Tuesday, December 13, 2005

The happy couple


Just bare with me hear bloggers. I am trying, for the first time, to load a photo on to this 'ere blog. If it doesn´t work then I apologise for any random formatting or anything else that may ensue. If it does work then be prepared, I may get upload happy and send a barrage of photos to the blog.

S xx

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Babies and Burglaries

Hola blogers,

There have been two notable events this week. The first was the arrival into the world of my niece - Isabella Beatrice. She was born on Tuesday and weighed just under 8lbs and mother, father and baby are all doing well. I am beside myself with excitement and can´t wait to fly to Yorkshire tomorrow night to go and see them. Apparently all the nurses are commenting on how pretty she is. Character wise she seems to be like her father so far - enjoys sleeping through the day and staying up late at night!

The second drama of the week was that Jose and I were burgled last night. The evidence, in my mind, points to a seriously strange person with a fetish for pink. The neighbour´s door has been forced open too but not one thing has been touched in there - which fits with my theory that I think teh robber quickly realised that there is only a single man living there and a seriously lack of pink. With this, he seems to have moved on to force our door open (which is a serious accomplishment as it has a steel bar running vertically down it controled by five steel fingers that slide horizontally). Once in our flat he has had a field day empting out drawers taking all the clothes out of my wardrobes etc etc. However, he has not bothered to open the drawers and cupboards on Jose´s side.

After the initial shock of seeing the flat ramsacked, we noticed that nothing had actually been taken. There were things of value such as ipods, cameras, expensive jewellery, credit cards, money, mobile phones, lap tops etc etc all just stren around. So he had looked at them but left them. The bag that had been filled with goods ready to escape with was left by the door - so he was obviously disturbed by a noise and chickened it. Strangely, considering all the stuff he had seen , as listed above, the stuff chosen and put in the getaway bag were as follows: three full bottles of my perfume, a pink glittery fancy skirt and top, a silver glittery cardigan, a pink t-shirt and a pink jacket ????????.

So, he was looking for very girly pink things. Maybe it was the pink panther!

The police are very puzzled by the things like mobiles, ipods and cameras left behind and are now buying into my theory of some trany with a pink fetish (of course!). Any further theories you blogers might have will be welcomed.

We have been seriously lucky because we don´t have insurance for house contents (I now discover!). You can bet your bottom dollar we will have it by tomorrow though. If they had have cleared us out it would have been a nightmare. Jose thought that no one would ever be able to get through that door .... and I must say others who have seen it have commented in a similar manner. Looks (and locks) are obviously deceiving!

When I told my Mum about the circumstances of the robbery her comment was: Are all your knickers still there .......even the pink ones?

With that thought I shall leave you. Hast la proxima!

S xx

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Batuka!

Hola Blogers,

Well last friday´s birthday fondue night was a success. It nearly didn´t happen - as I realised at five minutes to closing time of the supermarkets that I didn´t have any fondue oil to burn in the damn thing. Well of course I didn´t have any. Who does? Anyway all was saved by my clever boyfriend who went to the 24 hour chemist and came back with some form of alcohol that he assured me would burn well. I dread to think how he knows these things but thats by the way. So, I´m now well versed in fondue preparation and serving and am in the game to host fondue parties galore. Heather and Pablo are first up but we are struggling with dates (and there is always the possibility that they won´t be a couple when the as yet not arranged date comes around. This is a feature of their relationship rather than any specific one off problem they are facing right now). Maybe a fondue night is just what they need.

I am loving teaching. I now have three sisters from the same family under my care. All of which are charming, beautiful, clever, polite ......just how I hoper my brood will be one day. Speaking of which, my sister is due to give birth to the first of the next generation in our family. She ahs booked in for a compulsory C section due tot he little blighter being upside down (breached I think is the medical term). So, thats happening next Tuesday ....unless baby decides to do anything exciting beforehand.

My excitment for the day (other than the usual thrills of waking up and remembering that I live in Barcelona, I don´t work, really, I have the best boyfriend in the world and that I am, well, me!) has been Batuka! This has all started due to my recent addiction to Operacion Trionfo - which was teh spanish equivalent of Fame Acadamey. Thats over now (yes I did predict the winner right from the start) but I am left with Batuka. Batuka was a new form of exercise that was developed during the show in roder to get the students into shape but still keep some ties with their musical inclinations. So, its a work out, a bloody good one too, but its more like a dance class. You follow routines executed perfectly by your leader as best you can (questionable in parts as to whether I could be said to be following but I´m sure I´ll get the hang of it). You basically do a couple of songs of one type of music and then move on to another. The styles used are: salsa, hip hop, samba, reggeaton, flamenco, pop, merengue and a few others that I didn´t catch the name of. Its a gas (as my Irish friend Nena would say). You sweat like heck but feel like you been clubbing rather than pumping iron. I love it! I am going to try and go twice a week -Tuesdays and Thursdays. Watch out for it in the UK or whereever you are. Here there are videos to buy and do at home and classes in soem fo teh big chain gyms. I thoroughly recommend it.

Batuka!

S xx

Batuka!

Friday, November 18, 2005

Gainfully Employed

Hola Blogers,

Its Jose´s birthday today so I ahve just been marching around looking for a suitable cake. Mission accomplished - I have a chocolate Hedgehog in a box under my chair as I write. Why the hedgehog you ask. Why not? No, actually I often call him a hedgehog if he has put too much wax on his hair so its kind of a lovey dovey in joke kind of thing. He´d better be anyway because it cost 15 euros and its not very big if you ask me.

I´m giving my new fondue set a test drive tonight - for the old birthday meal. So if you don´t here from me again, chances are I will have set the flat a light with a combination of incorrectly lit fondue sets and candle adorning hedgehogs.

From the title of this blog entry you would not be wrong to suspect that I have got off my arse and got a little job. Correcto - but not exactly thanks to me getting off my arse. More thanks to something falling right into my sofa sitting lap. Through a friend I have been recommended to a family with five children seeking English language assistance. Starting from Monday I shall be tutoring the youngest one three times a week on an intense programme aiming at getting her into English boarding school next september. No easy task as entrance xams involve Latin, chemistry, biology, physics (none of which she has studied before!) as well as english , maths, history, religion, geography and modern languages. Two days of exams for the little lamb and she´s only 12. I am trying to get though to the registrar of the school to tease some past papers out of them or better still some text books. Then we´ll be well on our way (I hope).

The family have also enlisted me to tutor the second youngest daughter (aged 16) on a more general conversation basis. That will be twice a week. So, all in all I will be up at their house every day of the working week. I remeber putting something in this blog about my life being like that of Little House on the Praire without the kids. Well I spoke too soon - here come the kids! All good practice for the future (God willing!)

There is the added angle that the father of this family is a lawyer here in BCN and he has already had me in his office for some business talks. So, lets get the bambino packed off to boarding school and then you never know I might take him up on his offers of legal or legal related work. Nothing too strenuous of course - as I am rather used to the lady of leisure thing.

I recommend Woody Allen´s new film Match Point if any one is considering a trip to the cinema. Although, It might not have the same appeal for those of you still on the island. Maybe I just enjoyed the sight of the black taxis and country estates due to my current residence.

The cultural highlight of Spanish life this weekend is the Barcelona v Real Madrid match taking place on Saturday night. Of course I will be keeping my eyes for Beckham, Raul and other such Madrid beauties firmly under my sombrero as it wouldn´t be proper to be anything than the most ardent of Barcelona fans considering my romantic attachments.

Right, I shall carrying on tearing out interesting articles from English papers and magazines for my older student. You know its surprising how little there is of interest in a paper for a sixteen year old, well for all of us really, but we just read out of obligation don´t we, or out of some deep rooted fear of looking stupid in the wrong company.

Wish me luck with the fondue and hedgehog!

S xx

Monday, November 14, 2005

Business as Usual

Hola Blogers,

Well its business as usual for me this week - which involves a theme of generally pleasing myself. I am in cooking mode, as I was all last week too, as a trip to the farm was enjoyed the other weekend for the purpose of mushroom picking (more on this later).

Looking back through my now very sporadic blogs I can see that I last communicated back in early October, when I was being visited by Juanita Banana (Jo to those of you not familiar with her new name). Well she is now happily esconced in sunny San Francisco driving the male population crazy with her no stop dating action. It seems very much the done thing over there - to date and be dated for the sheer hell of it. These "dates" can involve anything from a coffee in the afternoon to a full on bender of a session - well it seems to be that way with Jo. Its fun listening to her tales anyway.

I went to Seville in mid October for Jose´s brother´s wedding. He lives up here in Tarragona with his wife but, as in most places, it is tradition to have the wedding in the home town of the girl. So, off we all went. Things always go wrong at weddings don´t they. Our list goes as follows- Javier, the groom, forget to bring his wedding suit, Jose and I missed the plane down there from BCN and then whoever was supposed to bring the wedding rings to the venue forgot to do so! Nothing that couldn´t be resolved though - luckily Javier was down in Seville a few days before the wedding and realised in time about the suit. This was resolved by a friend somehopw getting into Javier´s flat in tarragona and flying down with the suit the next day (he was comuing to the wedding anyway). Jose and I managed to get on a flight the next morning and didn´t miss anything of the wedding and Grandma and some other lucky person got to donate their wedding rings for the day to the happy couple.

The wedding ceremony involved some dude singing sevilianas and lots of flamenco style dancing by Jesse (the bride) and her entourage of friends. In the early hours and I´m talking 6am!) Jesse´s dad got up to the microphone to sing some flamenco songs too - complete with pretend guitar noises because no one had a guitar. Most amusing.

The weekend after the wedding was the weekend of my birthday. I am now the ripe old age of 31. I had a fantastic time on the saturday night because Jose and Susana (a good friend of ours here) organised a surprise party for me in Tarragona! I turned up to the restaurant with Jose and two friends (Heather and Sylvia), expecting to just meet one other friend .................but I was hit by a surprise turn out of 19 people complete with silly hats and presents and cards. It was amazing - they made me feel so special and part of the group here. Needless to say lots of drinking and dancing ensued and I finally got to bed at 8am after watching the sun come up over the ocean with Jose.

