Well today wasnt a very good day for Carah, her Mosquito bites got so bad that she had to do something about it! All of her legs swelled up and she was in a lot of discomfort. She shown the bites to Javier(Danny) and he took her straight to the doctors, who told her to go straight to the hospital. Carah then got told she had to have a dreaded needle!!! Gemma held her hand all the way through and Gemma thought she had broke her hand afterwards!
Gemma was also having so discomfert with her back as she had the massage yesterday and it felt like she had done a full body workout.
Today was quite a change in weather as it was very overcast. There was also a storm as the previous day although it was very hot. We were all watching the lighting go across all the sky and it was an amazing sight to watch.
After work Rebeca asked us if we were doing anything later on and if we would like to go to her boyfriends work. He had a massive dairy farm with lots and lots of cows. We decided to go and when we arrived we was greeted by a very old dog, he was very happy though as his tail did not stop wagging. Rebecca showd us all around and we even got to see a little cow that had only been born the previous Saturday. It was a bit shaky on its legs and had to be fed by a bottle like a baby, we watched the little cow being fed and it was lovely. We then walked all the way around looking at the different stages of the cow. They all get put in to different sections depending on how old they are. Rebeca explained that Mario worked alot of hours as this sort of work contained a lot of hard work and dedication, it was only her boyfriend and his brother who ran it. We then went to the bit were the cows got milked, it was a big machine rather than doing it by hand. Before and After the cow gets milked it has to have a special cream put on to its udders.
We had a good look around and all of our lungs were full to the brim of cow pat.
We then went to the local bar were we all had a drink and were joined by some of the local residents. We were all chatting away and they explained they had visited London as there was a deal on the internet, they said it was very expensive and they got a lot of funny looks on the metro as everyone was quiet while there children were nattering away!
There were two little boys sat with us and the youngest one at the age of two reached out to get something off the table but knocked his drink over and it went all over Gemma... she was coverd in apple juice from head to toe!
Everyone couldnt help but laugh and Gemma was given a towel to wipe herself with.
It was around 10.30 and i was getting really hungry so we decided to go back to Riosecco for something to eat. We decided to go to the restuarant we went with Jo when she was here for the first week. Yes the Frank Sanatra music was on AGAIN on repeat. The menu was all in spanish and i didnt understand much so i just pointed at anything from the menu hoping that the result would be a good one!
I went to the toilet while we was waiting for the food and as i was coming back i realised there was a big scollop waiting for me on the table, everyone burst out laughing because i dont like that sort of food!
After this we went back to the apartment and had a few drinks before going to bed!
Friday, July 27, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
25th July
Sam received a phone call from Rebeca around 9 o clock to let us know that Valentin wanted to meet up with us and that he would meet us at the Chanel at 11 o clock. We waited for him and he finally arrived. Valentin doesnt speak a word of english so we really had to focus in to what he was saying, we all did really well between us and made out he was asking us if everything was ok and how we are coping. He said that me and Gemma where brown, Carah was red and Sam had a touch of glow to him, we all laughed and he soon was off on his travels. After this Gonzalo asked for all of our help to move all the canoes onto the other side of the canal,he wanted us to do this as there where a group of children which were going to go on these shortly after there bike ride and he wanted them prepared for when he got there. This was such hard work because they are so heavy and in the heat it was a challenge, i felt like i was on the worlds strongest women, althought i wasnt doing much of the carrying, Rafa was as he was alot stronger than me!
When we got to the other side Gonzalo gave us a gaterade each which is a energy drink which we all needed by the end of it!
After Siesta me and Sam came to Matallana for 2 hours where Sam was researching medieval plants to put in the Garden at Matallana and i was doing this blog
After work Rebeca had invited us to her Dads house for tea, we met her at our apartment at 7.30 and we followed her in the car, further up she pulled up and told you Gonzalo and his husband was going to come too, so we waited for them and firstly Rebecca took us to the local village and we said hello to her friends, after this we pulled up outside her Dads house and went inside. It was totally different to anywhere you would see in England and it was a traditional farm. When we got there her she explained her fathers cat had just had 3 month old kittens, we had to stand a distance from them as there mother was very protective.
After this Sam was fascinated by the big tractor so him and Rebecca got in the tractor and had a picture taken
We then went inside were immediatly what was on the kitchen top caught my eye...
