To Stockholm and back, off to Montrondo, Eladio’s birthday and other stories.

In Stockholm last week

Hi everyone,

I’m a bit late with my blog post this week but if you read last week’s entry you will forgive me because you will know I have been travelling yet again.  

Today is Tuesday and finally I am at home and here to stay for a while.  So let me tell you about last week.  I left off on Monday 16^thSeptember when I wrote my blog on the plane on my way to Stockholm.

I arrived in the early evening and went straight to my hotel, the Stureplan, right next door to the company HQ.  I was disappointed with my room as it had a tiny window in the roof which could not be opened.  I knew I couldn’t sleep there as I would have felt totally claustrophobic, so after some haranguing with the desk staff, I was finally given a junior suite, for a small extra charge.  It turned out to be lovely with its own balcony, the only negative point being that it was miles from the lift; but that’s always my luck.  It was too late to go out as it was already dark and uninviting because of the rain.  I decided thus to publish my blog, order room service and have an early night on quite a comfortable bed.  Unfortunately this time I hadn’t brought my feather pillow which wouldn’t fit in my cabin luggage and I had relied on the Swedish hotel having one which it didn’t. Thus I got three nights of fitful sleep and came back with a sore neck. On the plus side, I ordered my favourite Swedish food for dinner – an open prawn sandwich which is called “Räksmörgås” as I learned from my Swedish friend Gunilla and Mexican but Swedish bred friend Ilyana when I posted the picture below on Facebook.

Room service in Stockholm - my favourite Swedish food open prawn sandwich (“Räksmörgås")

Afterwards I watched the end of Mr. Selfridge on my PC.  I am now waiting anxiously for series 2 of the latter, series 4 of Downton Abbey and series 2 of The Paradise.  I have pre ordered the last two but I don’t think they will be available until November or December. My next series will be Broadchurch which was recommended to me by Amanda and owing to my faulting memory I had forgotten I had already bought it in a spate of Amazon purchases of British TV films and series.

Looking forward to watching Broadchurch

I was up early for our communications team meeting starting at 08.30 and was disappointed with the breakfast as there was nothing sweet on hand – if you know me I’m not one for savoury breakfasts.

 

Our meetings were to be held on the 7^th floor of the TeliaSonera HQ which is surrounded by an open air terrace with great views of the square in front with all the lovely spires on top of the buildings.

Stureplan in Stockholm

The day was good.  We had a day of training in “leadership communication skills” imparted by a wonderful Brit called Dominic who turned out to be from Bristol.  He was a professional trainer who comes from the communications world but what I liked about him most was his witty way of addressing us.  I learned all sorts of new tricks and tools, one I particularly liked is called “the elevator speech” – i.e. getting across your message in less than 45 seconds.  The company he represents is Synopsis Communications Consultingand their mission is apparently to turn strategy into action; not a bad thing.

In the evening our team leader Anna, invited us all to dinner.  When I say all, I mean my colleagues from the communications team she heads up and who are from the Nordic and Baltic countries.  The meal was just up the road at a great steak house called Vassa Eggen.  The food was out of this world but I paid for it later as I tossed and turned all night on a very full stomach.

Wednesday’s meetings were more hands on and about topics we are all in the throes of.  As usual we had an early lunch and this time we went offsite, but round the corner again and to the Scandic Anglais restaurant.  The meeting was over earlier than planned and I realised afterwards that if I had known I would have caught a flight home that afternoon.  So there I was with time on my hands on Wednesday afternoon in Stockholm.  For once it wasn’t raining and the sun had come out, although the temperature was only 14ºc.  So guess what I did?  Yeah you guessed right, I went shopping and had a whale of a time.  I wanted to go to Jackpot the Danish designer I liked but the boutique in Bibliotekasgatan had closed down.  A Swedish colleague warned me but said there was an outlet at Ahlens, a well known department store.  But first I thought I’d go to the Galerian shopping centre nearby to visit Lindex, Kappahl and Vero Moda.  I never got to the latter two because I saw and bought so many things at Lindex.  Lindex is a sort of Scandinavian Zara but as the pretty Hungarian Italian Swedish born shop assistant who charged me for the clothes said, is not as “snooty”.  I had never thought of Zara as snooty but maybe some people do.  I walked out of Lindex with a huge bag of emerald green jeans, various coloured jumpers and cardigans and a white blouse.  The lovely shop assistant thanked me for adding colour to her day.  I thought that was a nice compliment.  I took a photo of my bag outside the shop and immediately sent it to Olivia via whatsapp to tell her I had bought lovely clothes for her and me as it was my intention to share the clothes with her.

