A visit from Sara.

Our friend Sara from England visited us last week.

One of the presents she brought us was a magnificent quilt which she had made in log-cabin patchwork. A brilliant work of art and a very special gift made to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary last year. I'm sure that it will last more than 40 years!

During the week we were able to see some of the local places of interest.

For 3 mornings of the week we went out for an early walk with our friend Mari Carmen and of course that meant that Hona could come along too.

If you are able to correctly name these 9 locations above, just let us know. All correct entries will go into a draw at the end of this month and the winner wins the privilege of taking us out for a meal at a restaurant of our choice. Good luck!

San Juan

The celebration of San Juan kicks off with a midday mass in the ermita.

The musicians and choir were in fine form.

Everyone was dressed in their best outfits.

This is followed at 14:00 by a meal in the polideportivo, (which still isn't finished), but it offers full shade although all the flies from the village wanted to join us.

After a short siesta it was dancing in the street in front of the ermita.

A great way to celebrate John the Baptist's day, (which is actually tomorrow.)

The see all the photos of the activities during the day, click HERE.

Sudoku; proof at last!

I've been saying it for many, many years but here it is, proof at last that Margaret is 100% better than anyone else!


Despite having recorded many 99% successes over the last few months since she started playing, this is the first 100%. It probably has something to do with the fact that the game has only been played 255 times so far today. Whatever the reason, WELL DONE!!

Delicious Spanish recipes

Here are 3 more brilliant ideas to try for all you budding chefs!

Borage, (or celery), in a cod sauce with poached egg.

Trout fillets, with celery, tomato and onion and topped with capers.

Chocolate mousse with fresh plums.

To see how to poach the perfect egg, (there's a clue in the photo above), and a step by step guide to making these dishes, in both English and Spanish, click HERE.

Toledo

Returning from the Costa del Sol we spent 2 nights in Toledo.


The city of Toledo was important in Roman times but people have inhabited this site since the bronze age. It was also a city where Jewish, Christian and Moroccan culture coexisted from the 8th to the 15th century, a period known as La Convivencia.


Our guides to the city were our good friends Laura and Juan Miguel. Because the old city is on a hill, if you park your car at the bottom, there are escalators to the top. The Romans thought of everything!


The streets are generally very narrow and because the fiesta was due to start in the coming week, they were decorated. The streets were wet not because it had been raining: they had just been hosed down.

This wooden ceiling in the 15th century San Juan de Los Reyes monastery is phenomenal as it goes around all 4 sides of the upper cloisters.

It was as if each religion had been trying to better the others in the grandeur of their buildings whether it was a mosque, a synagogue, a cathedral, a monastery or just an ordinary church.


El Greco, the Greek, made Toledo his home and we saw one of his finest paintings on display here, Entierro del Conde de Orgaz or the Burial of the Count of Orgaz, painted between 1586 - 1588. (I'm a very slow painter too!)


One of the best things about the bars was that when you ordered a drink you were automatically given a plate of tapas. A great custom!

To see more photos of our visit to this wonderful city click HERE

Doña Lola

Finally, after the delights of Ávila, Plasencia and Mérida, we arrive for our week at Doña Lola on the Costa del Sol.


The view from our apartment is as good as ever and this year, our apartment block has been refurbished.


The traditional "Margaret in the window" photo shows that the fig tree has grown even more! See previous entries at the same time over the last 4 years for comparison.


One of the great things about coming back to Doña Lola every year is that we get to eat our favourite English food! I could never understand why the British came to Spain to eat British food. Now I'm glad they do!



Even better this year, we found kippers in the local supermarket - it caters for the British!

We love the way the gardens are maturing.

Another nice thing is we get to catch up with friends we have made over the past years.

To see more photos of our stay at Doña Lola, click HERE