A pigs leg!! Gonzalo and Rebecas Dad started to cut peices of and put them on a plate so everyone could eat, i gave it a try but it really wasnt my thing so soaked it up with a big gulp of my drink.. Kas, Kas is a drink in Spain which you can get in Lemon and Orange.
Rebecas Dad then cut cheese for us and different sorts of meat and sausage.
When we was driving through this village everybody was looking to see who we were because they hadnt seen us before.
On the way home we dropped Gemma of to have a massage (previously in the week Gonzalo had booked it for Gemma) so while she was having a massage me, Carah and Sam decided to have a drink in the bar nearby after dropping the car off at home.
When Gemma had finished her massage she was telling us all about it and the person who gave her the massage was english speaking so it was quite a good experience. We then went to the Irish bar were we saw Gonzalo and Teresa, we sat and had a drink with them.
I was shatterd and so was Gemma so that night me and Gemma walked home and had an early night... early being 12 o clock!!
When we got to the other side Gonzalo gave us a gaterade each which is a energy drink which we all needed by the end of it!
After Siesta me and Sam came to Matallana for 2 hours where Sam was researching medieval plants to put in the Garden at Matallana and i was doing this blog
After work Rebeca had invited us to her Dads house for tea, we met her at our apartment at 7.30 and we followed her in the car, further up she pulled up and told you Gonzalo and his husband was going to come too, so we waited for them and firstly Rebecca took us to the local village and we said hello to her friends, after this we pulled up outside her Dads house and went inside. It was totally different to anywhere you would see in England and it was a traditional farm. When we got there her she explained her fathers cat had just had 3 month old kittens, we had to stand a distance from them as there mother was very protective.
After this Sam was fascinated by the big tractor so him and Rebecca got in the tractor and had a picture taken
We then went inside were immediatly what was on the kitchen top caught my eye...
A pigs leg!! Gonzalo and Rebecas Dad started to cut peices of and put them on a plate so everyone could eat, i gave it a try but it really wasnt my thing so soaked it up with a big gulp of my drink.. Kas, Kas is a drink in Spain which you can get in Lemon and Orange.
Rebecas Dad then cut cheese for us and different sorts of meat and sausage.
When we was driving through this village everybody was looking to see who we were because they hadnt seen us before.
On the way home we dropped Gemma of to have a massage (previously in the week Gonzalo had booked it for Gemma) so while she was having a massage me, Carah and Sam decided to have a drink in the bar nearby after dropping the car off at home.
When Gemma had finished her massage she was telling us all about it and the person who gave her the massage was english speaking so it was quite a good experience. We then went to the Irish bar were we saw Gonzalo and Teresa, we sat and had a drink with them.
I was shatterd and so was Gemma so that night me and Gemma walked home and had an early night... early being 12 o clock!!
24th July
Today Carah and Sam decided that they wanted to go on a bike ride so they was up bright and early to do this while me and Gemma relaxed and had a nice chilled out morning. Me and Gemma took our time to get ready and when we was we decided to go for a stroll to Riosecco to look in the shops, i went into the perfume shop and got my mum some lovely smelling perfume while Gemma got some moistoriser. It was another really got day and the heat was almost unbearable. The previous night we made videos to send to Carahs little girl Jacey so we found WIFI pronounced (WEE-FEE) in spanish and uploaded them so Jacey could see how her mummy was doing in Spain.
That night we went out to Gregos again for our tea and most of us had a chicken baguette!
Gregos also had WIFI so we were on our phones speaking to our loved ones while having a nice cool drink.
Towards 7 o clock each night all the elderly men of the village come out and sit on the same bench and just people watch, its a picture to look at and we all find it really funny when we see them watching the world go by
That night we went out to Gregos again for our tea and most of us had a chicken baguette!
Gregos also had WIFI so we were on our phones speaking to our loved ones while having a nice cool drink.
Towards 7 o clock each night all the elderly men of the village come out and sit on the same bench and just people watch, its a picture to look at and we all find it really funny when we see them watching the world go by
23rd July
This was our day off, we decided to visit Valladolid again to get some last minute shopping bits. Well we started of perfect but when we got to the centre we got complety lost again and we ended up driving around and around for 1 hour and 15 minutes. We hit the same roundabout 7 times and if we wouldnt of been laughing we would be crying. I think at one point Sam was going to tear his hair out.
