our walk to get rid of the white part of his body. He gets very brown but only in the places where he shows his skin hahaha. 

Eladio on the beach last Sunday

We came home to do something very British, i.e. make fish and chips for lunch, although  I didn't batter the fish. Just before sitting down for our meal, Suzy rang from Bali. She seems so happy and that makes me happy of course. She has made some new friends, a group of Germans and a young girl, Lisa, from Dusseldorf was her new best buddy. Here is a photo of the two of them together on a beach in Bali, much more exotic than ours of course.

Suzy with her new German friend, Lisa, on a beach in Bali

We stayed in the flat for the rest of the day, sleeping a short siesta, in my case, then reading on the terrace. That night we watched 50 shades of Grey on the TV and I was a bit embarrassed watching it with my husband. He admitted that it had its morbid fascination which it does of course hahaha. 

That night, England thrashed Panama 6-1 which should have spurred them on to do well against Belgium, their big rival in the group, on Monday but that wouldn't happen. It's funny but the group games have been tough for the big teams. 

On Monday I was up early as usual and after Pippa had her breakfast I took her down to the garden. That made me realise how difficult it must be to have a dog if you live in a flat. At home I don't have to worry about taking the dogs out. 

Pippa was better on Monday

She wasn't completely over the hill yet so that morning we took her to a local vet who gave her more injections and told us to continue her diet, a tin of special food for gastroenteritis which she loved. We then went to Mercadona to get more provisions for our stay, including these amazing thick black cherries, my favourite summer fruit.

Thick black cherries, the best fruit of the summer in my mind 

Oli, meanwhile, continued shooting in Florida for her TV programme, "Madrileños por el Mundo". That day saw her on a canoe in a river full of alligators. She was scared stiff and understandably so as they were completely surrounded by those horrible reptiles so native to Florida. 

Oli canoeing in Florida, surrounded by alligators

My youngest daughter also told me that the canoe nearly capsized and that she had been terrified but did the shooting of the alligators for the programme; as if it was obligatory. Frankly I would have refused hahaha.  Miguel, her boyfriend, thought it was  a great experience, I thought it was an awful one. Oli enjoyed her time in Florida, her first in the USA but later told me there was no way she would want to live there for many reasons; the amount of obese people, the lack of availability of healthy food, the nearly impossible ability to walk the streets  - they had to go everywhere by car as well as other things. I totally agree with her. I love the US to visit but I would not want to live their either. My main objection is the semi totalitarian "nanny state" with warnings everywhere not to do this or that. I hate living in a controlled society. Even the UK is controlled similarly and one of the reasons I love living in Spain is the lack of "surgeon general" type warnings. On the plus side she enjoyed shopping on the last day when she was able to buy trainers at half the price to here. She and Miguel have an incredible collection of trainers. Her relationship to trainers is a bit like Imelda Marcos' relationship with shoes hahaha. But, Oli and Miguel, of course use theirs to do a lot of sport which is far healthier. 

Back to Spain and to our stay in Santa Pola. As we hadn't been on our walk on the beach that morning, in the afternoon at around 5 we went for a walk to the cliffs at the Cape of Santa Pola and took Pippa with us. It was her only walk during our stay as dogs are not allowed on the beach. Spain is such an unfriendly place for our canine friends and it's not fair.  I loved the walk but it was so oh hot as we set off early, in order to be back on time to see Spain play their last match of their group against Morocco. It would decide if they went through as 1st or 2nd in the group.

The photo illustrating this week's post is of me in my summer blue jump suit which I wear so often and with Pippa in my arms on top of the cliffs across the way from the little island of Tabarca which we would visit on Wednesday. 

I came home sweating and had to have another shower. Once refreshed it was time to watch the match and like most people who watch football in company, out came the drinks (shandy) and the crisps -  healthy ones made of lentils and peas from Lidl which are delicious. Eladio sat glued to the TV but I was too nervous to watch and when Morocco scored an early goal, I got up and started making dinner. Soon though Spain scored an equaliser. Really Spain should have been able to thrash Morocco but the North African team made it difficult for them as did Iran. The other 2 teams from the group, Portugal and Iran were playing at the same time and unbelievably the Iranians gave Cristiano Ronaldo's team a hard time too. He must have hated himself when he missed a penalty. In the end Spain drew 1-1 with Morocco and Iran beat Portugal 1-0. That meant Spain went through as head of the group and Portugal 2nd. Spain now meets the host country Russia today in Moscow and Portugal meets Uruguay, perhaps the team that is playing best at this very strange World Cup this year. But it was all so tense I could not watch the match so opted to read on the terrace while Eladio bit his nails never lifting his eyes from the screen. 