The Sunday of my birthday weekend (my actual birthday) I crawled out of bed at Jose´s parents house at about 2pm to be greeted by his whole family singing happy birthday as best they could in English (some coming out with things such as happy baby??). Jose´s Mum had cooked a big paella and baked me a cake and his Dad cracked open some champagne and once again I was showered with presents. Fantastic!

It was nice to see some of you in England the other week. I was annoyed that I couldn´t see everyone and annoyed that I came down with a temperature and a horrible cold as soon as I got off the plane and so didn´t really feel up to London in many ways. I think it was something telling me to stay in Spain. I´m staying alright - it needn´t worry. I was most impressed by the new improved Waitrose on Holloway Road and sadened by the fact that I can´t frequent it every day as in my previous life. Still, there´s always a trade off when facing life decisions!

Jose joined me in Yorkshire and we shivered and froze together and enjoyed home cooked soup. My Dad took us to a Barnsley football fixture and we ate fish and chips from the paper in the park before hand. He is obviously putting Jose through some sort of northern manlyness test.......which I think he is passing (his mother is from Pamplona - they run with bulls you know).

This weekend Jose and I celebrated our one year anniversary. Can you believe it??? We took ourselves off to Rome to stay in a fancy hotel, dress up, wine and dine ourselves, gawk at pretty fountains and do all the other things that lovers do.

Its now a running joke in Jose´s family that we miss planes (due to the Seville affair). Neither of us have ever missed a plane before in our lives - and I have certainly flown a lot so a good study has been carried out. Something is going on between us though because we nearly missed the one back from Rome. I think we are too busy staring at each other and being all dreamy to realise what time it is and shake a leg. Anyway, thanks to the kind heart of a certain Alitalia operator, our lateness managed to get us flying back in business class this time. Result! I am now torn between being super early to avoid problems or being one minute late to provoke favours such as experienced last night. Hmm.

Right, enough is enough. All that remains to say is Hello Mr Simon ..........I´m told you have been reading this site avidly over the last year. All the best to you, your lovely wife and little baby son. L´Haim!

Un beso a todos

S xxx







n

Friday, October 07, 2005

Farmer Giles

Hola,

Me again! ow´s life ? Mine is still like little house on the prarie minus the kids. I spent a week cooking and freezing - because we spent a weekend at the farm (José´s family´s) and we filled the car boot with organic vegetables ......and so then I had to cook them before they went off. I´ll be doing much the same next week as well because we are going to the farm again tonight. This time I have Jo with me - the friend who was with me when all this blogging started (all those moons ago). Jo has been named Juanita Banana by Jose so if I lapse into using that name - you´ve been told.

We will have 13 people for dinner at the farm on saturday night. Well I say dinner - that sounds a bit civillised doesn´t it. It will be more like a bbq party with lots of drinking, dancing and tom foolery under the stars. I´ve just been buying dodgy bunting with flags from around the world, massive stick in the ground candles and water bombs! Juanita and I couldn´t resist the water bombs. We discussed the fact that maybe we would come off worse and so should forget the idea but we are going to fill them up and hide them somewhere so that no one else can get us - clever hey! I´m sure someone will catch us out and we´ll be attacked. We´ll see.

I hope to see you Londoners for a drink on Tuesday 25th October. Keep well. Congratulations to all the millions of people that have just had babies, got engaged or annouced there wedding dates - you know who you are!

S xx

Friday, September 02, 2005

Clowns

Hola Bloggers!

Been a while hey! I´ve been busy with life as I am sure you all are too. I´ve been inspired to write today as I have just been helping a clown apply for a job in Aberdeen, which is obviously a little out of the ordinary. The experience reminded me that its nice to note down your experiences in black and white .......as otherwise they can sometimes be forgotten.

I know this rather weakens the story, but unfortunately the clown was not in costume. Said clown actually came in the form of a jolly little girl called Laura who overheard me speaking english on my mobile in the net cafe. When I´d stopped speaking she tentatively siddled up to ask me if I could possibly help her with some translation of a few words from spanish to english. One thing lead to another and we both sat down and wrote her letter of application, in english, to a hospitol in Aberdeen. She was applying for a position as a Clowndoctor. I´ve met a few doctors in my time who could be termed clown doctors (such as the woman at the surgery on Holloway Road who just seems to laugh at any complaint you may have regardless of severity). However, it turns out that a "Clowndoctor" is actually not a doctor at all but a clown who cheers up sick children in hospitols.

Interestingly my new clown friend was actually in hospital herself some time back due to a motocycle accident and was cheered up no end by a nurse who was always making her laugh. Since this time she has dedicated herself to cheering up other such sufferers ........which brings her to be applying for the post as the clown doctor in Aberdeen. The Aberdeen bit comes in due to her having a boyfriend from scotland (there is always a man involved !).

So, we have swapped numbers and I now have one more clown for a friend!

S xx

Monday, July 11, 2005

Bombs and Bulls!

Hola faithful followers!

I´m back! So many of you have been complaining about the lack of blogpostings that I have finally got my act together. Sorry for the delay but being a lady of leisure is very time consuming.

First things first - I sincerely hope that none of you have been seriously affected by the senseless bombs in London. It has been horrible to watch on the news and read about. I was crying when I first saw it. Crying for all of you, for London, for all of those people just like us whose lives have been stolen or ruined for nothing. When will all this war and violence end?
A part of me wishes that I was in London now - to be able to do something, heaven knows what, maybe just carry on in defiance - like the rest of you are doing. Its weird to think that if I had come back to work as planned, last week would have been my first week back at work and I am almost 99 percent certain that I would have been on the piccadilly line around Kings Cross at ten to nine. Jose is my angel in more ways than one!

On a happier note, I am settled in quiet nicely now in Barcelona. Its now official that I am staying here forever and not goign abck to my job in London. I know you can never know if something is forever. Everything ends some day .......but for now, I am here for good.

To answer the question that I am asked most often in emails - no I am not working, and no I am not looking for work. Fortunately I don´t need to (at the moment) so I am enjoying that freedom. I must say, its amazing how busy you can feel even though you don´t work. There is always a mission to be completed everyday. Today´s has been to empadronate myself in the area and sign up to get my NHS (or equivalent) card. This has involved going to three different buildings in Barcelona. Add to that, taking the car to the garage for a service, food shopping, coming here to the net cafe and washing clothes .....and the day is over. Its always like that so I´m rarely bored. If the day comes when I want (or need) to work then the plan is to give english lessons or get invoved with transaltions. English is big buiness here so I doubt I will have a problem ( I will perhaps have to remember how to hide my Yorkshire accent though - it seems to be difficult for them to understand for some reason ? I am sure I can do that though - I had to do it with all of you southerners at some point in our realtionships before I slowly introduced you to the finer points of my accent and got you ready for the full force of it).

We went to Sant Fermine this weekend. Thats the festival in Pamplona where the bulls run through the streets. Jose´s Mum is from there so we stayed with his family and went out in a big group with all his cousins. There was a 15 of us in total and boy did we have some fun. You HAVE TO stay out all night in the bars and street parties and drink colimocho (wine and coke in a pint galss) until 8am when the bulls come (well thats what I was told anyway). I didn´t do any bull running - instead we bought tickets for the bull ring and watched them come running in - chasing the nutters who had run through the streets with them. Spectacular!

God knows when I last put an entry on this thing - so god knows what I have been doing that you have all mised out on hearing about. I have probably been drinking lots of amazing wine, eating in fantastic restaurants, swimming at midnight in swimming pools, going to the beach to wander about and eat paella, playing tennis, laying in in the mornings .......enough already? Ok I´ll give it a rest.

I had actually better go and cook my own spanish bull some dinner now.

Lots of love to you all. Stay vigilant and safe in scary England.

By the way I am sat next to a very well turned out transvestite in this net cafe. It is just the voice that has given him´her away (the phone just rang).

Un beso

S xxxx

Thursday, May 12, 2005

The hills are alive

Hola,

I spent the weekend just gone in the Pyranees. I am sorry if that is not how you spell it in English. I know how to spell it in Spanish but I am loosing it in English. I have noticed that sometimes when I talk to my friend in English I say really daft sounding things - because I am saying what you would say in Spanish - but in English. Its really quite amusing sometimes.

Anyway, the mountains.................... are incredible! So beautiful. We drove up there on Friday afternoon (it takes 4 hours from Barcelona) and arrived in time for a lovely meal in the evening in the hotel. The hotel stood alone in the wonderful landscape, not in a village or nearby to anything. Just there, amidst it all. We stayed in a Parador - for those of you who know anything about Spain. From our room we could see nothing but snow capped mountains (Monte Perdido to be precise) and cascading waterfalls.

Saturday´s excursion was a seven hour event. I´d say we were walking for about five hours and nibbling cheese, gluging back wine and taking in the sun for the other two hours. The route was pretty treacherous actually and half way round we decided to turn back rather than go on as we encountered a glacier that looked a bit risky to cross. We reckoned there was only a slight chance that we would slip in the snow, but as the land was at a serious gradient and very high up, the consequences of slipping would have been fatal. So, we turned back (with Jose cursing the cold winter that Spain has suffered and mumbling about it being incredible that there was still snow at this time of year at this height).

It was an altogether fantastic day. 30 degrees heat yet snow in view (and often under foot). Fantastic views to all sides. I loved sitting on big rocks sticking up from the lagoons beneath the waterfalls and drinking wine and eating cheese with my feet in the cold fresh running water. Amazing. Another favourite was the sight of the wild horse that we came across. It really was like something out of a film (I did my best to maintain a look fit for a film with my Pradas firmly glued to my head and my Lancome juicy tubes lip gloss to hand at all times).