Shopping at Lindex

Since I came home I have found out that Lindex has an online store and you can order clothes from Spain and that the transport cost is just 7 euros.  That makes me happy as I love their clothes; the Scandinavian style and up till now I could only shop there on my trips to Sweden.

Conscious of the small capacity of my suitcase and the difficulty of packing my new clothes I skipped on Kappahl and Vero Moda and made my way to Ahlens to see what Jackpot had to offer.  Well they didn’t have anything that appealed to me. But I did spy a nice boutique called In Wear and here I invested in a fashionable bright red lightweight down jacket which everyone in Stockholm seemed to be wearing in different colours.  Of course I won’t be wearing it for a while as we are still experiencing summer weather here.

One of my acquisitions in my shopping spree in Stockholm

Ah I nearly forgot to tell you that the whole purpose of my shopping expedition was to buy a birthday present for Eladio.  And I did.  I bought him a yellow Gant shirt to add to his collection of this lovely Swedish menswear.

That evening I had another early night in and watched the only film I had on my pc, The King’s speech and which I adored in English as the first time round I saw it in Spanish.  Unsurprisingly I had the same prawn sandwich for my dinner that night.

On Thursday I was going home and had no idea what an ordeal the journey back would be.  There were no direct flights that day so the company had booked me a flight via London, arriving and leaving from Terminal 5.  I can tell you now that I will never do that again as it is chaos at T5.  The worst thing about returning via London is that you have to go through security again – and the queues are endless, as well as passport control.  Thus I had no time whatsoever for shopping at the airport, the only reason I agreed to travel back through London.  So there you have it, I left the hotel at 09.30 and didn’t get home till about 9 in the evening, 12 hours of travelling for a 3.50h direct flight time.

It was good to be home; but again it wasn’t for long.  Yeah we were going to hit the road again the next day, this time to Montrondo to spend the weekend with Eladio’s 5 brothers and sisters and their wives/partners and their Mother.  Luckily I had the morning to get organized and more importantly to go out and get cakes for Eladio’s birthday to be celebrated in Montrondo and at home the following Monday.  I also had to buy a present from my Father.  I had no idea what to get him so decided on something safe; more Gant clothing.  I got a lovely bottle green and white checked shirt and bottle green cardigan to go with it.

We left after lunch loaded down with food to share with the family; namely Fátima’s Moroccan chicken tagine and her wonderful rice, as well as lots of other food for dinner that night and our breakfasts.  We got there at around 19h and were greeted by the other first arrivals; José Antonio and Dolores.  Dolores and I immediately agreed on a brisk walk to Murias and back with Nuba their mongrel.  We wanted to go the old way across the fields and on the old path but hadn’t bargained for a group of horses or is it a herd? That would have been fine if they hadn’t been so interested in us and started trotting and then galloping towards us.  We weren’t sure whether it was threatening or not.  I love horses but am wary of their size and as I had no sugar or salt to offer them we opted for crossing the fence in the field where they couldn’t reach us.

The horses in Montrondo who chased after us

In the picture above they look very peaceful but later they worried us when they started coming after us.  I do think it was Nuba who put the cat among the pigeons here.  Thus on our way back we came along the path and away from the fields.

Just as we were walking back, Adela, the elder of Eladio’s two sisters, were arriving by car with her husband Primo and my Mother-in-law Ernestina who is in her early 90’s but looks a lot younger.

The next day Adela, Dolores and I went on an early morning walk to Murias and back again, as Adela and I would do on Sunday morning too.

