Back to Life

Hola Blogers,

Well we are finally back to normal life after the best period in our lives so far. Both the wedding weekend and the honeymoon were amazing but now its back to work for Jose Ramon and back to being a domestic goddess/ lady if leisure for me.

We haven't got the professional photos of the wedding yet but we do have a few that friends have passed on so I'll set out a few details of the wedding in this blog and in the next few blogs.

The Friday night party before the wedding was a great success. We had around 100 people in the function room and bar of the hotel, mixing, mingling and generally getting excited about the wedding. It was amazing to see so many of our favourite people in one room - a taster of what was to come the next day and an opportunity to take that in without being so caught up with the process of the wedding. Although having said that, for at least an hour I felt like all that I was doing was saying "Hola" or "Hi", kissing peoples' cheeks and saying "Gracias" or "Thank you" to all the "you look lovely" comments. I was kind of stuck at the entrance to the room greeting people as they arrived. Dad seemed to be doing the same, as was Jose and his Dad.

Two of our friends had been holidaying in Scotland beforehand and made a surprise entrance in full scottish dress. They are Spanish - which confused a few people! They both wore boxer shorts under their kilts. Spoilsports. However, I am reliably infromed that one of them was most defintely without his boxershorts later on in the nightclub! I didn't witness this exposure first hand as I retired to bed to get my beauty sleep at approximately 1.30am, shaparoned (spelling?) by the lovely Nena who was at my side throughout the whole wedding build up. Nena - you were fantastic!

My beauty sleep was awoken by two disturbances. The first being Fede and Inaki (Spanish friends) shouting at the top of their drunken voices in the street outside the hotel at about 4am. Apparently they had forgotten which hotel we were in, gone to a different one (only to be escorted out), called their girlfirends/wives for directions and then began shouting from the street to let EVERYONE know that they had arrived! The second disturbance was an almightly thunderstorm. Yorkshire, like the rest of England, had been enduring a heat wave for the previous month with temperatures of 30 degrees. I had kept saying to my family that I predicted that this luck would break on the day of the wedding. I am not often wrong! It absolutely poured it down all morning and later again during the wedding. More on that when I get round to writing about the actual wedding.

S xx

Boat tripping

As you can see, we had fun on Saturday night. It was a stag and hen do for three couples. We have all got so many weddings this year that we are now starting to double things up in order to free up the calendar!

We hired a private boat and sailed around the coast off Tarragona acting like fools for a few hours. There are many far more incriminating photos but I won't embarrass the girls by publishing those. But to give you a clue, we made the couples choose a photo from a porn mag and then reinvent the position for us (fully clothes of course - but still extremely embarrasing for them). It was hilarious.

The picture of Jose and two friends in similar stances is their interpretation of the Haka (the dance of the Kiwis). The singing came later. Whenever Jose is drunk in Tarragona he always makes everyone go to karaoke and he always makes his friends sing but then hogs the microphone himself. Its no surprise to any of us now - totally par for the course. This week the surprise was for a poor chap called Juan who kept getting up to do a number but kept getting his five minutes of fame gate crashed by our lot. Juan was one of those eyes closed, contorting face, christina aguilera types who fancied himself as a real singer and was taking this as seriously as was possible with four or five drunken fools jumping up behind him and grabbing the second microphone to give him an unwanted and unnecessary hand. Poor Juan.

I got away without singing this week. Often I am forced but I think Jose was too drunk to remember to try and embarras me and just carried on with enjoying himself.

After the karaoke we hit the dance floor in local club. Fede had taken off his girlfriend's underwear by this time (that he had been wearing over his own clothes, and at one point instead of his own clothes). You wouldn't imagine this of a politician and lecturer in law would you but I kid you not he is the balmyist thing I have ever seen. He is often prone to a spot of drunken ballet dancing (I must clarify that he has no previous experience or training). Lets see what he gets up to at the wedding this weekend. Watch out for him. He's the one in the photo with the maximum 4 people sign held over his privates. His girlfriend is the most serene, pretty, lady like girl of the group. Chalk and cheese.

Right I shall get back to packing my suitcase for my honeymoon and fretting over any last minute arrangments for the wedding. Yesterday we had no elecricity for the marquee and the wrong size tables .......but I have sorted it all out now. Lets see what today brings!

S xx

Catalan

Hola,

This photo was taken yesterday in Creixelle. As you can see, I've been working on my tan for he wedding. Still got a week or so to go to top it up before the big day, although my sister keeps telling me that I musn't turn up looking too brown or else I will look like I've been tangoed when I put my wedding dress on - due to the stark contrast. I suspect she just doesn't want to look pasty next to me in the photos. Well with a bus load of spaniards coming too I don't think I am the only one she should be worrying about!