Jose usually sleeps in a tent when he goes to the mountains with his friends, and he has even slept in the streets once. Apparently this was because they decided to go down to a village to get a room for the night but then found that there weren´t any hotels or guest houses ...........and so slept in the street! He reckons he woke in the middle of the night to find about ten stray cats cuddling up to him and decided to let them stay there to keep him warm. Anyway, he suggested that I might prefer a nice hotel - and I didn´t disagree. I think he had concerns about my appetite for the wilderness when we set off walking on Saturday morning ..........but I am confident that he was suitably impressed with my performance by the end of the day (despite the lip gloss).

Saturday night involved hot baths and foot massages followed by another great meal in the hotel. On Sunday we walked for about 2 and a half hours - again with wine and cheese in rucksack (of course!). We then drove off in the direction of Barcelona but stopped of in Ainsa for lunch. Ainsa is a 12 century village and if you are ever passing by I recommend you pop in. Its beautiful.

I´ve actually done some work this week! Well kind of. My English friend here is a translator and she had to translate some power point slides for a business contact. She did all the translation from Spanish to English but then she wasn´t happy with the English version. This was because the slides were for a seminar to be given on selling methods in the advertising industry and she didn´t feel that she understood enough about advertising or business terms in general to be able to correct the literal transaltion into English that an English person would use. So thats where I came in. It was a good two hours of marking up and amending - just what we lawyers love to do! I enjoyed it. Glad I don´t HAVE to do it all day long though (hee hee hee).

I am flying into Yorkshire tomorrow night. My Mum has just told me that it is only 12 degrees centigrade - I will have to break that news to Jose tonight. He will be shocked I am sure. I have got his gloves out of the drawer for him in preparation!

I hope to see some of you in London on Wednesday 18th - Keston Lodge, Upper Street, Islington.

Nos vemos!

S xxx

Friday, April 29, 2005

Very fishy

Hola Bloggers,

Did you know that the black tipped shark has to continually swim around because if it stops then it will drown and die? Did you know that, in the relevant season, Cuttle fish mate and mate and mate until they are so exhausted that they die? Interesting hey! Guess who went to the acquarium today? Yes, me. Stood around and stared and sharks and weird fish for a few hours.............then sat in the sun and read the English version of OK! I have to have some sort of English escapism!

S xxx

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Culture club

Hola Bloggers,

We didn´t manage to get tickets to the Catalan version of A Midsummer Nights Dream but instead we went to the National Theatre to see a performance of Fuente Ovejuna (in Castellano - yeah!). I can´t remember who wrote it which is really naughty because he is apparently the Shakespeare of Spain (Every country reckons it has a Shakespeare doesn´t it - well what I want to know is how come we have never heard of their´s but they all know who Shakespeare is? Hmm. Different League. Thats what I say to that). I am pleased to say that I understood enough to enjoy it - because it was in old poetic Castellano (I suppose like Shakespearean language - not that I am drawing any comparisons).

Its the first time I have seen bare female breasts in a serious production ! Two pairs! The Continent is oh so free..............

It was a joy to visit the National Theatre not only for the performance but also because it allowed me to see some of Jose´s work. He is an architect and the theatre itself is one of his projects. ......and very impressive it is too. It is also virtually oppposite the new tower in BCN which is very much like the Norman Foster Egg in Liverpool Street, London. The BCN one is also Jose´s work. He doesn´t actually design the cosmetic look of buildings. Once that has been done, by architects on the more artictic side of things, he works out how the hell it can be done technically - and whether or not it can be done. So, basically, if it falls down its his fault!

I have also attended an Andalucian festival since my last correspondence. Yes I know I am in Catalunya but at this time of year in all the big cities there are Andalucian festivals for all the Andalucians that live there. The festival consisted of far too many marquees to count which were each set up with bars and dance floors and packed with flamenco dancing revellers. Many were in full costume, they were of all ages and of various stages of drunkardness. I did my bit and danced as well as I could with rose in mouth, silly hat on head and aided by mucho traditional Andalucian wine (drunk from shot glasses for some reason). Two of our gang are children of parents of Andalucia so they have each grown up dancing the traditional dances in their homes. The rest of us were therefore able to (try and) copy those two - much to their amusement. It seems that Andalucian dancing involves lots of stamping of one´s feet. I found that bit quite easy and couldn´t work out whether I was remembering the days when I spent a month in Seville on a Spanish school exchange at the age of 14 ...............or whether I was just remembering being 14!

Most of this week has been spent on the sofa because I have had a really bad cold and sore throat. Although it is never nice to be ill, its nice to be able to be ill without worrying about what is going on at work and constantly fretting about when you should go back.

Well done Liverpool last night. I know there was no score but at least they held Chelsea off. We can´t let Chelsea take the League and the European Cup! I have got more friends who are Chelsea fans than who are Liverpool fans and they are probably cursing me now, but listen:
1. I have always had a soft spot for Liverpool ever since my Dad got me Ian Rush´s autograph when I was about 5 years old, 2. I went to Uni in Liverpool, 3. Chelsea knocked Barcelona out, 4. Liverpool is up North and Chelsea is down south - say no more.

S xxx

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Missing my neighbours

Hola Bloggers,

I am very good friends with my neighbours in London. However, somehow I don´t think I have made any friends with the neighbours here. Due to several Caprihinis and a Fugees CD at approximiately 5am Sunday morning I was singing my head off - much to the amusment of Jose and our friends but unfortunately not to the pleasure or the man above. He banged on the door as thought he was hoping to knock it down and very maturely we all just burst out laughing and didn´t answer it. I would have felt guilty and perhaps gone up and apologised the next day but the stupid imbecile decided to spend approximately an hour later that morning runing up and down his corridor above our bedroom with as much force as he could - in an obvious attempt to annoy us and wake us up. We were not annoyed at all. We were pissing ourselves at how ridiculous it was for a grown man to resort to this. So no apology and no feelings of guilt. I was actually dying to wait all day and listen for his door going and then run outside and pretend that we were coming in as he was going out and talk amongst ourselves (so that he could hear) and say something along the lines of how I regret that we are only just coming in and that I regret leaving at 6am with our friends - thereby making him think that we weren´t even there when he was acting such a goat. However, I had better things to do than wait around for revenge - we went for a lovely walk and ate fantastic ice creams whilst walking around. Yes it is warm enough!

Some of you may be pleased to know (some of you may make yourelves scarce) that I have booked flights to come to England. I am taking Jose to Yorkshire to introduce him to the rest of the clan, fish and chips, drizzle, fog and indeciphable dialects. After he has endured a weekend of that and legges it back to the safety of spanish omlettes and vino tinto, I am going to come down to London for a few days.

I am planning on plonking myself in a bar in Islington on Wednesday 18th May so anyone who is around (no squares) can come and join me for a drink or two. I am flying down to the south of Spain to my apartment on the Thursday to be joined by Jose and spend the weekend there with my sister and her husband. Speaking of which - anyone fancy renting it for a week or two. Forgive me for shamelessly mentioning it but I am, after all, unemployed.

I am going to the Mountains in two weekends time - Jose normally sleeps rough in the open air with nothing but a bottle of wine - or so he tells me! But he is allowing a hotel for my first visit because he is not conviced that I could put up with that as he thinks I´m a bit too "pija"! I´ll show him I´m a tough northern lass in time. For now, I´ll settle for the hotel.

Oh just a point of interest - I got a massive cardboard tray full of strawberries for one euro today. I have to tell you because I am very pleased with it and with myself. I reckon you would be looking at about 8 or 9 pounds in Waitrose.

We are trying to get tickets for an opera version of A Midsummer Night´s Dream this weekend in Catalan. Hmm - can´t understand a god damn word of Catalan and never been to the opera. I can follow A Midsummer Night´s Dream though so all should be well. Doubt there will be tickets though as its at the best opera house in BCN and its always booked up. Proabably end up falling out with more neighbours instead.

Un beso

S xxxxxxxxxxxx



Lots of love

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Final Destination?

Hola Bloggers,

Well I´m here. I made it.

Rome wasn´t built in a day - thats for sure! Peeped at the Colleseum and Trevi Fountain for a few minutes (been to Rome before so just wanted to see my favourites before hiting the shops). Didn´t get any Gucci sunglasses - opted for Prada instead. Bought a few warmer clothes and then hit the runway once again for Spain.

Jose met me at the airport - both of us obviously a little overwhelmed by the whole concept of me being here!

My first few days were a little strange, but I knew that would be the case so I just got on with it.
I´ve settled in quite nicely since though. I am playing house and doing all the stuff that housewives do every day including cooking proper meals every night (aided by the supply of fresh veggies from Jose´s family´s farm). I´ve joined the gym and I intend to go every day - but it doesn´t always happen. Far too busy some days - wandering around looking for things like potato mashers and various other housewife armoury that I develop a need for.

The first weekend was spent in Tarragona, which is the old Roman town where Jose comes from and where his family all live. Its about an hour south of BCN. It was his youngest brother´s birthday (27) so there was a family meal at his parent´s house. This meant that I had to meet the parents, two brothers, girlfriends, uncle, cousins and grandma all in one day. Very enjoyable though and I managed to understand most of what was said to me and get through without any major accidents. The most amusing part of the day was when middle brother told his Mum to say what he had taught her in English. It started with "F" and ended with "Off"! His poor Mum didn´t know what she had said but once everyone was given a spanish translation - it became the joke of the day and his mother continued to use her new phrase on a frequent basis.

Sunday´s higlight was a walk on the beach. The weather is still quite cold but it was lovely to walk on the empty 15 km long beach. Just what the doctor ordered.

My Dad visited me last week for two days and brought me the previously requested supply of clothes. It was good to see a family face after 3 and a half months and we spent two days walking around the city and catching up. We also went up to the Barca ground and watched the players train and did the tour of the ground. I can now say that I have been in the visiting team´s changing room and then run on to the ground from the dug out!

