Swimming and so longs Part 2 - by Theo

Rosie is still on a two nap regime (of her own choosing) which means that heading anywhere is always a logistical challenge in order not to end up with an irate toddler. This theory was duly put into practice when Jon suggested spending Sunday in Cercedilla, a mountain town in the Sierra to the north of Madrid, where there are some swimming pools fed by mountain springs called Las Berceas. There are of course plenty of swimming pools in Madrid itself, but with temperatures due to hit 38 degrees in the city, the relatively cooler temperatures of mountains definitely appealed.

With this in mind I took Rosie out for a mega-playground session that morning in order to get her nice and worn out, with the hope she would sleep happily in the car. We then arranged to meet Jon by the metro stop - he lives near us, but was coming from his girlfriend's in Canal. He was slightly late as he had popped back to his flat to grab his swimming trunks. Sure enough, shortly afterwards, Rosie nodded off in the car and slept most of the way there getting about 45 minutes nap-time. Less than she usually has, but we figured it would even out with a slightly longer than normal nap on the way back.

Las Berceas is gorgeous. Two large pools with deep and shallow ends set among lush lawns under shady stands of pines trees surrounded by forested mountain slopes. Absolutely stunning. The approach wasn't the most pushchair friendly, but do-able, passing under the tree-top rope walks of the adventure park next door. We found a shady spot and set out our rug and Rosie's play tent. It was about this point that Jon realised he had somehow, despite making a detour to get them, forgotten his swimming trunks. Kate and I tried hard not to laugh too much. We soon solved the problem though, as I lent him my (non swimming) shorts to swim in. This meant I later had to walk back to the car and drive home in only my (rather skimpy and tight-fitting) boxers. Kate did take a photo, but I'll spare you.

The water, when we did get in, was extremely refreshing - just what was required. After our attempts to entice Rosie into the water the previous day we didn't even bother trying her in the pools - much too cold for her liking. She was quite happy though, chasing after balls that weren't hers, counting pine cones and later walking around the adjacent picnic site (occasional tannoy announcements reminded the swimmers that picnicking wasn't permitted on the lawn.)

Refreshed and fed, we headed off about 3pm to let Rosie have her second nap, though we were soon no longer refreshed as the car was like an oven and the air conditioning is badly in need of a recharge. Still, she quickly dropped off and stayed asleep even when we pulled in to Canal to drop Jon off. As he jumped out I noticed something under the passenger seat - his swimming trunks!

Swimming and so longs Part 1 - by Theo

The first of our three bathing and bidding farewell dates saw us gatecrashing a lunch party at Kirsty's down in Rivas. Kirsty had invited round some friends and their children from the Sticky Fingers playgroup, some of whom we knew, for a roast chicken lunch (hence, why we hadn't originally been invited). I was pretty impressed with Kirsty pulling this off seeing as she's 6 months pregnant, the mother of a toddler and her husband was away in Almeria! Kudos! So, with 5 babies and toddlers napping, and a newborn mewing in her mum's arms (Kate kindly took over so the mum could eat) we added ourselves to the merry chaos. Well we had to - we had to return her play ring that we'd borrowed, as we'd forgotten it last time we'd visited.

We forgot it this time too, so I spe... drove in a sensible fashion back home to get it while Rosie had her afternoon nap. Doh!Kate and I both enjoyed a swim in Kirsty's pool, though Rosie was not keen in either the main pool nor the paddling pool, preferring instead to attempt to build the world's largest ball collection (her current obsession) and hang around in the sitting room.

It was a lovely day and we're really going to miss Kirsty and Juanmi when we get back; it's a real shame we won't be around to greet their second child or see Emily Grace grow up, nor the general relaxed, laid-back attitude towards children that seems to prevail here in Spain.

Not that the hispanic love of children rubs off on everyone. As we lazed in the pool one of the other mothers present mused wistfully about how great it would be to have a swimming pool. "Well" I said, "most of the new build apartment blocks have a communal one and they aren't that pricey." "Oh god no!" replied the mum of two "then I'd have to share it with other people's children! Horrible!"

Rosie and the Boys

She may be only 7 months old, but Rosie is definitely developing an eye for the fellas.

Previously Rosie had disdained to notice Ollie, Bianca and Stefan's little boy, but on a recent visit (for a delicious lunch and swim) she couldn't keep her hands off him. Ollie accepted this female attention with a certain louche Gallic cool that he clearly gets from his Dad. He didn't even seem to mind when Rosie decided his feet were clearly a tastier looking option than the puree Mum and Dad had brought with them.

Rosie is obviously developing a foot fetish. Oh well.

Not content with hitting on her own age group, Rosie has also taken to making eyes at older men, marital status be damned. Here she is flirting with Fermin on a recently pool and picnic trip, although according to his wife Rebecca he has this affect on most women. Naturally, I didn't leave Kate's side...

