Olivia, our TV correspondent in Santander, a thousand million dollars for Instagram, invited to a party, the King who kills elephants, centenary of the Titanic, “Bozhe Moi” Suzy is leaving and other stories.

Olivia enjoyed being a TV correspondent this week in the north of Spain

Hello again, 

Another week has passed and now we are halfway into April.  This week has been packed with news both at home and in the media.  So let me begin.

Last week I left off telling you Olga was going on holiday to Turkey and that Zena was coming to clean.  In the end that never happened as Olga’s Brazilian friend was detained at Madrid airport and sent back to Brazil on the next plane as her papers were not in order.  I think this has something to do with a diplomatic conflict between Spain and Brazil but do not know the details.  So, poor Olga returned on Monday with her tail between her legs so to speak.  Hopefully her friend will be able to return soon and then they can resume their holiday.  Meanwhile Zena had made the borsch (Russian beetroot soup) I had asked her to make so brought it on Monday morning, although she was not going to do any cleaning. 

We had a lot of borsch with smetana and perushki this week

It was a joy to see her but a little sad to see the state of one of her eyes after the cancer scare she had a few years ago.  It will take a lot of skin grafts until it is healed.  She looked into my face and said she wished she could look “whole” like me, to which I replied with a heavy heart that the most important thing is that she survived that most dreaded disease.  What else could I say?  I always think it is better to count your blessings but felt for dear Zena of course.

On Monday many things happened, but most important for me was seeing Olivia on the television live, something that still never fails to impress and make me proud of her.  As you know, on Sunday a van from TVE had picked her up to take her to the airport from where she was flying to Santander, that beautiful town on the north coast of Spain.  She was to be a correspondent for a week with the programme she works for, La Mañana de la 1, and would be travelling in the area to wherever the news they wanted her to cover was taking place.  Monday saw her in Burgos where she covered the news of a young boy called Héctor who suffers from the Lennox syndromewhich is a sort of mix between being spastic and suffering from epilepsy.  You can see her in this picture graph I took of different shots of her reporting live.

A sequence of Olivia reporting from Burgos on Monday

Monday brought with it too the news tof the grandson of the King of Spain, commonly known as Froilán aged 13, who accidently shot himself in the foot that afternoon.  He was with his Father at the time, now divorced from his mother, the Infanta Elena, doing “target practice”, which is illegal for a child of his age.  No doubt the incident will have reminded the King of the tragic moment when he himself shot and killed his own brother the Infante Alfonso,  just one year older than Froilán, in 1956, a story quite unknown outside Spain and one that is hardly ever mentioned. 

The King of Spain Juan Carlos as a boy with his family.  In 1956 in a tragic accident he shot and killed his brother Alfonso (sitting on his mother's lap).

I later read that “Froilán” when being admitted to hospital, begged his parents not to tell his grandfather of the shooting accident so as not to remind him of the terrible incident in 1956, something the King will never have forgotten.  Fortunately the young member of Spain’s Royal Family, was only slightly injured.  However he, or rather his Father, will have to face the law and account for what happened on Monday.   

The King with the older of his two daughters, Elena, and her son,  his grandson Froilán aged 13  who shot himself in the foot on Monday

You may remember I wrote about Instagram last week, my latest social network where people share photos easily and instantly on their mobile phones.  Instagram, with some 30 to 40 million users worldwide, invented by another young and clever American student, by the name of Kevin Systrom whilst at University (Stanford), was sold on Monday to Facebook for the staggering amount of 1 billion dollars (thousand million).  I should add, if you didn’t know and I’m sure you do, that Facebook is the biggest thing on internet these days, with the permission of Google, its arch rival, with some 850 million users and growing every day.

Facebook created by CEO Mark Zuckerberg (in the picture) announced the acquisition of Instagram for a cool billion dollars on Monday

This has come just before Facebook will be launching on the stock exchange.  The announcement came straight from Mark Zuckerberg’s FB profile and has been in the news ever since.  I can see why Facebook would be interested in Instagram, first because it works only on mobiles, the future of all social networks, but also because it shares photos, something Facebook is all about.  So rather than live with the competition, Facebook bought it, taking on too the 10 or eleven owners come employees and promising to run it separately.  So, overnight the young Kevin Systrom became a multi millionaire.  All I can say is well done.  My only question is where is the money in this is as Instagram has no revenues?  That’s the question the media the world around are asking but I really think the answer will come shortly as very soon advertising, Facebook’s way of making money, will become mainstream on mobile phones.  It’s just a question of time. Meanwhile, I am enamoured with the new application and so far have posted all these photossince it was available on Android just over a week or so ago.

Kevin Systrom, the young Stanford graduate who created Instagram and is now a multi millionaire

Tuesday was busy.  I had to go into work for the weekly management team meeting, thus missed Oli on the TV again.  However back home Grandpa and Eladio were loyally watching her report on a seven year old boy in Bilbao who had saved his 2 year old sister’s life when their holiday home set on fire.