Afterwards we were able to "relax" watching episode 5 of a suspense film about human trafficking set in Santander, "La Verdad".  We are watching it on Amazon Prime and I could kill them as they only make one episode a week available when we like to binge watch. 

On Tuesday I woke up to find another Airbnb booking.  A guy from Santander, Guillermo who is the CEO of his own company, one that prints in 3D, was coming that very day. We already had two other guests coming from France that day. But the rooms were ready and of course Lucy would be there to receive them all. Thank God for Lucy is all I can say. 

We were down on the beach by 10 am and back up at the apartment by 12. We had lunch of leftovers and stayed in the flat the rest of the day. I did, however, take Pippa down to the garden a few times and even got her to run with me. The vet said she needed exercise and so that's what she got hahaha. 

We had more news from Suzy that day. She had done something very exciting in Bali with her new German friend, Lisa. That night they got up at 3 in the morning and trekked up a mountain at the summit of which there is a volcano, thankfully one that is not erupting. The idea was to see the legendary sunrise from Mount Batur (1700m). Suzy was ecstatic about the experience and I can't blame her as I later googled sunrise on Mount Batur and from what I learned, it must be a very special thing to do. They had breakfast at the top. If we go out to visit Suzy in Bali, I know we shall also trek up the Mountain to enjoy the sunrise. And here is Suzy in her hoodie at the top of Mount Batur.

Suzy contemplating the sunrise from Mount Batur in Bali this week

On Tuesday evening we left the flat to go out to dinner, to our favourite restaurant in the area, Maria Picola. Mariano Rajoy's favourite is the more traditional Batiste by the port of Santa Pola. We like it too but prefer Maria Picola. For us it's a tradition to go for dinner to this restaurant and we nearly always go  when we come to stay in our flat. There is something magical about it. It's in the middle of nowhere, in between Santa Pola and Elche but has the most stunning terrace where you find yourself surrounded by beautiful flowers, trees and lots of greenery, not to mention the small waterfall on the walls of the terrace refreshing the eating area on a hot night. And here I am just as we arrived.

Arriving at our favourite restaurant Maria Picola

We were the first guests as we had booked a table for 8.30. Most Spaniards go out from 9 to 9.30 onwards but we are always early birds. We ordered a bottle of Terras Gauda, a wine from the Albariño wine growing area in Galicia, the same wine the King and Queen of Spain served at their wedding by the way. And here is Eladio at our table holding out his glass of white wine. 

Eladio at Maria Picola this week in Santa Pola

As we sat down to our delicious meal, we both reflected on just how lucky we are in life. So, in a way, our dinner that night was to celebrate life. We are so lucky on all counts; maybe that's partly to do with how hard working we are but mostly its because of where we have been born and thanks to our parents who gave us our education. We compared ourselves that night to the migrants who risk everything to come to Europe or those families who cannot afford their mortgage or even one holiday a year. Indeed we had lots to celebrate that night. 

The meal was amazing. I chose foie gras for starters, not a healthy option but it was just delicious. It came served with fresh figs which is an idea I shall be copying.

Foie at Maria Picola was divine. 

We had a full 3 course dinner and came home happy but with very full stomachs. We were home on time to see Argentina beat Nigeria and who, after their initial struggles, went  through to the Last 16. 

But the news this week hasn't only been about football. In Spain the main news has come from the first moves made by our new socialist Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez. He is making big social strides, equaling maternity leave for Fathers obligatory - 16 weeks, which is actually a pittance compared to Nordic countries. But it's a move in the right direction. His other big move is to bring in a law to allow euthanasia and a more controversial one of letting the ETA terrorists imprisoned in Madrid be moved to jails in the Basque Country near their families. The associations of victims of terrorism are up in arms about that. He has also made a move to bring the Catalan Separatists imprisoned in Madrid to be transferred to jails in Catalonia. Let's see just how far all this goes.  The big news on the international front is the agreement reached by the EU on how to solve the migrant issue. It's not set in stone yet but seems like migrants will be grouped together somewhere and sorted as to who can get asylum and who will be deported. 