I am pleased to say that I think something is begining to stick with regards to the catalan language. Saturday was the stag party for our friend Fede. With this as the excuse, all the boys went up to Pamplona to the San fermines festivals (Bulls running through streets etc), leaving wives and girlfriends behind. Fede's soon to be wife is called Txell and poor Txell claims that I am the only person in the world with whom she has to speak Spanish - and that at times she struggles to express herself. How does she think I feel!

Txell is from a tiny village somewhere that is very catalan and apparently no one ever speaks spanish there. So, she speaks catalan with all of her family, all of her friends, her boyfriend, at work etc etc. Of course she can speak spanish - and to an untrained ear you'd assume she was spanish and she was speaking fluidly. However, once you start to listen properly, she often has the odd catalan word in the middle of a sentence or a complete catalan sentence in the middle of a spanish conversation. At times she can't think of a word in spanish and so points to something or describes something or says it in catalan and often I know the spanish word before her (which I find quite amusing). Anyway, after spending all day on the beach with me, her spanish was slowing up and she started flipping into catalan and then correcting herself and going back to Spanish. So, I took the brave move of saying "Txell, just speak Catalan to me. I have to learn so lets start here and now." I had to reply in spanish because I can't speak catalan but I was confident that I would be able to recognise enough catalan that we could get somewhere with this. So, thats what we did, and I'm really pleased we did. I was really pleased with myself that, more or less, I understood her for about an hour's worth of conversation. Hooray! a stepping stone has been crossed.

There is no point in me signing up for a course in catalan, I have decided, because we are moving to Valencia. Valenciano is actually very very close to catalan......so I do intend to sign up to a course in valenciano. However, valenciano is not spoke n as widely as catalan is here. The need, therefore, will not be as great. But as it wil help my catalan, I think I will put it on my list of things to do.

Adeu

S xx

House

Call me what you want: babyish, greedy, impatient, spoilt.....I don't care. However, I have reached the point of being jealous of a two year old. Her name is Millie (Amelia May if you want to be formal) and she is the daughter of my friends Rob and Rachel and this is her house. Her own special house. Put together by her Father Rob in the garden of their new house (note the beer bottles on the table proving that Rob must have worked hard). So, Rob and Rachel have a house, and now Millie has her own house in the garden! I want a bloody house!

I have been living in a flat since 1996 and by the looks of things I have five more years of flat living to come. I know a lot of my readers are Londers and that you will therefore be thinking - "so what, doesn't everyone live in a flat?" But no, in the land of civilisation (Yorkshire) everyone has a house by the time they are about 19. I'm not exagerating. If you go to Uni you rent a house with your mates (which I did in Liverpool). If you stay at home with your parents then you still live in a house, if you rent or buy your own place - you rent or buy a house (usually a cute little cottage). If you are a thief, drug dealer or other such delinquent then chances are you get a council house. One way or another - you get a house.

So, by choosing to live in very large cities, such as London and Barcelona, I have done myself out of a house. It didn't bother me too much for a while - mainly because I bought a duplex/maisonette in London in order to pretend to myself that I did actually have a house, due to the stairs you see. However, I've had it now with flats. I can't take much more. Its become a point of principal now - I want a god damned house. I want a garden. I want a drive to put my car on. I want a garage to store loads of crap in whilst the car is on the drive. I want proper neighbours - who water your plants for you. I want my own front door. I don't want to have to listen to other people: walking above me, walking below me, shouting, playing crap music, watching rubbish tv loudly, banging hammers, banging on my door to tell me to turn my music down.......I could go on. I'm sure you know what I mean.

City people (like Londoners) and Spanish people (because they all live in flats) don't seem to get as annoyed by the problems of commual living, but it drives me mad. I feel like I am still in a university residence, or worse still, in a boarding school or a prison or something. I just have to admit it - I'm a country girl underneath all this showy city front and I want silence at night time and grass outside of my window (the turfed type that is!).

I have made my feelings clear to Jose - with regard to our planned move to Valencia- but for many reasons I won't bore you with, I am afraid I have let him have his way ......and we will be buying another city centre flat. At least though, I have his agreement that in five years time I can have a house. Lets hope I haven't been banged up for assaulting a neighbour before then.

