Pompidou Malaga

Went with friend to Malaga a couple of days ago to see the Russian Museum in Malaga... Went to the Pompidou instead... next time the Russian Museum then!

The Pompidou is well worth the visit, and I will go there again and again, as I do the Picasso Museum in Malaga...

A great mix of art and more, painting that leap off the wall, literally!  Pieces of art work you would never think of!  A great exhibition...

         
        These pieces above - Ghosts...

I was mesmerised by these! I walked around them from all angles, they really looked like people inside, and every not and then looking deeper into the dark cowls, you could almost glimpse a face, or eyes peering back at you!

It was a very hot day, we dropped the car off at nearby Plaza Mayor and got the train into the city, we went too far! Which was why we missed the Russian Museum... LOL, never mind... as I said next time forsure! Had a lovely lunch in the big plaza... I had sea food paella, 'black & white' ice cream desert, which was vanilla ice cream in a shot of cold black coffee with think cream! Mmmmm very Mmmmmm!

What else have we been doing? On the driving range! I am hoping Franco keeps going there when I am at work, its good to get out and about every day, and just being up there, an hour of fresh air, and getting those balls hit out, good exercise and we are really enjoying it!  Who would ever of thought that even the word golf would be in our now every day vocabulary!  Certainly not us!  Adverts for gold popping up all over our phones now, and lap tops!! Very strange!! We only have a couple of clubs each, all we need for now, and me actually getting to play a real course is probably so far away its an impossible thought! I have had to get a glove, blistered left hand not great!  Still keep wondering who is saying these things!!

 

Today I went to the market in La Trocha, it was very quiet, I think lots of people would have down the beach or just generally out and about on a beautiful day like today... So it meant easy wandering about the stalls, easy viewing, easy sitting up stairs and having a quiet coffee without the hordes!  Followed by another quiet easy stroll about each and every isle again, still able to see what was what!

One stall holder was a surprise and came away with a possibility of selling friends artwork either in a shop or in a gallery!  Either way, great! But we will see!

I have been working on another book for above friend... more on that on my publishing blog page... next thing to do from here then!

I bought a dress the other day that turned out not to be a dress, but some strange long shirt with splits running up the sides!  So I got a skirt from a charity shop, snipped it up and put in panels where the splits in the shirt are/were, and now voila!  I have the dress I thought I had bought with added extras!! Ta dah!

We had to buy Pippa a new harness too, the other week... Her old one was about ten years old!  Worn and frayed... so now she has a lovely bright new one, the color suits her color beautifully!

TTFN amigos!
Marian

Birthday Travels

Álora castle

MMMMM..... time to breathe...

Yesterday, above sign photographed, from our seats outside a bar in Campillos!  Also had coffee outside on the Alozaina road in a bar my mom and I always had coffee in, on our way to Ronda...

We would have had a coffee at La Mesa, but oddly it was closed, so having passed up an opportunity of coffee, outside, at the El Chorro train station we waited for La Mesa... and it was closed....
[haha, okay not letting it go yet am I!]

View from the road towards Ronda from Ardales

We went to my secret birthday spot by way of Álora and Pizarra actually, wondered if the market was on in Pizarra but it wasn't... We could almost see us at our stall, we did enjoy those days... and think now that was what we had a bill for back then, and had to pay in Álora, probably a fine for not holding a sellers license at one of the occasions in Pizarra...!  That day we paid it, we drove in the pouring rain to Álora, a bug had settled onto my window in the car when we left the house, he hung on throughout our journey... and back again! Strong tough little fella!

The Kings Walk at El Chorro

We stopped in my secret place for a while... sat on the stone, well I sat on the small cool box, and squished it a bit... we drank some water and as always there, amazed ourselves at the natural beauty, the outstanding stunning country... looked at the teeny tiny country houses way down the mountain we were perched on... I remembered as always being there the most on my first birthday without my mom... I had made a massive picnic, all homemade, from the gazpacho to the sauces.... yesterday I had made nothing, was going to but didn't... we'll come back another day for longer before I head off back to work again in August...

