Oo er; Oe Oe Oe! Olé!!

The end of June has been either a hive of activity and excitement or a doze of lethargy and tiredness. I guess the two sort of go together, don't they. And this is a rambling, bumbling sort of post. I think the heat may have affected my brain.

When I say the end of June, there wasn't a specific 'start' time - we do seem to lurch from one event to another in the normal state of affairs. But after school finished, the first of the lulls began. I think we all promised ourselves a lie in on the first weekend but I surpassed myself and didn't get up until 1 o'clock on Sunday afternoon! (Remember, that would only be 12 o'clock if I still lived in the UK...makes me feel a little better for some reason.) Probably the real reason is because Romy and I were up so late watching the witch burning the night before. 

Then on Monday, it was my birthday.

FR and I went out on our own (falls over in amazement) ...for about an hour but we did have a rather nice drink and a tapa at one of the local bars and I was treated to some very nice perfume. I also managed to stagger back without falling over - I'm not good at lunchtime drinking.

Then we ate wonderful steaks with salad and chips, followed by a yummy 'tarta' full of cream. 

I did drink rather more than I usually do - which is nothing - and suspect I may have had a siesta. For a long time - I don't remember very much else this particular day, but it was a very nice birthday and I now smell lovely.

On a number of evenings this week, we have been glued (it's been extremely hot) to the television, watching the football of the Euro 2012 Cup. Spain and England in particular, though they didn't actually play each other. I very quickly got bored watching England so wasn't too distraught when they were knocked out by Italy - though I did watch the awful moment when Ashley Cole's penalty, well, didn't go in and England were out. 

He's a very good footballer

When Spain played, it was different and we shouted and cheered at each goal, save, miss along their way to the final. The game against Portugal was particularly nail-biting for us as it went to penalties after neither full time nor extra time could provide either team with an all-important winning goal. We thought the Portuguese were rather dirty and Romy and I were both very indignant when Xabi Alonso was most unfairly tackled. (My 8 year old daughter showing similar taste in..good footballers..as her mother, which was a bit of a surprise.)

And then it was penalties. If you watched it, you will know it went Spain's way, though it was quite painful to see the Portuguese goalkeeper save the very first attempt by Spain - especially as it was Xabi Alonso that took it! Oohh, what a noise we made! And then what another, different noise we made when Casillas, the Spanish goalkeeper saved the first Portuguese attempt!! Clean sheet - still no goals. The next two players on each team hit the spot at the back of the net - so 2-2. Gosh this was such a tense moment. Ramos scores for Spain...but guess what, the next Portuguese shot hits the post!! We couldn't believe it. I was so tense that when Fabregas scored next, I didn't suss that Spain were through to the final...but of course, instead of Ronaldo stepping forward to win for Portugal, he didn't need to take a penalty as the decision was already made. I wonder if he'd gone first, it would have been quite so clear-cut...? Well, he didn't and by the time I fully realised that Spain had done it, the noise had started outside, with car horns and hooters shattering what had been an unusually quiet evening.

Then we had another day's lull, followed by FR and I being briefly excited about going to see two more houses. We have had no luck with the house we saw earlier this year - too much money required, seller doesn't need to sell enough to drop to our highest offer - but we keep looking.  However, when we came home, I sank into quiet depression because I go with such optimism thinking 'this' will be 'it' and then it's not...but one day it will be. I hope!

The lethargy that hit us during the week was a direct result of the heat. It really has been unbelievably hot here, reaching 45 degrees some days and not enough of a drop during the night for us to sleep well. We've had our air-conditioning unit and a fan on almost all the time and even then, we have been wilting. Add this to a recent, age-related increase in hot flushes and ...well, you must excuse my odd ramblings. Please.

However, Saturday was perfect! The temperature stayed around 30 degrees and there was a delicious breeze. I took Darwin for a long walk and wished it was possible to photograph smells for my blog. We walked past the lavender which borders the park and I brushed its length to release the scent - though I did this carefully to avoid the multitude of bees buzzing there. As we walked up the hill towards La Mota, we pass underneath two trees that at the moment are in flower. I don't know what type of tree it is but the scent is just like watermelon - it's absolutely gorgeous - could be a Linden or Lime tree. I will do my homework and find out even though I will still not be able to share the smell with you. As we stand a little while to inhale the perfume, the noise of the bees is loud and busy and, in the shade, we are so enveloped in sensation, it's like being in a dappled, buzzing, scented helmet.

Not wishing to become a soccer bore, I will just say we watched the Spain - Italy final and couldn't quite believe the 4-0 result. But I must share the sense of excitement, joy, enthusiasm and pure pleasure that our Spanish neighbours displayed for most of the evening and night that followed the win! Ruy, most Spanish of our three, felt we had to do something, so FR and the children jumped into the car to do a tour of the town after the match ended.

They came back full of amazement at the number of people on the streets and the demonstration of Spanish joy on show. So, I set off with my camera, walking through deserted streets but hearing the roar and chanting of crowds some way off.
Momentarily, I thought back to living in the UK, when the idea of wandering into cheering crowds of football fans at almost midnight would have been a most foolish thing to do.

But I kept going. I know there are places in Spain where there is a great deal of threat on the streets but I am so incredibly glad that we have found a place where there is so little that not only was I unafraid, but grinning all over my face (which was painted with red and yellow stripes) as I saw the masses of people in the park - a sea of folk in the red of the Spanish team, including some very small ones on the shoulders of their parents.



My photos are inadequate - they don't capture the friendly enthusiasm of the evening and many are out of focus, but I'm so glad I went and was part of the fun for a little while.









La crisis is momentarily forgotten as Spain celebrates. Olé!