So, little Miss Millie doesn't know what she's got there - her own private house at the age of two. Where as here's me, 31 years old, married in a matter of days and still no house. Victim of my own success people have told me. I suppose thats how I should look at it as it could have turned out that I had a house - but that it was a squat.

S xx

sushi

Question: What does a woman with too much time on her hands do?
Answer: See picture.

One of the things I bought yesterday in Corte Ingles (which lead to monkey arms - see last blog) was a suchi making set. Firstly, it is obvious I have too much time on my hands by the sheer fact that I noticed said set on shelves. I remember the days when I would fly round Waitrose (Holloway Road, London) like a woman possessed, honing in on products like a condor. When I was working I did not have time to aimlessly amble around supermarkets wondering what new products were lining the shelves. I would have decided on the tube home from the office what I wanted to eat that night, done a Rain Man like check through the contents of my kitchen cupboards (in my mind of course), realised what was missing for newly chosen dinner and swoop upon waitrose like there was a war about to start. This was because every minute in the supermarket was a minute not spent socialising, pampering, talking on the phone, watching tv, going to the gym......generally enjoying life. The split of hours between work and lesiure just never seemed right. However, I now please myself virtually all of the time! Whoo Hoo! It can't last. something will happen - I just know it. I'll end up having the most boisterous, attention demanding children that have ever walked this planet.

Back to the sushi. Living the life that enables you to notice sushi making sets in the deepest corners of a supermarket also enables you to toss about in the kitchen actually trying to make sushi. I must admit that my attempts are not great, the rolls are not exactly equal looking on each end and so obviously the better side is showing on the photos. However, I think my attempts are passable for a test run.

You will note that I ahven't gone to town on the fillers. I wasn't going to waste expensive produce on the first roll. It could ahve ended up on the floor for all I knew. So, just a 1 euro mango and abit of red pepper have been inserted for now. I will continue in this new found hobbie and I will improve and become more adventurous (she repeats to herself in a mantra like manner).

I am sure I will become good at this because its not too disimilar to rolling something else I can think of. Which I mastered at age 15 and never lost the talent for. There are knacks with these things that come with time. I'll get there in the end.

The sushi has been made, by the way, to accompany tonight's Spain v France game in the world cup. Jose will need food which is edible from the coffee table by the sofa. He has already made that request. It was requested for all world cup games but I negotiated him down to just England and Spain games. For any other games we shall eat at the table like normal civilised human beings and then retire to the sofa for the rest of the game. A fair deal I thought.

S xx

monkey business

I feel like a monkey today. I know I can be a cheeky monkey but I am refering to my arms. I went to the gym today for the first time since, ooh about March or April, and I think I overdid it really. Or maybe it was the shoping afterwards. I normally follow a session at the gym with a session at Corte Ingles, as said shop is nicely positioned between gym and home. Would be silly not to pop in when passing. Anyway, I bought lots of food. I usually by treat food from Corte Ingles, as its kind of like buying your food from selfridges - you just don't. Actaully its not that bad on price, she says defending her habits. I digress.

I subsequently walked home laden with jars of fancy mushrooms (one of which I smashed on Cort Ingles floor - whoops), peaches in wine, sushi making kits .....and other goodies. By golly were the bags heavy.....but I absolutel refuse to get a taxi. I force myself to walk everywhere. After climbing Machu Pichu successfully you can hardly moan at eight blocks with heavy shopping bags, come on!

The monkey arms have been further stretched today by a jaunt to the cheapo shop to buy five litres of drinking water and five litres of water for the iron. Add to that a bag of fruit and veg from the local fruiteria and you get the picture. I don't know, maybe I'm feeble in the arms department. My arms are not exactly thickly set. They are no long though, longer than before.

S xx

Llamas and alpacas

There is so much to say about my trip to Peru that I have decided to tackle single elements, rather than attempt to convey all of my thoughts in one blog. Today's subject is of a wooly nature.

Being from Yorkshire, I am used to seeing wooly backed creatures in nearly as much abundance as humans. In fact, yorkshiremen are often accused of loving their sheep more than their fellow men. I'm not sure that our affinity with sheep goes this far, although I wouldn't be surprised if a sheep was picked before a chap from "the wrong side of pennines" (Lancashire) by a yorkshireman faced with the old small lifeboat and crowd of people/animals to save addage, pero bueno (as the Spanish would say). Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I wasn't overly surprised at the quantity of wool wandering around.