Jose can speak more English than I realised - he had to manage to speak to my Dad over dinner in English. We stuck to subjects he would understand - like football and his work - and we tried not to speak with yorkshire accents!

This weekend was spent in Tarragona once again - this time because we had a wedding to go to. This was a good oppportunity to meet lots of Jose´s friends. It was very funny to see the Spaniards doing the YMCA!

After the wedding we drove to Jose´s family´s farm. Its where his grandparents used to live but now, although the farm is still in action, the farm house is just kept as a holiday retreat for the family and the work is done by people they employ.

I didn´t know where I was when I woke up because we had arrived in darkness. So it was lovely to wake up and take a tour of the farm. The main thing that is produced is Palm Trees! There are fields and fields of them - as far as you can see. They grow them for about ten years and then sell them. There are veggies everywhere but they are just to supply all the extended family and not for sale..................but the poor bulls that I made friends with are unfortunately for sale (and we all know what for). They were lovely. Apparently there are lots of different types of bulls and the ones one the farm are not the fierce species used in the bull ring. They are very timid ones. They came over to the fence and stared and me and let me stroke them if I bobed down and made myself small.

It was a great day on the farm. All 3 brothers together with their girlfriends and grandma watching over. We hand picked veggies and roasted everything on a very rustic bbq (a fire in the drive!). Jose proved to be multitalented and earned himself the name of Farmer Giles. His years spent on the farm as a child were evident - surprising for a city architect to have such earthy skills!

Hope you are all well

Lots of love

S xx

Monday, March 28, 2005

Gucci darling!

Hola bloggers,

Well I am in Europe but I am not in Barcelona!

I went to the airport in Buenos Aires without a reservation but armed with the knowledge that there would be two Iberia flights leaving for Madrid and also an Aerolineas Argentina flight and of course armed with the old credit card. I already knew that there weren't any flights to Barcelona direct from Buenos Aires. I tried to get on all three flights to Madrid (not all at the same time as that would obviously be impossible .......and not physically - I have not lost it that much - I just tried to purchase a ticket for said flights in a very polite and calm manner). However, all flights were full. ARGHHHHHHHHHHH.

I told them that I knew about the row of seats that they always save back for air stewards and begged for one of those ...............................but they told me all those had gone too. I calmy asked for a seat on the next flight to Madrid in the morning but was informed that there aren't flights every day to Madrid. For example the next iberia one would be next sunday! Hmmm. There was a moment when one of those things that you count time with when you play piano started to swing around in my head - it was swinging between a decision between tears and rage. However, it only lasted about three seconds before good old Initiative (the superhero) swooped in on the situation and blurted out to the ticket office attendant " give me any ticket to anywhere in Europe that is leaving tonight!". The ticket man looked a little startled - "I thought you wanted to go to Spain" said he. "Yes I do want to go to Spain but you can't get me there can you so I want to go to Europe - anywhere in Europe - and I will work out how to get to Spain from wherever you send me." Aha - now the man understood! Thanks Initiative.

So, I am in Rome!

I was hoping to get a connection to Barcelona as soon as I landed in Rome but was again faced with the no room at the inn routine (Its Easter isn't it not Christmas).

I am booked on to a flight tomorrow evening at 6.50 pm which should get me to BCN at about 9pm. As I landed in Rome at 5pm today - I have approximately 24 hours. Shame I've been here before because I am now wishing that I was stranded in a new place that I could explore for a day. Not to worry. I am currently residing in the Hilton at the airport where thanks to all the points accumulated at the Leicester Hilton (thanks Alliance & Leicester) I am being treated very well and have been upgraded to a suite which has a library in it of all things - as well as the lounge, bedroom, bathroom and dressing room. The pool has been christened, I have steamed myself in the turkish bath, dined in the restaurant and I am all geared up to buy some Gucci sunglasses tomorrow in Rome. Quite good this being stranded lark!

Spirits wise - I am reasonably calm about my dash across the world. My biggest worry at the moment is that I need more clothes bringing over from England. Hmmm - Dad?

S xxx

Sunday, March 27, 2005

England 4 Northern Ireland 0

Hola Bloggers,

Just to say - well done England!

Oh and what´s up with Rio Ferninad´s hair?

They call Rooney "Baby Rooney" here when they are commentating. Very amusing - I know he´s young but he is more like a bull than a baby.

S xxxxxx

moving on

Hola Bloggers,

Get ready for this one ..................I am going to the airport in about three hours to try and get on a flight to Spain. I don´t have a flight but I am sure that I can buy one at the airport.

No I am not through with South America and no I am not sure about what I am doing - but South America will be here forever and Jose Ramon will not be! I think you all know that Jose came out here for a week. Well he left yesterday and for various reasons I am going to follow him and give life with him a shot for a while. Some of you know the story, most of you don´t but cut a long story short - I broke his heart with something that I told him last week and we more or less ended our relationship. Anyhow, I have realised that men like him don´t come along very often. Men come along very often - I have never had a problem in that department but I know that Jose is very special and I want to give it shot with him. He is still in the mood to continue a relationship with me at the moment but if I stay here and let him be alone for very long then he is going to slowly change how he feels about me - due to the dramas of last week. Its only natural that that will happen. So, I think that its now or never.

It might not work out and I might be back here in a week or too. If that happens then thats cool but at least I will know I gave it a shot. I am not travelling on a shoe string - I can afford to fly backwards and forwards so there´s no big deal there.

I have thought about what I am doing and the objective of my trip was to try and obtain fluent Spanish, to live life in a totally different way to how life is as a lawyer in London and basically to stop working for a while. So, my objectives can all still be achieved in Barcelona. There is lots to see in Spain and there is no reason why I can´t travel there rather than here for a while. Also, there is no reason why I can´t return to South America. Its been here a long time and I don´t think it is going anywhere. In fact my Dad is all geared up to do Machu Pichu with me - so if I end up staying in Barcelona a while then I am sure that Dad and I will fly out to Peru in a few months time.

Don´t worry about me. Everything is cool - I just need to do this or else I will forever wonder what life could have been like with Jose and I feel that I will loose my chance at finding out if I don´t go now. Thats all. I don´t want to regret not taking a chance on him.

I don´t know if I will come to England at all while I am in Spain (I might only be there a week!). I don´t want to come to England mainly because I am not ready to go back to England and it might feel like my trip is over if I come to England - and I don´t want that. We´ll see though. There are lots of people who I would love to see - maybe you can come to Barcelona (babies and all)! I need to concentrate on working out things with Jose Ramon first though - as nice as you all are!

Stay tuned for the next installment - maybe I´ll be flying to another continent!

S xxxxx

Friday, March 18, 2005

Mi casa es ............bloody ace!

Hola Bloggers,

Just moved into the new house in San Telmo and it is sooooooooooooo amazing. I have been running round it taking photos. Its so nice. You go through the gate from the street into a courtyard where various´ doors open on to and where there are big plants and trees (as its open air. There is a series of three sets of french doors to my house - all with shutters. The downstairs floor is the lounge, dining kitchen area and it is so inviting. The Kitchen is all very white and chrome and modern and as kitchens and bathrooms should be in my book (have you read my book?). The walls are exposed brick, the window frames are exposed original pine and the floor is stone - throught the whole house. Amazing.

Upstairs is a very large double bedroom and mosaic shower room. You reach upstairs via a turet, again with exposed brick and original pine and massive windows. Go up another floor and you reach the main bedroom and study and bathroom. The shower is mosaic and big enough to fit about 8 people in (I might see just how many I can fit in after Jose has left .......joke!).

The best bit of all is the top floor. Its open air and has lantern lights all around it, its private - with wicker walls and plants and has a bar, bbq, fridge and BATH! It is indeed a bath - its not a modern fancy jacuuzi .... its like a stone bath (maybe a horse´s feeding thing originally) but tiled and all made wonderful with both hot and cold taps. It really is something else. I´m so happy. I don´t want to sleep for the next week - so that I have more time here. I can´t wait to show it to Jose - who arrives at 6.45 tomorrow morning. I want to show it to all of you. You are all cordially invited over any time this week - if you can make it.

The girl who rented it to me is really sweet as well. Its her boyfrined´s house and when he gets a tenant he goes and lives with her. She is very cool looking and studies design of parks and sells pure honey (She has offered to brig some round for me - there is a whole list of different types that I can choose from apparantly) .

San Telmo was originally an individual republic. I think its kind of where Buenos Aires started. Its very different to Palermo (where I lived before). Its much more south american here - its poorer and more bohemian and more real. Less European. Not sure what is going on across the street at the moment - I suspect it is some sort of giving out of food to the less fortunate among us. You wouldn´t see that in Palermo.

Oh a strange thing has happened. Well a theft has happened and there isn´t really anything strange about that ......its how it has managed to happen that is strange. I left 810 pesos on the table in my old flat last saturday afternoon (for Brad, my flat mate, to pay the rent). I then left the place and went to the country side. Anna our other flat mate came in later that day and added her money to it and then left the place on Sunday. Anna returned on Tuesday and the money was not there anymore, nor the long letter I had written to Brad. Anna was not surprised because Brad should have arrrived back from Columbia on the Sunday and taken the money. Except he didn´t. Anna left on Wednesday to go back to Sweeden. I got back later that day and, on realising that Brad had not returned from Columbia, assumed that Anna had put the money in a cupboard somewhere safe. So, I wasn´t worried - about the money - rather suspected that Brad had been gunned down in Columbia but that is another preocupation of my mind that we don´t need to get into.

I have finally got in touch with Anna by email to ask where she put the money .............and we have realised that it has vamooshed! Who could have taken it? The keys had been downstairs with the porter but it is more than his job is worth to enter a flat so I really don´t think he is to blame. I grilled him as to who rang our buzzer on the days in question and on perusal of the log book we have deduced that a woman (I have the name but won´t disclose it) went up to the door at 11.30 and left at 11.35. Maybe she had keys - maybe she nipped in and took the money? But who is this mysterious woman? I suspect that when I tell Brad the name it will be one of his chicks - and that avenue will be closed off. Hmmm. Very strange. I am just waiting to see what Brad is going to say about this and whether he is going to make me pay twice! If so I might offer to split the difference and say I´ll pay half again. Afterall if he had arrived back when arranged then the mystery might not have occured. Hmmm very strange.