We was looking for the carpark were we parked last time as we new it was safe and also it was very close to the shops that we wanted to go into. After rallying around and around we decdied to give up and park somewhere new, we got out and there was a couple of shops but nothing compared to where we went last time.
After this we was all quite hungry and we couldnt beleive it when we passed a chinese, we walked `past it but after a short discussion we decided to go back.
The place was very perquliar as it had curtains in the inside which were all closed . We went in and looked at the menu and it was all very cheap so we all got a bit excited and wanted to order everything.
Sam was horrified when he saw that there was Sharks Fin on the menu.
Gemma ordered a beef curry, chips, rice and chicken. I ordered a spring roll rice and chicken and Sam and Carah both ordered a big duck each with soup, rice and a spring roll. When we was ordering the waiter had that look in her eye as if to say ´greedy buggers´. The duck Sam and Carah ordered were meant for 2 people but they said they could not be defeated.
Mine and Carahs spring roll came first and it was full of lettece and the occasional bit of beef, not to bad and i ended up giving half of mine to Sam as i didnt want to fill myself up on the first thing that came when i had plenty more to come. The rice came next and it had peas egg and ham in it. Next to come was mine and Gemmas chicken, her face was a picture because it was not what we both expected. Next were the chips, i polity asked for tomato ketchup, i scooped my chip under a BIG dollop of it and was horrifed when it taste like tomato soup haha. Everywhere should just stick to Heinz!
After this Gemmas beef curry came and there was a few pokes and prods and that was Gemma done.
The grand final and it was the biggest of things yet to come and it was Sam and Carahs duck and pancakes, everyone couldnt help but laugh when she brought it out and it was enough to feed a family of 5!, they had one of these each and by the end of it we had to roll them both out of the place!
We took a picture of were we parked so incase we got lost then we could see where we was supposed to be heading towards but we found the carpark perfectly. We was driving home and we could no beleive it when we was approaching the carpark what we was looking for, for an hour and half nearlly, everyone could not beleive it but we was all to tired to park up and shop again!
After this we decided to go to the swimming pool again and relax for a bit, it was really hot reaching 37 degrees. Sam and Carah were hiding under the trees in the shade while and and Gemma were taking full advantage of the beaming sun!
We was looking for the carpark were we parked last time as we new it was safe and also it was very close to the shops that we wanted to go into. After rallying around and around we decdied to give up and park somewhere new, we got out and there was a couple of shops but nothing compared to where we went last time.
After this we was all quite hungry and we couldnt beleive it when we passed a chinese, we walked `past it but after a short discussion we decided to go back.
The place was very perquliar as it had curtains in the inside which were all closed . We went in and looked at the menu and it was all very cheap so we all got a bit excited and wanted to order everything.
Sam was horrified when he saw that there was Sharks Fin on the menu.
Gemma ordered a beef curry, chips, rice and chicken. I ordered a spring roll rice and chicken and Sam and Carah both ordered a big duck each with soup, rice and a spring roll. When we was ordering the waiter had that look in her eye as if to say ´greedy buggers´. The duck Sam and Carah ordered were meant for 2 people but they said they could not be defeated.
Mine and Carahs spring roll came first and it was full of lettece and the occasional bit of beef, not to bad and i ended up giving half of mine to Sam as i didnt want to fill myself up on the first thing that came when i had plenty more to come. The rice came next and it had peas egg and ham in it. Next to come was mine and Gemmas chicken, her face was a picture because it was not what we both expected. Next were the chips, i polity asked for tomato ketchup, i scooped my chip under a BIG dollop of it and was horrifed when it taste like tomato soup haha. Everywhere should just stick to Heinz!
After this Gemmas beef curry came and there was a few pokes and prods and that was Gemma done.
The grand final and it was the biggest of things yet to come and it was Sam and Carahs duck and pancakes, everyone couldnt help but laugh when she brought it out and it was enough to feed a family of 5!, they had one of these each and by the end of it we had to roll them both out of the place!
We took a picture of were we parked so incase we got lost then we could see where we was supposed to be heading towards but we found the carpark perfectly. We was driving home and we could no beleive it when we was approaching the carpark what we was looking for, for an hour and half nearlly, everyone could not beleive it but we was all to tired to park up and shop again!
After this we decided to go to the swimming pool again and relax for a bit, it was really hot reaching 37 degrees. Sam and Carah were hiding under the trees in the shade while and and Gemma were taking full advantage of the beaming sun!
