Where have i been all week? where haven't i been more like! er... not the Camino de Santiago as seen above by the way, that's next week!

not usually someone who takes any notice of horoscopes but it did say earlier in the month June would be good... well i hadn't considered the house clearing up and painting and terrace maintenance *good*, but this week surely made up for it!

Tuesday and i was off, back down to the bus stop at the Feria ground, and no crowds thank goodness! it was onto the Malaga bus by 11:30am, and by 11:45 i had travel sickness! very weird, i think i sort of remember feeling a bit queasy the day i went to get Barry in December, but had forgotten all about it, well this i couldn't ignore, i was reading, so maybe that was the mistake, i sat back and tried to relax... arrived ok and again forgot all about it!

walked to the port, found where i was meeting my friends off their cruise and went to have a coffee and read my book again....

they had had a trip down to Puerta Banus and were back and texting me before 3pm, i by then was reading in the park nearby and with them in a couple of minutes! oh it was so good to see them, the last time was before i moved to Spain, so probably about 8 years ago...

we went to the bar i had been in earlier and talked, and talked...and talked! we didn't have long, so it was quality time, rather than quantity, but non the less i am so glad we had the chance to meet up like this.... i forgot my camera but they are sending me photos i will up load another time... and when i am back in England next we will definitely meet up, they're not so far from Tony's really, a bus ride.... so good to see them x

... then i was back to the bus station and aboard the 5pm bus... and almost immediately back came the travel sickness??? whats this all about? don't understand haven't suffered with travel sickness since i was a kid i don't think?

i had to concentrate with every bit of strength i had to do so to get back to Alhaurín without being sick on the bus!!!!

got off in town, nearest place to the house(!!!), walked up the hill in the heat, went into a chemist and got something for next bus trip... home and was, well, not well!!!

i didn't know these meds so looked them up on the computer, used for sea sickness and for getting people into a hypnotic state! causes severe drowsiness! so all that cost, nearly 5€ and i'm not going to risk taking them!

Wednesday... Franco's Mom and Sister are out! we got down to the apartment opened it up, electric water gas all on and ready for GO!

we had popped into Paco's bar for a coffee near where we used to live first, lots of old friends in there so chatted to, then to the supermarket to stock on a few things for Maria, seemed like a good idea!

everything put away in cupboards and refrigerator and we went out again, for a coffee, and to arrive back and *surprise* them! we also popped into a health shop and got something else for high blood pressure, i will try them for two weeks, the time the lady said it would take to see the improvement if it was going to work for me, we knew Maria and Mom had landed, so we judged what time to go back... but they weren't there yet? we sat round the corner and eventually i got Franco to call, pretend to be at work etc, but he just said "where are you", kind of giving away he wasn't actually at work, but no matter!!! i wondered if they had gone to the supermarket on the way home, but we couldn't imagine the taxi driver being so obliging!

we hadn't realised they had a friend collecting them and that they had, indeed, been in a supermarket! so they had lots of doubles! i bought everything that i though Maria would buy, and she did/had! never mind, better to have more than less, i guess.....!

we left them to settle in later on their own, they had been up since 2am more or less, and not really any real sleep the night before...

phew....

ok, Thursday, yesterday, i was down to the bus stop again here in town... this time for the Fuengirola bus, i was a little concerned by a few school kids that were coming to the stop, i thought i can't get Franco to come and get me today! but i think only a few had broken up from school on Wednesday afternoon, anyway, the bus came a little late, and we stopped at i think, every single stop from here to Fuengirola! so i only had time to buy a ticket for my onward journey to La Cala, board the bus and off again!

and then i was in La Cala quarter hour later... meeting up with a good friend and her friend! who read my blog! this is for them... they are not stalkers ok! its just a vicious rumour(?)

i knew them as soon as the bus was coming into the stop, the two of them sat on a bench near the round about looking at the bus... as i was looking at them! it felt like a blind date!

it was so good meeting up like this, like old friends meeting who hadn't seen each other for a long time...

we had some lunch in one bar, then a walk, then some wonderful ice cream at a beach bar, i felt like a proper tourist! almost tempted by the looky looky men (not!!)

thank you both for a wonderful day... see you again x

and to today, Friday, i took a walk into town early, before the sun got too hot! got a paper and sat at a bar near the round-about, bar cruz i think its called? cup of tree, no lemon, just in case! then a friend of mine came along and joined me, we caught up with what we'd both been doing and then went our separate ways...

Franco came home last night with a big food shop, but i popped in to the local shop near to our house, i got a half of a watermelon, which is now in the refrigerator and tasted very nice thank you! i also got a few peaches which i put in the oven for ten minutes, cooled down, and whizzed up with a yoghurt and some very nice peachy ice creams are freezing as i write in the... well the freezer!

i also got one of a... well i thought it was a cake, she had a dozen or so in a bread basket on her counter, she said they were fantastic, this was after i had said i wanted one, not a sales speech, well after preparing above and settling down with a coffee i tucked into the aforementioned *thing* and it was just a pocket, sort of *thing*, a rectangular crispy empty shell of a cake! not sure if your supposed to pipe something into it? i don't have a piping gun thing, but i could have whipped up some egg whites and hot sugar (Italian meringue), and got it in there somehow, but i just ate it as it was.... the empty shell of a cake thing....

and i could eat another one now actually.... empty or not!

but i think i need to rest... thank goodness i didn't have a headache, yet, this week, i really have not had time for one!

i am now taking so many herbal tablets i should be running the Camino de Santiago... i would like to walk this walk... one day... one day.... anyone want to come with me??

adío amigos...

TTFN
Marian