Oli reporting live from Bilbao on Tuesday about a little boy who saved his 2 year old sister from a fire

That day I would have wanted to be with “my men” as Grandpa had an appointment with the Spanish immigration police to apply for or rather renew his Spanish residency.  His previous document was out of date, so in a way he was “legalized” this week. He was given what is called a “certificate of European citizenship”, a slip of paper to be stuck into his passport.  This is a process I have been going through over the years and each time the document has been different, as well as the requirements to get it or the place to go for it for that matter.  One thing common to each and every time though, is that you have to go personally.  I was a bit put out that my aged Father had to go in person and be taken in a wheelchair with all the discomfort that entails.  However when he arrived, the officials took one look at him and took him to the front of the queue.  I suppose there are some benefits of being a nonagenarian!  Apparently the new certificate lasts for 10 years and there were some jokes about his coming back to the police station to renew it when he was 103.  I for one would lay my bets on that happening as my Father, despite his limited mobility, is in the best of health.

Of note on Tuesday too, Eladio and I went out to dinner.  We chose the nearby De Brasa y Puchero, where we were the only guests in the dining room; probably a sign of these crisis times.  That did not spoil, however, the taste of their marvelous dish, “patatas revolconas”.  This is something we choose to eat there each and every time we go.

The "patatas revolconas" Eladio and I enjoyed on Tuesday night at De Brasa y Puchero

On Wednesday I was especially pleased to hear that the Spanish chef, Elena Arzak, daughter of the famous “Juan Mari” had been named best woman chef of the year.  Wow that is recognition of Elena Arzak. 

The Spaniard, Elena Arzak, who was named best woman chef of the year this week

Believe it or not I once had dinner at Arzak, the the 3 Michelin star family restaurant in San Sebastian and of the very top restaurants in Spain.  I took Eladio there a few years ago and, typical for him, he was not particularly impressed but I was I can tell you.  I think you will be too when you see what we ate in the photo below. I also remember the award winning chef stopping at our table and asking whether we had enjoyed our meal!

A collage of photos of the meal Eladio and I enjoyed at the famous restaurant Arzak in San Sebastián a few years ago.

Again on Wednesday I missed Olivia day reporting, this time in a small town called Alles in Asturias which has been cut off from the outside world after an avalanche destroyed the only road leading out of the town.  In this photo Oli is in Alles with the team from TVE accompanying her all week.  She spoke fondly of the team of men consisting of the driver, the technician, the producer and cameraman who looked after her as if she were the Queen of Sheba.  She used the Spanish term “Reina Mora” in her Facebook status!

Oli and the team from TVE1 this week, reporting here from Alles in Asturias

Oli was to be reporting again live on Thursday too, as she did every day last week.  This time she was sent to a mountain top in Cantabria, El Alto de Campo to report on the snow storm.  She was great and looked and sounded as though she had been doing weather reports all her life.  She even got on a toboggan and went down the slopes clad in a wooly hat and her TVE snow anorak.  Again I did a photo grid of the different sequences which you can see below.

 A collage of photos of Oli reporting on the snow at Alto de Campo in Cantabria this week

Thursday brought with it one of the week’s highlights, an invitation to a party to which I make a reference in this week’s blog post headline.  It was to the launch of Sony Mobile’s first smart phone after the separation of Sony from Sony Ericsson a few months ago.  Ironically that day Sony lay off 10.000 of its staff.

The invitation to the Sony Mobile party I went to this week

 I don’t often get invited to parties or rather I don’t go to many.  In fact  I am usually the one to organize them but I was looking forward to this one.  It wasn’t the new Xperia S phone that I was interested in.  It was more to see my ex Nokia colleague, Isidro M, who was the Product Manager when I was the Communications Manager there.  We used to do launches and presentations together, so seeing him, for the first time since we parted at Nokia and in his new role as the CEO for Sony Mobile Spain launching a new phone, brought back many memories, both good and bad, of course.  He was accompanied by someone called Santiago Segura, an actor and film director of the sort of comedy films that are not my kind of thing, but have a huge audience in Spain.

My ex colleague Isidro M next to Santiago Segura at the Sony Mobile party this week

I was also keen to see Russian Red, the stage name of a young Spanish singer called Lourdes Hernández who has a haunting voice and sings in English.  One of her most famous songs is “I hate you but I love you”.  If you haven’t heard it, this is the link on Spotify. She sang this song to the delight of the audience at the party on Thursday but the stage was covered with a transparent curtain making it difficult to see her properly as you will appreciate in the picture below.

Russian Red performing at the Sony Mobile party this week

Friday had me in Madrid most of the morning.  I was with “my girls” from the events agency, QuintaEsencia, that they own between them, Gloria (left brown) Bea (middle yellow) and Cristina (right pink) looking for a location for an up and coming event.  If you don’t know them you would never believe they are actually sisters.  I just had to take this photo of them wearing their fashionable Stella Rittwagen satchels which are actually a copy of the authentic Cambridge satchel, the type I used to have when I was a school girl.

Gloria, Bea and Cris with their Stella Rittwagen satchels in Madrid on Friday morning.

