Another quiet week by the coast, and the Oscar goes to "The Elephant Whisperers", a trip to Benidorm where it all began, three years since the first Covid lockdown, two brothers in Santa Pola, lunch in Calpe, home again and other stories of the week.

Home again, Madrid, Sunday 19th March 2023

Back to the scene of the crime - at the bar in Benidorm where we fell in love in the summer of 1980. 

Good morning again friends and readers. How are you doing? We are now back from Santa Pola feeling rejuvenated from our time in the sun; as if we have come out of hibernation. In a way we have.

Last Sunday saw us down at the beach again. On our way we went to a cheap Chinese shop to buy a new parasol and a beach chair. One of our Airbnb or Booking guests had broken the former and the fourth chair was mysteriously missing like so many objects in the flat, such as a cork screw. I honestly don't get why people want to pinch every day objects. Chinese shops are popular in Spain where you can buy literally anything under the sun, including beach furniture. This time we got a blue and white striped parasol which is larger than the one we had which, as I told you last week, was 24 years old, the time we have had the apartment. 

It was sunny on the beach but not overcrowded. The weather was extraordinary for the beginning of March and once again I went into the sea. Eladio could not be persuaded. He preferred to sit in the shade under the new parasol. Here he is saying hi from our spot on the Playa de Carabasi last Sunday. Life felt good. Life has its ups and downs and I do love the ups.

Eladio saying hi from our spot on the beach last Sunday

As it's still not high season, there were no beach bars to get a coffee so we walked up the wooden path to the main road where there was one very full bar. We got a great coffee and some free biscuits but there was no chair or table to be had. Thus we drank our coffee on a bench overlooking the sea. That was fine for us. We returned to the beach where I went into the water again and read for a while. I didn't feel like another long walk as the day before we had walked over 15000 steps and one of my feet ached - probably because I walked on a slope in the sand.

We stayed until nearly 2 pm which is when we made our way home. We are not ones for spending the whole day on the beach. We had got quite a sun tan and thankfully that day I had applied sun cream.  Lunch was simple: gazpacho, steak and runner beans washed down with a small glass of red wine and followed by fruit salad.

Our afternoons at the flat were very lazy. We spent the time sleeping, reading, writing or watching content on our PCs and in my case, my iPad. That afternoon I was looking forward to a Skype call with my dear Uni friends Sandra in Brussels and Adele in Brittany. I wish they could have been with us in Santa Pola. If they had, my afternoons would have been more lively, hahahaha. 

Sunday night was the night of the Oscars. Many, many moons ago, I often watched the late night ceremony from the sofa of our TV lounge in Bradford. These days I can't be bothered. I love films but of a specific kind and I don't think there were any in my limited category nominated for an award that night. In any case, these days I do not stay up late. That is a thing of my teenage past. Some strange sounding film called "Everything everywhere all at once" was the overall winner and I won't be watching it at a cinema or anywhere. The  only film that grabbed my interest was a short documentary made in India  called The Elephant Whisperers about how a tribal couple in South India adopt an orphaned baby elephant. Raghu and later Ammu are adopted by Bomman and Bellie. To this couple who live in an elephant camp in Tamil Nadu's Mudumalia Tiger reserve, these baby elephants become like their own children to them. Marvelous story. 

Bomman and Bellie with Raghu their adopted elephant calf. 

It is on Netflix and I watched it that afternoon and loved it. For someone like me who loves animals any positive story about  about human and animal interaction always fascinates me. I read somewhere this week that gorillas have been taught sign language and that also fascinated me. The Indian film which won the  best documentary short film, is the first ever to win an Oscar.   India went ecstatic and so it should.

Monday dawned and it was another marvelously sunny day. We both decided we wanted to go a bit further afield, do something different and have lunch out. We know the region backwards from coming here for so many years. It's funny but we both had the same idea, go to Benidorm  - about 48km from our place. Benidorm is where it all began for us. It is of course the super tacky mecca of Spanish tourism but it has its saving graces; mainly the weather. It is also where I would go with my parents and family to the beach all the way by bus from Callosa or in my Aunty Masha' battered old car. The summer of 1980 was when I met Eladio. I won't go into how we met - it's such a long story, but we ended up falling in love in this area and our love was consumed on a beach in Benidorm. We could have never have known at the time that we would marry, Eladio would leave the church, I would leave England, we would have a family, live in Madrid and even buy a holiday apartment in the area. How could we have? Our first "date" was to the rather nicer beach, the Playa de Poniente outside  the centre of Benidorm. After that we went a lot. We would always eat or drink coffee at a run of the mill bar called Vimi which we have been back to countless times. On Monday we went back to find again it only to hear it had closed but the good news was it had been taken over by Aruba Gastrobar and was in the same place; so, good enough for us. We both definitely felt very emotional being there again and told the waitress who loved our story. She is the one who took this week's feature photo. 

We took our own photos too which you can see below. To think we were returning to the scene of the crime after nearly 43 years. We wouldn't have imagined that either.

The Vimi bar now called Aruba Gastro Lounge

In those heady days when we fell in love we would spend the day on the beach opposite, the lovely Poniente Beach which is far less full than the Levante Beach in the centre of Benidorm. It's probably because there are fewer hotels at the former and more apartment blocks. In any case, it was wonderful to be back. Ah, and before I forget, here are a couple of photos of the beach that Monday in March. No wonder Benidorm is the capital of Spanish tourism; if only so much of it wasn't so tacky.

The Poniente beach in Benidorm as seen last Monday

Instead of sitting on the beach which was a temptation, we decided we would walk all along the Poniente Beach and into the beginning of the centre of town; about 4km I reckon. There is now a new promenade much fancier than the one that existed when we first met. It was mostly retired people like us walking on it as well as quite a few Brits and Nordic people on holiday. They were lucky with the weather. I couldn't believe how many mobility scooters I saw which are not a common sight in Spain; only in Benidorm hahahaha.

We got as far as the end of the beach and had a rest sitting on a bench - like true pensioners, hahahaha. Well, I deviated actually when I walked into a boutique. I came out wearing a new green short sleeved t-shirt and carrying two more t-shirts in a bag. It was a long walk back but there was a prize at the end - lunch and not only any lunch. We had both decided we wanted to eat paella. After all paella is from this part of the country. Strictly speaking paella is from Valencia and Arroz a banda, its "cousin", is from Alicante. We spied quite an upmarket looking restaurant called El Barranco and had a very decent meal. The paella with seafood was excellent; so much so we nearly finished it. This was it before we dug in.

The sea food paella we had in Benidorm on Monday, where it all began. 

We could have spent time on the beach afterwards but we like our quiet time/siestas after lunch so drove back. We stopped at the local Lidl to get some more wine for our evenings there and more provisions for when Eladio's brother and wife came on Wednesday. I have to confess I could not resist buying chocolates, biscuits and ice cream too. I think Lidl has an excellent selection. The excuse was they were for our guests but the main indulger would be myself. Must go back on my diet now that I am home.

We were not hungry for dinner but I did have one of Lidl's marvelous mini chocolate and almond ice creams. I slept well that night after another wonderful day in the sun.