Right I am going to go back over the road and prance around my new house and play joss Stone very loudly and I might even try out the roof top open air bath. So there.

S xxxxx

Thursday, March 17, 2005

thoughts from the city

Hola Bloggers,

Back in the city now. I was thinking today about what has stuck in my mind about the villages in the country that I saw ...... and I kept thinking about the school uniforms. They were very strange. They are quite strange here in the city but not as strange as they are in the villages. Here in the city the girls all seem to wear quilts. Some are most definitely quilts (am I spelling that right? I don´t mean duvets - I mean scottish jobbies). Anyway, I´ll go on. If they are not adorned with massive safety pins and wrap over kind of things then they at least have a chequered pattern. There must be some reason for this (but I don´t know it). In the country, well, in Chascomus and another place called Almes (I don´t think I am qualified to speak for all uniforms in the whole of Argentina), they wear Van Gogh style smocks. Very odd. Invariably about six sizes too big - we all know what the mothers will be saying each morning (you´ll grow into it!).

Another thing - there was no such thing as diet coke in the villages I visited. Did I mention this in the last posting? Its not that I can´t live without diet coke .....but I can´t believe there isn´t any anywhere in a whole village when there is plenty of fat coke. Surely if you are getting a delivery from coca cola you get diet too. Its a no brainer. Maybe they think its fancy modern towny stuff. I don´t know. I missed it. I´m getting fat enough with all the dulce de leche I didn´t need fat coke on top (but obviously drank it instead of water!).

It sounds like I am moaning today, or picking fault, I´m not .......................but it might interest you to know that it is absolutely impossible to purchase any foreign currency when armed with a visa and passport in Buenos Aires. Can you believe that? I need $1500 by 11am tomorrow morning in cash and you wouldn´t think that this would be so difficult ........but my head is a few hairs thiner today. Its just impossible. Only cash works. You have to take out Argentinian pesos from the bank machine and then change local cash for foreign currency. No credit allowed. That would be easy enough if the daily limit you could take out of the hole in the wall was sufficient! Its not! I have had to use two different cards and max them up and then I will have to do the same tomorrow and then change the cash into dollars. Farse! Due to crisis in 2001 when everything nose dived here. Bit over the top though!

By the way, I am not funding some massive drugs export. I know I live in Holloway but honestly I need the money for a rental of a fancy house in San Telmo (where they dance Tango in the streets - hopefully not under my window!) .

By the way, can you all have a minute of silence for my little car please. It has left my life forever more. Weep weep. My Dad has sold it for me. It served me well and will always be remembered. Bye bye brum brum.

Un beso

S xxx

Friday, March 11, 2005

End of Term

Hola Bloggers,

I am writing from the computers in my language school ....probably for the last time! I have finished all classes now, received my little certificate, had a goodbye lunch and made a little speech (in Spanish of course). So, that's it. No more structure to my life out here. From here on its a case of play it by ear. There is the slight possibility that I may take some classes in the sister school in Santiago Chile ....if I go there ......but nothing is planned. It would be nice to carry on studying - because I certainly don´t speak as well as I want to yet - but also I am looking forward to laying in bed and having a break from gramatical exercises every day. I think I need some physical exercise! I am forever eating chocolate, cakes, ice creams and dulce de leche and I never do any exercise. I do feel a bit lethargic and lazy and I can feel a few pounds creeping on.

I am planning on going to see some Gaucho action over the next few days. I am going to look on the internet later tonight and find out a but mnore about it and then take off into the countryside and go and stay on an estancia for a few days. I am not sure how well equiped these type of places will be internet acces so I may have to tell you all about it when I get back rather than as I go along.

Ok, have a good weekend everbody

Lots of love

S xxx

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Animal Magic

Hola bloggers,

I have just been to a big market in Montevideo and I actually had to leave because I couldn´t stand the cruelty to animals anymore. It was unbelieveable! It was a pretty standard city market where you could buy anything and everything .....but with the addition of pets. But all the animals were squashed up so much it was heartbreaking ........ and of course they were being poked and proded by every passer by. I hated it. There were snakes and frogs and lizards in empty coke bottles with the lid on - god knows how they were breathing because I couldn´t see any holes. There were turtles, rats, fish, cats, dogs, chickens, mice, parrots, canaries, rabbits and even scorpions. The problem was that everything was sharing a space only just really adequate for itself ....with about six others. They were all piled on top of each other and constantly being picked up and messed about with by children and adults alike. It was horrible. I really didn´t like it.

Well thats all I really have to say today. I´m going to the airport now to catch a flight back to Buenos Aires.

I hope the weather is not depressing you all too much. I hear its not very good at the moment. Its 80 degrees here - but then you knew that didn´t you. Sorry !

Besos mi amigos and happy mother´s day to all the mothers out there

S xxxx

Saturday, March 05, 2005

Montevideo

Hola Bloggers,

I am writing from a HOSTEL - yes a HOSTEL - in Montevideo. I bet you can´t belive that I am slumming it can you. Well, I am and actually its not that bad afterall. I couldn´t manage it for a long stretch because I just couldn´t deal with the no wardrobe, hairdryer, fancy bathroom etc etc. However for two nights its fine. Its been recently renovated and its got nice clean beds and towels and warm water and stuff .....and I only have my small bag with me with three outfits so the lack of wardrobe can be endured. My clothes are important to me - I have learnt that on this trip (I knew it anyway but now I know it for sure). I don´t like things being creased, dog haired or dirty. God knows how I would ever cope with a baby puking on me! Nena - please train your new son to provide some kind of signal prior to puking in time for my return.

My mind is doing the usual business calculations while I am here. I can´t help it! I´m lying on the bed working out how many beds you can fit in a hostel and how much you can charge and how much the mortgage would be on that size of house. I can´t stop trying to work out easy ways of making a living!

Montevideo seems really nice. A lot smaller and slower paced than Buenos Aires. The air seems a lot fresher too (not that its really bad in BA - its just fresher here). Its small enough to walk around and see all the important buildings and visit all the interesting markets in one weekend - which is handy seeing as I only have a weekend here. The people seem really friendly - in fact I just got a taxi back to the hostel with a rather too friendly driver. He took me home safely and quickly and I paid .... and then as I was leaving he asked me if I would like to go to his bedroom with him. When I declined the kind offer he suggested that we take a trip to the beach together instead. Friendly chap - don´t you think?

I am about to go out on the town again. Last night we ate and drank in a restaurant in an area of the old town where there are loads of restaurants with street side tables. It was a really nice night. We (the 3 of us that have come from Buenos Aires) ate with 2 Sweedish girls that are staying in our room in the hostel and we all got along really well and had a good time. Later we were joined by five middle aged Argentinians who were harmless enough I suppose - its all good spanish practice! They told me that Buenos Aires is not Argentinian at all and until I go to the countryside and ride with the horses and see some of the scenery then I don´t know Argentina. I am sure this is true and I do plan to do a bit of horse back travelling through Argentina - but perhaps not staying at their ranch as was suggested late last night.

After eating and drinking, we went to a club in Montevideo (minus the middle aged Gauchos). We were looking forward to this because the clubs have been closed in Buenos Aires due to the incident that happened around new year when 190 poeple were killed in a club due to the fire doors not being operational and a firework being set off. However the club in Montevideo did not satisfy my desire to dance at all. I couldn´t stand to listen to the terrible music and I left after about half an hour. They were playing a really terrible kind of euro pop electronic rubbish. It wasn´t european it was music from here but describing it as euro pop might help some of you understand what it was like. Uruguayans trying to swing you round to it in a Tango style was just not working or helping my liking for the place! I think I am a bit of a music snob. I can´t just dance to any old rubbish for the sake of it. I know what I like and I know what I don´t like and I am very definite about this in relation to all manner of things. If something is not quite right I am not happy. I think I am hard to please in a lot of ways - another thing that has been confirmed on this trip. I dont know how you go about changing that though .....and to be honest I quite like having high standards - at least I am blessed with the determination and skills to seek out the standard I want.

The Beach is currently being shown on the tv behind me - how travellery is that!

The money here is quite funny. 50 Uruguayan pesos is roughly a pound so I am walking round with thousands in my pocket but actualy only have about 80 quid.

Oh I think I forgot to gloat again. I know I told you thatI got 83% in the lat exam but I later found out that once again I came top in the group. Whoo hoo (another small personal victory). Not that I am competitive or anything ..........

Until the next time

S xxxxx

Thursday, March 03, 2005

Boca 3 Peruvians 0 ......Sarah 83

Hola Blogers,

Three main pieces of news today. 1 - I went to the football last night. 2 - I just got 83% in my most recent exam and so I will now be moving into the advanced level, and 3 - I have moved house.

I saw Boca Juniors play against a Peruvian team last night (don´t remember the name of the Peruvians) and Boca won 3 -0. It was quite an experience and there were lots of differences to a game in England. The main thing that I noticed was how they never ever passed the ball backwards! I only really saw about three square passes as well. Every ball goes forwards and it is more or less one touch football. If they can´t see a free player within about four seconds they just boot it forward and hope someone will get there ......and quite often they do because they all run at full speed all the time. Also as soon as they are near the bnox they are shooting like their life depends on it. Very different to the cautious play in England .......or is it just that I am used to watching Tottenham!

I stood in the populas area where supposedly all the nutters are. However, I didn´t find it at all intimidating and there were lots of guys with small children on their shoulders. Every one was so friendly and all the men around me talked to me. One old guy next to me tried to trick me by telling me that it is tradition for girls to strip off when Boca score a goal. I told him I was foreign not stupid. His grandson was just mesmerized by me whichwas quit funny. Evbery time I spoke he just stared at me with wide eyes and open mouth. ÃŒ don´t know why - think it was just because I was foreign and I was telling the old guy about football matche in England. Maybe the boy was more interested in what I was saying than me - don´t know .....but it was funny.