I missed Oli that day reporting again on the snow and was also to miss her return from being our correspondent in Santander.  She came home after 21h but we were out.  We had a dinner date with our friends Javier and Ana who are readers of my blog for which I am always honoured.  We went to a superb little place, with very English decoration, called Gobolem in Las Rozas.  We will be going again as the food was fabulous, especially the oxtail risotto uuummm.

The Gobolem restaurant was a discovery on Friday

On Saturday, for once in a long time, we were all home for lunch.  The news that day was dominated by the story of the Spanish King having had an accident and broken his hip.  It was to be the 74 year old Monarch’s fourth operation since May 2010.  Since then he has also undergone the removal of a benign lung tumour, had a torn Achilles heel repaired as well as been given an artificial right knee joint.

That was the way the now indignant Spanish public heard that it had happened whilst in Botswana on a safari to hunt elephants.  If he hadn’t had the accident we would never have known that he had been invited to hunt and kill that most noble of species in a very expensive jaunt, so unfitting for the Spanish monarch whilst his subjects are in the midst of the worst economic crisis in recent history.  It is ironic to think too that King Juan Carlos I is the honorary Chairman of that much respected charity organization, WWF, whose mission, amongst other things is to preserve the endangered species. The feeling is that with this incident he has gone one step too far.  The Botswana story may well go down in history as the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as the reputation of the Spanish Royal family is concerned, particularly of its King, until recently the most respected institution or person in this country. I, for one, would not like to be in the skin of the King’s communication’s team this week. 

The King of Spain posing in Botswana next to the elephant he had just killed.

On a lighter note, whilst this episode was hitting the Spanish media, Eladio and I took our usual walk with the dogs yesterday, Saturday.  I took the time to try and take some photographs to show you how beautiful our golden Labrador called Elsa and our Beagle called Norah are. 

Our dogs on the walk yesterday - Elsa is the labrador and Norah the beagle

Elsa loves running to catch a stick like most dogs, although she is slightly reluctant to give it back, as you can see from this short video I took.

Saturday 15^thApril 2012 will go down in history, for being the centenary of the sinking ofthe most iconic ship in history, RMS Titanic.  In the late evening of the 14^th April 1912, the supposedly unsinkable and most luxurious liner ever to sail the seas, hit an iceberg near Newfoundland on its maiden voyage and within two hours or so, on 15^thApril in the early morning broke into two and finally sank into the freezing sea.  

RMS Titanic leaving Southampton on April 10th 1912

There were not enough life boats for all the passengers. Only 710 out of the estimated 2210 passengers and crew on board, were saved and boarded the rescue ship, the nearly equally famous Carpathia.  For the most the rule of sea applied: women and children first, thus families were torn apart that most tragic night in the history of sea voyages and the story of the Titanic has gone on to be a legend.  In a way it was the end of an era and has fascinated people ever since.  Until only a few years ago, some of the survivors were still alive.  Sadly today there are none.

The front page of The New York Times on 16th April 1912

I can’t read enough of it and am fascinated with its story, ever since I saw James Cameron’s beautiful if cheesy film.  Thus this week I read anything about the centenary that came before my eyes.  I also ordered and have begun to read The Shadow of the Titanic, the story of its survivors, very few of whom went on to be successful in life.  All of them coincided in saying that the thing they would never forget about that night was the noise made by those left on board or stranded in the sea just before it sank,  a terrible noise they would live with forever after. One young survivor, Eva Hart, aged only 12, commented to her Mother from the life boat how awful the noise had been.  Her mother replied that much worse was the silence afterwards ………….

Shadow of the Titanic, the first of the books about The Titanic that I have ordered from Amazon

Now I have reached Sunday and in a way it is one of the saddest days of our lives.  It is the day Susana will be moving out, although I am not yet sure whether she will be sleeping at home tonight or not.This is how her room looked just before lunch today.

Suzy's nearly empty room today.  She is leaving home and it is very sad

Eladio, Olivia and I have been feeling strange all day, not quite taking it in and hardly wanting to get involved.  I have not organized any goodbye lunch or dinner as that would be making too much of a fuss.  After all, I keep comforting myself, she is only moving down the road.  

You will wonder what the “bozhe moi” refers to in the headline, that is, if you don’t know Russian.  Bozhe Moi means something similar to Oh My God and was often uttered by my Russian born Mother RIP.  I used it today as Susana had brought 3 Russian boys to help her move out.  They are new found friends and certainly added a lot of colour to this house today.  In fact one of them is half Russian and half from Azerbajan (if that is how you spell it) and the other two are brothers from Armenia, who have lived also in Georgia and Russia.  All three have been living in Spain since their teens and their Spanish is near perfect.  Suzy, fittingly, gave them some Russian food for lunch, for their efforts, namely “perushki”, little Russian pies we had made this week.

Suzy already in her new flat with her Russian friends who helped with the removal and her friend and neighbour Elena

So, yes, “bozhe moi”, Suzy is finally leaving and it tears me in two.  With my head I know it’s time for her to leave but my heart is broken as any Mother’s heart would be on a day like this.  Darling Suzy, I love you.

And that, my friends, is it for this week. I hope you enjoyed my tales and I wish you a great week ahead.

