Musings on holidays...
Reading my blog from yesterday, I probably sounded like a spoiled brat, moaning about the lack of a washing machine, when we're lucky to be staying in a lovely house in Spain, but it did start me thinking about holidays in general this morning, when I was up early.
Last night, the fireworks lasted until 4am, which puts our own Bonfire Night(s) into perspective. And these weren't the pretty kind where they explode into beautiful colours. The fireworks going off last night were loud bangers, the noisier the better. When I sat outside on the balcony this morning, I could still hear signs of revelry in the distance! It must be a popular festival!
Overnight, I managed to wash a pile of clothes, and this morning I hung them from a line suspended on the balcony. It's quite precarious pegging them out as I have to lean right over the wall! We had no choice, though, as we had at least four washes to do. We have requisitioned a wooden spoon as the agitator, and so far, it's working quite well! I try and wring the clothes out as much as I can and we hope that the heat here does the rest! Despite moaning, I'm proud that, as a family, we can find solutions to a problem and deal with it.
Anyway, back to musings about holidays, and I've also been thinking about climate change. It's so hot here now, in June, what will it be like in July and August? Before we left, we had our own heatwave at home, and there were dire reports saying that these heatwaves could last up to a month! Coping with the 30c+ heat hasn't been pleasant, so will people stop travelling to Southern Europe in the summer? Will there be a shift to going further north to Scandinavia instead?
At the moment, I don't have any idea about what we're going to do next year for a holiday. Keith has found the travel quite tiring, even though we've probably only spent a maximum of four hours in the car and stopped frequently. I'm seriously considering spending the money we'd put aside for a holiday on a plunge pool and air conditioning at home! Maybe we'll do a couple of city breaks or short holidays by car and spend our allotted two weeks at home with the cats. That would definitely please Sophie, who is missing them terribly!
We had a slow start to the day, and I had another problem to deal with when the pod mechanism on my coffee machine refused to open. Forget the washing machine, I went into meltdown when I couldn't enjoy a second cup of coffee! The three of us tried to force it open, and I even went onto the internet for advice. If it hadn't suddenly opened, I would have splashed out on a new one today! There is no way I can't have my morning cup of coffee!
We decided to head to the supermarket this morning and stock up on food for lunches and some dinners over the next few days. Sophie found a Carrefour Market a short distance away, and off we went, negotiating a badly surfaced road next to the house to access the main road. This was a mistake we won't make again, as the car scraped along the surface, and Keith and I were alarmed that we might damage the underside of the car. A trip to the garage to fix a problem is definitely not what we need, either!
The Carrefour Market was large and busy, and we found everything we needed. We filled the trolley with bread, water, cold meats, pizza, salads, fruit, beer, wine and milk to last us until, hopefully, the end of the week. Keith treated himself to a new pair of sandals, and I splashed out on another beach towel.
On the way back, we drove near the house we stayed at in 2022, and Keith and Sophie managed to get a newspaper. The front page headlines did not make for pleasant reading, either. Are we headed for World War III?
Transferring all the shopping from the car into the house was hot, but as soon as we'd completed the chore of putting it all away, it was time for a dip in the pool! We spent the morning in and out of the pool and relaxing on the loungers. The woman who owned the house had sent us a long list of rules about the pool area and instructions for the house, including asking us to use place mats on the table when we ate... Hmmm!
Lunch was the leftover pizza from Banyuls-sur-Mer plus one we'd bought this morning, and Sophie and I sipped a French Rosé wine I'd bought in Rocamadour. We did another two piles of laundry and managed to get most of it dry in the sunshine.
It was very hot, though, but the pool and air conditioning in the house provided a welcome respite. I don't think we'll be doing a lot of sightseeing and walking about on this holiday! We have booked to visit Dali's house in Cadaques next week, but repeat visits to Pals and Peratallada may have to be cancelled unless it becomes a little cooler.
At the end of the afternoon, we sat at the table on the terrace, where it was slightly cooler. Sophie and I played cards and listened to music, sipping an Aperol Spritz. It was lovely to gaze out over the view and see the flocks of swifts wheeling about. So far, it has been quiet with only the occasional barking dog, and I hope this continues!
We ate dinner on the terrace, and the meal of cold meats, salad and potatoes was delicious. After we'd eaten and cleared away, we went downstairs to Keith's lair, where he had a huge television and a beautiful, comfortable sofa. This part of the house is lovely and very cool. In my opinion, this is where the kitchen should be!
We planned to watch Netflix, but we were riveted by a Spanish show about the environment. This lasted until 9pm and we tried to find the spelling show we'd enjoyed in Mallorca! Instead, we found the Spanish version of Countdown, and then Keith and Sophie enjoyed "Forged in Fire" while I fell asleep!
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