SUNDAY 12th/
MAY 2013.
As we got
up it was a little overcast and grey but as the day went on it picked up and in
the afternoon the sun was out; the forecast for next week is fine with no rain
at the moment as the rest of Spain is getting hit by storms as an icy blast
comes in off the Atlantic – by Wednesday the temperature will be down by
10/12degs to 17/18degs!!
We spent
the morning in the kitchen getting our dinner ready, Mano and Anna were joining
us; in the middle of the morning Tim called us on the Skype video and as you
can see below we had a nice chat with Simon.
For dinner,
for a change we are having ‘English Style Pork Chops’- seared on the griddle
and then baked in the oven along with a savory Herb stuffing and glazed Apple
slices; Brenda’s vegetables were, Cauliflower and Broccoli florets in our three
Cheese sauce, sugar Glazed Carrots and finely sliced Green Beans along with
Broad Beans tossed in Garlic, Smoked Bacon and chopped Onions (Mano’s recipe
and his favorite) I made ‘Bretonne style’ potatoes – cooked potatoes cut into
rough cubes and then tossed with sautéed Onions and Red and Green Peppers –
baked in the oven. On the side I served a sharp, piquant ‘Charcutiere’sauce
made with diced Onions, White Wine, Beef and Vegetable stock then reduced and a
Julienne of Gherkins and a mixed hot Mustard paste added along with my secret
ingredients!
We then
went for a walk with dog around the village and when we got back I retired to
the office for a ‘Sporty’ afternoon!
First it was the Spanish Grand Prix from Barcelona “Ole Alonso” on the
TV (Spanish) and on the PC (English) – then I followed the Premier League
football, Everton and Liverpool both won, which I watched on the small PC and
on the large PC the ‘Giro d’Italia’ stage 9 from Sansepolcro to Firenze
(Florence) over 170kms in the Tuscany countryside and over 4 mountain climbs –
all in the heavy rain! The runaway winner was the Russian rider Maxim Bekkov
but the bad news was that Wiggins struggled all day going up the hills and
especially descending them! It seems that he has lost his nerve after his crash
on Friday, it was only his team mates that saved him in the end so there was no
change in the general classification – Monday is a rest day! He needs it!!
Meanwhile over here Barcelona won the ‘La Liga’- actually the became champions
on Saturday when Real Madrid drew with Mano’s team Espanyol 1-1 but they
confirmed it with an excellent win at Atl.Madrid on Sunday 1-2! “Campeones,
Campeones, Oh le Oh le ! ” In the ‘Madrid Open Tennis’ Nadel won it again but
in the ‘Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball’ final at the 02 arena in London
‘Olympiacos Pireus’ retained the cup over Real Madrid with a comprehensive win
100-88 - so no 4th Spanish win on the day.
After Mano
and Anna had gone home after a very ‘Tasty’ dinner, even if I do say so myself,
and they did! We then watched for a change a bit of culture on TVE2 – it was
from the new opera and ballet house next to the famous 19th century
‘Marinsky Theatre’ in Saint Petersburg with a fascinating sliding stage; the
Spanish tenor Placido Domingo sang ‘Wagner’ and conducted the huge orchestra
and the supreme Russian ballerina of modern times,Ulyana Lopatkina performed to
‘Tchaikovsky’ As they say you can never get enough culture !!
Thought for
the Day;
Perfection
is attained by slow degrees it requires the hand of time.
..
.
No comments:
Post a Comment