Adela and I in Murias on our early morning walk.  I especially like the old fashioned blue shutters so typical in the area

Later that morning the rest of Eladio’s brothers and sisters arrived; Alejandro and his Paraguayan wife Carolina, Pili and her husband Andrés and Isidro and his wife Yoli.  It was to be a relaxing weekend with just the older generation and the finest weather we have ever experienced at that time of year in Montrondo.

Soon we were enjoying lunch around the big kitchen tables and celebrating Eladio’s birthday with his family.  I loved the sweet garland they had made for him.

Eladio celebrating his birthday in Montrondo.  Just look at the lovely candy garland his family made for him

Afterwards most of the family went off for a siesta.  The men would need it to produce the energy necessary to stack literally tons of logs from a field that belongs to them outside the village which would be brought by a tractor in various journeys to the old house to again be stacked neatly for the winter.  The photo below is of the wood arriving.

The first tractor load of wood to arrive

Meanwhile we women looked on, enjoying the afternoon sunshine and also listening to the radio.  You are probably wondering why we would be listening to the radio.  Well it was to follow a match: Pili and Andres’ son Mario’s was making his debut in the León Handball first team playing in León on Saturday against the Huesca team.  In the end they drew.

One of the main reasons for gathering together this weekend in Montrondo, apart from the business of transporting and stacking the wood logs for the winter,  was to make plans to reform the old house which we have inherited. But before we reform ours, Pili and Andrés will be rebuilding the old house next to it and which is now a ruin.  It was where Eladio was born so has a lot of sentimental value.  On Sunday morning their builders came to look around and finalise the initial steps that will be taken to start.  They had good references from Eladio’s brother Alejandro, so he took them around the old house we will be reforming too, to get a quote from them.  Both young builders gave us the right “vibes” and right now Eladio and I and, of course, Pili and Andrés are really excited about our projects.

The houses to be soon reformed in Montrondo

We left Montrondo on Sunday in the late afternoon and were home by about 10pm.  We were greeted by Fátima, our living in home help and my Father.  Of course we were greeted by our enthusiastic dogs too.  Poor Norah didn’t get a look in as Elsa overshadows her when it comes to greeting us on our arrival home.  We only saw Olivia to say goodnight as she was out with her old school friends; Paula, Sonia, Elena and co.  

Yesterday, Monday, was Eladio’s official birthday and it was celebrated in style as we like to do so at home.  It started off with a birthday breakfast with “porras” and “churros” (Spanish fritters) dipped in thick chocolate.

Oli and her Father Eladio yesterday at his birthday breakfast

We gave him his presents and card and read with interest what we had written. We also laughed at what Olivia had written – she apologized for being stubborn and tiresome when she was a child!  She couldn’t be with us for lunch when we lit the candles on his cake (chocolate of course and from the marvelous patisserie “Mallorca”).

Eladio was 69 yesterday and looking great.

But she joined us for dinner that night when we went out to La Vaca Argentina to celebrate.  The three of us had a great meal but were keenly aware that Suzy was missing.  All in all I think Eladio had a great 69^thbirthday.  I can hardly believe that next year he will be 70.  He looks so good for his age and I’m sure you all agree; it’s not just flattery on my part.

And today is Tuesday, the last day to be recorded in this week’s blogpost.  Today I am fasting (yes I stick to the “fast diet” but only when I am at home), but lots of things are cooking and happening too.  To start with Oli is off to London to see Suzy this Saturday (until next Wednesday) and amazingly she has managed to get the BBC presenter she met in Galicia to show her round the BBC while she is there.  Also her day is now completely topsy turvy.  She went to work but rang me shortly afterwards.  She was coming home as the editors of the programme are sending her to Galicia again today.  She will be covering the terrible case of a 12 year old girl who is adopted and of Chinese origin and who was found dead yesterday.  The story is national news.  I am happy for Olivia though that she will be out in the field again and doing what she likes best, investigative journalism.  

The other thing that got “cooked” today, was another journey to London.  Whilst on our walk to Murias, Adela and I agreed to go together with my other sisters-in-law.  In the end the rest of them decided not to come but Adela is keen to go and for various reasons.  She has never flown before, nor visited London but is very happy for me to be her guide.  Of course I want to go with her too, but I have a vested interest as it means visiting Suzy again.  So I went and booked our flights for the December bank holiday and we will fly out on Thursday 5^th in the evening and return on Sunday 8^th.  It’s going to be fun. Watch this space.  

