Saturday 20 Dec - another beautiful day: blue sunny skies and deliciously warm - what a contrast to last Saturday when I was in Brighton with Jon battling with Christmas shoppers and brollies in unrelenting rain and icy temperatures! Wintry weather aside, I had a fantastic time during my week back in England. It was a very full week, starting with a couple of days staying with my Dad and catching up with a cousin over coffee, bit of Christmas shopping and supper with Amanda where I snatched the opportunity to enjoy roast turkey and all the trimmings! Thursday evening was the local girls night out (why break the habit of 15+ years just because we're now in Spain?!) - always good fun and such great company - plus another chance for roast turkey! It was the perfect opportunity to catch up with friends - one of whom I stayed with overnight and who had also picked me up from the station on my arrival and taken me home to collect my car. How blessed I feel with so many dear friends who all seem so willing to give me a bed for the night and ferry me back and forth as needed. I'm finally beginning to realise how many wonderful friends I do have in my life. Friday morning I was off to Horsham to meet Sam for coffee - how excited I was! Not seen him for so long and I got such a big welcome hug from him. It was just a quick coffee break for Sam between work commitments but I was seeing him again at the weekend and so I was soon off again to spend the afternoon with a dear schoolfriend. Then I was heading off to Brighton to spend the weekend with Jon and Sam and the girls. Nothing in the world can take the place of time spent with our dear sons. Sat night I was with Jon and Jen - it was a delight to know we were going to have a quiet night in (contrary to earlier plans that we may be clubbing!) just chilling out with nothing to do other than enjoy supper, some vino and catch up with them both. Jon dropped me off at Sam and Sarah's Saturday afternoon - their Christmas tree was an absolute picture - so beautifully decorated and sitting so effectively in the bay window. A very cosy evening - bottle of bubbly, the most delicious Chinese meal I've ever tasted - then they suggested I might like to watch a DVD with them 'The Notebook' - such a poignant film - an RW highly recommended watch but have the box of tissues to hand! Sam and I even managed to get to church Sunday morning which was a lovely surprise as I hadn't expected to be able to make it this visit ! Then I was treated to a delicious Sunday roast before reluctant farewells when I headed back to catch up with a few more friends before landing up Sunday evening at Gill and Mike's for the night ready for my return to Spain Monday morning. It had been a very full fun-filled week that simply flew by, though tinged with great sadness on learning of the devastation in the lives of 2 very dear friends of ours. They will be much in our thoughts particularly during the Christmas period.
A quick wash of the car Monday morning before putting it back under wraps and off to the airport. It was wonderful to see Michael waiting in Arrivals on my return - we missed each other so much - we'll be going back together next time!
We've slipped back comfortably into our routine of workouts and Spanish lessons with lots of homework - there are so many flash cards stuck up around the apartment now the Christmas cards are vying for wall space!
Headlines in our local paper yesterday: "A cold and rainy autumn in Malaga". The wintry weather seems to be the topic of conversation between locals and foreign residents alike. Seems this is the coldest winter ever experienced in this part of Spain. All I can say is, if this is as bad as it gets it's fine by us! The sun is still lovely and warm though when the wind is up it is certainly chilly and the nights are definitely cool. We've had 3 days of rain since we arrived. I'm amazed to discover it can actually be better than this!
The pics above are sunrise from our terrace the morning I was leaving for Engand and sunset behind the apartment one evening (a rather hectic sunset!)
A quick wash of the car Monday morning before putting it back under wraps and off to the airport. It was wonderful to see Michael waiting in Arrivals on my return - we missed each other so much - we'll be going back together next time!
We've slipped back comfortably into our routine of workouts and Spanish lessons with lots of homework - there are so many flash cards stuck up around the apartment now the Christmas cards are vying for wall space!
Headlines in our local paper yesterday: "A cold and rainy autumn in Malaga". The wintry weather seems to be the topic of conversation between locals and foreign residents alike. Seems this is the coldest winter ever experienced in this part of Spain. All I can say is, if this is as bad as it gets it's fine by us! The sun is still lovely and warm though when the wind is up it is certainly chilly and the nights are definitely cool. We've had 3 days of rain since we arrived. I'm amazed to discover it can actually be better than this!
The pics above are sunrise from our terrace the morning I was leaving for Engand and sunset behind the apartment one evening (a rather hectic sunset!)
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