It was breezy yesterday, and the wind whipped our faces and blew over the water bottles... but it was a hot heat, I love the serenity of that place, I think there would be a good place to end... Not my Blog... but personally, sorry, not meaning to sound depressed, I'm not, its just that there is peace and tranquillity and natural silence...

Cough, ahem.... okay... Sorry peeps!

So, we decided to head further up the road from Ardales and went to Campillos, we had been there before, maybe a few times but the last time was in the rain... This time not so!  We had a tapa there and then headed off back down the road towards home, but turned a right for Teba and Ronda...

It was a long drive for Franco, but a good one, lots to see, lots to admire along the way...

On the road from El Chorro to Ardales

 We stopped finally at that bar I mentioned earlier, just before the right hand turn for Guaro...

On the road from El Chorro to Ardales

And we were home...

Before I go... Yesterday morning, I awoke in the very early hours, from a dream I cannot remember now, I didn't remember it when I woke up, only that as I did so I shouted, really loud... I shouted "mom"...

I stayed awake for ages then, and when I woke up later I was sad... It really doesn't get any easier, I know I don't look on Google maps everyday, or even every month anymore... Remember I used to look at the windows of her flat... the curtains closed against the sunlight on the day the Google van went past... So I knew she was in her home, sat there watching TV, she had pulled the curtains to stop the suns glare on her TV... if she hadn't I wouldn't have known for sure she was there, behind them... But I do.

And one day that dam Google van will go by her home again and it will be a new view I see when I look, and it will break my heart, again.
[So don't look!] yeah right!

TTFN
Marian

Wrote a bit of this Blog on the flight home the other day.... So will begin with it!  The photograph above taken this morning in a shop down at the coast! Favorite shop of mine!

**On the plane homeward bound... Its been a nightmare so far!! Well, some, arrived here at airport in very good time.  Spent morning with son, his soon to be wife (excitingly news yesterday), and my granddaughter my angel baby... We went for brunch in town, I chose pancakes, they were dried up tasteless things with bacon which must also have been cooked hours ago!

(Break here to mention I am about to get up turn around and smack the idiot behind me who is pushing my seat!)

At restaurant should have complained but didn't, bad I know, how will they fix it if no one tells them!!

Then it was tram to end of the line, family came too... got a coffee and waited for bus, to airport, a wait and then lined up to drop my bag, no separate bag drop which is annoying when you've checked in already and its all you need to do! I saw the announcement on boards before display so was quick off the mark in the line... At last moment was asked to front another line and about to check my bag a man pounced and said he only had a pushchair to check in, could he queue jump! I said yes, but really that's what we were all doing!!

I'd paid an extra three pounds to fast track through the control, but turned out so few people it made no real difference!

I was first down the corridor to the gate when the number came up, first by the tape in the 'others' section, then a random family came up, five with a chap in a chair fair enough... chap and his wife it should have been, but seemed the I others wanted a front seat to watch the plane arriving... seeing as we were there before the plane!! THEN a family of eight wanted to jump the queue, grandad walked up, looking glum... saying he didn't want to jump ahead, he was fine boarding with the rest of us!! No problem him and his missis but the other six???? NO, no need!

Then add the poor people who couldn't read the sign for speedy boarding who started piling up in the way of people legitimately in the line!!

(OMG this keyboard is playing havoc with me using my thumbs, it's reading ahead as if I am drawing  a line because I not going slow and its recognising a line between letters not spaces! And the idiot behind is really pushing his luck!)

Okay... this should be cathartic!!

Yesterday was a good day all round by the by, except a nightmare I had as soon as I went to sleep!