Cheers till next week

Masha

To Oropesa and back, Easter week, the latest social networks and other stories.

Eladio and I enjoying the countryside in Oropesa this week

Hello again and Happy Easter.

Today is Easter Sunday and I am writing from the kitchen table with the dogs asleep under my feet.

Elsa our labrador and Norah our beagle love to sleep under the table in the kitchen in the mornings.

Eladio and my Father are reading the papers in the dining room and I’m not really sure where the girls are.  The sun is shining in great contrast to the very rainy Easter weather we have had for more than a week now.  I should not complain though as Spain was in great need of water, it not having rained properly since about last November. The girls have a great social life so who knows where they are right now?  Suzy promised to be home for an Easter Sunday lunch but Oli will be off at 13h.  A car will be coming for her from TVE to take her to the airport, as she is going to Santander for the coming week to cover news from the north of Spain for the programme she works for, La Mañana de la1, TVE’s 4 hour long morning programme.  So we can expect to see quite a lot of her on the TV in the next few days.  

Last week she covered one of the worst stories in recent times, the story of a Mother, Adoración Cano whose 9 year old daughter, Ana Maria Jérez was raped and murdered some 20 years ago by the unrepentant José Franco de la Cruz, alias El Boca.  Adoración was protesting, something I can quite understand, because her daughter’s killer had been let out of prison, rather than finishing his supposed life sentence.  Olivia said the interview was traumatic and told me some of the ghastly details the Mother had revealed, details I have been trying to shake out of my system but which keep coming back.  On the bright side, I am left thinking what a fortunate and lucky person I am to have my whole life intact. How awful it would be to live with something like that.  

The week has been quiet, the highlight being of course our surprise two day trip to Oropesato stay at the 15^th century Parador which was once a palace belonging to a noble family, the Alvarez de Toledo, the Counts of Oropesa.  Oropesa is in the province of Toledo, just some 150km from Madrid.  We were there just before lunch and were delighted with the accommodation.  Our room was tucked right away at the top of the building and had three windows with great views over the nearby Gredos Mountains.  If you ever go there, I highly recommend room 403.  The receptionist told us it was one of the most sought after rooms because of the views.

The Parador in Oropesa is housed in a 15th century palace

The Parador, set in a magnificent courtyard with its wonderful open air balconies (soportales), sits directly opposite the equally magnificent castle, also belonging to the Counts of Toledo.  The castle dates back to the 12^th or 13^th century and was built by the Moors.

The castle in Oropesa, directly opposite the Parador

Off one of the walls hangs a relic from the cruel past, a cage where criminals were placed until their death, for all to witness, until they became a skeleton.  Thank goodness justice has evolved into something less cruel, at least in this part of the world.

A cruel relic of justice in past times hangs on the castle wall.

Lunch was in the wonderful dining room with its high wooden ceiling.  The gastronomy of the area is a little too heavy for me and I thought the menu was rather limited in choice.  Usually Paradors have better food on offer but not this one I’m afraid.

We spent the afternoon exploring the little town famous for its lace and pottery, although there is more choice of the latter in nearby Puente del Arzobispo or Talavera.  We had a great walk all around the town of some 4 or 5 kilometres where we saw signs of Spring with green grass and flowers like my favourite poppies all along the sides of the road.

Poppies on our walk in Oropesa

The next day we drove to nearby Puente del Arzobispo in search of ceramics.  We sort of collect bowls from different places which we use for salads at home.  Here there were plenty on offer.  We bought 9 small bowls and 1 salad bowl in the typical green pattern popular in these parts.  Just look what was on offer at this wonderful shop, all hand made by the owner in his own pottery factory of which I gather there are very few left.

The pottery shop where we bought some bowls in Puente del Arzobispo.

We discovered Puente del Arzobispo was actually much prettier than Oropesa although it didn’t have a palace or a castle.  However it has a stone bridge built in the 14^th century, one of the most beautiful I have ever seen with great walks on both sides.

By the 14th century bridge in Puente del Arzobispo

Our next port of call was the lovely 5 star Hotel Valdepalacios which I mentioned last week.  It is on the road between Puente del Arzobispo and Oropesa.  Here we were to have a wonderful although expensive lunch and were nearly the only diners in the hotel.  The hotel is just beautiful with lots of land around it where you can do all sorts of things like go hunting, ride 4x4 cars, take cooking classes or enjoy the spa.  One day we will spend the night there, maybe on our next wedding anniversary in August.

Leaving the Hotel Valdepalacios where we had lunch on Wednesday

The afternoon was spent sleeping, reading and lounging around in our comfortable room after which we went for another walk, the same one as the day before.  We took our umbrella as it had been raining all day, but were lucky that it had stopped so that we could get some more pictures of our time in Oropesa, like this lovely one of Eladio in his green jumper against the very green grass in the field.

Eladio in green against green on the walk around Oropesa

In the evening, I dragged Eladio away from the boring quarter final Champions League match between Barcelona and Milan.  They won, as did Madrid against the Cyprus team, the name of which I cannot remember.  That means they will both play the semi finals and may even meet in the finals.  Everyone’s guess is that Barcelona will win the championship once again.