As you can see from the photos, we went to a LLama / Alpaca sanctury, in an attempt to familiarise ourselves with the varieties of the species. However, I'm afraid no one really quite got the hang of it. There are so many different types! Llamas and alpacas are effectively brothers from what I can see, but I can't remember who their parents were in the vast family tree of wool. The family tree showed that within both the Llama and the Alpaca group there are many different types - this is what makes each one that passes you by difficult to name. You see one that you think is definitely a llama and then his fury friend walks by who defintely doesn't look like an alpaca, but yet doesn't look like the one you thought was a llama. Its all down to hairstyles really. There are rastas even in the llama/alpaca world!

my distinguishing rule of thumb was as follows: thoe with mad hair dos are llamas, and those which look more like sheep (albeit with very long legs and necks) are alpacas. Its the later that have the most expensive wool, and so are more valuable. Wool aside, their value in Cusco seems to be related to their ability to smile for the camera. A traditionally dressed woman or child is no one in the tourist photo industry if she doesn't have a llama or alpaca at her side.

One story related to llamas that I didn't much like was the one about the sacrifices that takes place every year up at the temples just outside Cusco. These sacrifices are part of Inka festivals that are still practiced today (in a more moderate way). The heart of a llama is cut out whilst the llama is still alive and if it is still beating when outside of the body, then the following year will be a good one. A good luck charm you might say - not for the bloody llama!

S xx

still recovering

I am STILL recovering from the stag and hen weekend! God, I can't party like I used to. Well, I can, as you can see from the photos, I just take longer to recover.

The photos here are of me with the gyrating special guest that turned up (thanks to my friends!), Jose's cousin with the female special guest and Jose and his brother Xabi singing the Catalan anthem below the disco ball at approximately 7am. The photos keep coming in from various cameras, I have about 80 now, and they just keep getting more and more debauched. Xabi's photos still remain to be uploaded ....so heaven knows what I have yet to be reminded of.

I have just been saying to Jose that I don't know what I am going to do once the wedding is over because I really am obsessed with it - I do nothing else but plan it and dream about it. He says we shall have to make a baby and then I can obsess about that.

It is San Juan today, summer solstice to you Brits, and that seems to mean that fireworks have to go off every three minutes here in Barcelona. They are starting to annoy me now because I can't see any pretty colours in the sky, I just hear what sounds like constant shooting to me. I feel like I am in Irak rather Barcelona.

I am going to sign off now and find my Peru photos and get those to you.

Hasta luego

S xx

photos

Hen and Stag

Hola blogers,

I know I still haven't bloged re Machu Pichu. I will do, and I'll put some photos up. However, this weekend Jose and I had our joint stag and hen do on his farm. We had an amazing time. There were approximately 35 of us, plus the 2 DJs and the two surprise guests who turned up later!

I had been to England on Thursday to get an Ampostille of the Hague stamped on my birth certificate (in order for it to be accepted over here in Spain as a Kosher document). Anyways, thats where my fun started. I timed my visit to enable me to watch the England v Trinidad and Tobago game with the old footy possee on my old street in London. Great fun! I then went and stayed with my friend Nena who I haven't seen for ages. It was so nice to see her and her gorgeous son Kai who impressed and shocked me as he was walking and talking (he's only 16 months old). He's so beautiful. He, Nena and I went to a little city farm on Friday morning and then to one of my old favrourite Islington haunts for lunch (Gallipoli).

Friday evening I flew back to Spain with Maren and Jason and Camilla and Ed - the four who were coming out to Spain for the joint stag and hen do. We met Jose at the airport and then went into Tarragona to have tapas and wine and listen to Jason's repetoir of Spanish (with a New York accent!). Very funny. As usual, my guests were impressed with Tarragona, the buildings, the lifestyle and the very good cheap tapas and wine. No one is every left wondering why I have moved here! Jose normally makes it obvious in any case.

Maren and Jason stayed in Tarragona for the night - to be able to look around there the next day. The rest of us headed for the farm.

Saturday was pretty chilled through the day. We went on a bike ride, looked around the farm, picked veggies, lazed around and were fed amazing paella made by Jose. After a little siesta, we were joined by Jose's cousins from Navarra, and then by two likely looking lads who were to be the DJs. We were left in no doubt of their ability to pump up the volume upon their arrival - they arrived in typical wide boy style, skidding along the gravel drive with blaring music. They turned out to be harmless enough though. They and I decided where we were going to hang the disco balls and lights and they got to work setting everything up before disappearing for a couple of hours.