Wednesday was our last full day in Santa Pola and I decided it was time to do something different. I gave Eladio the choice of a day on the "German beach" (playa de poniente) in Benidorm where we fell in love, or a day at Algar near Callosa where my parents bought a house in the early 70's and saw the beginnings of my life in Spain or last, a day on the island of Tabarca off the shore of Santa Pola. Eladio chose the nearest destination so Tabarca it was. Before leaving, I made a table booking at the apparently best eatery on the island, "Casa Gloria" in the inhabited part of the island. We had been there in the spring and loved it. 

We caught the 12 o'clock boat - a catamaran - with Pippa and the journey would take us just 25 minutes. And here are Eladio and Pippa on board looking forward to the day.

Eladio and Pippa on board the boat to Tabarca

I enjoyed the journey and so did my fellow passengers, especially the lady below whose skirt kept flying up in the wind. I was amazed to see she had no underwear on and just had to take the picture. Even Eladio found it funny hahaha.

The lady bearing a bare bottom on the boat to Tabarca

Soon the pretty island was looming and we would disembark. 

Approaching the island of Tabarca

Most people were heading for the main beach which is not particularly my type of beach. Instead, we went for a walk around the island. It was a very warm day but thankfully there was some wind  which made for a pleasant walk. We went past the old jail and the cemetery towards the end of the uninhabited part of the island and reached  a huge rock with a large cross which is very imposing.

At the end of the island

From the rock we headed back towards the inhabited part of the island along the sea front enjoying great views. 

Just one of the lovely views on our walk around the island

We must have walked for just over an hour until we reached the "pueblo" (village). Here we stopped at a small shady park and bought a bottle of water for the three of us. We had nothing for Pippa to drink the water from, so in true "Montrondo" style, Eladio cupped his hands for me to pour water in for Pippa or Pips as we sometimes call her. She lapped it up until her thirst was quenched. 

Soon it was time for lunch; I had booked a table for 2pm and it was just a few hundred metres to the restaurant which is by the sea. Our table was on the outside terrace and we sat at a corner so that Pippa wouldn't bother anyone. Dogs are not allowed in restaurants in Spain but sometimes this is overlooked on terraces. And here I am happily sitting down and about to order.

At Casa Gloria in Tabarca

We ordered "arroz señoret" a sort of paella but with all the sea fish shelled. For starters Eladio asked for sardines which he loves but I never make at home because of the smell they cause. And here he is showing me his plate of sardines which Pippa helped him to finish.

Eladio with his sardines at Casas Gloria in Tabarca

I skipped on a starter but naughtily ate the bread with ali oli mayonnaise and tomato sauce which is so typical in this area. Our rice dish came soon and tasted just as good as it looked. But there was no way we could finish the whole dish.

Arroz señoret at Casa Gloria

After our meal and with time on our hands  - the boat going back wasn't leaving until 16.15, we ambled into the quiet and sunny main square and headed for the ice cream parlour we had been to on our last trip. We were served by a delightful waitress, Patricia. Coincidentally she is a student of philosophy at the UNED University where Eladio taught philosophy for years. She was overawed when I told her my husband was a retired Philosophy professor and they had lots to talk about. Patricia works at the ice cream parlour to pay for her studies and has to come every day from Elche to this remote island. I was impressed with her and gave her Eladio's email if she had any problems in any subjects, particularly "logic" which she said she found difficult.  I think we would have spent more time talking to her if she hadn't had to serve other customers and we didn't have to catch our boat.

The journey back was short and quick with no appearance of the lady with the bare bottom and soon we were on land again and boy was it hot, especially our car. We drove straight home and once inside the apartment I dived for the shower.  

At about the same time, two of the Group F matches were being played between Sweden and Mexico and Germany and South Korea. I could hear the roars and cheers of local Swedes - many Scandinavian retirees live in these parts - coming from a bar who were celebrating Sweden's 3-0 victory over Mexico. Both teams got through to the last 16, Sweden taking first position. That was a bit of a surprise but the even bigger surprise came when South Korea beat the holders of the World Cup 2-0 and Germany ended up bottom of their group. I think it's the first time in history they haven't made it past the group stage. Apparently it was a major tragedy back home. If you think about it though, it's just a game although German fans will not agree. 