Eladio watching football from our room in the Parador . the Champions League Quarter Finals between Barcelona and Milan

Dinner that night was at the nearby La Hosteria, which was much cheaper than the Parador and had a better menu.  Here we feasted on what we love, a simple plate of typical Spanish lentils.  That night I learned from Facebook and Twitter that Instagram was finally available for Android phones, like my Samsung Galaxy S2, so of course I had to download the programme immediately.  Instagram is a social network which only works on mobile phones (so far iPhones and now Androids) where you can share photos.  I thought to myself that I just couldn’t take another social network, what with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Tuenti and now this.  But after initial worries, I was hooked of course.  Well I love photography, or capturing my life on camera, and I love sharing things, so of course Instagram is for me.  This was the first photo I took and uploaded to Instagram.  If you are not familiar with the programme, you can also share the photo which can be enhanced, with Facebook or Twitter and other social networks. 

My first Instagram photo was of our dinner at La Hosteria in Oropesa

Instagram is my latest social network.  The one I joined just before is Pinterest, a different sort of social media and one which apparently has now been adopted by more than 11 million people.  How can I describe it?  It’s probably easier to take this quote from Wikipedia: “Pinterest is a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies and more. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to their own collections and or 'like' photos. Pinterest's mission is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting"^[via a global platform of inspiration and idea sharing”. If you haven’t tried it you should, it’s lovely.  

The next day was Maundy Thursday and time to go home.  It was pouring down with rain, so instead of further exploring the area, we decided to come home.  Olga was leaving that day to go on holiday, believe it or not, to Turkey, sponsored by a wealthier friend of hers who was coming from Brazil the next day.  You are probably wondering how we are going to cope without her.  During her absence we have hired the services of a friend of hers called Hilda who will come twice a week to look after my Father’s hygiene.  If you thought I was going to clean and iron, then you are wrong.  Zena, the wonderful Ukrainian cleaner who worked here before Olga came, will be coming two whole mornings a week and I can’t wait for her arrival tomorrow.  First because she will make the house spick and span as Olga’s forte, I’m afraid, is not cleaning, and the house is in dire need of a thorough spring cleaning. And secondly because I have asked her to cook us some borsch, the Russian soup made of beetroot which my Father and I are longing to try again.  This is the typical Russian meat and vegetable soup my Mother used to make often and which I have never learned to make, mostly because you need fresh beetroot to make it which I have never found in the shops I go to here.  Like pelmeni and many other Russian dishes, it is very often accompanied by rich Smetana (sour cream) as in the picture here.

Russian "borsch" soup or stew

When we came back on Thursday the girls were out and about and on the spur of the moment we agreed to have lunch together in town; something we used to do more often.  So Oli picked me up and we drove to near where Susana was working last week, at a hospital near the Bernabeu Stadium.  Later Suzy had to go back to work and I accompanied Oli to the dentist.  

That night, fittingly for Maundy Thursday, the television was showing typical Easter films and we watched the 4 hour long 1951 Quo Vadis starring Tony Curtis, Deborah Kerr and a very young Peter Ustinov, this last in the role of Neron, the crazed Roman Emperor who burned down Rome.  I have seen this film many times, but never from beginning to end and I just loved it.  Luckily for me, Eladio seemed equally entertained.

We enjoyed watching Quo Vadis on the TV this week

Friday of course was Good Friday and again it was raining.  The rain spoiled a lot of the Spanish Easter processions.  Easter or Semana Santa in Spain is hugely celebrated with these amazing processions in many of the big and smaller cities.  Despite increase laicism, the processions are very popular.  I think they are also popular with tourists.  The most famous of all is the Macarena which is carried on a huge float through the streets of Seville by what are known as the “costaleros”.  In my experience it nearly always rains at Easter in Spain and I wonder when the brotherhoods who organize the different processions will start covering these medieval statues from the churches with glass to protect them from the rain, rather like the Pope’s car as that would certainly put an end to the problem.

The most famous Easter procession of all, the Macarena in Seville

Good Friday is of course the day most of the Christian religions commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  I say most as I know from my childhood that Russian Easter takes place at a later date as it observes the Julian calendar. In England, we always ate hot cross buns for breakfast, a tradition I have carried on in my own family.  So, I have been naughty and have been eating them on Saturday and today too.  I promise I will return to the Dukan fold tomorrow Monday!  Nowadays I think you can buy hot cross buns almost all through the year but when I was a child they were only on sale at Easter.  I, of course, have to buy them online.  Not a problem these days you will agree.

We have been having hot cross buns toasted for breakfast every day since Good Friday

In the morning I went with Susana to the huge Xanadu shopping centre.  I had warned her it would probably be closed as most businesses and trade are closed on this day in Spain.  I well remember when we first came to Spain that this was indeed so.  I was wrong and Xanadu was open.  Obviously times have changed. I promise you this time I did not get any more clothes.  The time was spent getting some items for Suzy’s new flat.  Ah and there was some quality time at Starbucks together too of course.

