The travel report Part Two

Day Six:

 

We start the day with a nice and luxurious ffamily breakfast. Ole first agrees to take care of Quito when we are away, but when told that he will have to walk her in the afternoon, he is delighted to know that I take her along.

 

After breakfast we go to two places that I have seen the previous year.First it is the tiny  deserted chapel of San Antolin, which haa a magical, peaceful energy to it. Micki loves it, too, and the two ladies try to enter the ruins, while I sit in the sun. It is colder today than yesterday, but it is still allright. There are no horses there that day, and the chappel is locked, so we cannot go inside that room either.

 

We drive a little more and try to walk around the cliffs at one point, but a farmer has closed the road. Two dogs bark furiously at us, and somekind of mule greets us, too.

 

Finally, we are in Llanis, that wonderful little city. Micki enjoys looking at the old houses, and it  strikes me that she and Ilka are a great team when it comes to discovering things. Woat one doesn't see the other one surely spots. Unfoortunately, thechurch is closed again, so no chance to look inside this year, either.

 

We have lunch at a restaurant, of which Ilka says she would not eat there again, the food is average. Folks inside are watching Formula I, but I don't think the race is finished by the time we leave.

 

We then go to this beautiful grassy road by the cliffs, where on sunny days people sit on benches or go for walks and talk. We walk and walk and really hope that we can find the fig tree that had surprised us the past year. It takes a while, but then we spot it, and this time it is up to Micki and Ilka to get their hands all sticky, while it is only my jjob to provide the plastic bag.

Allright, I have to eat dust while they are picking figs...

That is today's joke, because I have discovered a delicious sweet they call polvoron. It comes on oval shaped tabs wrapped in paper. If you unwrap it as it is, you will see only dust and crumbs. So in order to be able too eat it, you have to press it hard in your hand, then unwrap and then eat it. I think what it is is a chickpea sweet a little similar to the Persian chickpea sweet I loved so much, and I was really happy to find it in Spain. I like to call it dust, and the others have fun with that name. So I don't mind eating dust while they are dealing with figs and sticky hands, for I certainly don't like figs. And I love this grassy walkway on top of the cliffs a lot, it is just magnificent.

Back in the city we find that the traditionall stores are closed, but the store where I had bought the honey for Micki the last year, was opened, and there was a sales lady who speaks perfect German. She had grown up in Düsseldorf but recently returned to Asturias because of her boyfriend. We bought quite a bit there. She let us try various cheeses, we talkked a little, and then it was time to go home.

 

After a little break at home, Micki pealed potatoes, carrots and onions, and I crated them all, so Micki could make potatoe pancakes. Of course, we ate them all, and Ilka and Ole were enthusiastic.

 

Finally I helped Ilka transform an email into good English, and then it was really time to sleep.

 

 

Day Seven:

 

I slept like a baby once again, until Micki woke up and I saw that it was 8:00 already. So we got up, walked Quito and returned to have breakfast, while Ilka was busy joining a telephone conference about a work-related topic. But I left Quito with her and went shopping with Micki. We walked over twice, so we could also put empty glasses and bottles away.

 

When we returned, Ilka was ready and we left for a spectacular scenery once again, the Playa del Silencio. There when the tide is low, you can walk through a walkkway that the sea has created through a rock onto a beach that is located off the shore, with a tiny river feeding into the sea. Well we did not this time, as that would have required major climbing. But what we did was sit down on the stairs that lead down the cliffs to the water. Quito was not allowed to run free while we were having our picknick, but I tied her to the railing, and first thing she did was force a slobber attack on all three of us until she settled by Micki. At first it was sunny, but then the wind came, and Micki saw black clouds rushing oour way. So we packed up and left. But before we could even reach the car, it was time to bring out the hoods from the back of our jackets, for the sky surprised us with rain and hail. That did not last long, but when the sky had cleared up, we saw another patch of black following. So we decided to leave, but it was worth seeing and hearing the sea, for sure.

 

We have made it another tradition that each night one of the ladies cook something the others might like. This night it was Micki's turn again, to prepare a North German specialty we both others love: fruit soup, this time with plums and pears, and some kind of sweet dumplings spiced with cinamon. We went shopping for that and also bought various cheeses and biscuits to take home. By that time, of course, the sun was shining again in Oviedo.

 

At night Ilka had to wait to pick up Ole late from his handball training, so weasat down and she wrote lists of books worth reading and of DVDs worth watching. For some reason this was my tired day, and i was quite happy that she agreed to take Quito to pick up Ole, so I didn’t have to walk her again. I only heard her letting Quito into the room, and then continued sleeping.