Another difference is that there are cheer leaders at Argy games. Girls in bikinis doing acrobatic dancers at half time. I´m sure a lot of you would welcome this being introduced at home!

The songs are different as well. They seem to be proper songs rather than just two liners that we chant at home. The seem to have a chorus and various verses. I couldn´t make out all the words so I can´t really relay whether they were as insulting as ours. However, just as we do at home, they do seem to mention their main rivals in their songs - so in this case it was River Plate that they were refering to.

There were no big screens - but someone told me that they do have them at River Plate - so maybe its just that Boca is too old. It does look quite old. Its capacity is about 40 000 and it was full last night.

There were lots of pictures of Maradona everywhere and they all kept asking me if I knew who he was ....so obviously I told them that I didn´t like him because of the hand of God ......and they all laughed. Hmm funny for them - not for us hey!

My new house is a snazzy apartment in a fancy part of town. Its just like a London new build apartment with two bedrooms and two bathrooms and all mod cons. Stuff roughing in it - I am made for better things! The dog hairs, the dirt and the decrepidness of the other palce just did my head in. Now I am sharing with an American property developer - far more my scene. The other girl couldn´t sing anyway and that was her only attractive trait. The only probalem I forse with the new place is the lack of hairdryer .....but that can be rectified. Oh and the bonus is that the American is going to Columbia for ten days so i will ahev the place to myself for a long time anyway. I don´t go in for communality at all time! (is thata word? - comunality). Well it is now.

Ok, got to go to a class now so hasta leugo

Besitos

S

Monday, February 28, 2005

Gramatico gramatico gramatico

Hola Bloggers,

Well I haven´t been writing much for a few days (maybe a week) because I have been sick of reading and writing because of all the grammar that I have been studying. Things have got very technical now with studies of conditional tenses and subjunctive pluscuamperfecto - yeah exactly! Apparently I have now covered all tenses in Spanish .....its just a matter of remembering to use the right ones now. There are more tense in Spanish than in English which makes things a little tricky sometimes. I´m not sure that I can speak English perfectly in the first place and so perhaps I am eventually going to end up speaking Spainsh better than I speak English - having studied the language at an older age. We´ll see.

So, let me think ......what were the highlights of last week. I went to some more trendy bars, ate some more tasty treats and saw more Tango. Its funny how the top notch bars look just like they could be in London. The fashion for high end bars seems to be the same the world over! I must say that I am a little sick of Tango now so I am trying to avoid it from now on.

I´ve changed the details of my homestay now and I don´t take meals there any more. She just never had any food in the cupboards so I thought it would be better to sort myself out in restaurants every night. Also we go out a lot in groups from the school, and so often I missed dinner in the girl´s house anyway. I´m actually going to view an apartment tonight that I might move to. I have one week here without a place to stay (becaue I will have finished my studies and so the arrangement through the school will have ended). However an American property developer that I have met has got a fancy apartment and he is going to Columbia for two weeks and wants to sublet his place. I am assuming it will be really nice because he is a property developer in the states - so I might take it for the two weeks and leave the girl´s house and the slobbering slavering dog behind. My clothes need rescuing from dog hairs and drool ! Not sure if I can get a refund back from the school for the week that I have already paid for but I would rather be comfier than richer. the new apartment is onlny going to be about 15 pound a night so its not going to kill me.

I am thinking of going to Montevideo this weekend with two other girls and then I have plans to travel around Argentina with another girl after school finishes here. So, my lazy ass might start to move soon.

Right, time for more cakes with dulce leche I feel. I can just fit a street cafe in before I find this apartment.

Oh I´m going to watch Boca Juniors play on Wednesday night so watch out for that posting if you aer interested in football. I here Chelsea won some sort of league thing and Arsenal are not palying very well. Well BCN shut you Chelsea scum up didn´t they!

Besitos

S xxxxxxx

Monday, February 21, 2005

Hola Bloggers,

How was your weekend? My first full weekend here in Buenos Aires went very well. Saturday morning was spent shopping (still can´t stop buying more clothes!). Then the afternoon was spent in Tigre which is known as the Venice of Beunos Aires. You have to get the train there from the city and then you can take boat rides along the river and look at all the big houses backing on to the river with little canals leading off and acting as kind of drives to the houses. There´s a big market at the point where you get the boat from and lots of restaurants and bars.

I wouldn´t exactly call Tigre Venice myself but I don´t suppose many of the locals have actually been to Venice! The river is not the most appealing river to swim in because its a kind of greeny brown colour. This doesn´t stop the locals though!

The funniest thing I saw all day was a man and his dog whizz by on a jet ski. The dog had its two front paws up on the handle bars and looked like it did this every day.

Saturday night we all went over to one of the city parks where there was a free concert of some famous Argentian band. Don´t ask me the name as I didn´t take much notice in the first place so I haven´t forgotten the name, its more like I never even knew it. It was your average guitar and emotional song type band - trying to be Santana but not quite making it. Good though, if you like that sort of thing.

After the concert we went over to one of the students houses for his leaving party. He lives with Argentians so it was more of an Argentian house party than an international one .......which means the guitars were out again and everyone sat round singing old folk songs and listening to the odd solo from the one who seemed to be "the main man". I couldn´t help thinking that this would never happen in England as he would get laughed off and everyone would think it was really geeky .......but then we love slagging things off and taking the piss out of each other in England don´t we!

On Sunday a few of us met up and went over to San Telmo which is an old residential area where they have an antiques market every Sunday and also where people are known to Tango in the town square. There was a free Tango show where we ate lunch and a few of my companions got up to Tango with the maestros on stage. Very impressive.

It was quite nice in San Telmo because we kept running into other students we know from the language school. Its a nice feeling to bump into people you know in a strange city - it makes it more like home. By the time the market was closing we had a gang of about 12 to sit around and drink wine and eat ice creams.

Well, its Monday morning now and I am about to start my classes in the next level up. Onwards and upwards ....over and out.

S xx

Friday, February 18, 2005

Damn ......is that the time?

Hola Bloggers,

I am very hungover today due to a late night .....well more like an early morning. What's a girl supposed to do? Its not my fault that the clubs never shut and its not my fault that a Mojito costs one pound 80 pence. With these two factors in mind you might be able to understand why I didn't get home until 7am this morning. Comically, my host was in the kitchen preparing my breakfast (thinking I was in bed) when I came in through the door. She just said "welcome to Buenos Aires" when I said I'd been out partying and the she asked if I still wanted my breakfast. I declined and headed straigt for my bed. Needless to say, I wagged school today. So, I've gone from Grade A student to school drop out in the space of 24 hours! Oh well.

I've just spent the afternoon sunbathing in the botancial gardens near my house. This is my usual spot for sunbathing. Its very pretty and there is a large strip of grass in the sun where you usually find about 6 different people dotted around in bikinis or shorts .....so I've become one of the regulars. The most interesting thing about the gardens is that there is an incomprehensible number of cats there. If you had taken an acid trip sufficiently recently enough as to make "Flashbacks" a possibility, you would surely doubt the reality of the appearance of so many cats. However, I can assure that I am not halucinating an that there really are thousands of the buggers. They must be wild (obvioulsy) but they seem very friendly and they go and sit on whoever's lap, sarong, paper that will allow them to. Some people seem to attract whole gangs of them (what is the collective noun for cats? ......maybe a pride, no? ).

I'v decided that its cheaper here than Brasil. I kept being told in Brasil that it would be the same, but its not. This is just another one of the completely false things that people tell you about countries that they have probably never even been to. Here in Buenos Aires the internet generally costs 20 pence an hour, but in Brasil it was more like a pound an hour. Economists amongst you might be thinking that this is not a good example as it doesn't show the price of something in the usual hypothectical shopping basket commonly used to compare standards of living. I say this because this thought hsa just gone through my mind. The differntial could be on account of a more sophistcated IT industry. However, using food and drink as an example, last night (before the club with the far too tasty and resaonably priced Mojitos) I ate and drank in a restaurant with my friends from the language school and the bill came to 6 pounds per person. By the look of the time stamp on some of my photos, we were still there at 1.30 am and we had arrived at 8.30. We were constantly drinking bottles of wine and eating big plates of tapas .......so 6 pounds is pretty good going! In Brasil, in an equialently trendy restaurant in equivalent area in Rio, 6 pounds would get you all your food and one alcoholic drink ........but not the amount that we downed last night. Also I find that ice creams (like Magnums and the like) generally cost a bout 20 pence here and they were about 40 pence in Rio. I will continue my investigations. I won't continue to report back on each one of my findings because I am sure you don't require such information on a day to day basis in England. However, these are the sorts of things that I ma thinking about whilst wandering around alone out here. Upstairs for thinking, downstairs for dancing.

I love Buenos Aires. That has already been decided ....and I have only been here 5 days. Like all love affairs, I'm sure the day will come when I take the object of my affections for granted ......but for now, in this honeymoon period, I love Buenos Aires.

S xx

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Swotty Sarah

Hola Bloggers,

This posting is mainly to gloat and generally congratulate myself ......but I´ll pretend that its the quickest way of telling my parents how I am progressing in my school work.

I have got the results of my exam this morning and I came top of the class with 85 % !!! I am very pleased with myslelf because, as I think I explained before, on my first day here, after being assessed, they put me and another boy into a class with people who had already had three weeks teaching at level intermediate 1......and I have beaten those kids without even having the lessons. They had four weeks of classes and I had one. Whoo hoo! I was a bit competitve.