Santander, Swimming and Semi-finals

Leaving Madrid at the relatively early hour of 9am it didn't take long to work out the air-conditioning in our Delica wasn't working properly. As the temperature rose to the thirties as we climbed up the Somosierra to the North of Madrid the car was similarly roasting, despite the 20 degrees the temperature gauge said it was. From then on it was windows down all the way on the 5 hour trip to the capital of Cantabria, Santander.Aside from our venture to the Basque country back in 2008, we'd hardly been to Spain's North coast, so we'd decided to stay there the night before our ferry to get a little taste. We'd booked into a Hotel just outside the city in Penacastillo, a village high up on a rather cragy hill overlooking the port. I'd been keen to hit one of the village beaches to the North but arriving at 2.30pm the relative cool (after Madrid) of the North was definitely only relative, and we didn't have any portable shade or suncream - in fact I'd got sunburned on the journey up - so we decided just to chill out at the Hotel, which had a pool.

So Rosie finally got her first swim in the Hotel spa pool. She wasn't exactly keen, making a bit of a face when the water rose up to her chest, but she had a good kick and clearly wasn't completely against the idea! Later we watched Spain beat Germany in the semi-final on a silent TV in our bedroom, then listened as the fireworks and car-horns erupted round the city in celebration.
Parking was free at the ferry port the next day, so after checking in we had time to wander round the city a bit and get a sense of the place. We'd noticed the day before the fact that construction was continuing all around in a country where generally speaking the property bubble has burst, and this sense of affluence was reinforced by the very posh shops and services on offer in the central district just off the sea front. The street meanwhile had their own distinctive style, rather narrower than Madrid or Barcelona's, the verticals lined with wood and covered balconies. We bought some fruit and pastries for breakfast from an old covered market, then headed back to the boat for our 18 hour voyage to Plymouth.

let's do lunch - by Theo

With going out for dinner pretty much off our social menu for the foreseeable future, we attempted to maintain our social life last week by 'doing' lunch.

We began by meeting the lovely Roger Tarry and his charming girlfriend Liz for an al fresco lunch in Plaza Santa Ana on Tuesday. They were over for few days on holiday and to visit various friends, all of whom teach English here, and had been thoroughly enjoying themselves. We know Roger from the Bristol music scene that Kate and I used to be involved in, and it was great to catch up and hear the latest gossip, both musical and otherwise.Thursday saw us heading to the Sticky Fingers anglo-playgroup in Calle Ibiza to meet up with our friend Kirsty and her daughter (and Rosie's fbf - future best friend) Emily. The playgroup was quite diverting, even though as Rosie isn't crawling yet she didn't get a huge amount out of it, and the other Mums (I was the only Dad) were very friendly and welcoming. Afterwards we headed back to Kirsty's lovely house in Rivas for lunch - which I cooked - and a swim for us adults while the babies napped.Sunday saw us yet again enjoying great company and a delicious meal with our Venezuelan friends David and Natalie at their flat - we had a originally been trying to maintain parity on the meals cooked front, but we think we now owe them three! Vichyssoise, Greek salad and a delicious pasta were on the menu, though Rosie was, as ever, the star of the show. She knew it too, beaming at our hosts and kicking away in beguiling fashion.
After all this food, thank goodness I'm getting some exercise these days!

Limbo

This week has been a kind of limbo for me - I finished work last friday and have had very little to do. Not that this has stopped me from busying myself. I've been writing, cooking (I've really got into baking cakes), cleaning, going to Spanish lessons, socialising and trying to spend as much thime as possible in the swimming pool without turning into a human prune. But I haven't been able to feel entirely 'on holiday' as the prospect of having to work again has been looming large on the horizon. Tomorrow I start work again, this time on a Holiday Camp for 8 to 12 year olds at a Hotel near to Portuguese border.

This is daunting for three reasons. One) the holiday camp is in English but the children are all Spanish. Having experienced this year just how hard it is to get 8 to 12 year olds to speak English for an hour and a half, I'm dreading the prospect of trying to get them to speak English for the whole week! Two) a week will be the longest time Kate and I have spent apart. Ever! Right from when we first got together I don't think we've ever spent more than a couple of nights apart, let alone since we've been married. I'm going to miss her a lot. And Three) there's no internet at the Hotel!

I'm not sure my facebook/e mail/guardian online/wife addicted psyche will stand it.

exciting news

Our swimming pool is finally open for the summer!

Hurrah!! An excuse for Kate to wear very little and an opportunity to get some refreshing exercise.

Mega-exciting!!!!

Yesterday they started getting our swimming pool ready for summer, filling it with fresh water and skimming the leaves out. Woohoo!!