Germany have won the World Cup 4 times so this will have been a huge disappointment. Always interested in statistics of certain subjects, I read that only 8 countries have won the World Cup. These are them: Brazil 5 times, Germany and Italy 4 times, Argentina and Uruguay twice and England, France and Spain once. So the stakes are big this year now that Germany is out.  Later Brazil beat Serbia and then little Switzerland beat Costa Rica and they are both through to the last 16 too. 

Thursday came and we would be leaving after packing, cleaning and a quick visit to the local market which comes on Thursday mornings to Gran Alacant. I love buying fruit there. However on my agenda that morning was getting some new summer shorts for Eladio as the zips of two white pairs were broken and these days it costs more to mend a zip than buy a pair of trousers. If I knew how to mend zips it would be a different story but I don't. Eladio hates buying clothes or rather hates trying them on so mostly I buy them for him and it's pot luck with size. On Thursday morning he had no choice but to go behind the curtains at one of the stalls to try on some new shorts, a pair in white and in denim. I got him to pose and I hope he doesn't mind me publishing the photo here hahaha. I love it. 

Eladio trying on shorts at the market in Gran Alacant on Thursday morning

The shorts were a success and after paying we moved on, Eladio wearing the new denim ones mostly because he could't be bothered to change into his other ones haha. From the clothes stalls we moved to the fruit and vegetable stalls where we bought lots of summer fruit. to take home. Here is Eladio showing me the flat peaches he was buying.

Eladio buying fruit at the market on Thursday

We packed the fruit and veg in the boot of the car and went back to the flat to hang out the washing which we always leave to dry until we come back. However, the washing machine was misbehaving and delayed our departure until 12 pm. 

It's a 4 hour drive to Madrid if you don't stop but we always stop for lunch. This time our choice  was the Parador in Albacete. Here again the waiters let us have Pippa at our side on a terrace table at the cafeteria where we opted to eat, rather than the fancier indoor dining room. However the choice of food at the former is more limited. We both ended up ordering a hamburger, not the healthiest choice but it was delicious. I shared part of mine with Pippa who agreed it was tasty.

Our hamburgers at the Parador in Albacete

Soon we were on the road again and arrived home at around 5 o'clock. We came home to a leak in the irrigation system in the garden. Lucy had switched off the water in the garden so as not to lose too much water but she hadn't told us. If she had we would either have come back to fix it or called a plumbing gardener. It meant that everything had gone dry, including all the lovely flowers we had planted in the spring. Eladio was gutted and set to work mending the leak. He soon mended it and ever since he has been watering and tending to the garden and it's looking a lot better. My contribution was dead  heading the roses nearly all of which were either dead or dry. Thankfully since then more have grown. 

I got to meet our Franco Spanish guests who had checked in on Tuesday; Daniel and his 18 year old daughter who is coming to study physiotherapy at the UEM University nearby. They had come to find accommodation for her and found it very near us. I was a bit worried to hear Elsa our lab had gone in the pool with Daniel; something she never normally does and Lucy had to lock her in the kitchen. I apologised to my guest and didn't know where to look when he showed me the scratch on his arm done by Elsa. Oh dear, let's hope he still gives me a good review as he has promised to come back and stay with us when he visits his daughter. I didn't get to meet our other guest, Guillermo, an entrepeneur who prints stuff in 3D from Santander, until he was leaving the next morning.

After unpacking I had a quick swim in our pool after which we had a light dinner and went to bed early. It was hotter in Madrid than in Alicante and as our room had been closed the temperature there was 32c. Thank God for air conditioning.  As we got into bed we heard from Olivia that she was flying from Tampa to Atlanta but that there was a storm in Georgia which meant they had to delay landing and may have missed their connection to Madrid. In the end they caught the flight by 5 minutes although their luggage didn't make it. Hopefully it will arrive at her flat today. 

The last of the group matches were played on Thursday. England played Belgium and lost 0-1 but still went through to the Last 16 where they will play Colombia who beat Senegal. And this is the order of play after the group matches; some of which have already been played.

Order of play for the Last 16 matches

Friday came and it was nice to wake up in my own bed which is far more comfortable than the one in Santa Pola. After breakfast and reading the headlines we went for an early morning walk as even at 9 it was already hot. When I came home I finally met Guillermo who was about to leave for Santander. I offered him a coffee and we ended up chatting for at least an hour. He was a lovely guest and I look forward to him coming again. He said he would as he has business nearby. Our other guests, Daniel and his daughter left at around 12 and there was just 2 hours until our next guests were arriving; a group of 6 21 year old's from Madrid who I was dreading. 