Tuesday came and we could tell the weather had changed a bit and the temperature had gone down. There was lots of wind. Even so, we got ready to go down to the beach. We got as far as the car and came home deciding it was not warm enough for a swim. Funnily enough it got warmer later. We did leave the house though to go for a long walk as far as the lighthouse, one of our favourite walks there. It's an hour there and back, so just under 10.000 steps. I love that spot on the cliffs from where you can see the small island of Tabarca where about 10 people still live. Not sure if you can see it in this photo I took.

The view from the cliff tops near the light house on our walk on Tuesday morning

As we walked back we spoke about our beginnings at Gran Alacant and how the whole area has changed so much since we bought our apartment in 1999 - 24 years ago. Wow! So many more have been built since and so many shops and restaurants have opened. Some people now live here permanently. It's not a bad place to live, especially because of the good weather.  Talking of our modest little apartment, here is Eladio in front of it. Our is the one with the green blur on it. It's tiny but spacious at the same time and it's best feature is the open terrace overlooking a Mediterranean garden and the communal swimming pool. Unfortunately one of the trees has grown so much we can no longer see the sea. I have written twice now to the people who maintain this place and I really hope it gets trimmed soon so that we can get our sea view back, please ...... 

Eladio in the garden in front of our apartment

I made comfort food for lunch; spaghetti carbonara which I love. The highlight of the afternoon was the weekly Skype call with my dearest and oldest friend, Amanda. That day was her wedding anniversary. She and Andy met when we were teenagers. He was at BGS and she, like me, was at SJC in Bradford. Their first kiss was in our house at 6 Heaton Grove at one of my parties which both my mother and I witnessed. They didn't marry for silly reasons but later in life met again and their love took off from there and has never been stronger. We went to their wedding in 2005 with my dear father, so this year it is their 18th anniversary. This year will be our 40th. Talking to Eladio the other day we commented on how I think I am the only one of my group of girlfriends who is still married to her first husband. Funny but true. These days, at least in Spain, it seems marriage is rather out of fashion. Olivia and Miguel are in no rush to marry and they already have two kids. They are not the only ones in their generation; it is quite the norm. Call me old fashioned but marriage for me is everything but then I was lucky and married the right guy. I suppose he thinks likewise about me. I know he does, bless him. 

Wednesday  15th March, was the third anniversary of the first lockdown in Spain because of Covid. In many other countries the first lockdown occurred too in March. We shall never forget. I think what we lived through is the worst thing that happened in our lives on a global scale on a par, in a way, with WW2. Lives were not lost fighting but to an unknown and very contagious virus which the Americans now believe came out of a lab in China by accident. Some people think Covid was invented, didn't exist or if it did exist it was planned to cull old people off. These, for me, are conspiracy theories not worth dwelling on. Facebook reminded me that morning of our first day in lockdown. While we were at home, my son-in-law, Miguel was working as he is a cameraman for TVE and press continued to work of course. He was kitted out as if he were to land on the moon or similar. This photo sums up the fear we all had of the virus.

Miguel. my son-in-law, working on the first day of lockdown in Spain, 15th March 2020, a day we shall never forget. He told me later that day he was filming from Benidorm which would have been deserted. 

We cannot forget either how many people were infected or died of Coronavirus; 680 million people in the world. Of those over 6.8 million died. In Spain alone there were 13 million cases and 119.000 deaths. These are chilling figures. 

But Wednesday was a special day  for us in a much more positive way, as Eladio's brother José Antonio and his wife Dolores were coming to join us. For those of you who don't know, it was Dolores who brought us together. They were with me in Callosa in the summer of 1980 when Eladio joined us there. It was thanks to them I met him. The rest, as they say, is history. So it would be 4 pensioners at our apartment, not just 2 hahahaha.

We went to pick them up from the train station in Alicante. Going there always reminds me of the first time I got off the train there having travelled all the way from England. It was the early or mid 70's and I didn't know a word of Spanish. I remember walking out into the hot sun carrying my huge suitcase with no wheels and trying to make my way to the bus station to take the bus first to Benidorm and then on to Callosa. What an adventure. I was stunned by the scenery, the rocky mountains, the sea but above all the orange and lemon trees which I still find exotic today, not to mention the palm trees. 

They came on the Ave, the high speed train which takes just 2h from Madrid, a long cry from what travelling by train was like in Spain in the 70's. Everything was dusty, dirty, hot and smelly, a bit like a third world country but I loved it. I found it all so exotic. Spain has progressed enormously since then and is on a par with France which I always found cleaner in those days. There is no difference today. It was good to greet "Toño" and Dolores, both retired teachers, like Eladio. Toño taught philosophy and Dolores was an English teacher. We drove them back to our modest apartment and I think they felt at home. The last time they had been here was in 2016. How time flies.

We treated them to an aperitif with prosecco which I bought for a few euros at Lidl - delicious - and some nuts before we sat down to a home made lunch. 

After the men had their siesta - a short one - we left the house and drove to Santa Pola where we parked by the port. From there we walked to the square by the castle and sat and had coffee and cakes at the lovely patisserie there. 

Eladio and his brother Toño in Santa Pola on Wednesday afternoon

Toño and Dolores had once been on holiday in Santa Pola in 1981 and remembered the castle which they wanted to visit. So we did and it was more or less our first time. It is a 16th  castle which was built to keep away the pirates from the nearby island of Tabarca. Initially the town of Santa Pola or village was contained by this enormous castle. Santa Pola, before tourism, made its money from fishing which it still does and at the castle there was a museum about the sea and its significance for the townspeople there. I honestly thought it would be boring but it was wonderful, a bit like the Castle Museum in York but all about the sea and fishing in older times. We loved it. 

Some photos of the sea museum inside the castle at Santa Pola

And here are the two brothers outside the museum, happy with our visit.

2 brothers in Santa Pola - here by the museum in the castle at Santa Pola

It was still light and warm enough for a short walk on the promenade. Santa Pola has vast sized beaches but is nowhere near as crowded as places such as Marbella, Benidorm or Torremolinos. It's more a family type seaside location with hardly any hotels. 

We drove back on the old coastal road and I pointed out all the caravans to Toño and Dolores, full, I think of "energy tourists". I have never seen so many there.

We came home to have another aperitif and then a cold dinner - tuna fish salad - which I think looked spectacular.

Tuna fish salad for dinner

One of the reasons I was happy to have Dolores with me is that she also likes playing ludo - you know I love it - so we played on my huge double board until late. It was a really great day and Thursday would be too. 

I love Thursdays in Gran Alacant as it is market day. Dolores loves markets too, not so much the men I think. We both bought white summer trousers and nice tops and then went to explore the fruit and veg stands. Oranges are what we like to buy here as they are grown in the area. I especially like the big juicy ones which come straight from the trees with no polish on them. We got about 15 kgs between us for less than a euro per kilo. I also got huge mandarins which you just don't see in Mercadona for instance. Just look at these two!

Huge juicy mandarins straight from the tree - bought at the local market on Thursday

Next on the agenda was the charity shop down the road. While the men went to the "hole in the wall", we bought second hand clothes, mostly t-shirts and shorts at 50 cents per garment!!! From the charity shop we drove down to the beach near Arenales and before heading for the sea, had a coffee together at the only bar on the promenade, Milla, I think it is called. This by the way is the beautiful palm tree lined promenade which was built not so long ago. 