Each level is a four week course. If you pass the exam at the end of one level you can move up a level (if you are still here). So, because I have passed, I am moving into intermediate 2 next week. However, there is another little personal coup because myself and another girl are going to be taught intermediate 2 in 2 weeks rather than in 4 ! A teacher has said that he thinks we can do it if he teaches us in a group of just us two. So, we´ll see how this turns out. It might be step too far.....but its encouraging all the same. After intermediate 2 the next level is Advanced 1 ....and that just sounds so much more impressive so I am determined to reach that level, and hopefully, as I will have a further week here after those 2 weeks, I can move to advance level 2. I am also thinking of signing up for more weeks of classes here - to try and finish the whole exam system right through to the end of advanced 2 and also because its so good here. We´ll see though, because it is tiring for the old brain.

Another option is to go and complete the classes in Santiago in Chile. I wasn´t planning on going there when I left England but now I think it would be a good idea .....and as the school has a sister establishment out there - it seems sensible.

So, gloating over. I´m going for a siesta - I´m advanced level 2 at sleeping already!

S xx

It takes two to tango

Hola Bloggers,

I have just sat an exam and I am waiting for the results ....so I thought I would let you all know about the Tango show last night whilst I am waiting.

The Tango house was a really big building in a residential area of the city. It looked pretty old so I guess it was an original Tango venue. It was very impressive inside and all done out like a kind of village - you know the type, you often get them in museums. The Tango stage was a big raised circle in the middle of the venue - kind of like the village square if you are buying into the old indoor village theme. The audience were seated on large round tables of ten in the "stalls" or up in the circle on smaller tables. Fortunately, we took up two of the big tables right by the stage in the stalls.

Before the Tango even started we were all made suitably happy with a lovely meal, wine and banter from the waiters. We opted for the traditional seating plan of boy girl boy girl on our table to ensure everyone mixed and met new people ........or was it to ensure that the boy who suggested this got two girls beside him? I suspect the later! Anyway, it worked and I think we all enjoyed the arrangement.

To mark the commencement of the Tango, that we were now awaiting with real excitment, two horses came trotting passed the tables and up on to the stage. They were riden by native indian looking chaps, who were then joined by some gauchos in traditional get up (ponchos) and a mock fight between the two groups ensued. All very amusing but certainly original!

Once the Tango started, no one said a word at the table other than things like "oh my God" "wow" and " how the hell?". There were lots of different types of Tango being shown, ranging from traditional to very modern. The tempo was differnet for every dance also, some extremely fast and some much slower. It really is amazing how they kick their legs underneath the legs of their partners. I couldn´t help thinking that there must be a lot of men in severe pain in Argentina due to an ill timed step by their Tango partner!

A lot of the dances were very acrobatic and women were thrown around shoulders more than once. There were splits in mid air, people swinging in from the circle on ropes and all sorts of incredible moves. Actually some of the dances were a little x rated. I wouldn´t have called them dances at all I would say that they were more acurately decsribed as acts foreplay!

It seems compulsory to have brilcreamed hair and a moustache to dance the Tango (if you are a man, no comment as to the state of the females´ moustaches).

The whole show was ended with a rendition of ..........wait for it ........yes you´ve guessed it .....Don´t cry for me Argentina. Obvioulsy this was in Spanish, not the English version. Two great singers belted it out whilst all of the dancers circled them, each holding a ribbon decorated as the Argentian flag and looking their most serious possible. Very dramatic, a little funny, but enjoyable all the same.

So that was Tango. Try it if you dare. Boys I suggest you wear your cricket box - you´ve been warned!

Oh by the way, its a very comfortable 27 or 28 degrees every day here without fail. Perfecto!

S xx

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Back to School!

Hola Blogers,

¿Que tal?

Well, school has started and its all go go go. I love the school and I am feeling really happy that I am here and that I made this choice. Everyone at the school, both students and teachers, are really friendly, helpful and enthusiastic. There are students from all over the world, of all ages and of all abilities (Spanish speaking skills -nada mas!).

On the first morning, everyone that started that day (about 30 people) sat an exam to determine which class they would be put into. The streaming seems to have been done well and I am enjoying my classes a lot. I have private classes in the afternoon (one on one) and these are a lot harder than the group classes (five in my group). This is because you just don´t get a break from thinking or speaking because it is never someone else´s turn. Its what I am here for though so I am not bothered about being pushed and working hard. I was longing to get my teeth into something (other than Churros) for the last few weeks in Brazil. My brain was starting to get very restless. I can´t complain now though - the old grey matter is fully occupied!

Other than classes and wonderful pastries at morning break, school is good for socialising too. Tonight I´m going to a tango show with a meal included. About 15 of us are going with one of the teachers. There are events every day that you can sign up to (these are extras that you have to pay for but my budget is such that I can do everything if I want to - everything is very cheap here for those with pounds sterling in the bank).

I am getting used to the Rockweiler in the house. I am now ready to call her by her name - Cleopatra - rather than calling her "the dog" all the time - so I think this says something for the progression of our relationship. I do believe my host now when she says that Cleo is not ferocious. She´s a little too tired to be bothered to be ferocious in the evenings. A man takes her out all day, with other dogs, for a kind of doggy creche come party in the park. So, she tends to just lay around in the evening, invariably in the way and mostly in the doorway of the bathroom. I have found that a slight tap with the foot ensures that she understands that you want her to move.

I am getting used to the host a bit more now as well. She is a singer and last night was spent listening to her latest songs, recorded that day in the studio, and telling her which I liked and which I didn´t and why - under much interrogation!

Buenos Aires is very first world looking and you could be mistaken for thinking that you were in Spain somehwere. The accent is the only give away. Very odd actually. I understand it now that I know which sounds they are substituting for which, but I am sticking to my guns on my Spanish Spanish. It is quite amusing because my teacher thinks that I have a fabulous Barcelonian accent and is always asking me to say certain things and telling the other students to listen to me. He loves it and gets very excited. Blame Jose for this (who is also developing a Yorkshire accent believe it or not).

I will try to report back on the Tango show as soon as possible. Its not on the most convenient of nights because I have an exam tomorrow but I guess I am not going to die if I don´t do well in the exam so I don´t want to miss the Tango. I always did manage to burn the candle at both ends quite well so I don´t see why I should change a habit of a lifetime.

bye for now

S xx

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Argentina

Holaa Bloggers,

I am now in Buenos Aires. It wasn´t exactly a smooth run to get here. The flight was fine but then there was no man waitng for me with a board with my name on - as I had ben told that there would be. I sorted myself out in a taxi and set off to the apartment where it has been arranged through the language school that i will stay at. When i got to the girl´s house she was a bit surprised to see me and said that she thought that I was arriving the next day. They had told her I was flying on Saturday night but she thought I was coming from England and so thought I´d be here on Sunday. This meant that she didn´t have the bed ready for me and it was about 11.30 at night.

Iwent into her flat and from the look of things i am getting her bedroom with a double bed and then she is sleeping on the sofa bed in the lounge. Luckily her sister has an apartment in the same block and had left it empty because it was being done up and painted. So I was taken down to that one to sleep there for a night until Maria had time to get the bedding changed and prepare the room for me in her flat.

The flat I am going to be in is not very big so we are going to be a bit ontop of each other. One thing I am not overly impressed with is the enourmaous Rockweiler dog called cleopatra which is also going to be a flt mate of mine. Maria was surprised that the school had not told me this because she asks them to check with people. Maria insists that nnnnthe dog is friendly but my god it looks strong. If it jumps on you you´d be straight over. It was shut in the kitchen when I was there. Lets hope it likes it in there.

I think the comment the school made about Maria cooking veggie meals was a lie because she said that she knew that i was a veggie but then asked loads of questions - clearly not having encountered such an alien before. She didn´t really understand what I could eat if I didn´t eat meat or fish. She said we could talk about it tomrrow.

Its not red hot here or anything. When I looked on the forecast on the net yesterdy it said 80 degres here today - but its not. Its probablyabout 72, but its cloudy. I am begining to think there´s a conspiracy against me getting one of my famous tans. The weather seems to go worse everywhere as soon as I arrive.

It was quite weird saying goodbye to Jo at the airport. Not because I was scared to come here alone but because we really honestly don´t know when or where we will see each other again now. She won´t be in Englandwhen I get back and for various visa related reasons she may not be able to leavae nd reenter the USA once she has gone there again in April.

I have noticed that they only give one kiss here - rather than the continental two. Not sure if there is a rule about which side yet - further observation required.

Hast luego

S xx

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Fairwell carnivhell

Hola Bloggers,

Well the carnival has now ended (or "carnivhell" as Jo and I have named it). Last night was the final night. Our friend who we met on the plane coming here from Rio (Jose Manuel - from Venezuela but living in Chile) called round to our apartment at around 6pm yesterday unexpectedly and so we spent the final night of carnivhell with him and with two other people who joined our party in a bar. Well actually with one other person because we got rid of the third one as soon as we realised he was interested in the young prostitutes hangin around! He had seemed ok up until this point and had given me his email address for when I move on to Chile. He was a lawyer and seemed to have brain. However, it turned out that he was ruled by the little man downstairs rather than the brain in his head! I was about to throw away the piece of paper with his email address on it after he had left but Jo (slightly drunk) decided to eat the piece of paper - thus saving anyone else from picking it up and getting involved with him.

We only really got to know about his desire for prostitutes (one of which he left with might I add!) because our good friend Jose Manuel had been listening in to him talking to girls and picked up what was going on. When he invited a girl over to talk to him we thought it was his friend but poor Jose Manuel switched chairs so fast and looked a little frightened by the girl that it became obvious to me that something was up. He then explained to me what was going on and said we should get rid of them. We didn't need to worry because the two of them left of their own accord fairly promptly. I wouldn't like to think about where they went.