But I had nothing to dread. When I met them I loved them and they have been beautifully behaved, swimming, cooking, playing table tennis, etc. In fact I spent a couple of hours on Friday afternoon chatting to two of the girls, Laura who is a journalist and has just published a book of beautiful poetry and Beatriz who is studying pharmacy. She mentioned her mother was a judge (impressed) so I asked her what her mother thought about the infamous "manada" (wolf pack) multiple rape case in Spain where the culprits have been sentenced for sexual abuse but not rape. Beatriz told me her mother says it's not the fault of the judges but of the law. Ah, so the law needs changing. That's another subject for Pedro Sánchez to work on. 

As our house was full, Olivia had invited us to dinner at her flat. It was great to see her again after a 2 week absence. As a surprise I took Pippa with us for her. I also took along a basket of fruit and veg from the Santa Pola market and some flowers from the garden; hydrangeas. It was lovely to see my beautiful jet lagged daughter who kept complaining about the heat. I asked her if it was just as hot in Florida and she said it was hotter there, unbearably so and more humid. She was happy to be home. Miguel had made a great dinner, calamares, prawns in garlic and Galician style ham as well as home made gazpacho. We took along the wine,  a bottle of Protos (Ribera del Duero) and I am still suffering from a small headache because of it. We stayed until about 10.30 when we were all tired, especially Olivia, and will see them again soon as they are coming for lunch today. 

We came home to find our group of young guests clearing up after making their dinner. They later stayed on the swimming pool terrace until past 2 in the morning. They were very discreet however and I didn't hear any noise, although Eladio went down in the middle of he night to do his nightly check up of the house.  

Yesterday I woke up to a full but silent house. I was up at 5.55 and beat Lucy to the kitchen. Thus I fed the dogs that morning. Suzy brightened up my morning with a video of herself singing karaoke in the Gili Islands, or at least I think that is where she was singing. The song is called Turn me On and is sung by Norah Jones. You can listen to Suzy singing it here. She told us in a voice message later that the Gili islands were breathtaking. I bet they are. 

Saturday panned out quietly. It was slightly cooler and had even rained on Friday, but just a bit. After our walk with the dogs I went out on a few errands and then came home for a light lunch with my Father and Eladio. There was no siesta for my husband yesterday who preferred to watch France play Argentina in the Last 16. He told me it was exciting. Well it must have been as the French beat the Argentinians 4-3, so close. France was the first country to go through to the Quarter Finals.  I was surprised none of the goals came from Messi. Not getting through to the Quarter Finals will be another national tragedy for Argentina, especially for Maradonna who has made headlines for his eccentric antics at the matches.  It was Messi's rival, Cristiano Ronaldo's turn later yesterday when Portugal played Uruguay, a hard nut to crack. They lost 0-1 and Uruguay who played splendidly go through to the Quarter finals.

Eladio watched both matches and I made dinner for him which we ate while watching Portugal lose. Now both best players in the world and the best club, Germany, are out of the best football championship. Which team do you think will win the World Cup? I would love it to be Spain but I don't think it will be. Their match today with Russia will be the big test. If they lose, they will pack their bags and go home and my only hope after that will be for England. It's nice to be able to support two countries.

Our young guests spent the day more or less partying but behaved generally quite well. Perhaps the worst moment was going into the kitchen late that evening to find it invaded and music blasting. Well they will be gone today and tonight the famous Saudi Arabian family will be arriving. What a difference in type of guests.

Today is Sunday, the last day of my chronicles and it will be busy, with guests leaving and more coming. We shall go for our walk and then I will make lunch for the family where we will be joined by Miguel and Oli. At 4 pm we shall all be glued to the TV, my Father included, to watch Spain play Russia in Moscow under the eyes of Vladimir Putin. 

Next week I shall be writing from France where I am going on Thursday for the annual "cousinade" (cousin meeting) where I shall see practically all the cousins I have on my Mother's side, all of Russian origin of course. I am looking forward to that.

No doubt you will hear all about it in next week's post.

So, my friends, I shall sign off now to get on with the day.

All is well, hope it is with you too. Cheers Masha