Spanish Eyes, English Words

We had friends over for lunch today, and they brought us a present - some Lo Pagan mud in a bottle. They'd taken their daughter and her fiance to Mar Menor yesterday, and they thought they'd share the moment with us. We took the top off the bottle - because they didn't actually tell us what it was, and we thought it might be something worth drinking - and the smell knocked us back.

They all had a good laugh at our expense, but after lunch - and a few bottles of wine - the story of the rest of the day's adventures emerged. After the mud bath, they repaired to a bar for a drink and some tapas. It was the tail end of lunch time, so supplies were running low. They ordered tortilla -'Lo siento, no tenemos tortilla.' So they tried patatas bravas - 'Lo siento, no tenemos patatas bravas.'

Somebody had the bright idea to ask for croquetas, and bingo - there were indeed croquetas still available. The waiter asked how many they wanted and Alex asked for 'Dos raciones,' showing off his command of Spanish and his experience of tapas ordering in one fell swoop - or so he thought. The waiter queried his choice a couple of times, and when Alex insisted, he went away, shaking his head.

The other members of the party - who shall remain anonymous to spare their blushes - asked what the problem was. Alex explained that helpings of tapas were usually huge, and if he'd ordered four servings, they would have ended up with a mountain of croquetas de jamon. Happy with that explanation, they sat back to wait. After a while, out came a plate, with two croquetas, garnished with a sprig of parsley. They all had a good laugh, then tossed a coin to see who would get to eat the croquetas.

As they were relating this to us, I realised the true meaning of the phrase, 'What goes around, comes around.' I took great delight in explaining that, while most tapas are indeed served up in generous raciones, croquetas are always ordered singly, so what Alex had ordered turned out to be starvation raciones - pun intended!

The moral of this tale is: Don't mess about with somebody who's lived in Spain longer than you have, and who also hosts a blog. Scores on the doors: Alex 1 Sandra 1. Looking forward to the next round!

Although any time of year is a good time to be in Spain, I do think September has its own special attractions. For a start, the baking heat of August is starting to dissipate. It's still warm enough to swim in the outdoor pool and sit on the terrace until the early hours, but it's cool enough to sleep soundly - as long as the usual precautions against mosquitoes are taken of course.

Another great thing about September - at least for me - is that it's the time when our friends and neighbours who don't live out here come out for extended stays, so nearly every day we catch up with someone we haven't seen for a while. It makes for more interesting and convivial days, and we tend to eat out more, because when people come out on holiday that's what they tend to do, and we get invited along.

By September, I'm usually feeling like cooking again, after surviving most of August on sandwiches and salads and fruit, because it's just too hot to cook. I may be a few pounds lighter going into September, but it's nice to get back to cooking the Spanish food we love.

As it's cooler, we start to walk a bit more as well, rather than heading for the air conditioned sanctuary of the car. Now we can walk the two miles into Algorfa, and enjoy wine and tapas in the square, safe in the knowledge that if we want a second - or even a third - glass, we won't get stopped on the way home and charged with being drunk in charge of a pair of feet!

Another benefit of September is that, as the visitor numbers subside, it's easier to park, and easier to pick up a copy of one of the free papers. Everywhere takes on a slightly more leisurely feel, because the shop and restaurant staff and service providers are not rushed off their feet with all the extra business the tourists bring in.

It's nice to see new faces, and to see holidaymakers come to know and love our corner of the Costa Blanca, but it's great when it goes a bit quieter. Oh, and last but not least - it's the month when I can finally get Tony to accompany me for my daily dip in the pool. He finds it too cold for him before June, and too crowded in July and August. Do you have a favourite month to be in Spain?

Yesterday, we spent the day with friends we hadn't seen for almost six months. Although we live fairly close to each other, overlapping spells in the UK mean we haven't seen them since March, so there was a lot of catching up to do. They invited us to their place - it's a hacienda-style bungalow in 500 square metres of ground, with an 8 x 4 metre swimming pool. It's gated and detached, and there are terraces or courtyards at all 4 compass points so that you can chase or escape the sun. There's also a large outdoor kitchen area.

We spent most of the afternoon in the pool, and then repaired to the Andalusian-style courtyard for a barbecue. The wine and conversation flowed, and we felt very cosseted, and priviliged to be basically living the millionaire lifestyle, although none of us are particularly affluent.

Of course, it's all been made possible by the property price crash. Just five years ago, this particular des res would have been beyond the means of most ordinary people. However, our friends snagged a bargain at around 200,000 Euro earlier this year, and the place is not expensive to run either. It's not part of a community, so there are no fees on top of the Ibi, which is a reasonable 300 Euro per annum.

The thing is, even if our friends had picked up a similar bargain in the UK, the Council Tax would have probably priced it out of their league, and you couldn't guarantee that the swimming pool would have been pressed into service every day from April until November.

Even with the current economic problems, it's still possible for ordinary people to live the millionaire lifestyle in Spain.

Note: The villa illustrated is similar to our friends' place, and on the same estate.