Ouch! Just had the electricity bill. 250 euros for two months! The tax in Spain is very high and the house is not insulated so I reckon we’ve been heating the sky.

We found this barbecue at the medieval market in Benissa. Great atmosphere, Really interesting stalls but the BBQ itself was  a rip off!

We had a fabulous week catching up with loads of people. It was great to see Nicky and her family so happy in their new home. Apologies to Jan for leaving her standing in the rain after lunch! We had to rush off to Sussex to see Ben and Angie. Very sorry we missed Helen but hopefully will catch up next time. Landed back in Spain at 12.30. Much needed siesta at home at 2.30!

Hi All. I can’t believe we have just had a week back in England. It absolutely flew by. We were both completely shattered when we got back to Spain, and slept the whole of a sunny afternoon away. It was great to catch up with so many people, and thanks very much to Nicky and Gavin, Simon and Shari, and Ros, who put us up, and Mike and Sarah and Steve and Chris who gave use a couple of brilliant lunches. We crammed as much as we could into the week, visiting Ann’s mum in Sheffield, meeting up with our former Spanish class members, Catching up with Keith and Lorraine and team Walrus at the Henty, and having a pleasant hour with Paul Gough who is living in our flat and is producing some brilliant paintings. I also popped in to Worthing College briefly. Good to see Mark Sambrook has discovered Grecian 2000 for his beard! 

It seemed a bit strange to be coming back just as visitors, and made us both quite aware that there are things that we miss a lot, but it hasn’t done anything to persuade us that we need to be in any hurry to decide what we are going to do next. One thing is certain; wherever we eventually settle will have central heating! We hadn’t realised how inured we had become to living in a cold house. We now have two more firm dates for people coming out for holidays, so if you are thinking of coming please get in touch soon and let us know when you would like to do so. We are moving on on May 21st. All the best, Andy.   

Two more sleeps and we’re back in the UK. Really looking forward to catching up with everyone. We may even find time to watch a bit of tele for the first time since August!

We joined the village fiesta del tres reys on Sunday. It is a Spanish tradition to celebrate the three kings with a parade through the village and finishing at the church and the main square. The kings have their faces painted, one white , one red and one black. They throw sweets onto the streets for the children. It was a good evening!

Hi All, Still not much happening here. Had breakfast by the pool in the sunshine, and worked on a large wooden monster in the garden for most of the day. It’s warm enough to work without a shirt, and the tan is coming along nicely. I shan’t be posting any more pictures of my sculptures on line. The last time I did, there were no comments and I think I set a new record for facebook by having a post without a single ‘like’ on it. This rejection of my opus has so destroyed my fragile artistic temperament that I feel unable to sacrifice myself further on the altar of public opinion. Apart from that Ann’s out and I don’t know how to transfer the photo’s. Ann has been painting when not snoozing by the pool or reading. Between us we are accumulating quite a lot of work, and I’m not sure what we will do with it when we move on.

We went for a lovely bike ride along the river bank through the orange groves yesterday, plucking fruit from the laden boughs when thirsty, and being cooled by a gentle zephyr of wind which prevented us from getting too hot. Ah me, its a hard life, and we are both very much looking forward to being back in the cold, damp, windy weather that we have missed so much since we have been away.

Spanish lessons start again today, and neither of us has done any practice since before Christmas. I had hoped to speak it relatively well after a few months, but it’s just too difficult to practice when everyone speaks English.

Looking forward to seeing as many people as possible when we get home. To the 73 people who logged in to the blog yesterday, we’re sorry nothing exciting is happening. Comparing our lives to a lot of others at present we just feel very lucky, and are hoping to remain so as long as possible! All the best,

Andy

We’ve just got back from three fabulous days in Valencia. The modern architecture is stunning and the old town is beautiful.

We visited the bullring, an historical museum, the central market (fantastic!) and several lovely cafes, tapas bars and restaurants.

There is still loads more to see so we’ll have to go back. Next time we’ll take our bikes. There are cycle tracks everywhere.

This is definitely a perfect destination for a city break!

Next, the UK! We’ll be back in the UK for a week, next week.

Happy New Year to everyone.

We saw the new year in at a very nice restaurant, the Castellvi in Alcalali. Fantastic food again. The tapas were amazing and once again we were full before the starters arrived. The diet starts NOW!

The Spanish tradition is you have to eat twelve grapes as the clock strikes 12 for good luck in the next year. It is quite difficult to do!

No Auld Lang Syne but lots of party music and dancing. It was definitely a night to remember.

We did drink a toast to all friends and family. Good luck for 2014 ,wherever you are!