Day before, leaving work day... incoming support wasn't there! Manager called her for me, turned out she had her day mixed up!! Luckily she wasn't far away and got a lift in! I was hurriedly explaining a month's (well nearly), noted I'd written, my lift on its way, when a text told me my train was cancelled! I panicked, sent lift away, words of calm from soon to be daughter-in-law... I called train peeps and they said a coach would soon be there to take me to Shrewsbury, the first of three trains, the cancelled one... So I called my lift back to the house and they dropped me at the isolated station! A mini van came and picked me up, another girl was waiting and had walked up from the turnaround near the ally between two cottages, that leads to the line... if she hadn't, she wouldn't have seen the van!  We sped through county lanes at God knows what speed! Thrown about in the back seats, it stank of oil grease, dirt! This driver took three of us to the next station where we got into a regular coach, five of us, to Shrewsbury! We left my station about twenty minutes later than the train would, so about 17:00 I normally have 3 minutes to cross platform and board the Birmingham train... Which leaves at 18:33, arrived for that at just gone seven, so got the next available which was 19:33, and so on... Birmingham to Nottingham an hour later too, and into Barry's off the tram about half ten... I was tired out...

I spoke with and then sat with a lady who was changing trains and got off before Birmingham... Wrong place, wouldn't have sat or spoken with her... and now I am going to publish a book for her! Strange indeed!

Okay... going to read now!**

And back to today!  Sunday 10th July, had a restful day yesterday, relaxing, acclimatising to the heat... early evening it was still 40c on the terrace 104f old skool!

The Pipster and I went out for a nice walk this morning in the early warmth, and just now a beautiful breeze is cooling the living room, as soon as the sun comes round it will be down with the persiana and shut the windows!!

Franco has bought a huge amount of beautiful flowers and our terrace and balcony railings are full of color and prettiness...

I landed into Malaga about half past eight in the evening, and we went down to Torre[molinos], and had a wander about and a coffee and bite to eat, felt like a tourist!  We got a parking place down along the paseo maritimo, right at the end, of both the paseo and our will to live!  We were lucky with someone pulling out, arriving into Torre at past nine at night on the Friday is pushing your luck to its limits in July and August!  We got the lift up to the town level and walked back down...

TTFN
Marian

Magpies three!

I seem to have got something wrong all these years... well, probably amongst other things! [hardly!!], well, the color of magpies!  I actually thought they were black and white, I'm sure I did!  This photograph I took this morning, the three birds were only two foot away from me, so probably the nearest I have ever been to these shy birds... and look at the colors!  Blue, green purple!  Amazing colors!  Beautiful eh!

Hungry Squirrel

This little chap will one work out how to climb this post or any of the others here... he is after the three hanging baskets of nuts!!  I leave some on the ground, some on the window sills... still, I am guessing the lure of all those nuts up there must be driving him... nuts!

White flowers

These beautiful flowers... some of the tiny unfurled ones look like sweets made of icing sugar...

Only a few days to go before I leave for Nottingham and then home!

The program from France yesterday and the Somme, must have left me slightly emotional!  Watching the opening of court 1 today at Wimbledon, the commentator announced all the famous in the Royal Box, sports personalities from the past and present, and a lady who had flown spitfires and hurricanes during WW2, servicemen and women who were present were standing sombre, and I got quite tearful, strange for two reasons, one it was Wimbledon, and two I have even been enjoying it!

TTFN
Marian

Battle of the Somme

Today marks the centenary of the Battle of the Somme...

Watching the people honour those that were lost, the remaining injured beyond repair physically and mentally.

A TV commentary talking about the huge number of deaths on the first day alone, letters read, diary's of the men who fought and died or fought and survived... Four months of destruction at the Somme.

Those men who died then in WW1, those who died later in WW2.  Between the wars they sought a union of countries, the UK France Germany, all of Europe, to reconcile their differences - They failed, but after WW2 a new beginning, they tried again and this time reconciliation did begin and did happen...

Yet here 'we' [UK], are again, pulling away from those we reconciled with.  What all those men and women fought so hard to do... Yes freedom too of course, but it was a freedom from bad men, not bad countries.

I, you, we hear all the time "what did our boys dies for!"  Well they fought for freedom and for 'together as one'....  Not separatism.

In another 100 years time, my grand daughter could well be a great grand mother by then... I wonder what the people of then will look back at and think of us.  If...  Lol, no, lets be positive, hopefully there will be a planet earth still then!

TTFN
Marian