SAN JUAN, FOOTBALL & FIREWORKS -NOT ON OUR MOUNTAIN!!
Last night Spain won the football match, (thank goodness for something cheery amongst all the euro gloom and doom) and down on the coast, celebrations centred around aimiable gatherings on the beach to join in the fiesta of San Juan, where traditionally at midnight you jump over coals, (beach bbq will do!) and then head for the sea! Followed by much merriment, eating drinking, singing and dancing, you get the picture! Meanwhile back at Casa Los Petates and Finca Manolo there is a graceful timeless air of quietude and of being slightly above all that fuss, as countrylife meanders on without hustle or bustle!
The weekend, for us, began at Los Petates, where we prepared the house for old timers J and K (amount of previous visits, not their age!) who arrive today. I know they are looking forward to some well earned R & R and Los Petates gleamed proudly in the afternoon sun, when we eventually left, as if in anticipation of welcoming back old friends. Well, Ok, houses really don´t have emotions, but I am tricked into believing they do have character!
Then, inspite of the heat, (note to all Summer visitors yet to come, you really do NOT
need to pack many clothes at this time of Year!) we trundled along to Finca Manolo (with a pool clean in mind - it´s not all sun and sangria you know!) to greet yet another couple of old faithfuls (David when you read this back home, this IS mean´t as an endearment!) where it would have been churlish to refuse the immediately proffered and wonderfully chilled glass of rioja and downright ungrateful to dismiss the top up!
So, all is calm on our mountain and we are gladdened to see old friends again; to know that we are in some small way part of the restorative process that our dear Andalucian homes bestow.
Bravo y viva España!
Until next time. Hasta luego!
domingo, 24 de junio de 2012
lunes, 5 de marzo de 2012
Viva Semana Blanca, BBQ´s and Dolphins !!
Yesterday heralded the end of the traditional Semana blanca, which literally means white week, and takes place after Andalucia day, which was on 28th February. The children are off school, supposedly to go ski-ing at nearby Sierra Nevada, hence the holiday being named after snow! The week´s weather has been wonderfully warm and sunny though , with a spectacular thunder storm on Thursday night, only wish my photography was upto nightime composition! Hmmm, only wish it was upto any kind of decent composition - really!
For snow lovers, the peaks of the Sierra Nevada can be seen shimmering in the distance on the way to and from Colmenar. That´s close enough for us, as we just don´t do cold, but beautiful to admire from afar!
Last week´s holiday was yet another excuse to party- fiesta, with large family gatherings and succulent smelling BBQ´s ........ so, not to be outdone, we topped the week off with a Sunday BBQ at Finca Manolo, just soaking up the sun and the views and the quiet............Funny we have been here for over ten Years, and there is always something new to delight in........ Yesterday, as Trevor sipped his St Miguel and we reflected on the kindness of our Spanish neighbours, Pepe had just dropped off some home grown olive oil, straight from the press with a huge bag of oranges and lemons, he suddenly said "go fetch your camera quick" I jumped up expecting to see an eagle bigger than a plane or runaway wild boar, but rushing back camera in hand, he directed me to the mosaic dolphin undulating in our pool! "Sue" he said in a suitably reverent tone, "just look at that dolphin, isn´t it beautiful?"
He was right of course, but we had been guilty, as one does of all things familiar, of just not seeing it anymore.... There is, no doubt, a moral there!
Until next time. Hasta luego!
For snow lovers, the peaks of the Sierra Nevada can be seen shimmering in the distance on the way to and from Colmenar. That´s close enough for us, as we just don´t do cold, but beautiful to admire from afar!
Last week´s holiday was yet another excuse to party- fiesta, with large family gatherings and succulent smelling BBQ´s ........ so, not to be outdone, we topped the week off with a Sunday BBQ at Finca Manolo, just soaking up the sun and the views and the quiet............Funny we have been here for over ten Years, and there is always something new to delight in........ Yesterday, as Trevor sipped his St Miguel and we reflected on the kindness of our Spanish neighbours, Pepe had just dropped off some home grown olive oil, straight from the press with a huge bag of oranges and lemons, he suddenly said "go fetch your camera quick" I jumped up expecting to see an eagle bigger than a plane or runaway wild boar, but rushing back camera in hand, he directed me to the mosaic dolphin undulating in our pool! "Sue" he said in a suitably reverent tone, "just look at that dolphin, isn´t it beautiful?"
He was right of course, but we had been guilty, as one does of all things familiar, of just not seeing it anymore.... There is, no doubt, a moral there!
Until next time. Hasta luego!
miércoles, 22 de febrero de 2012
Farewell to our weekend visitors!
Just waved farewell to our dearest friends from the UK, Alison and Tony, who came for a long weekend of R and R at Los Petates.... we picked them up from the airport, all pasty, pale and tired looking on Friday, ( sorry guys, but it´s the truth! ) have now returned them rejuvenated with a healthy pink glow - Glorious combination of sun and rioja!!
Alison is a professional photographer and artist; click below for her impressions of the weekend!
http://www.pbase.com/flocolm/southern_spain_2012 she is truly talented!
Alison is a professional photographer and artist; click below for her impressions of the weekend!
http://www.pbase.com/flocolm/southern_spain_2012 she is truly talented!
domingo, 19 de febrero de 2012
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