Little by little people started arriving and the barbeque got underway - thanks to Eduardo (Jose's cousin). He was really great with organising and watching over the BBQ. It might have been chaos without him - because the drinks area certianly was. Whilst everyone else was enjoying their sausages, Jose and I were suddenly blindfolded and sat down next to each other ....to be handcuffed together! I managed to slide my skinny hand out of them and had, what I thought was, the last laugh - but no - they just put them on even tighter the second time (which hurt actually!). We went around like that for a while and then jose got his brother to loosen it a little ......and once again I found a way to slide out. Ha ha!

The DJs returned at 11pm and got the party really going. Everyone was great - no nervous hanging round the edges but straight over to the dance area. I think the copious amounts of alcohol helped most people on their way.

A few hours into the night once again Jose and I were blindfoled and sat on chairs in the middle of the dance floor. This time with our backs to each other. We were joined by two surprise guests. Strippers! Well, they weren't exactly stripers because they didn't take any clothes of - but they weren't exactly wearing many clothes in the first place! They were a good laugh actually - they just made us dance with them and take shots of alcohol from test tubes which they put in their mouths and we had to pass to ours. All good fun! They then got all the guests in the same way - which I found amusing!

The DJs were supposed to leave at 3am. They had only be paid until 3am but they asked if they could stay as they were loving it. So the music actually went on until 6.30am! I reckon about ten of us managed to stay up until that time. I was still dancing! We finally all collapsed into our beds at 7am. However, I couldn't actually sleep - because I'd had so much cocacola in my drinks that I was on a caffeine high. It was so annoying. I was knackered the next day. It wasn't too important though as we just went to the beach - perfect weekend!

Its such a shame that more of the Brits couldn't come. I missed them and they missed a great party, and a great opportunity to get to know the spaniards for the wedding. Oh well, less than five weeks now until the next one - the big one!

First post from Peru

Hola Blogers,

Just a short one to let you know that I have just completed the Inca trail to Machu Pichu! It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. I am so proud of myself for managing to get through it so successfully. Its pretty gruelling in parts and I really surprised myself in getting round relatively easily. I don´t know whether it was physical strength or mental strength that did it. I suspect a mix of the two. My Dad did amazingly too. I will post pictures and a lot more detail of the trail once I get back home to Spain (and mi amor Joselito!). I am still in Peru at the moment.

Lots of love

S xx

BCN

Hola Blogers,

Just a few photos from the beautiful Barcelona. The first is the Tibidado church which is the one perched high on top of the mountain overlooking the city. If you've been to BCN I'm sure you will have seen it - especially at night. I like the fatct that it has a mini, Rio de Janiero style, Jesus on its roof as it reminds of my days in Brazil. So much has happened and changed since I was in Rio, but that journey brought me here so its nice to have a reminder close by.

The second photo is taken inside the courtyard of the gothic cathedral in the centre of the old town.

We are going to the farm this weekend. I doubt I'll bring back ridiculous quantities of veg this time though - I'll be in Peru on Wednesday so I won't have time to cook it all. It will pain me to see the fields full of veggies and know that I can't take any. I'll just ahve to eat as nay as possible over the weekend at the farm.

Have a good bank holiday weekend.

Un beso,

S xx

Fingersmith - Sarah waters

Hola Blogers,

I have just finished reading a fantastic book and I thought I'd recommend it to you. Its called Fingersmith and its by Sarah Waters (of Tipping the Velvet fame). I belive its been dramatised and shown on TV so you may have heard of it, read it or seen it. I'm not normally one for finishing books very quickly as I have a short attenton span. It normally takes me weeks and weeks. However, with this book, I found that I was constantly thinking of when I could next fit in a reading session, and I read it in a week.

Its basically about the life of a poor orphan girl who grows up in the Borough in London in the late 1800's. However, her life turns upside down when she finds herself involved with a rich family in a mansion in Marlow. Its got everything a good book should have - sex, deceit, murder, love, suspense. There are two major twists in the story and the best thing is that you really don't see them coming.

Right, I am now going to choose my next book. Any suggestions?