22nd July
Today Sam had to get down and dirty because he was cleaning to horses stables out! when he came in for his Siesta he smelt a bit like a horse haha
I was updating my blog and also helping Rebeca out with general admin tasks.
Gemma and Carah were helping Angelica the cleaner at Riosecco Chanel to clean out the hostel. The hostel is right next to the main reception at the chanel and that weekend there had been a number of children sleeping in there due to the concert the night before. They both had there work cut out cleaning and tidying up all of the beds and they were very dirty and looked like a typical teenagers room.
I was updating my blog and also helping Rebeca out with general admin tasks.
Gemma and Carah were helping Angelica the cleaner at Riosecco Chanel to clean out the hostel. The hostel is right next to the main reception at the chanel and that weekend there had been a number of children sleeping in there due to the concert the night before. They both had there work cut out cleaning and tidying up all of the beds and they were very dirty and looked like a typical teenagers room.
21st July
Today and throughout my placement at Matallana i was helping Rebeca gather information to make cards for residents from Spain to visit all the tourist places in Valladolid, these include; Matallana, Riosecco Chanel,Provincial Wine Museum, Roman Villas Museum, Book Town,Joaquín Díaz and Valley of the 6 Senses. If they apply for these then they can access all of these tourist spots as local residents. The peice of paper that gets filled then gets put into a database and then this information gets put onto a card. I was helping Rebeca write the address´s on the envelopes. The way the spanish write the address´s are very different to how we do in England for example;
Gouzalez Fericandy José Antonio (NAME)
Miguel Deliby No 42 (STREET NUMBER)
ISCAR 47Y2O (TOWN7POSTCODE)
VALLADOLID (PROVINCE)
In Spain when writing there name they write there last night first followed by there middle and then there last name, this got very confusing but after doing alot of envelopes i soon got used to it
Carah and Gemma were in the flour factory all day helping on tours and tourists. Whenever anybody see´s Carah in the sun they shout SHADOW NOW at her haha
Roberto came at lunch and told them his wife had prepared tortillas or us. It was beautiful as i got to try it too because there was enough to feed the family, i was glad i came home for dinner that day because it was lovely.
I went to sunbathe after having something to eat, Gemma washed the pots and Carah did the washing while Sam was snoring his head off! zzzzz
Tonight we went to a candle lit ceromany at San Francisco old monestry, lots of people of all ages where performing with violins, it was beautiful and so surreal and it was something that will always stick with me. At home these could never happen as there would be always one person who would spoil it, everybody had lots of respect for this event.
All the streets leading up the to monastry where candle lit it was beautiful
20th July
Today i was missing home again so was very sad :(
Gemma was also missing home and was upset so Roberto found her some cleaning to do and cheer her up. Roberto said that we are all your family while you are here, which was very touching and really nice. The day was slow with lots of swapping languages which can be quite frustrating at times when nothing is getting through.
We all left abit early for dinner today to watch a flash mob which was happènign in the main square of Riosecco, this was done by the young people and was full of people playing instruments and singing.
We went to the Unamone pub and had a few drinks watching the sunset. It was very windy so we went inside, we then discoverd that we had wifi on our phones so we all looked a bit unsociable. We then headed back for an early night.... which didnt happen again!
zzz very very tired
Gemma was also missing home and was upset so Roberto found her some cleaning to do and cheer her up. Roberto said that we are all your family while you are here, which was very touching and really nice. The day was slow with lots of swapping languages which can be quite frustrating at times when nothing is getting through.
We all left abit early for dinner today to watch a flash mob which was happènign in the main square of Riosecco, this was done by the young people and was full of people playing instruments and singing.
We went to the Unamone pub and had a few drinks watching the sunset. It was very windy so we went inside, we then discoverd that we had wifi on our phones so we all looked a bit unsociable. We then headed back for an early night.... which didnt happen again!
zzz very very tired
19th July
Carah and Gemma were missing home as Carah missed her daughters graduation day at nursery and Gemma missed her friends sons. Both were on the boat again for the wine cruise and captain Roberto told them to sit at the front of the boat and they got soaked with the water so came inside to help out with passangers.
Sam has been cutting the grass today with the lawn mower and i had been helping out with Rebeca.