The promenade in Arenales del Sol

Coffee in the sun by the sea in March was most civilised. Being a pensioner has a lot going for it, that is if you are still relatively young. 

Coffee in Arenales del Sol

I was looking forward to more time on the beach but first for a photo of the lovely view from the promenade. I never tire of it. Notice the new green t-shirt I bought last week in Benidorm?

Happy to be by the sea with Eladio, Toño and Dolores

From the cafe we walked down to the beach and placed our chairs in the usual spot. There weren't many people being the middle of the week in March. This beach never gets too full, thankfully. And here are the two brothers again, this time on the beach. But they didn't go in the water; only I did; the mad English woman, hahaha.

The two brothers on the beach

They didn't swim but they did walk. We took them on our walk to the end of the beach, one of my favourite spots, where we sat on the rock where Eladio lost his phone last time we were there. Thankfully we got it back. 

Soon it was time for lunch. We had all agreed we wanted to have a rice dish. So we headed to Restaurante El Batiste, the best place in Santa Pola. It's rather traditional and a bit old hat, but serves good quality food. You might be interested to know that this restaurant was frequented a lot by Spain's former PM, Mariano Rajoy who went back to his job as property registrar in Santa Pola when he was ousted from government. 

And this my friends was the "arroz a la marinera" and "arroz a banda" we had between the four of us and wow was it delicious. 

Our paella like rice dishes at Batiste on Thursday for lunch

By the time we had finished our lunch we were all tired and ready to go back to the apartment for a good rest. More than anything, I needed a shower after my swim in the sea.

The rest of the day was spent quietly "at home" and come dinner time we were not really hungry so mostly ate some of the delicious fruit from the market.

Friday was our last full day in Santa Pola. The day was ours for taking and we could decide to go anywhere. That is the luck of retirees, like us. Dolores wanted to revisit the charity shop again which we did together. I mean, at 50 euro cents a garment, you cannot look a gift horse in the mouth. This is the shop by the way where no doubt I shall be going back to. I promised the kind English ladies who run it that I would bring them some of our old clothes next time to contribute to their charity which is rescuing animals. I like that. 

The charity shop in Gran Alacant where you can get second hand garments at 50 euro cents a piece. 

On our way back we popped into Quicksave, the small British corner shop across the road from our apartment. I picked up my pre ordered Easter eggs, indulged in 2 small cream eggs and also got a big pack of Imperial Leather soap - love it. 

Once back in the apartment, our men were ready and both dressed with clothes from the charity shop hahahha. We had two proposals for that day; a day out around Callosa (where my parents used to have a house in the 70's) including lunch at Algar or lunch in Calpe, the pretty seaside town further north of Benidorm. Eladio voted for Calpe so off we went. In the local Valencian dialect it is called Calpe as Alicante is called Alacant. The Valencianos don't seem to like an e at the end of words hahahah.

The route is very familiar to me from all my summers here as a teenager and afterwards of course. It is equally familiar to Eladio and we have been many times to the port in Calpe to indulge in seafood where there are lots of restaurants to choose from.

Calpe has a famous landmark called El Peñón de Ifach or the Rock of Ifach. So we headed to the beach by the port from where we took photos. I honestly don't think you can climb it as it looks like sheer rock and I do not like climbing.

In Calpe on Friday morning

 I far prefer a walk on the flat on a beach. It was not really beach weather that day as the temperature had gone down a bit. Even so, some people were tanning themselves as it was sunny. 

Eladio in his charity shop clothes by the beach in Calpe

That particular beach is not very large so we soon found ourselves meandering around the port in search of a restaurant we could all agree on. My companions wanted fried fish and I wanted seafood, what is known as a "mariscada" in Spain. And that's what we had at the modest but well run restaurant called El Carro I. What we liked is that you could see the food on offer on platters so you knew what you were ordering. 

The food on offer at the restaurant in Calpe on Friday

This was my seafood platter including lobster which is my favourite food in the world. I often tell you I am not really a fish fan but love seafood and on Friday I got my fill. 

The seafood platter I had all to myself for lunch in Calpe on Friday

On our way to Calpe we had passed the new Russian Orthodox church on the road from Altea to Calpe and decided to visit it on our way back.  We last visited it a few years ago and it really is a gem. It was built in 2002 and funded by local (mafia) oligarchs who brought in Russian experts to build it. I also read it is a copy of a typical 17th century wooden Russian church. I think it is spectacular. I heard on the grapevine that the domes and there are five, are all solid gold. This is it. 

The Russian Orthodox Church in Altea which we visited on Friday

For me it was very special to be there again. My mother's family were Orthodox and I was baptised in the Russian Orthodox church in Paris, not to mention my grandfather was a priest and two of my mother's sisters were nuns - a lot or religion in my family as you probably know. When I was last there I cried inside the church surrounded by icons, candles and the smell of incense, so typical of the Orthodox religion. And it happened again on Friday. As soon as I stepped in, kissed the main icon and lit my candle, I felt the presence of my mother, my Aunty Masha, my brother George and even my father. All I could do was cry and there was my darling husband to hold me while I did. It was a very emotional moment. I can hardly imagine what it will be like for me when I finally visit my grandfather's church or my Aunty Olga's convent in Bulgaria. 

From the church we drove home. I would have liked to stop for a coffee in the pretty town of Altea but I think our driver was a bit tired, bless him - again. I do so love him.

We were home an hour or so later and able to wind down, etc. I had a bit of guest work to deal with and then I was free to read on the terrace. 

And then it was Saturday and it was over. All good things come to an end and we had to go back, the man reason being that guests were arriving that evening. I hope they enjoy themselves as much as we did.

Our drive back was pleasant although the car was rather full with so many oranges hahaha. We stopped once for coffee and then for lunch at the overcrowded Venta San José in the village of Zafra de Záncara. We dropped off Toño and Dolores near their house in Madrid and shortly afterwards were home ourselves. Pippa, as usual, was the first one to greet me. I had missed her dreadfully but Suzy looked after her like a mother. Suzy was making cakes in the kitchen and it was great to see her too as it was Lucy. We had 5 guests but I didn't see any of them until today. 

The best thing about being home was sleeping in our own bed and once again I got a good night's sleep - nearly 7.5 hours. Wow!

Today, Sunday, is Fathers' Day in Spain. Oli and family can't come for lunch so we shall meet for coffee some time this morning. I can't wait to see little Elliot and Juliet after such a long absence. 

So this is it for this week my friends. Hope you are all well and hope you enjoyed the read. Cheers now until next Sunday. All the best,

Masha

Rediscovering Helen Keller, International Women's Day, to Santa Pola to the sun, our house on TikTok, bathing in the sea in March and other stories of the week.

Gran Alacant, Santa Pola, Sunday 12th March, 2023

Waiting for my coffee in the sun on Friday morning in Santa Pola

Dear all,

It's Sunday again but a different Sunday to the usual as we are at our pad on the coast. We bought this apartment in 1999, the year my dear mother died. I only wish she could have seen it. She would have loved it. We love it too. It is simple and practical; there is nothing luxurious about it but it's a home away from home with the advantage of being near the sea and in an area with perhaps the best climate in Europe. Nearby Alicante is the sunniest city in Europe or so I read in some rankings.  