And now my friends I have reached the end of the story of my life since I last wrote. You can see the full selection of the photos  of our weekend in Montrondo here.

Meanwhile everyone, I wish you all the best, until next time,

Masha

Family barbecue, off to Stockholm, Eladio in Montrondo, Suzy and Olivia in London and home again.

With the group of journalists at TeliaSonera's HQ in Stureplan, Stockholm.

Hi everyone,
 

This week has been very exciting indeed.  I have been in Stockholm on a press trip, Eladio was in Montrondo and Olivia went to London with Miguel to see Suzy.  So let me tell you all about it but first I must start from last Sunday when we had the first official barbecue of the season.
 

José Antonio, Dolores and their youngest son Juan and his girlfriend came for lunch on Sunday.  It was the perfect day for the first barbecue of the season. 

Dolores, Cristina and Juan by the table laid for the family bbq last Sunday

Eladio and José Antonio took care of grilling the sirloin steak, lamb chops, hamburgers and Spanish sausages and I did the rest: jacket potatoes, salad and our favourite dessert, a variety of Eton mess made of meringue, fruit salad and ice cream, preferably pistachio, coconut or white chocolate or a scoop of them all.

Eladio and José Antonio grilling the meat for the barbecue

Olivia and Miguel joined us and again we all missed Suzy who is living her unique adventure in London. In the afternoon we lounged around by the swimming pool terrace which we had spruced up for the occasion.  Later we went for a walk with the dogs which Nubah especially enjoyed.

On Monday I was up at 04.30 in the morning and was to pay for it later as it would take me nearly a week to recover.  It was difficult to get up so early but worth the effort and I was happy to do so to go to Stockholm, a city I love so much.  I was taking 8 of the most senior Spanish telecoms journalists to try out 4G for the first time and to get to know our mother company, TeliaSonera and to bond with TeliaSonera and Yoigo as well as Ericsson. Unfortunately there is no longer a direct flight to the Swedish capital so we chose to go via Barcelona, the only connection that gets you there at midday and allows you to return late enough in the day to make the most the most of it and be home by midnight. 

We arrived at about 13.30 and a bus was waiting for us to take us to my favourite hotel, the Skeppsholmen on a small island of the same name, just 10 minutes walk by the beautiful Baltic Sea to one of the main squares.

The Skeppsholmen Island in Stockholm - the long building in the trees is the hotel

The hotel is surrounded by the sea and other small islands. It is just across the way from both Gamla Stan to the right and to the famous Vasa Museum on the left.  The little island is green and leafy and has glorious views all round but above all gives you a feeling of peace and quiet and staying at the hotel is like staying at someone’s country house.

The Skeppsholmen hotel close up

We had a very late lunch for Swedish times but oh did we enjoy the lovely Scandinavian bread and butter followed by plaice and new potatoes and rhubarb, something my Spanish journalists were not at all familiar with.  In fact I don’t think it exists in Spain or if it does it is probably eaten by pigs in Galicia.  Later Miguel, our guide of Mexican origin, who is married to a Swede, took us on a city tour and then on a walking tour of Gamla Stan, the heart of the old city of Stockholm and a must on any trip to the city. 

The buildings of Dutch inspiration in the main square at Gamla Stan

I had provided all the journalists with a 4G phone (the amazing Samsung Galaxy S4) and a sim card from Telia and very soon they were all trying out 4G, the new network technology that has existed in Sweden since 2009 and will soon be coming to Spain.  Its main advantage is the speed with which it works and the lack of latency (delay) in downloading anything from the internet, be that a web page, a video, music or whatever. So throughout the city tour and indeed throughout their visit, they concentrated most on experiencing 4G. 