The other person in our group for the night was a hysterical guy from Twickenham. He was trying his best to speak a bit of Spanish and Portguese whenever he could but it was straight out of a coemdy sketch. Everything ending in "o"! He had obviously read a few words in a book but was not sure of pronounciation and was saying everything with a Michael Caine like drawl. We were splitting our sides at him all night long. He was smoking cigars as well which just added to the comedy of his personna. He was an absolute star and entertained us all night long. He had been travelling with a friend but the friend was in the apartment with a suspected broken leg. Marlon, as he was called, was calling his friend a hypocondriac and saying that he didn't believe his leg was hurt at all. I suggested to Jo later that maybe his friend just couldn't take any more of Marlon's constant Michael Caine Spanish any longer and had pretended to be injured to get away from him. He was certainly the type of person that you would have a fantastic time with for a night or two but then you'd just have to seek some peace and quiet.

So, carnivhell is over. Its still raining, unfortunately. We entertained ourselves today by going to the cinema because we realised that the film was in English but with Portugese subtitles. We saw Closer. Its good (especially if you like Jude Law .......are their actually any girls out there who don't like Jude Law?).

Lots of love

S xx



Monday, February 07, 2005

Sleeping Beauty

Last night we ventured up to the historic centre again for the carnival celebrations. We ended up sitting on the pavement for a few hours watching everyone go by. It was hillarious looking out for the real nut cases and laughing at them. It was a good way to get talking to people as well. Various groups kept coming and sitting next to us and talking to us. The most interesting were two separate groups of Israelis. It was quite strange how two consecutive groups were from Israel actually. The second group were a lot nicer than the first and were very impressed with my recital of hebrew prayers. They assumed I was Jewish with a name like Sarah but I explained that I was not and of course how I came to be able to recite hebrew prayers. They were all on an 8 month holiday together (about ten of them) having just finished their national service. Their next stop is Buenos Aires - just like me - so emails were swapped. One of them had stayed in London once - Londoners, no prizes for guessing where he stayed ............yes Golder`s Green of course!

Today, after four days of 35 degrees heat, it decided to lash it down. Because of this, we didn`t bother getting out of bed until about midday and the took ourselves for a pizza. We planned on getting a bit drunk all day as we couldn`t think of anything else to do but we agreed to go back to the apartment first for a little sit down, collection of more money etc etc. As soon as we got in we each lay on our bed for a while - to let the pizza digest. Next thing we knew it was 5pm and we had slept all day. Talk about sleeping beauties. We must have needed it - as my Mum would say.

The biggest thing on my mind at the moment is the iminent birth of Nena and Alex`s baby. Nena is one of best friends and I am really disappointed to be missing this event. The baby was due on Sunday but it has not shown its face yet. I have just emailed her to tell her to do a few star jumps to try and jig it about a bit (she is Irish -so it will probably not mind a bit of a jig).

God this place stinks! I just stopped typing for a minute and sat back and got a whiff of the street outside. It really does stink everywhere. I think its extra stinky because of all the party goers toileting in the street but even if it was half as stinky as it is now - it would still stink beyond belief.

We are firmly entrenched in the Historic centre now. We tried a different section of the city last night where there is another carnival celebration route. However, within minutes of getting there we were in a taxi heading for the tried and tested Historic Centre. This other place looked like a refugee camp but without the misery. I know thats probably a really unpolitically correct comparison to make but its true, sorry. I am from Yorkshire after all - political correctness was a bit late catching on up there and still skirts round most parts via the M62.

I had quite an amusing exchange in a restaurant tonight. As you all know - I am vegetarian. On the whole I have been able to feed myself very well in this country. There has always been plenty that I can guzzle down. However, tonight, in a very trendy looking but empty restaurant I encountered a bit of a problem. Now I know you shouldn`t ever go into an empty restaurant but it was off the beaten track a little and it was early so we figured someone had to be the first in a restauant. I ordered a mixed salad, some rice with brocoli and a fried plantain banana thing - a strange combination I know but the menu was in portugese and I could only know for sure that these things were veggie.

My order was taken but then a few minutes later the waitress came back saying she couldn`t do the mixed salad or the rice. I started to speak Spanish and so another waitress came over who could speak Spanish. I enquired as to what was missing that preventeed them from making the mixed salad and I said that I didn`t mind if something was missing - just give me any old salad. I also said that I didn`t mind if they didn`t have any brocoli and they could just give me plain rice. However, I was told that they didn`t have anything capable of putting in a salad at all. I said - what you haven`t got one tomato in the kitchen, not one piece of lettuce or the odd slice of cucumber? No was the reply. I explained to them that I was vegetarian and asked what was vegetarian on the menu. Apparently nothing except what I had ordered (which they couldn`t provide) and the deserts. I declined the offer to have ice cream for my dinner and asked what, if anything, they had in the kitchen that I could possibly eat. The waitress went into the kitchen to discuss this with the chef and then hung out of the hatch and waved a carrot and me and said - we`ve got this. At this point Jo and I left and went back to the place we`d been to the night before where we knew there was some food in the kitchen. We now know why the first place was empty!

Good night bloggers

S xx


Sunday, February 06, 2005

Pelourinho

Hola Bloggers,

Pelourinho is the only pleasant part of Salvador. Its gorgeous - like an oasis in the desert compared to the rest of the place. We went to Pelourinho for the day and ended up staying into the evening to enjoy thier carnival celebrations. Its the historic centre of Salvador with beautiful pastel pianted palacial buildings interspersed with cobbled narrow streets with yet more pastel piatned buildings. The feel is much more carribean than south american and the carnival floats were in that vain aswell - more reggae based music (right up my street).

We sat in the town square for an hour or two in the sun and watched the nutters in the costumes come by. They made great photo fodder. In fact one of the groups of men dressed as women decided that we were good photo fodder and gathered around us for their photo taking.

The funniest sights has got o be the two gay guys in a cafe who were making full make up and jewellery. One of them looked just like Christopher Biggins. I got a photo of them and they loved the attention. Te christopher biggins one tried to feel up the hunky waiter as he walked past him and then all the waiters collapsed in hysterics ...........except the poor one who had just been molested.

Today we are sitting in a hotel miles away from the centre in an area where the guide book promised unpolluted waters and better beaches. It lied. Its disgusting and we are using the internet to try and find a hotel somewhere with a pool on a roof - so that we can escape this city! I'd get the next flight out of here but Jo can't afford to do that so we are going to try and see the funny side and grit our teeth until next Friday.

Lots of love

S xx




Saturday, February 05, 2005

Salvador

Hola Bloggers,

We are now in Salvador - about a 2 hour flight north of Rio. This is where we have come for carnival as its supposed to be less commercialised than the Rio one. As soon as we arrived the sun was beating down which was very welcome after the rain in Rio! Jo had been sat next to a guy from Santiago Chile on the plane so when I caught up with her at the baggage reclaim we had a third member to our party. We shared a taxi with him into the Barra area where we were both staying. The traffic was very heavy coming into town and once we got here we realised that carnival fever was already underway. Everyone was rushing around with bags of ice on their heads and cans of beer stacked up on their shoulders. They were running backwards and forwards from shop to make shift market stall to stock up. It seemed like everyone was tryng to make some money at carnival by selling whatever they could think of fom the roadside - mainly beers and water. Empty pots of paint were being fashioned into barbeques and all manner of things were being cooked up and sold to passers by.

Our apartment is really nice. Spacious and airy and with hot running water (a treat after the last place!). Well I say hot - more like scolding. Its either burn yourself or freeze yourself. I choose to burn myself - just because I can and I was sick of the ice cold water in Rio. It was manageable when it was hot and you were coming in from the beach but when it was raining it was just like torture.

To be honest, this part of Salvador (Barra) is not very nice at all. Well, being kind to it, maybe it will look better when its not carnival time. Most decent shop fronts are all boarded up - so that the revellers don`t smash them in. It just makes it look like a massive building site though. The streets are dirty as well due to all the make shift market stalls and millions of people. We had planned on basking in the sun during the day and partying at night but the strip of beach here is really horrible. Its got dark sand that looks like its got oil or pollution or something streaked through it and it stinks! We couldn`t even bring ourselves to sit on it. We went and sat on a grassy hill at the side of the beach for an hour. But the hill was actually more like a mountian and you just kept sliding down on your bum - couldn`t stay in one place. So that didn`t work. Only one thing for it - shopping!

The first night of carnival we bought tickets for a bar on the front row by the see where you would be able to sit at the window of the bar (no glass) and get a front seat to the floats pasing by but be safe from the crushing of the masses down below. This worked really well - plus they sold pizza and gave us 5 free beers each with the ticket. Result. It only cost 14 pounds. The tickets to follow behind the floats were about 100 pounds and you`d have to keep walking (dancing) for hours and hours and hours behind your float. We much prefered our option.

Well we saw all sorts from the safety of our veranda at the bar. It made Notting Hill Carnival in London look like a kid's tea party. Its much bigger here. The transvestites are worth a mention. They were out in their full glory. I can`t quite understand one element of this circle of society though - can anyone help me? I can totaly understand that there are trasnvestites - people who feel like a woman trapped in a man`s body and want to live and look like a woman. I get that bit. I can also totally understand gay people. I can also totally follow why a transvestite would want to date a man - because they think they are a woman. BUT what I don`t understand is why a gay man would want to date a transvestite. Surely if you are gay then you like men. Ok the trasvestite is a man underneath but if you fancy men why do you go after one that looks like a woman - it doesn`t make sense to me. Its like a woman wanting to date a man who dresses as a woman - it just doesn`t happen does it. I'm confused.

There are some fantastic dancers here. I couldn`t mimick them if I tried becauase you need to have an almighty backside really to be able to do the moves that they show off. The kids are great too. You see them as young as five really bumping and grinding. Its strange though because the moves that they do here are very sexual and you wonder if the kids quite understand what they are simulating with their gyrations.

It seems to be quite normal to beckong someone over for a kiss as well. So many boys were waving to us from the street and asking us for kisses. They don`t just mean a peck on the cheek either! You can watch them go along and choose who they want then say thankyou and move along dancing - hillarious!

Wonder what I will see tonight - night three

Lots of love

S xx