I could only dream about the sea last Sunday at our real home near Madrid. The sun only made sporadic appearances, it rained a bit and was rather grey. Even so, we went for our walk and, naughtily, to the local churros bar for a coffee and a "porra". Lunch was with the whole family and was peaceful as Elliot was asleep. Oli had bought cakes and one of them was a lemon meringue pie which I could not resist. It must have helped me sleep a siesta though and I felt bad when I woke up to find Oli and the family leaving. 

Suzy and I watched a film  together that afternoon. She had recently come across the name of Helen Keller. No doubt you know who she was; the deaf and blind girl born in the US over a century ago. Her story was made famous by the 60's film we watched, "The Miracle Worker", about how a teacher, Anne Sullivan, taught her words,  words that opened up the world to her Before that she lived like a pet or animal, a sort of feral child.  Once she learned the word water she entered a world of comprehension. Amazing to think she was the first blind deaf person to get a degree. Like Suzy, I remember being fascinated by her story and also watched the film with my mother many many years ago. 

I have her book, The story of my life. I may have written about it before because it is intriguing. My mother who was equally interested in the story, found it at a second hand book shop and I still have it. I showed it to Suzy. At the beginning there is an inscription to none other than Alexander Graham Bell giving him thanks. Keller even signed the dedication. I looked up her signature online and it looks the same. Could this really be the book that Helen Keller gave to Alexander Graham Bell? If so, maybe it is worth a penny or two. Who knows? The only grating thing is that it is the 1923 edition and her dedication is dated 1903 which makes little sense to me. One thing I did find out though is that she had strong links to the inventor of the telephone. I wrote to the  Helen Keller foundation, and sent them photos of the inscription. I wonder if they will reply.

The very old second hand book my mother bought with the dedication to Alexander Graham Bell. 

PD for those who don't know the story, Anne Sullivan, remained at Helen's side all her life, as her faithful "teacher", one of the first words she taught her disabled pupil. 

PHOTO BOOK 

The film is old and   really bad quality but gives you an idea of Helen's very difficult beginnings. I cried at the end and I think Suzy did too. We agreed we'd watch another film together another time.

Dinner was a simple and small meal after the excess lunch we had had because of the lemon meringue pie. The news was depressing as usual. The situation in Ukraine is a sort of stalemate with fierce fighting in the town of Bakhmut. Since the war started in February last year, I think we have all learned a bit more about the geography of this invaded European country.

Again I slept well that night and was grateful to wake up at 7 am on Monday morning. By then our Canadian guest, Faz, had left for Toronto. He was with us for 11 nights and was one of our best guests ever. We really liked him and I know Pippa would miss him too. She isn't usually partial to new people but she fell for Faz. Another guest  (Ignacio) was arriving in the afternoon and Marina and Mónica came on Thursday and Friday respectively. That's not bad for low season. We have hardly had a guest free night since the beginning of January and again I thank God and my lucky stars for that. 

Monday was quiet. Of interest, a young photographer came from Airbnb to take photos of my father's room. Airbnb did professional photos of the whole house a few years ago but I added what we now call "The Book Room" later.  The offer was free which was great. It's all down to being a super host I suppose. They wanted to take a profile picture of me but I'm happy with the one I have. This is the listing with my old photos. Let's see what the improvement is like when I get the new ones. There is a problem with the room; a bit of damp near the shower which is coming through the walls that is quite unseemly. Eladio kept trying to fix it but in the end rang the insurance people. There is always something to mend or fix in a large house like ours. 

Ignacio duly arrived in the later afternoon. I was intrigued that he is from the same town and area as us. There was an explanation. He is going through a divorce and needed somewhere to live near his son and he chose our place. He wanted to stay semi permanently but later told me he was going back home. In a way, I was very pleased for him. But he knows where we are if the going gets tough.  

The day was much like other days; our walk, lunch together, quiet time/siesta and then either TV or reading. Eladio spent some of the time talking to the electricity people who supply our house in Asturias. The bill that came was astronomical and no one had been there except for one group of guests in January. It beggars belief you have to pay for something you don't use. 

Tuesday was different. I had a lunch date in Madrid with an old colleague. Jorge L worked at  my Motorola and Nokia PR agency, Perception & Image and we go back a long way. He was in his 20's and is now only in his late 40's. To think I am nearly 20 years older than him. He is in his prime and has set up his own PR agency. Good for him. He booked a table at an intriguing restaurant on Calle Orfila just off Génova near the HQ of the right wing PP Party. Called Farey, it serves dishes from Israel and Argentina - quite an experiment I think. We loved the food and had humus, fried broccoli and lamb kebabs followed by baklava (of course). It was great to catch up and reminisce. I have been retired for a year now and have no desire to return to the corporate PR world of telecommunications. I had an up and down career, made more difficult because I was a woman. That is the truth. I had good times and bad, had to fight my way up the ladder, earned less than the men, had a worse car than the men, was bullied at times by some (jealous people) and loved by others. The corporate world, especially in Spain, is a battle field. I only wish I had thought more when I left Uni. If I had known then what I know now, I would have tried to join the BBC and become a journalist. That is what I was cut out to be. Instead I worked as a journalist but for telecom companies where it's a difficult world for women. Jorge was part of the good times and we worked well together. He is a bright guy always coming up with great ideas and not scared of challenging work. His hardest task was translating the unintelligible Nokia Network press releases into plain Spanish. They were awful and we laughed about that. I am completely cut off from that world now which was mine since 1999 but do not miss it. I do miss though great people like Jorge. We parted promising not to leave it another 10 years until our next lunch together. 

I felt good walking out of the restaurant onto the sunny streets of Madrid. It was rather a tonic to do something different. On Calle Génova I spied the new branch of Balbisiana, an incredibly upmarket patisserie; its second in the city. Even though I was full, I couldn't resist going in to buy some cakes, mostly for Suzy and me as Eladio isn't into cakes. I went for the raspberry tarts, fruit pavlova and a small pecan pie. I hid them in the guest fridge to be eaten at lunch the next day. PS, if you live in the Spanish peninsula you can order their cakes online which is how the business started out and how I came to discover it. 

The amazing selection of pies and cakes at the new branch of Balbisiana in Calle Génova

I then took the metro at Alonso Martinez to Colonia Jardin where I had parked my car and was home within under an hour. 

I was on time for my weekly Skype call with Amanda who lives in Devon. As you know, we have been friends since the age of 11 when we first met at school (St. Joseph's College in Bradford). It was great to catch up with her too and also commiserate on our lack of sleep and domestic issues. I also wish Amanda lived down the road. I don't know when I will next see her but I hope it is this year.

We had good news that day; the Mini was ready which meant we could leave for Santa Pola on Thursday rather than Friday. 

We picked it up on Wednesday morning. Wednesday 8th March was International Women's Day, something to celebrate but also to reflect on. 

We still have to fight for parity or gender equality as it is called today. 