4G works really well in Stockholm

We came back from Gamla Stan by the water taxi; another good experience and soon we were back at Skeppsholmen.  The alternatives were a siesta before dinner or a walk into town and the latter is what most of us did.  We enjoyed the walk across the bridge with its golden crowns, past the Grand Hotel and up Kugstradgarden where young boys were playing football in their shirt sleeve, shorts and bare feet and eventually found ourselves at an outside terrace bar just off the Hamngatan street where I usually visit the shops.  There was to be no shopping on this trip, a big first for me.  Here and it’s funny to think we were at TGI Friday, my journalists enjoyed the local beer whilst I had a glass of orange juice.  For the Swedes this time of year is officially Summer and even though it was only 15c everyone was wearing summer clothes and sitting outside.  Thankfully most outdoor bars and restaurants provide blankets and heaters, so we felt quite cozy.

The beautiful Skeppsholmen bridge

We walked back to our hotel in the cool of the evening and joined the other journalists who had stayed behind, for dinner at the same table as lunch.  It began to feel like it belonged to us. My boss who was already in Stockholm joined us for drinks afterwards but it was so late and my day had been so long, I just had to turn in for the night. I slept fitfully but well on the comfortable mattress with a white down duvet and pillow and was interested to see how it was light from very early on in the morning.  At this time of year in Scandinavia the sun sets very late and rises early, making the days very long. I think it is the best time of year to enjoy this part of the world.

Tuesday was our longest day. Back home Eladio would be leaving for Montrondo with José Antonio his brother.  They would enjoy their time together at the family village where it was much colder and darker than Stockholm.  The purpose of the trip was to see two builders who would be giving Eladio estimates to renovate the old house.  This is something that has been on our mind for a while, but who knows if and when we will start.  The idea is to conserve the rustic look but smarten it up inside and make it much more comfortable and warm.  The “boys” spent their time on this and on cutting the grass, going for meals to nearby Senra instead of cooking.  There were no wives there to be telling them what to do or what to wear and the opportunity gave them some quality time together which is quite rare these days for the two brothers who were packed off to a seminary before they were teenagers, to a hostile and cold world where they only had each other for comfort.  That would bond them forever. Unfortunately they didn’t send me any photos so I have nothing graphic to record their time this week in Montrondo.

Our day in Stockholm began just as I like it with a not too early breakfast in the charming dining room of the hotel.  The bus was ready at 9.30 to take us to Stureplan where the HQ of TeliaSonera is located.  Here we were greeted by Anna and taken up to the meeting room where we would be given presentations on 4G.  Later we were shown how the Telia Mobile TV service and tariff work in the reception area before going off for our leisure activity.

I call it a leisure activity but there was nothing leisurely about it.  We were going on a RIB (rigid inflatable boat) boat around the famous Archipelago and would be wearing special suits and goggles to protect us from the wind and the speed.  We were told this speedboat could reach a maximum of 55 knots/ the equivalent of 100 km per hour.  Here is a photo of us all kitted out and ready to go.

All ready for our RIB boat experience on the Stockholm archipelago

I sat on the second row and was to regret it as when the throttle was on and the RIB boat at full speed and zigzagging across the Baltic Sea, I literally prayed for my life.  My hat and goggles were falling off and I had to take one hand off the handle to try and sort it out; not an easy feat.  The monitor had warned us that if anyone was having a bad time to put up their arm and the speed would decrease but how could I do that if I was the supposed organizer and team leader and with my sea loving boss in the boat too? 

And some experience it was too

Thankfully the speed reduced and we changed places and I went to sit at the back where it was not as rough and in the end I actually enjoyed some of the fast parts, but certainly not the zigzagging.  Our destination was the little island of Svartso, some 80km from the city and here we ate alone at a little restaurant on the shore.  The sun was shining and a few mosquitoes were around and we were told that our speedboat experience was happening on the best day of the year.  Lunch was salmon, as usual and again everyone enjoyed the local beer. 
 

Lunch with my journalists on the island of Svarsto

Here at lunch I was able to get over the slightly frightening but exhilarating experience of the journey out.  I was worried that on full stomachs any zigzagging on the way back would make us feel ill.  Thankfully the boat went straight which made it more pleasant for me to experience the speed. I enjoyed the views of all the islands on the way back with their lovely wooden summer houses and dreamed of a summer holiday on one of the more than 30.000 islands on the Stockholm archipelago, some of which can be reached by car but most by boat.