S xx

Semana Santa

Hola Blogers,I hope you all had a good easter - or Semana Santa as it is known here. We drove down to my apartment on the south east coast and saw the processions in the city of Murcia. They are listed as being one of the top five of all of the processions in Spain (the famous ones of Seville being number one). I spent Semana Santa in Seville about 15 years ago and that really is a must see. Murcia doesn't come close to the drama of Seville but it was still worth seeing and very special.Semana Santa processions don't exactly induce a carnival atmosphere - as most street processions around the world do. They are quite somber affairs. Spain, unlike England, has done well not to commercialise the religious festivals. The religious aspect of the festival is everything here. In fact, in Murcia, and I suspect all over Spain, the festival is totally religious and there is no sign of commercialisation at all. No hideous hot dog stalls, or drunken heaps of teenagers littering the streets. Instead, crowds of people out with their entire families calmly watching the processions and, I suspect, thinking about their lives. I say this because, although I cannot profess to be a mind reader, I know thats what I was thinking about. You can't help but reflect when you see hundreds of local poeple walking by with bare feet and carrying crosses! Some have only one cross, but many have up to four. Jose explained this to me. Basically, the people carrying the crossed (and their are hundreds) are people who feel they have comitted a sin and want to repent. If they are carrying more crosses then they have obviously comitted more than one sin or maybe one sin but a really serious one - hence they want to suffer more by carrying more weight. So, as I said, it kind of gets you thinking as to how many crosses you should be carrying!S xx

Paradise

This is going to be me in a few months - perched on the top of a cliff watching the sun set over the famous volcanoe off the coast of Santorini. We have just confirmed the booking for our honeymoon and these are a couple of pictures from their website. The pictures are actually a lot wider on their webite and you can see a lot more. I don't know why they have come out so squashed up here.

We are both so excited about the honeymoon. We were buying new bikinis and swimming shorts yesterday after having confirmed the booking. Its going to be amazing. I'm sure I'll have lots more photos to upload once we return.

S xx

Our father, who art in heaven.....

Hola blogers,

Made a few promises to God at the weekend .......in relation to the guidance and teaching of my niece Isabella. Jose and I are her godparents and it was her baptism last Sunday. The poor thing was full of cold, as was the whole family, so she wasn't as angelic as she can be. I did the ritual draping of the shawl over her and Jose held the candle that was lit for her. It was quite amusing to see Jose squirm when the Father gave Jose the candle and started blessing it. The ceremony involves quite a few responses from the parents and the godparents and Jose was panicking in case the Father was going to expect him to respond to any blessings at this point - in solo. Nothing like that was required though so his "Can you repeat plesase Father" wasn't rolled out.

On Monday morning we went up to the statley home where we are having our wedding reception, to look over the terraces and lawns where the drinks and marquee will be situated. We were both very happy and excited after seeing it all again. We can't wait!

Jose was subjected to his first night out in Leeds last Saturday. It was doing itself proud with herds of hen parties and other ridiculously clothed (barely) young girls. Everyone seriously drunk and talking to everyone else in the street. You can't beat that Northern confidenceand humour. Jose was actually loving it and said he could live there. He likes the fact that everyone has "got balls" as he put it. He's certainly not wrong. I quashed any silly idfeas of living there though - the weather is just unbearable for me.

Unlike in Leeds, the sun has continued to shine here for the last few weeks. In fact, yesterday I was sat on the beach! We went down to a village just south of Valencia because Jose had a meeting down there. While he worked, I went for an hour long walk along the sea front and then bought myself a plastic chair and took to the beach with my book for a couple of hours. There were people in bikinis and people swimming. I personally woudn't go that far just yet - but it was certainly warm enough to be sitting there in a t shirt reading. What a hard life I have!

This weekend is our first weekend in a long time which we have to ourselves. We are looking forward to being able to lie in bed, go shopping, watch videos, eat out ....all the normal weekend things. We have been in the company of others at the weekend for what seems like forever. Mum says my life always ends up like that. I think I am probably to blame as Jose is often commenting on how he thinks I need to learn how to do nothing. I like to be busy and sociable you see. I get my quiet me time through the week though so I don't think there is anything to worry about - only Jose's stress levels (whoops!).

Oh I am sporting my engagement ring now! So, I'm taking peoples' eyes out left right and centre. It had been waiting in England because the wedding band was being made to fit next to it. Picked it up from my sister's safe last weekend. Hurrah!

S xx

Campione!

Hola Blogers,

Well we are all very excited over here because the world cup Pitch and Putt is taking place. Now, that probably doesn't sound that exciting to you guys but for us it isvery special because Jose's younger brother is playing int he tema representing Catalunya! Not only is he in the team and playing at a world cup .....after today's play he is second on the leaders board - out of all the teams from all over the world (including England). Pretty impressive hey! I am going to watch tomorrow with his other brother. Jose will be working and David (the brother playing) is only allowing Javier (his other brother) and me to go. His parents and girlfriend are banned from going. He has played so well today that he doesn't want the sight of the faces of his parents or girlfriend to put him off his game tomorrow. He knows they will be too hysterical but that me and Javier will be calm. So, wish him luck everyone.