The very idea of having an international day for women is because women are not equal to men and never have been. I am not only thinking of women in Afghanistan who are possibly the worst treated in the world, but of women nearly everywhere. We are not equal to men. António Guterres, the UN head, said this week that it will take another 300 years to reach parity. Meanwhile, this week, in Spain, where equality for women is a huge thing, the government announced quotas for top jobs for women in politics and businesses of at least 40%. That includes companies with more than 250 employees. It  made me think of Yoigo/Másmovil. In  2008 or so I finally joined the Yoigo management board as the only woman and it didn't feel good. The CEO's comment at my first meeting was "finally we have a pretty face". Was I only a pretty face? The government, and I'm no great fan of Spain's left wing / communist coalition, is right to introduce quotas. Otherwise parity would not happen naturally. When I left Yoigo after the Másmovil take over there was not one woman on their management team. Now they will have no other choice. Men have been in charge of the world from the beginning. Some men are scared women are taking over - they are not - and some think quotas are not fair. I think they are. It's not a question of being the superior sex; there is no superior sex. It is a question of men and women being equal. Until that happens we shall continue to celebrate women's day if ·"celebrate" is the word. I asked Chat GPT what women have to celebrate about being women in 2023. There was a lot of bla bla bla, but one phrase struck a cord and this is it: "Greater recognition of women's rights: Women's rights continue to be at the forefront of social and political movements, leading to greater recognition and progress towards achieving gender equality".  So, yes we have come a long way. 100 years ago international women's day didn't exist. Only 50 years ago in Spain, under General Franco, women could not open a bank account or take a job without their spouse's permission or had to give their job up after marriage. They could not have abortions, use contraception and divorce only became possible after the dictator died. Spain has come a long way as has most of the western world but I really hope it won't take 300 more years to reach gender equality. 

On a personal level and in my marriage I have no complaints about gender equality. My husband who was born in Franco's Spain, sees women equal to men, as he should. We share domestic duties and do many together too. I look after what I am good at doing and he looks after or is in charge of what he is good at doing. It's as simple as that. We do have a woman looking after us, Lucy, who cooks and cleans but we treat her the same as if she were a man. We love Lucy and she makes our life easier. One duty we do together is the food shopping although I draw up the list - I am good at that - and that was our task after picking up my lovely Mini. We had coffee too, together at Alverán and then lunch with Suzy. For lunch I got out the Balbisiana cakes which I think I love more than Suzy or Eladio do. Eladio does not have a sweet tooth. 

The afternoon was quiet as was dinner which we had as a threesome again. I slept well that night but woke up at 6 am on Thursday morning;  a bit too early. About two and a half  hours later my dear grandchildren, Elliot and Juliet were being taken to school by their father. Oli sent a video of them making their way to the car in their garage. I just love the way Juliet walks in her wellies and rain coat. Of interest, I found that raincoat abandoned late in the evening last May at Bolton Abbey. I wonder whether the owner could ever have guessed it would end up in Spain, hahahahahhaa. 

Elliot and Juliet on their way to school on Thursday morning

That was the day we set off for Santa Pola in search of the sun and the sea, warmer temperatures and a change of scenery. 

We loaded the Volvo in the end and it was full of food so as not to have to do too much shopping in Santa Pola. We left around 11 am and the drive was smooth. We stopped for lunch at a cheap roadside café; El Cruce in a village called Caudete, about 85km from Alicante. It serves a brilliant menu of the day for just 14 euros and the choice is endless. It's not haute cuisine but is good old fashioned home cooking with decent portions.

We arrived mid afternoon to 22ºc which seemed like heaven to me. It was actually the same temperature at home but it's the sea that makes it so attractive here. The flat was in pristine condition after Lucy, our neighbour, had cleaned it. It looked lovely too with the new upholstery and matching table cloth. In the old days we would arrive and have to clean everything before settling in. Honestly, it's money well spent. So we soon settled in. We were a little tired for a walk and I spent the time reading and watching TV until "tea time". Again Lucy came up trumps as she had made us some Spanish tortillas and soup for our dinner, bless her. Entertainment was the amazing film, Operation Finale,  about the capture of Adolf Eichmann (played by Ben Kingsley) the mastermind behind the "final solution" - the death of 6 million Jews. The story is true and even though I was only 5 at the time of his trial in Israel, I remember it being broadcast worldwide. I was brought up on WW2 stories because of my parents involvement and that is one I remember from a very early age. 

I found it very difficult to sleep after it finished  as it must have disturbed me a lot. So I turned to my kindle where I started another story about the Jewish fate in WW2. I finally fell asleep at 2.15 am according to my smart watch and woke up at 7.45. 

I got a bit of a surprise that night when a woman called Caroline wrote to me on Instagram late that night.  I don't know her but she had seen a video of me and our house where we rent rooms on Airbnb. She told me it had been posted on Tiktok of all places and sent me the link.  I was dumbfounded as to how she had found me and still don't know. I watched the video various times and saw that it has had nearly 1000 views!. You can see it here and if you keep the browser open you won't have to install Tiktok. As you will know Tiktok is the new Chinese owned social media site so popular with young people. But it worries governments who think the Chinese state may be spying on you. That my house is on Tiktok doesn't worry me at all as it's great advertising for my little rental business.  Here is a screen shot for you to see. 

My house where we rent rooms on Airbnb on TikTok of all places

I remember the TV report the video must have come from. It was done by ex colleagues of Oli's from a programme on Telemadrid called "Mi Cámara y Yo", when I first started my journey with  Airbnb in 2017 - I was thinner then hahahha - but have no idea how part of that report has ended up going viral on TikTok. Unbelievably too, Carolina, wants to come in April with her partner and she will be confirming soon. 

On our first morning back at what I call our "pad near the beach", we had a leisurely breakfast, not very similar to Elliot and Juliet's. You can see them having breakfast here (and below hopefully) before school on Friday. It is delightful; especially when Elliot touches Juliet's face. It's also good to see how Juliet aged 1 and a half is able to feed herself, albeit very slowly, bless her. 

Juliet and Elliot having breakfast on Friday morning

For once that day,  Oli warned us in advance about a live report she was doing. It was about the grave accent on the word "sólo" which is different to "solo" without the accent. When it has the accent, often called "tilde" in Spanish, it is equivalent to "solamente" as in "only" rather than "solo" which means alone or solo as in English. The RAE (Royal Academy for the Spanish language) had abolished the accent some time ago although many still used it. When they did that, purists and writers went up in arms. Recently the RAE announced it had come back or rather as Oli explained in the report - it had never gone but is now accepted with or without the "tilde". Confusing right? Very. This has had most of Spain criticising the Academy. I am a purist and don't want to see the accent removed. 

Watching Oli live on TV from our apartment on Friday morning

I made a stew with chickpeas for our lunch and a bit later out we went to enjoy the sunshine. It was 22ºc again but very windy. This area is named after the famous "levante" wind so it can be quite breezy here but with the sun nearly everything is acceptable.

We decided to drive to the nearest town, Santa Pola, about 7km from our "pad" which is in a semi gated community called "Gran Alacant". We headed for the port and parked there to walk into the centre. We went past the ferry boats that take you to the island of Tabarca and also past fishermen mending their nets which I always find very biblical. Here is a photo of Eladio beside the boats and the nets. It's a lovely sight.

Eladio by the port of Santa Pola

We headed for the main square next to the old castle and sat at a table belonging to a wonderful bakery and cafe called Dalua. I had to go inside to examine the cakes which are exquisite. I bought one covered in white chocolate to devour later as well as some chocolate biscuits and a freshly baked croissant to have with my coffee. Bliss. 

