Seventh blog post;

Our Spanish Family

The grandmother piled more food onto my plate. She didn't really speak any English so I think this was her way of making sure I was well looked after. It was only our second day here and we already felt at home.

We have spent the last two weeks with a Spanish family, about an hours drive west of Madrid. The family consists of Marta (mother), Pepe (father), the three children: Noe, Lia, Sabina, the dog who is called Rayo, the three cats who's names I cannot pronounce (or spell), and then for the first few days Marta's Mum and Dad were visiting from Santander.





From the outset we were invited to family events, and social gatherings. What struck us was that there appears to be a much stronger sense of community than in Britain. Everyone is always out in the garden, with lots of family and friends present (20+), enjoying good food (and wine) around a massive table. This is mostly down to the weather, it enables them to do this type of thing so much more often. It is Spring, and since we have been here it has rained maybe once. This obviously isn't limited to the Spanish or even the Mediterranean countries, I believe this is fairly common in most places with a warmer climate. But seriously, this is what life is about; great food, people you love, and good weather. More people need to leave the UK and buy a house abroad!



One of the cities we have visited whilst we have been here is Segovia. The old part of the city is an UNESCO world heritage site, and it doesn't take long to figure out why. The most impressive site is the Roman aqueduct, which is estimated to have been built around 100AD. As you can see from the picture below, it has been preserved in excellent condition, and as a result it is considered one of the most significant ancient monuments in the Iberian peninsula.




El Escorial is located on the other side of the mountain that we can see from the living room window. A couple of days ago we hiked over the mountain with Pepe, Lia, and Sabina. The picture below shows the view of El Escorial that we took on that walk.




We visited the monastery in El Escorial on the same day we went to Segovia. We were quite tired after visiting Segovia, as a result of this we some what rushed round the rather large monastery and didn't take much note of the many religious paintings. However one part of the monastery that was quite spectacular was the 'Pantheon of the Kings'. This is a large, elaborately decorated chamber where the remains of all of the previous kings of Spain are held. Jess remarked that it looked like something out of 'Harry Potter'.

Whilst on the walk over the mountain we discovered a flower which we were very lucky to see. As it only blooms for 2 weeks out of the whole year. However, please don't ask me what it is called, I have no idea.




One thing I must remember is to always check if people speak English. Out of the major cities it is less common to find people who speak English. Jess and I went for a walk into the local village, and went into a bookshop. I asked if the woman spoke English, she didn't, but we managed to get by with the limited Spanish that we know, no problem. After the bookshop we went into the pharmacy, because I wanted to get some tablets as I had a cold. This is where I assumed that the woman behind the counter didn't speak English because the woman in the bookshop hadn't spoken English. I then began to make exaggerated sniffing sounds with my nose, whilst making a very sad face, and pointing to my head and nose. To which she replied "You can speak English.". Oh, did I feel a tit...

It is funny how quickly you get into a routine, we are so used to getting up, eating breakfast, doing some work in the garden, the children coming home from school, everyone eating lunch around the table at 3, then maybe going for a walk or playing cards with Sabina/Lia, talking to the family, then eating dinner at 9, then going to bed. We have really enjoyed our time here, and we are going to miss them all, however we must press on. The plan is to leave on Friday morning for Rute, which is in between Seville and Granada, we will use this as a base for a few days to explore the Andalucia region, then we shall head on to Barcelona.