A typical sight on the Stockholm archipelago

Our next appointment was a presentation at Stureplan from the TeliaSonera CEO Per-Arne Blomquist.  We all commented he had the same surname as the detective in the Millenium trilogy novels.  Per-Arne’s presentation was the most interesting to my journalists as he gave the business view of 4G and he has been quoted most by them in the articles they wrote during and after the trip.

During the presentation from the CEO of TeliaSonera

The last presentation of the day came from Ulrika, the CEO of the group operator in Sweden. Here we learned about some of Telia’s revolutionary 4G tariffs.  And soon the working day ended and we gave our journalists free time to write their articles whilst Carlos, my boss and I had a drink in the garden of the Skeppsholmen hotel.  I was in dire need of a rest and shower after the RIB boat experience and smell of mosquito repellant if I was to look my best at dinner that night.  

Dinner on Tuesday night was hosted by both Ericsson (our network partner who is building the Yoigo 4G network in Spain) and TeliaSonera.  They chose a beautiful old Swedish restaurant located in the island of Djurgarden (game park) officially called Kungliga Djurgården (royal game park) which is in the centre of Stockholm.  I fell in love with the Ulla Winbladh restaurant as soon as I saw it.

The picturesque Ulla Winbladh restaurant in Djurgarden

The food was good too, although my recommendation not to include cheese which I and three of my journalists hate was not heeded to.  However the perch fish again with the typical new potatoes was delicious.  We ate in a private dining room on the first floor and this is what the table looked like.

The private dining room at the Ulla Winbladh restaurant in Djurgarden

Afterwards we went for drinks to a nearby place called Josephine, a very funny name. Here I had a mojito which was my downfall as it gave me a headache during the night.  Again we sat outside covered in blankets and warmed by outdoor heaters.  Not one for being out late or after dinner drinks, I was happy when someone said it was time to go back to our hotel at around 1 in the morning.

On Wednesday morning, our last day in Stockholm, the sun had disappeared and was replaced by the more typical rain. We didn’t mind though as it was important for there to have been sunshine on our RIB boat experience.  It was sad to leave the Skeppsholmen Hotel which had been our home for two days but if I am lucky I will be staying there again in September.  A bus was waiting to take us to the Ericsson worldwide HQ in what was described to us by the Yoigo Key Account Manager, Reine, as the Swedish Silicon Valley.  When I asked who else was there besides Ericsson, he replied just small fry!  The name of the area is Fisk meaning coffin in Swedish but Reine did not know why it has that name.

We all behaved like excited children when we got off the bus and saw the group’s company sign and there and then got Reine to take a picture of us all next to the sign.

The group of journalists with me outside the Ericsson world wide HQ in Stockholm

I was curious to see how the building or buildings compared to the Nokia HQ I know so well in Helsinki.  There are similarities in the décor inside; all very Nordic, sleek and clean, but the outside is different and Nokia House is the clear winner as far as the architecture goes.  Maybe if we had seen at close hand what is called the Ericsson crack, then I might have been more impressed.  The building we visited was ok, very large, very clean, lots of corridors but you could have been in any blue chip company in the world.  What really struck me was the security once inside and I joked to our escorts that it seemed like a prison with doors having to be opened with special passes and codes every few metres, both to enter and to exit.  In fact we got stuck with Reine once and the alarm went off and I had visions of security guards arresting us but thankfully that didn’t happen.

The Ericsson "crack" building we only saw from the bus

Here we were greeted by Ilyana the Comms manager for Iberia and the head of communications of the group, a delightful Japanese woman called Minako.  I sat next to her at lunch and was surprised to learn she doesn’t like fish. That must be difficult both in Japan and Sweden I imagine. 

After some interesting presentations about Ericsson and 4G, one from a person with the surprising job title of “Evangelist of the Networked Society”, we went on a tour of the building.  Here we saw a little bit of the company’s history in the evolution of telephony – what else would you expect here? - and were suitably impressed with their showroom.  In a way I had seen most of it before as their pavillion at the Mobile Congress in Barcelona is a replica of the HQ showroom.  Thus I was not surprised to see the Ericsson Connected Tree again.  Ericsson believes that anything that can be connected should be connected, so why not a tree?  This tree talks to you when you touch it, tweets and even expresses its feelings with a particular tune. 