Eladio took a photo of me  sitting at the table in the square enjoying the sun and the moment and wearing short sleeves. That had to be this week's feature photo. 

To work off the croissant we then walked down to the beach and out of the town so as to get our 10.000  steps which is our daily objective. It was warm but oh so windy, the paper bag from Dalua nearly flew away. When we got in the car to come home it was boiling and we had to put the air con on, in March! We drove the coastal way and I saw all the caravans - lots of them - and remarked to Eladio that many of them probably belonged to "energy tourists" - mostly retired people from the north of Europe taking advantage of the good weather here and avoiding electricity bills at home, in these days when it costs so much, because of the war in Ukraine. Good for them I thought. 

Lunch was my delicious chickpea stew which was followed by a short siesta. I was later busy dealing with new bookings for our house at home, uploading photos, reading, etc. I was busy until dinner time when we had a frugal meal of leftover tortilla - thank you again Lucy.

Entertainment was watching a Spanish series on Netflix called "El Príncipe" (The Prince) which we had seen about 5 years ago. It's a detective series and and am impossible love story set in the the troubled neighbourhood "El Principe" in Ceuta, next to Morocco and is about drug trafficking and terrorism which had me riveted the first time round. I adore the main characters, José Coronado  Alex González (the detectives) and the beautiful Hiba Abouk, sister to a drug merchant. 

Detective Morey (Alex González), Fatima (Hiba Abouk) and PC "Fran" (José Coronado) from the Spanish series "El Principe". 

Eladio is not to keen on watching films and series he has already seen so he left me for his PC where he whiled away the time on YouTube until it was time for bed.

That night I slept a record straight 6 hours and then another hour so woke up feeling refreshed. It was Saturday and the forecast was for the highest temperature of our stay. I read it could reach 30ºc which is crazy for the beginning of March. 

Before heading for the beach we went to the ubiquitous Mercadona - Spain's leading low cost supermarket chain - to top up mainly on fruit and veg until our next shop. When the task was over and the food stored away, we made our way to the beach, first stopping for a coffee at 12 noon  as we are creatures of habit. 

We were down at the beach shortly after 12 where we found a place to park the car; mission impossible in the high season. We walked down to our lovely unbuilt upon beach, "Playa de Carabasí". Instead of buildings there are dunes where turtles live and there are various wooden walkways down to the beach. I had to have a photo of Eladio on the wooden path we took to capture the moment of delight of seeing the sea again for the first time this year,

Walking down to "our beach" yesterday morning

It was easy to find a spot on the beach for our two 24 year old beach chairs. We bought the flat in 1999 and they are still going strong except that one is missing. I tend to find that guests "pinch" things but thankfully there are no objects of value at our pad here. This is what the beach looked like yesterday morning for those of you who were enjoying the snow in England or colder weather elsewhere. That is the benefit of living in the warmest country in Europe, I suppose.

The beach yesterday

I was determined to take my first bathe of the year and the cold sea water took my breath away. But I thought to myself, if I could swim in the River Aire at Bolton Abbey in the winter as a child, this sort of cold (about 13ºc) was perfectly bearable. I plunged into the cold but clean water and enjoyed the sensation but didn't stay in long. I shouted out to my dear husband to take a photo to record the moment on this blog. This is it, proof that I bathed in the sea at the beginning of March. I remembered later that our last bathe in 2022 was here too and it was at the beginning of November, nearly winter.

Bathing in the sea in March, almost unheard of but not in this part of Spain. 

Because the water was colder than the air, I came out feeling warmer than in the sea. It was a lovely sensation and I then sat on my chair with my face towards the sun. I mused that I needed some good old Vitamin D (the sun vitamin) which was the only element from my recent blood test which was abnormal. Eladio was less daring than me and didn't go in. I had, though, persuaded him to wear shorts and a short sleeved t-shirt which I am sure he was thankful for when we saw the temperature was 33ºc!!

Soon it was time to get in our 10.000 steps so off we went for our walk towards the end of the beach where rocks form. I love that part and we always sit on a natural stone bench which we claim as ours. We always too talk about how we first bought the apartment, an investment we have never regretted.

It was only when we got back to our spot on the beach we realised Eladio's mobile was missing. He had been carrying it in his back pocket which is a bit short. It was a horrible moment realising he had either lost it or it had been stolen. I rang it and rang it to no avail. I could only think he may have dropped it when sat down on the rock bench at the end of the beach but it was too far and hot to walk there again. But I didn't give up and we drove the car nearer to the rocks and took the long walk down. I called and called his phone until a woman miraculously answered it. She had found it on the rock and heard the jingle. We raced there and were delighted to retrieve my husband's phone. It was such a relief. We mused afterwards just how important they are to us. 

That episode with a happy ending made us very late for lunch which we had at about 4 pm but who cares? We didn't. Sleep evaded me afterwards although my husband slept like a baby. Amazon arrived bringing me a new milk frother for my morning coffee. It came with a sort of stick to make patterns in the foam; how sophisticated I thought.

We spent the rest of yesterday in peace and harmony in our home away from home. Today is Sunday and we shall go down to the beach again but this time be more careful with our phones - yesterday was a good lesson. It also showed me there are some good people in this world. I think the lady who found it was Russian which made me happy too. 

It will be another warm but windy day here by the coast, a tonic for our bodies and souls a bit like coming out of hibernation. 

Wherever you are, I wish you a happy Sunday and all the best for the rest of the week. Until next Sunday, cheers my friends,

Masha. 

Fun with Elliot and Juliet, Internet down thanks to Movistar incompetence, Northern Ireland protocol "sorted" by Sunak, into town on Friday and other stories of the week.

Madrid, Sunday 5th March, 2023.

Outside the San Francisco de Asis clinic where I gave birth to both my girls so long ago. 

Good morning again. It's now March and spring is on the horizon. 

You wouldn't have thought so  for the first half of this week as it has been freezing in Spain. Storm "Juliette" brought ice and snow even to Mallorca. It didn't snow here but my was it cold. But yesterday the temperatures went up and everyone was outside. I love the warm weather in Spain but especially the sun. 

Last Sunday, we braced the cold and gave thanks for the sun. Cold is always more bearable if it is sunny. I had guests coming and going all day but hardly saw any of them. As predicted, it was a very quiet day, the highlight being a Facetime call with Kathy and Phil. They cheered me up a lot. I do wish they lived down the street. 

That night I got just 4 miserly hours sleep and was shattered all day Monday. I had to carry out the motions though and thankfully I had something to do that morning to stop thinking about myself. I always thought I was a positive person. Yeah, well, it's easy to be so when the going is good. It's when it gets tough that it is a challenge. I keep telling myself I have to be strong. Thankfully as the week drew to a close I have been sleeping a lot better. 

That day we took the Mini to be serviced, or rather for a bump to be repaired, a bump we hadn't even noticed but that  had damaged the reverse light and the camera. To think I have now had my lovely German branded but British made Mini since March 2017. Where have the 6 years gone? It's got lots of mileage in it though as it only has 50km clocked. It should be fine for our trip of a lifetime as it doesn't need new servicing until November next year. We won't get it back until next Thursday and on Friday we shall be driving it to Santa Pola where it is even sunnier and warmer than here. I look forward to a break by the sea. 