Later the girls were off to El Escorial to stay the night with their friends Rocío, David, Elena whose parents own the flat, Ana and another Elena.  It was bitterly cold that day and would have been even more so in El Escorial, a town in the mountains just outside Madrid.  Here is a photo of the 6 of them taken by Rocío.  They look like the front cover of an 80’s LP to quote Suzy’s friend Erika.

The girls and their friends in El Escorial this weekend.  Susana in brown on the far left and Oli in the middle with the only boy, David.

On Saturday the house was empty without the girls but I suppose I should get used to that as someday soon there will be just the three of us left, my Father, Eladio and I.  Luckily we have the dogs for extra company.  As usual, we enjoyed our walk with them on Saturday as we have done most days this week and will again today.

That brings me to the end of this week, to where I began, today Sunday, Easter Day.  Oli came home later to pack for her trip to Santander and went off duly at 13h when she was picked up by a car from Spanish TVE.  She will be back on Friday and we will be watching out for her on TVE in the mornings.  I never cease to be excited when I see her reporting live.  Well done little Oli.

Olivia being picked up by a van from Spanish TVE this morning to go to the airport

Meanwhile, whilst Eladio was mowing the lawn, taking advantage of today’s sun, I prepared the big Easter Sunday lunch.  I am very traditional at Easter so if on Good Friday we had hot cross buns and then fish for lunch, today I made roast lamb.  I make it the English way with all the trimmings, such as mint sauce.  I have to add I did this whilst writing some of this blog; multi tasking you know.  Suzy was home at 14.30 and we had a later lunch than usual.  Being Easter Day it was time to eat the amazing looking chocolate Easter egg I had ordered online from The Hotel Chocolate.  Here is the photo I took this morning before we attacked it after lunch.

The slightly disappointing Easter Egg from Hotel Chocolate which we opened today

It looked great, but actually it was not so amazing to taste.  I had expected it to be both bigger and the chocolate tastier, something similar to  the taste you get with Lindt or Belgian chocolate.  But no, it was nowhere near as smooth.  Next year I will go to the Lindt or Godiva website.

And now I am alone again.  Eladio and my Father are having their siesta, Olivia has now arrived in Santander and Suzy has gone off again to see her new friends from work.

Next week will bring with it routine, not a bad thing, as 4 quiet days at home have left me wanting more activity.  I wish you all a Happy Easter and a great week ahead.

Cheers till next week

Masha

PS You can see some more photos of our trip to Oropesa here.

Spanish Tuna music, another trip to Sweden, shopping in Stockholm, a letter from the past and a quiet weekend at home.

At the global communications conference this week in Stockholm

Hello again my friends,

I hope you have had a good week.  Mine has been great.  It started off with a bang on Monday last.  We had a visit at work from the HQ management team, some 20 people from different countries in the Nordic and Baltic regions.  They were coming to see how we work at Yoigo and I gather they were quite impressed.  My job that evening was to host them for a very Spanish dinner together with the local management team.   I chose the unique Café de Oriente restaurant in the beautiful square of the same name overlooking the Royal Palace.

The unique Aljibe private dining room at the Café de Oriente

Dinner started with an olive oil tasting and was followed by what I called “a gastronomic tour of Spain in small helpings and large gulps”.  The gulps referred to the tasting of wines chosen from the menu by my dear friend Julio who knows a bit about Spanish wines.  I think our favourite was Pago de Carraovejas, a cabernet sauvignon from Ribera de Duero, an exceptional red wine, best known to connoisseurs.

The table was livened up towards the end of the dinner by a group of student medieval minstrel singers known in Spain as La Tuna (not the fish as they explained to our guests). They were from the Tuna Universitaria de Madrid. Tuna singers are all-male musical groups from different University faculties who play string instruments and sing Spanish folk songs.  The name Tuna apparently comes from the French name given to the leader of the vagabonds: Roi de Thunes.  Their clothing is from medieval times and the typical attire is composed of a shirt, tights, baggy breeches, a doublet or tight fitting jacket and when it’s cold a cloak.  Often pinned to the cloaks are colourful ribbons given by friends in sign of affection.  They sing in harmony and have wonderful rich voices, filling the room, such as the Aljibe room in the Café de Oriente, on Monday with colour and the sounds of popular well loved folk songs such as Clavelitos or La Malagüeña.

The Spanish Tuna who sang for us on Monday

Afterwards some of us went out for a drink and we chose the fashionable Ramses in Plaza de Independencia where we sat outside, believe it or not.  I think our colleagues from the colder parts of Europe enjoyed the temperature.  It is very rare for me to go out for a drink after dinner but this was an exception.  For the records my night finished off with tonic water, after so much wine tasting.  I didn’t get to bed until past 3 in the morning.

I really can’t remember what I did on Tuesday except for work from home and nothing special was cooking that day.