 

 

Day Eight:

 

This was a lazy day before farewell. Micki and I stayed home, only went shopping once to prepare a great lunch for Ole when he’d return from school. We could not find minced meat, so we bought some ham and made meatballs with ham. I tell you they were surely delicious!

 

And at night the real feast began. Micki and Ilka took a cookbook with traditional Spanish recipes and decided what to prepare. So off we went to the store again shopping for that. We also went to the famous Asturian store, where Ilka bought more cheese for us to take home, and delicious biscuits, and Chorizo, of course. For Quito it was more escalator practise, and i realised that she is doing better in harness, possibly because that provides more guidance.

 

And then the chopping and slicing began, and we ended up having many little feasts on the table: figs and apples wrapped in ham and fried, fried mild goat cheese with jam, and a Micki and Ilka specialty, Cabralis (a strong cheese) with wallnuts and honey, and finally finely chopped tomatoes with garlic, with a fine bit of Manchego cheese on top. And not to forget the delicious bread that Ilka has found.

 

 

Day Nine:

 

I convinced Micki that we should have our last breakfast together with Ilka. And since Ilka was running late, Micki prepared bread for her, and my duty was the coffee, of course. Finally Ilka left, and we took Quito for a final walk along the Pista Finlandesa with the many joggers and runners and groups of chatting people. Quito spotted the two white cats again, but this time they were too high up in the trees for her to even attempt to jump forward. Micki prepared a fig and orange soup, Ilka’s favourite, while I tried to pack my suitcase. I ended up asking Micki for help, because I had forgotten one bag of gooddies, and I had no idea how to pack them all so nothing would break. Weh ad a bit of lunch, washed and dried the dishes and then Ilka was there to pick us up. Weh ad three bags to return with, because the sheep skins had to come to Germany with us, too. The weather was gloomy, and we arrived at the airport way in advance of the counters’ opening the checkin for our flight. So Ilka showed us a nice café, and I ordered two final coffees. Then she had to rush off, for she had to be back at work for another appointment.

 

I think Ilka and Micki would be a perfect match, they get along so perfectly, and they certainly enjoyed each other’s company. Moreover, the vacation was really relaxing and wonderful for all of us, we enjoyed walking in the mountains, talking and having a good time in general. And I think Ole also enjoyed Micki’s company, and not only her great art of cooking. And as for Quito, well for her it was heaven. In the mountains she could run free for hours, get her paws dirty in each and every puddle she found, have water on the way when she was thirsty and sniff anything she considdered interesting. Occasionally she found a dog she could play with, and she proves to be really well-behaved around other dogs.

 

Our flights were all on time. At the oviedo airport I was relieved to find out that we did not have access luggage, so no need to pull out the credit card. Though weh ad not asked for assistance, a lady met us and accompanied us to the plane, so we could board first. She spoke Spanish only, and I was quite proud I managed to fill in a survey with her, evaluating the assistance service of the airport, which can surely only be described as perfect.

 

I also love the fact that in the Mallorcan airport people greet the passenger that have just landed and help them find their connection flight gates, so they needn’t run around searching for ages. We were waiting in the cueue for boarding again, folks had already moved on to board the plane, when a lady aproached us and asked us to come with her. It was quite a good feeling to be allowed to pass by all the ones waiting already in the tunnel to board first. I was even shown how to use the life jacket, which was really interesting to know, since i had only seen one a long time ago and certainly couldn’t remember anymore.

 

The landing in Berlin proved a little bumpy, since it was rainy and cloudy there. Quito had enough and wanted to leave, but she settled nicely when told to do so. My sister spotted us as we were picking up our luggage from the belt, all three pieces were among the first to be put on there – what a relief indeed. My brother-in-law was there, too, and so we left for their home again. Quito only played with little Rudi for a short while for it was drizzling and we were all tired.

 

The following day we just enjoyed staying at the sister’s, and Quito had to spend most of the time inside the house, because of the rain. But the next day it had cleared up a little, so she spent all morning outside romping with Rudi, until it was time to leave. She was put in the car, onto one train, onto another, and then into another taxi, and then we were home. After checking my fridge we went shopping, and she guided me very nicely, better than I had expected.

 

When Micki was finally at her home, she was surprised by a new carpet in her livingroom. My sister had emptied the two major chests, removed them, put down the carpet, put back the furniture and my niece had put in the dishes, books and tableware that was inside.. Micki really hadn’t expected a surprise like that, and i think she really enjoys it, not having been around the mess of the actual work.

 

I am happy, I have another week of holidays ahead of me, and I really enjoy doing little bits and pieces here and there, washing curtains and visiting another friend at the weekend, before work can hit me, as I am well-rested and recovered.

Many thans again to my sister and her family, my other sister, Ilka and Ole, Micki and Quito, who were and are all part of this wonderful break from daily routines.

Cheers, Chris:-)