With Ana by the Ericsson connected tree - a technological marvel

Our last meal in Stockholm was at Ericsson in their guest dining room called Erico Dine.  Here at last we had meat, duck, not the proverbial fish, but again there was no dessert as seems quite typical at business lunches in Sweden. 

At Erico Dine, Ericcson's private dining room for guests

At around 15h the bus was waiting to take us to Arlanda airport for our long haul home, via Barcelona again.  This was my one opportunity to shop but somehow I didn’t feel like it and also because I was carrying my allowed 10kilo piece of baggage onboard the Vueling flight, I had no extra room for any purchases.  I did buy a book though to entertain me on the way home on the very long flights.  Unsurprisingly I chose a second world war novel called “The girl who fell from the sky” by Simon Mawer about an Anglo French girl who joined the SOE (Special operations executive) and helped the French Resistance.  It kept me riveted throughout and I even carried on reading it when I finally got to bed at two in the morning.

We arrived at Barcelona at just before 9pm, said goodbye to our two Catalan colleagues and promptly looked for somewhere to get a bite before catching the 22.30h flight to Madrid.  Luckily both planes were on time and we touched down just before midnight.  My colleague from El País commented that airlines should advertise getting out of the airport door times rather than touchdown times and he certainly has a point here as I don’t think I was out of the door until well after midnight.

I had a bit of an adventure when I arrived home. Eladio and the girls were not at home and my clicker was not on me.  I had asked Oufa to hide it outside the gate which she did and I found it behind a tree in a piece of silver paper wet from the rain – for the record it was raining in Madrid on arrival and certainly not warmer than Stockholm.  So I could get in the gate but not into the house as if I did the alarm would go off.  That was because I had run out of battery on my iPhone from where I usually work the alarm.  Thankfully I had some battery left on my Samsung Galaxy S4 but I don’t have the alarm application there. My only alternative was to ring Eladio in Montrondo and hope he would answer and get him to switch off the alarm for me to enter the house.   Thankfully he answered and I was able to get into the house without the alarm sounding and waking up my Father and Oufa.

It was a huge relief to get in but it was a while before I would be in bed as I always have to unpack when I return from a journey.  In order to sleep well I put all the blinds down and switched off my phones after leaving them to charge of course. Thus the next day, very unusually, I slept until nearly 10 in the morning.  I felt good but washed out.  It being Thursday I did a fast day and throughout I felt tired and lethargic.  

Eladio and José Antonio arrived around midday to find me working furiously on projects I had to catch up on after my days away in Stockholm.  It was a lovely sunny day and as Eladio had someone to help he decided to remove the swimming pool winter cover.  I caught them at it as you can see in the photo below.  I remarked that it would be sometime before we took our first dip.  It has been the rainiest and coldest month of May since 1985 and June looks like being cooler and wetter than usual too.  However it is much nicer to sit on the swimming pool terrace without having to contemplate the dirty and leafy cover that protects it in the winter.

José Antonio helped Eladio remove the winter swimming pool cover on Thursday this week

It was strange coming home to a quiet house.  Olivia had gone on Tuesday with Miguel to visit Suzy.  It was her birthday present to him too, his first visit to London.  Of course we had been in contact via the usual channels: whatsapp, Facebook and Line and more recently Skype too on my mobile – not a great fan.  

Suzy is enjoying London immensely.  She looks so radiant on all the photos.  She is busy getting to know the terrain, going to interviews, getting her national insurance number and finally opening a bank account.  When I asked her which bank it was she laughed and said Lloyds (our surname).  She also applied for a part time job with a company called Off to work that supplies staff for all sorts of events.  She had to look up the word “grooming” in the advert; a word we’ve never used at home: “It is essential that you are able to demonstrate exceptional customer service skills, a very good understanding of the English language, well developed communication skills, excellent grooming and above all, a big smile and a desire to help people”.  I was not surprised they snatched her up in the two interviews, one on the phone and one in person, as I think she fits the description above. Don’t you?  Now she will be able to sign up for the events she wants to work for, earn some money, get to know people, improve her self confidence but, more importantly, have lots of time to look for a proper job in her field.  For this casual job, this is the uniform she has to wear.  Doesn’t she look funny and sweet and happy?