Wednesday though was a highlight as it was the day I was travelling to Stockholm for the third time this year and it was to attend the bi annual global communications meeting where all the communications professionals in TeliaSonera get together, some 80 people from the Nordics, Baltics and Euroasia and of course Spain, me being the only representative.  That is because I am a one woman show in PR in Yoigo as you probably know.  It’s a long haul from Madrid to the Scandinavian capital so I chose to take the only direct flight, run by Iberia which leaves just after 10 in the morning and gets you to Stockholm at around 2.  The weather forecast on my Samsung Galaxy was for sun and mild temperatures, but of course I was leaving +20c Madrid and found it awfully cold upon arrival.  Later it rained and I thought to myself, this is a wonderful country to live in but I could not stand the climate. 

I took a taxi to the hotel where the conference would be taking place the next day and Friday morning.  It was the Elite Marina Tower, an impressive red bricked building on the outskirts of Stockholm, in a place called Nacka, just next to the ferry harbor and overlooking the Baltic Sea.

The Elite Marina Tower where we stayed for the conference

 I made sure I had room with a view and was very pleased with room number 308, big and spacious, immaculately clean and of very Nordic design.

The view from my room at the hotel

I had soon unpacked and of course my next task was to set up my computer and see what mails I had and catch up on some work.  Last week we sent out three press releases, so there was also news to send to the staff.  I was disappointed with the internet connection.  You always expect technology to work to perfection in a country like Sweden but actually that isn’t so.  The hotel signal was very weak and outside the mobile signal on offer from the long list of operators in the roaming list was equally limited.  This was all very frustrating for me who likes to be connected permanently.  

The next item on my agenda was a trip to downtown Stockholm for some shopping.  The hotel was too far out to walk and I was also disappointed not to be able to catch the publicized bus boat (or whatever it is called) as the time table had very limited service.

The boat bus from the hotel to the centre of Stockholm

So I had to make do with an expensive taxi. The people in reception recommended the new Mood shopping centre but I found it full of luxury shops I would never shop at.  So, umbrella in hand, I made my way to Gallerian, a more mainstream shopping centre nearby which houses the typical Swedish makes I love and which you can’t find in Spain.  These are Lindex, KappHal, Vero Moda, Solo and others.  Here too I found a branch of Abercrombie and Fitch but could hardly see inside because of the dark discotheque atmosphere they have created.  

At KappHal I bought a red and white striped long sleeved t-shirt and red jumper to match.

The red and white striped t-shirt I got from KappHal

The red jumper I got from KappHal to go with the t-shirt

By now you will know that stripes are right up my street.  So at Lindex when I saw this sailor type jumper I snatched it up.  I love shopping in Sweden as the sizes are bigger than in Spain so all my labels from here are generally size “s” which is a great morale booster I can tell you.

The striped sailor jumper I got from Lindex

At Lindex too I could not help falling in love with this pink and white checked shirt, similar to the green and white one I bought at H+M last week.

The pink and white checked shirt I got from Lindex

By now I was feeling guilty about buying so many clothes and all for me.  So I popped into Solo just off Bibliotkasgatan and found a unique multi coloured shirt for Eladio.  Here I was a bit stuck with which size to get.  I asked for a neck size 16 or a 5 in a polo shirt and the assistants had no clue.  In the end I got an L which actually turned out to be very long and rather narrow.  After all it was probably made for a hunk of a tall and slim Swede, not exactly for a Latin physique.

After buying something for Eladio, it was time to get something for the girls and it had to be Scandinavian.  I love the style but also the fact that I won’t see anyone wearing the same clothing back home in Spain.  I went into a couple more stores until I found this lovely chunky off white cardigan at Peak Performance.  I loved it so much I wore it twice during my stay, only putting the label back on when I packed to come home.

The chunky white cardigan I got for the girls and which I shall be wearing too.

Again I took a taxi back and the next item on my agenda was a visit to the spa to swim in the pool and enjoy the Jacuzzi.  Unfortunately it was under renovation, so there was no dressing room but worse, there was no sauna.  Si I made do with the big indoor pool and Jacuzzi where I was joined by an overly tattooed man and his delightfully and thankfully non tattooed baby.  It was relaxing but I didn’t like the fact that there was no window to the outside and found the place a little claustrophobic.

Next I got ready to go out to dinner.  I had a dinner date with an English colleague from Brussels, Phillip who is based in Brussels.  He comes from my “native” Yorkshire so we have lots in common.  Dinner at the delightful Skeppsholmen hotel restaurant centred first on mobile termination rates and then on roaming policies.  However there was lots to talk about apart from talking shop, such as our common interest in Yorkshire and our respective careers. 

The Skeppsholmen hotel where I had dinner on Wednesday night

I have written about this hotel before, my favourite in Stockholm and where I always stay if I can.  One of the reasons is the fabulous open prawn sandwich they have on the menu which I ate on Wednesday night.  Phillip had already had the same for lunch so chose another fish dish.

They make a great prawn open sandwich at the restaurant at Skeppsholmen hotel

The next day saw the start of the conference which started off with a pep talk from our CEO, a larger than life very big Swede.  We spent most of the day around tables doing hands on work after presentations from our HQ colleague and it was good.  The downside for me was the lack of coverage in the room which meant I could not keep up with my emails or FB friends, a little frustrating.  We finished at the most civilized time of just after 5 and weren’t to meet again until 6.30 for drinks followed by a dinner at the same restaurant.  I took the opportunity to stretch my legs and get some fresh air and went off for a walk near the hotel on the path by the beautiful sea.  There were some great views but it was awfully cold.