My entertainment for today has mostly revolved around my new snazzy printer, fax, scanner, copier jobby. I have been setting that up and playing about printing photos off and putting some into frames. The new printer also inspired a complete clear out, clean and move around of the studio. I now have a much pleasanter work area - all I need now is some work! No, joking aside, I have enough work on my hands. I single handedly keep the world of internet commerce afloat with all the things I source for the wedding. Its a joke how much there is to do you know. I have recently had a few contacts pushing for me to ring them and discuss working as a lawyer out here. However, I am inclined to declare that that phase is behind me now. Its amazing how easily you can adapt to a new you. I don't see myself as a lawyer now. Jose is possibly going to open a new branch of his partnership in Valencia and so I think I will have plenty to do helping him (after the wedding) if this all goes ahead. It will mean moving down there which will be a new change and a new challenge - for both of us!

Those of you familiar with Juanita Banana will be pleased to hear that her visa situation has been finally resolved. She has been granted a ten year visa that allows her to live in the USA for 6 months every year! So her constantly yoyoing life can legitimately cary on! The yoyoing is not a permanent lifestyle choice by the way, more of a temporay thing. Once a suitable husband has been found I am sure she will stick in one place for more than a month or two. Suitors may apply through me.

S xx

Springtime

Hola Blogers,

Well its springtime here. The cherry blosoms are blosoming and the layers of clothes are coming off. I must admit it is still very changeable and so the weather can not be guaranteed upon just yet - but last Thursday it was 20 degrees and I was walking about in just a t- shirt (like the true Brit that I am!).

The most exciting thing I have done recently was to go to the Barca v Chelsea match at the Camp Nou. We all know the result by now - and it wasn't any big surprise was it. Barca are amazing at the moment and deserved to win. It was interesting to see the top three players in the world on the pitch at the same time (we ahve two of them every week of course!).

I have just enjoyed a couple of days int eh company of Adrian Joyce (for those of you who know him). Olswangs had a jolly in Barcelona and he stayed ona few days to entertain me. For those of you have never been to Barcelona but have been to New York - Adrian is adamant that they are very similar - well just the part where I live and God only knows which part of New York. I can't see it myself but he said it at least three times each day.

Little Lourdes is still waiting to here about her future. She has been put on the reserve list for a place at the boarding school in England and has another two weeks to go to find out if any of the girls offered a secure place turn it down. I think she has done well to get on the reserve list because plenty have been given a straight no - and she is doing all of this in a foreign language! So, well done to her.

I've got a few intersting trips coming up - so this blog might start to get more interesting again! I'm going to Peru in May with my Dad. We are going to climb Machu Pichu together - as we promised each other last year when I went to South America ......but I never actually got to Peru. This time its a definite. Flight booked and everything.

Hopefully, Jose and I will be going out to South America again in late September -to Colombia this time. He has been invited to speak at a conference in Cartagena de las Indias and so he says we had better make a holiday out of it. Sounds good to me! What with the honeymoon flights now booked too, it is looking like I am going to be travelling a fair bit this year. The honeymoon has been set for a few days in Athens and a couple fo weeks in Santorini - a small and beautiful Greek island that is coming highly recommend by many travellers and travel web sites alike. I am having trouble choosing the accomodation .....because the choice is too good. There is a plethora of small, boutique, original buildings carved into the rock face with views of the volcanoe and the islands popping up every where which are left overs from the eruptions. What with infinity pools and world reknowned sun sets its becoming just far too exciting to sensibly settle on anything.

Other than travel arrangements, I seem to be knee deep in cake, flower and car choices for the wedding. On this front, I am full of ideas but seem to have very expensive taste - which I am trying my hardest to curb. Only 18.5 weeks to go!

S xx

Up to date

Hola Blogers,

I haven't really been keeping up to date with this 'ere blog - which is surprising because I have been glued to my new lap top since Christmas. I have been emailing and organising the wedding rather than blogging. I will try and keep up to it more regularly though - I promise.

The wedding plans are coming along really well. Lots of things have been "jobbed off" as my Mum says. There are no flies on me (as I taught Jose last night - he loves learning random English phrases!).

We went to my apartment down in Murcia at the begining of January and met up with the lovely Shameer and Karen. The photo above was taken in an amazing park in Alicante town centre, leading up to the castle. It really was impressive and worth a visit. They have built a very modern pathway from sea level, all the way through the really old little alleyways and houses, up to the castle (which is set pretty high up above the city - as Castles are!). At the foot of the last little mount that houses the castle you will find the park - which really is something special. We were all very impressed. Its very modern and full of features but works so well with the backdrop of the castle.