I was starving when we left the BMW garage as I had had my breakfast at 6 in the morning. I took Eladio to a very tempting cake shop in Majadahonda called Atuel. It's as good as any high standing Parisian patisserie. That's why people were queuing up inside for the cakes, pastries and bread. We had a coffee and mine was accompanied by a mini fruit tart. Eladio thought the 10 euro bill was excessive but I would have paid just 10 euros or more just for the cake.

That meant I was not very hungry for lunch but I was tempted again as it was spag bol which I am partial to. I would have loved to have a siesta but my body just wouldn't let me sleep. When I am over tired that happens. Besides, I had another problem to sort with damned Movistar, again.  Would you believe that after all our troubles we had an internet outage that day?  I realised it just as we sat down to lunch. I did what I had to do and what usually works best; i.e. switching the router on and off. But, oh dear, there were flashing red lights and that was not good. I had to ring them during lunch and at least they take the call as I am over 65. I was assured all would be solved within 2 hours. Well, it wasn't. To cut a long story short, a "man" had been up the telephone pole and, according, to Enrique, my technician, had done what he had to do but had left our house unconnected. Would you believe that? I had to get on my knees to make him to come the next day in the afternoon. That meant more than 24h of internet outage. It was ok for us as we can use our mobiles as hot spots; not so for my Canadian guest Faz. 

To think this was happening in Madrid during the middle of the Mobile World Conference, the biggest mobile phone fair in the world where they already talking about 6G and God knows what else. All I want is for Telefonica to get its act together and that's what I said to the sweet but useless girl who is part of their social media team. 

That did not put me in the best of moods. What improved my morale was when we went to Oli's house in the afternoon. She had a conference call to do with her recent Master teaching classes and we had to keep the babies amused. And, that we did. Here are some fun photos of those few hours. 

Fun with the kids on Monday afternoon

They were a great tonic. Their latest game is hiding in the cupboards under Elliot's bed. They think it is hilarious. I do too and had to take a video which you can see on my You Tube channel here. 

We left at around 8pm - our dinner time. Our dinner was frugal and quiet, very different to the opulent dinners taking place at the Mobile World Conference. I had been there every year until 2017 since it moved from Cannes to Barcelona and yes it was great but oh so big and I hate crowds. It is one of the busiest moments of the year for tech companies but you know what? I have no desire ever to go again. So what's new I wondered? They are now talking about 6G, operators are once again hoping to get the tech giants such as Facebook and Google to pay for using their networks and what I found most spectacular was a drone like helicopter to be used as a taxi. I always used to wonder if one day cars would fly. It seems they will. It's just a question of time. At the conference was 94 year old former Motorola engineer, Martin Copper. He is known for having made the first mobile phone call in 1973 using the Dyna Tac which I remember well as I worked for Motorola for 9 years when mobile telephony started out commercially.  

Martin Cooper, the Motorola engineer, who is said to have made the first mobile phone call back in 1973 - he was at the MWC this week but using an iPhone. 

We used to call it  "the brick". It weighed a ton, only worked for 30 minutes and needed 10 hours of charging. It probably cost a 1000 euros too - it was the iPhone of the time when I suppose  Motorola was King. For an interview with El Pais conducted by my dear friend, Ana Pantaleoni, he walked in with an iPhone. Oh how we have come on from there. But we need to get better at fixing internet connections and battery usage.  At his age, Cooper is still thinking about mobile phones and where they are going. In his mind he thinks the future is that phone technology will be integrated into our skin and charged using the energy in our bodies. Wow! That could happen. Time will tell. 

Again that night I slept awfully. I was awake at 4 am and it was impossible to sleep. I took more pills which didn't help and in the end it was Eladio who saved me by holding me and giving me a massage to relax me. It gave me 1.45h more sleep. Thank you my wonderful husband.

Tuesday came and it was sunny but freezing again. I don't know what the weather was like in London where all the talk was about the "Windsor Framework", the new name for the Northern Ireland Protocol - which had just been signed between the UK PM, Rishi Sunak and EU President Ursula von der Leyen.

London this week - signing of the new Windsor Framework

It is supposed to improve Boris Johnson's agreement. The fundamental problem was the Irish border, the status of NI - half in the EU and half in the UK - and all the paperwork for goods to be moved. From what I can understand the novelties are threefold: 1) Stormont Brake - something about NI or the UK being able to veto new EU laws which in practice won't be easy, 2) green lane and red lanes into the Republic of Ireland removing the idea of a border in the Irish Sea - that is still a border for me - 3) NI to be on the same level as the UK when it comes to VAT for food, drink and medicines (but nothing else). To me it seems an improvement but doesn't fix everything.  Sunak then had to get Tory hard Brexiteers to give their go ahead as well as the DUP in Ireland. It seems he got the go ahead, albeit grudgingly. It was said Boris Johnson would make trouble. That doesn't make sense to me as even if the treaty is faulty it is far better than the one the former leader secured. 

Then I felt I had been hit in the stomach with an arrow when I read these words from Rishi Sunak: "Northern Ireland is in the unbelievably special position, the unique position in the entire world in having privileged access not just to the UK home market but also the European Union single market". God damn him. Doesn't he realise the irony of his words? The UK and Northern Ireland already had that before Brexit was voted for? When saying that he is damning British politics for leaving the EU market and the mess it left the UK in. I wonder if he realised later. I suppose he was left to pick up the pieces but neither Northern Ireland nor the UK is better off because of Brexit. Most of the UK's economic woes come from leaving the EU. 

No doubt Sunak is pleased with himself but his words made me feel very cross. I wonder how he is going to sort the rest of the problems caused by leaving the EU?

But I wasn't thinking about this when I was out shopping in an EU country where I have no problems with stock of fruit and vegetables in supermarkets, can see a doctor where and when I like and can import stuff; usually via Amazon, from EU countries with no tariffs or extra costs  -not to mention that I have free movement in EU countries, now that I have a Spanish passport. Damn those who voted for Brexit for they knew not what they were doing, to semi quote the Bible. 

Anyway back to my normal routine and humdrum life. Lunch was spag bol again followed by the news and no siesta. The latter wasn't just because I couldn't sleep. It was because Enrique - the Movistar technician who now feels part of the family - came at around 3.30 pm to sort out the Internet outage. Here is what the floor looked like where the router is located.

Sorting the Internet outage on Tuesday

He declared it dead; i.e there was no fiber coming into the house. So off he went to the fiber box up the road and was there for about 20 minutes. He came home to tell me that the "port" to our house had been cut off to give to an Orange customer or so he thought. I could hardly believe the incompetence of Movistar cutting us off by mistake and told them so on Twitter. When this month's invoice comes, my first, I shall dispute it for all the damage inflicted and their sheer incompetence. Thankfully though Enrique "sorted" it and we had Internet back. He said we had had bad luck. I would call it something else but can't use those words here as they are far too rude. 

The rest of the day was quiet. I made an effort for dinner for once and served my flagship tuna salad with the help of Lucy - thanks Lucy. This was it. 

One of our favourite dinner dishes - tuna salad with lots of ingredients

There would be no entertainment that night as I was shattered and my body finally gave itself a break and let me sleep. I got 7h 14 minutes of interrupted sleep . I woke up at least 6 or 7 times but was able to go back to sleep something which I usually find difficult. 