I managed a quick walk by our hotel on Thursday evening

Once back from outside I joined my colleagues Oyvind from Norway and Mette from Denmark for a drink before going into the dinner.  The entertainment that night was karaoke, not really up my street as I posted on FB. Our table, headed up by Kaisu who loves singing chose to sing a song I had never heard of, “I Love Rock and Roll” which meant I had to hide at the back looking enthusiastic whilst some of the others sang.  Although I didn’t like the singing, I must admit the food was superb, including similar prawns to those I had the night before.

My dinner table on Thursday night at the conference with my colleagues from Brussels

That was how Thursday developed for me.  Meantime in Spain a general strike had taken place.  People were protesting about the recent cuts and labour reform by the conservative PP party who have been governing now for just 100 days.  I wasn’t there to judge but from what I have seen in the media, it turned out to be a luke warm affair and the country did not really come to a halt.  In my mind we will just have to get on with it and accept the cuts and labour reforms if we are to combat the economic crisis.  Meanwhile it gave Spain a pretty bad image internationally.

There was a general strike in Spain on Thursday while I was in Stockholm

That night when I returned to my room I connected to my pc to find an email from my best friend Amanda.  You will know by now that we go back a long way, having met at St. Joseph’s College when we were just 11.  We went on to be as thick as thieves for ever after.  Amanda had been having a clear out and came across a letter I wrote to her in March 1990, a letter from the past, from 22 years ago.  I read the letter and reread it, thinking back to the time when we had just moved into our previous house in Río Tajo and when the girls were just 4 and 5.  Now they are 26 and 27 and about to have their birthdays this month and next.  This is what I wrote about them at the time! 

Part of the letter from the past where I write about the girls.

I was up bright and early on Friday morning as we were starting at 08.30 and I had to pack and check out.  There was more interactive conversation around the tables which were changed for the second day.  On my table I realised there were representatives from Uzbekistan, Moldova, Finland, Sweden, Latvia and of course Spain, so quite an extraordinary cultural mix I thought.  Here is a photo of Davron from Tashkent and Rodica from Chisinau.  My geography of the area is so bad, I have to admit I had to look up the capital of Moldova which in fact I still thought was called Moldavia!

My colleagues Davron from Uzbekistan and Rodica from Moldova at the conference

I had to leave early before the conference finished if I was to catch the 14.50 only direct flight back to Madrid.  I had time to enjoy wonderful Scandinavian tapas at Arlanda airport, as well as to stock up on some Swedish fare for home, including cloudberry jam for my Father and smoked salmon for Suzy.  As I had 4 hours to face on the airplane I went in search of a book that would keep me from being bored on the journey.  I chose “The Facebook Effect”, the inside story of the fascinating company that is changing the way we connect by David Kirkpatrick and boy did it keep me engrossed throughout the flight.  Whether you are a FB fan or not, it makes excellent reading.

This book makes fascinating reading

I was home relatively early, around 8, as there was hardly any traffic on the motorways, possibly a sign a lot of people have gone away for the Easter holiday week.  As soon as I had said my hellos and unpacked, Eladio and I went out for our Friday evening dinner out.  He chose De Brasa y Puchero where we always enjoy the “patatas revolconas”.

On Saturday, finally we were all together, at least for breakfast as Suzy had to go into work.  Thus we were one member missing over yesterday’s lovely lunch, cooked by me for a change.  There was no food in the house for Olga to leave us anything prepared, which is what she usually does, so Eladio and I went to do the weekly food shopping and I was in charge of lunch.  We always buy freshly cut Iberian ham and cured beef to have for our evening meals.  Well yesterday, dear Norah enjoyed all 300grammes of both as we had left it on a low shelf of the cupboard which someone had left open.  That was more than 50 euros down the drain but I can only imagine how Norah enjoyed the feast!

Today is Palm Sunday and also April Fools’ day.  The former marks the official beginning of Easter and processions will be starting all over Spain.  I have been waiting all day for jokes on the internet and in the news but have not come across anything worth mentioning which I think is a bit of a waste, considering today is 1^stApril.

Next week many people will be away on holiday.  We hadn’t thought of going anywhere, mainly because Olga will be taking a holiday from next Thursday.  Out of the blue, Eladio suggested we go away on Monday and Tuesday and suggested we use up some of our Parador points and go to the not so far away Oropesa. 

The Parador in Oropesa where we are going tomorrow.

I wasn’t much attracted by Oropesa itself, but when he also suggested we have dinner at the Hotel Valdepalacios, I immediately agreed.  In 2008 we had a day in Oropesa with our friends Julio and Fátima and visited the hotel and I have always wanted to return, although if I could have my way we would book the suite at this amazing Relais and Chateaux jewel of a hotel. 

Hotel Valdepalacios in Oropesa

Whatever your plans next week, I wish you all a very happy Easter,

Until next week

Masha 

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