Suzy looking the part for her part time job with Off to Work

Suzy and her friend Chati surprised Olivia and Miguel by leaving a birthday cake and presents in the room Oli had booked at the Whitechapel Hotel just 10 minutes from where they live. They took a photograph of that moment.

Suzy (left) and Chati (middle) had prepared a birthday surprise in the hotel room for Olivia (right) when she and Miguel arrived on Tuesday evening in London.

Whilst Olivia showed Miguel the sights of London during the day, they would meet in the evening and of course all through this last weekend.  Most of the photos they took were of them jumping or seemingly flying, the poses Oli loves so much.

Oli and Miguel "flying" in Trafalgar Square

On Friday, Oli’s Erasmus Indian friend Sandeep who lives in Cornwall, came to London to spend the weekend with them.  OIi and Sandeep are very close and they hadn’t seen each other for a couple of years.  You can see the moment they met in this touching video Miguel took.  The emotion of it brought tears to my eyes.  What a wonderful guy Sandeep is and his “mate” Sumit too who I know would have loved to be there on Friday too.

Here is a great photo of Suzy, Oli, Sandeep and Chati walking near St. Paul’s Cathedral.  Of course they live or are staying not so far away as the East End is just a stone’s throw from the South Bank and the famous bridges over the Thames with St. Paul’s being on the other side of the river.

From left to right: Oli, Chati, Suzy and Sandeep walking near St. Paul's Cathedral

Of all the pictures they have posted, perhaps this one of Sandeep and Olivia by Buckingham Palace is my favourite.  Olivia looks Indian next to him with her long dress which, by the way, was the birthday present she found in her room.  Suzy and Chati who are wearing similar models above say they are all the rage in London.

Sandeep and Oli walking by Buckingham Palace

In a way I am living Suzy’s adventure and Oli’s visit from afar, avid for news from them and wishing to be there too. Soon we will go to London too but maybe we will wait until she is more settled.  

Whilst Oli was meeting Sandeep on Friday in London, I was having lunch with Alexander a German friend I met through Andy and Amanda.  Alexander heads up a division of Bertelsmann in Spain called Arvato Services which employees some 8.000 people.  I hadn’t seen him for a few years, since before he got married to his brain surgeon wife Diana and had two little girls and became the CEO of the company.  He really has done well and it was great to catch up.  We had lunch at El Buey in Boadilla and here is a photo to record the moment.

Lunch with Alexander on Friday.  I wish Andy and Amanda could have been with us.

On Friday we went on our first walk of the week, something I had missed as had our dogs I’m sure.  Friday was a very “foody” day as we went out to dinner that night as we usually do on the last day of the week.  I asked Eladio to choose and was not surprised to hear we were going to Ginos where we would be having a pasta feast.  Eladio is not very keen on pasta but enjoys a meat dish served with the green and white thin spaghetti called “straw and hay” (paglia e fieno in Italian). I adore it so just order the pasta. This is what it looks like.

My favourite pasta dish at Ginos: Paglia e Fieno (straw and hay)

Saturday was quiet and sunny and I spent some of it cooking but also reading outside by the pool with my new varifocal sun glasses.  I finished The girl who fell from the sky and have now started on Colditz, The Full Story by Pat Ried.  We also washed the dogs which were in dire need of their now monthly or so bath.  Elsa protested a bit about being led into the bathroom but Norah sauntered in and nearly climbed into the bath herself which leads me to suspect she rather enjoys the rubbing and the warm water.  

And today Sunday is pretty much a repeat of yesterday, just the three of us for meals and no girls.  I am now at the end of this week’s blog post and my idea after this is to continue reading my book by the pool, after which we will go for our walk.  It is certainly a relaxing end to a very exciting and tiring week.  

And that my friends, is it for this week.  Cheers till next time

Masha

PS You can see the full set of photos of my trip to Stockholm here.