Getting up at 7 am rather than 5 am is a different thing and I felt so much better on Wednesday morning. It turned out to be a good day and I needed one. Our walk was a tonic as usual. Seeing our grandchildren in the afternoon was another tonic. What lifted my spirits also were two more bookings for this house. One of them was for 3 people coming that night for 4 days. The rooms were ready so only needed a look over really. The kids were on full form wanting to go to the swings in the freezing cold and play with my ornaments. Juliet loves one of the Russian dolls (matroshka) and we always end up losing the tiniest doll. Oli remarked that the one she was playing with was given to her by Aunty Masha - my mother's beloved youngest sister. I shall treasure it even more now. 

It was pay day for Lucy so she took the afternoon off to go into Madrid and I suppose wire her money to Paraguay. That's what she is here for, to earn for her family. What a blessing she is in our lives. She had made the tortilla mixture for me to fry tortillas for dinner which are Elliot's favourite except that he hardly ate a piece. We gave some to Faz, our Canadian guest, who has not been cooking. He just buys sandwiches and we felt sorry for him. Suzy also made him some veggie spag bol  because he can only eat halal meat, which he much appreciated. By dinner time, thankfully Lucy was back so I didn't have to clear up. My guests were arriving at around 8 pm and the house had to be clean and quiet, except that it wasn't the latter as Oli decided to bathe the kids here. My guests, Omar and his two work "mates" arrived just as my daughter and family were leaving. They are three young Moroccan boys who work installing solar panels. Omar has his own business. We have been thinking about installing them here but don't know much about it. It seems costly and payback takes time or that is the idea we have. Omar would explain how it works during his stay. After we showed them their rooms which they loved they went off to buy food and make their dinner while we went to bed.

Thank the Gods because I had one of my best night's sleep in ages. I was up at 7 am on Thursday morning. It was a good day in various ways. It started with our walk and our mid morning coffee - at 12 noon here. We then went to see a psychologist. I debated on telling you about this as it is quite private but it was important for us. I won't go into why. Those of you who know me well can imagine why.The appointment was at 13h in an area of Madrid we hardly know although we lived in Saconia nearby when we first lived in Madrid. We were home by 3 which is very late for lunch and gobbled down the "cocido" leftovers. We had missed the news but wanted a nap. I didn't think I would be able to sleep but I did, nearly 2 hours of precious shut eye and restorative sleep. Thank you God. I later watched a fascinating documentary about Spain's best figure skater ever and one of the best in the world; Javier Fernández the two time world champion and 7 time European champion. I love watching skating and Javier's story is fascinating. Someone said it was like a country such as Indonesia producing a Messi, for Spain has little history in winter sports being a sunny country.

Dinner time was hectic but I liked it. Our 3 Moroccan boys were in the kitchen making for lively conversation. They must have come into Spain illegally. The "boss", Omar, came to Spain aged just 15 and lived in a residence for young illegal immigrants but he did well for himself in getting a degree in engineering. He now owns a successful solar energy company. Good for him. Suzy made friends with them immediately and it was good to see her socialise.

We didn't socialise much more, preferring to take refuge in our quarters, watch the news and something entertaining on TV. Again I slept well although I woke up and got up at 6 am on Friday morning. 

Friday would be a change from routine. That day we went "into town", i.e into the centre of Madrid, or, as the Americans would say "downtown". I had an appointment with a sleep doctor recommended to me by my urologist. It was quite a coincidence but his surgery is at the San Francisco de Asis hospital where I gave birth to both girls in 1984 and 1985. It was near where we lived and run by nuns. I am not sure if that is still so today. It would be funny to go back.

We took the tube or metro as we didn't want to risk another fine for taking our car into the city - diesel cars are not allowed - We left the car at Colonia Jardín, took the number 10 line to Príncipe Pío and then the number 6 line to República Argentina. Eladio had forgotten his mask so couldn't go in. Post Covid masks are only obligatory in health related places. My appointment was at 12.10 but I had to wait for nearly an hour. I took with me the results of a sleep test I did in 2017 but only had a conclusion, no images. Thus the doctor wants me to do another one - oh dear. From what I told him, he thinks I suffer from sleep apnea, something I have always thought I had but  in the test in 2017 it didn't appear. The problem with apnea is that there is no cure. You can wear some awful device which I honestly don't think I could sleep with. But we shall see. On the bright side I have been sleeping a lot better recently.

I came out feeling funny to be in the hospital where I gave birth - oh the memories it brought back . and had to have photos of me at the entrance. Eladio obliged. This is another one.

Back at the hospital where I gave birth

We had a quick cup of coffee at the hospital cafeteria and then walked all the way to Eladio's brother's house where we used to live. We bought our first flat there in 1983, the year we got married so are still familiar with the area. But, as you know, we are not town people. I was very happy to move out into the countryside and have a house and our own garden. We had time on our hands so went in search of wine and cakes to take to our guests. Here is Eladio leaving a rather posh looking bakery and pastry shop called Pareli on the well heeled Juan Bravo street not far from his brother's house. 

Buying biscuits and chocolates on Friday

My sister-in-law had prepared a lovely lunch for us. Their youngest son, Juan, was there so it was good to catch up. Juan was also born at the same hospital as the girls and is just one year older than Suzy. It's amazing to think he turned 40 this year.

We had a pleasant time together as we always do and left around 4ish as Eladio's brother's eyes were closing - he sleeps as much as Eladio and needs a siesta too. We were home by about 5 and home to a quiet house. We had a quiet time until dinner and the news despite having 4 guests in the house.

Saturday came and I had slept well again - thanking my lucky stars for that. Saturday would not be quiet as we spent time with our grandchildren. Miguel was working this weekend and Oli needed us to lend a hand. It was a beautiful sunny day and warmer too. At midday we met with the girls and the babies at Manolo Bakes. There we bought some of their delicious croissants but had them with a coffee at Manacor as there was nowhere to sit. We bought 8 croissants. I had 2 and Elliot had 3 believe it or not. Oh what a sweet tooth he has. He finished off Juliet's too. Yesterday Juliet turned 1 and a half, quite a milestone. Here she is with me and with her adored grandfather. There is so much complicity between them and I love seeing them together.

Photos of Juliet yesterday at Manacor

On our way to Oli's car we bumped into our Chinese guests, Amanda and her 10 year old daughter Lucy - don't know what their Chinese names are hahahaha. It was great to see them. You may remember they came to stay in January having moved from China to give their daughter a private and international education. I agreed to ring Amanda - a former teacher of English in China, to have coffee together some time soon.

We had lunch alone as Oli was eating out with a friend, Anita. Thus we had time for a siesta until they came back at around 5 pm. So we had more grandparent duty time yesterday afternoon. They stayed for dinner and Lucy made us egg and chips the Spanish way where you break the egg yolk over the chips - delicious. 

So we went to bed on a full stomach but again I slept well and this morning didn't get up until 7 am. Our Moroccan boys have just left so the house is quiet. I think the day will be quiet too but don't know yet as we have no `plans.

This time next week I will be writing from our pad by the coast, near Santa Pola. I'm really looking forward to a change of scenery. You will hear all about it in next week's post. Cheers till then,

Masha. 

c