Other than lots of walking around, we seemed to constantly eat in Murcia/ Alicante. We combined the Spanish and English traditions just as I like to. The Spanish have their main 3 course meal at lunch time, but we Brits have that at night time. So, in a mixed group you can quite easily fall into having two three course meals every day - which I just love!

The week after Murcia I ate in Goudi's old house in the centre of Barcelona. Jose attended a conference which was followed by an industy dinner, which, being for architects, was of course in Goudi's old house. Nice food, ok building (bit too way out for me) not that great an atmosphere. I think English lawyers are much more party animals than Spanish architects (but then it is a fact that solicitors drink the most alcohol out of all of the professions, top that with being British and you end up being very drunk!).

Last week I was back in England for a business trip (get me!). As you know, I have been teaching English to some sisters. Well the youngest one was working towards taking entrance exams for an English boarding school. So, I accompanied her and her family to London to drop her off for the exams. It was nice to go to a typically English school - it reminded me of my school days. I must say that I was quite embarrassed as to how plain and ugly English girls look at the age of 12. Lourdes (my Spanish pupil) just looked gorgeous at the side of the mousey haired, spotty, clumsy looking giants that we encountered. Was I like that? Lourdes is beautiful - as most girls here in Spain are at that age. I'm always looking at them in the streets and imagining what a child of mine might look like with half a set of Spanish genes. Mind you Lourdes' Mum is stunning so Lourdes does have a head start. Actually that was funny as well - how Lourdes' mum looked at the side of the other mums. All the Brits were in the twin set, barber and pearls and Lourdes' mum was like Elizabeth Hurley or somebody equally as elegantly fashionable and beautiful.

I'm sorry if I didn't manage to see you in London but I purposefully didn't announce that I was going to be in town - due to time pressures. As soon as my committment with the Spanish family was over I trained it up North to do some wedding things with my Mum and see my little niece (photo attached - how cute is she!). Speaking of babies, I did get chance to meet Debbie Heywood's second child, Toby, and I must just say how sweet he is. He's so happy and content - he's adorable!

My niece, Isabella, entertained us all with her bath time routine - which is to turn inot a champion back stroke swimmer for ten minutes. Its amzing to see. She goes mental in the bath and just swims up and down the length of the bath with her Dad holding her head out of the water. I've never seen anything like it!

S xx

As you can see we have been skiing again. This time we went to Baquiera (in Spain) and we took Jo along (who turned out to be hilarious on a pair of skis!).

Jo couldn't remember how to stop, or ski for that matter, so she just threw herself on the floor when she needed to stop, casuing much injury and much laughter. After nearly collapsing with hysterics, Jose kindly began to teach her and I did a few runs on my own (its so nice to be able to do that now). I am so hooked on skiing now.

Two major things happend on the Saturday. The first was Jo flying into a ski lift telegraph pole thing (which luckily for her had been enveloped in a kind of mattress thing) and loosing one ski - which comically remained sticking out of the telegraph pole somehow.

The second was at the end of the day. Jose suddenly realised that they were closing the ski lift that we needed to take to get to the other mountain where our car was. He started having a panic and telling us to get down the slope really quickly. Well, Jo couldn't go so fast (without falling every 20 metres and ploughing into things). We told him it was no big deal (as we knew there would be somebody around to give us a lift in a car) but he was getting panicky. Jose's idea was for me to ski down the slope as fast as I could and then wait at the bottom, and for him to get Jo down. So, off I went - with no idea of how he was going to get Jo down.

I waited patiently at the bottom of the slope and then all of a sudden I saw them hurtling down the slope - Jose with Jo on his back like a piggy back! He seemed to be expertly skiing down. Thing is, he then saw me and so tried to stop close by to me - but misjudged the stopping distance required (due to the extra weight on his back) and kamakazied into me and sent me up in the air........only to land on his knees! He screamed blue murder, I scrambled to get off him and it was all rather scary!

A few hours later he couldn't walk. The next morning we went to the hospital and they strapped him up and told him he had done somthing to his ligament. The precise extent of the damage couldn't be confirmed until he had an electro resonance thing done a week later. Whoops ! Needless to say that he didn't ski on Sunday. It was his own fault though - as he well knows.

Its now about three weeks later and he still hasn't been for the resonance thing doing. He reckons its ok now. I hope so! Oh and of course there was plenty of poeple around willing to give lifts to the other mountain - so it was all a panic about nothing (as we well knew!)

S xx