Sam has been cutting the grass today with the lawn mower and i had been helping out with Rebeca.
18th July
Today was a very slow day as i was missing home very much and was quite upset, i think i struggled most with missing home in the first week, it takes a long time for me to adapt to change and was feeling really homesick. I worked with Rebeca all day and got to know alot more about her and the way of life she leads, we was showing each other pictures of loved ones and she shown me a picture of her boyfriend who looked like a typical Spanish person. Rebeca is very pretty and has dark hair, eyes and skin.
Carah and Gemma alternated between the boat and the canoes all day.
They went to the local market which was on and wanted to purchase some shoes called ´flozzys´but they had all been snapped up by the time they had got there.
Carah and Gemma had there first proper English lesson with Virginia but as always they got interupted, she is a very busy woman so they tried again later more informally
Carah is sick to death of getting bitten by mosquitos, her bites are inflaming all the time and we think it has something to do with the bed she sleeps in as none of us get bit as bad as she does
Carah and Gemma alternated between the boat and the canoes all day.
They went to the local market which was on and wanted to purchase some shoes called ´flozzys´but they had all been snapped up by the time they had got there.
Carah and Gemma had there first proper English lesson with Virginia but as always they got interupted, she is a very busy woman so they tried again later more informally
Carah is sick to death of getting bitten by mosquitos, her bites are inflaming all the time and we think it has something to do with the bed she sleeps in as none of us get bit as bad as she does
17th July
Gemma and Carah got up around 10am and Sam was up but relaxing in bed, while i was still sleeping. Gemma and Carah had breakfast and got ready and decided they was going to have a look at the shops in Rioseco. I woke up when i heard the word shopping and soon got ready. Sam was going to get his hair cut and translated all the words into Spanish incase they didnt know which style he wanted.
All of us girls went shopping and found a really good shop that had some good bargains, we got quite alot of stuff for cheap and was really pleased.
We had arranged to meet our friend Gonzalo because he was cooking us dinner at 2.
We rushed back to meet and sam and met Gonzalo at the Chanel and we followed him in his car to his house.
We was shocked when we went inside his house as it was very modern and very much like an English one. We told him we liked his furniture and he explained to us that it was all from IKEA. Gonzalos friend Teresa then turned up who could also speak a little Spanish and she taught it to young children. We was all chatting when Gonzalo brought out this huge plate of Lasagne he made for us
It had about 10 layers to it and i have to admit i was a bit overfaced with it all!
After this we was all full to the brim, we were all laughing and joking over dinner and it was a really lovely experience.
We then went for coffee at a bar that Gonzalo took us too and after this Gonzalo and Teresa had to go, before explaining that the bill for all of our drinks were payed for which was lovely.
After dinner we all went to the local swimming pool, although im not quite sure weather this was a good idea with a full stomach! Because it is the summer holidays there were lots of children bombing it in the pool and all sorts.
All of us girls went shopping and found a really good shop that had some good bargains, we got quite alot of stuff for cheap and was really pleased.
We had arranged to meet our friend Gonzalo because he was cooking us dinner at 2.
We rushed back to meet and sam and met Gonzalo at the Chanel and we followed him in his car to his house.
We was shocked when we went inside his house as it was very modern and very much like an English one. We told him we liked his furniture and he explained to us that it was all from IKEA. Gonzalos friend Teresa then turned up who could also speak a little Spanish and she taught it to young children. We was all chatting when Gonzalo brought out this huge plate of Lasagne he made for us
It had about 10 layers to it and i have to admit i was a bit overfaced with it all!
After this we was all full to the brim, we were all laughing and joking over dinner and it was a really lovely experience.
We then went for coffee at a bar that Gonzalo took us too and after this Gonzalo and Teresa had to go, before explaining that the bill for all of our drinks were payed for which was lovely.
After dinner we all went to the local swimming pool, although im not quite sure weather this was a good idea with a full stomach! Because it is the summer holidays there were lots of children bombing it in the pool and all sorts.
16th July
On the Monday we decided to go to Valladolid shopping, it was a very hot day and very hard to find our way around and also somewhere to park!
The streets in Spain are very narrow and it was quite tight at some point and we was all on the edge of our seats, the way the roads work and how your supposed to give way and stop is very different from home.
We finally found a car park called ´Colon´. We went in a few shops and had a look around, i got a few bits for home and everyone else was having a look in shops, i felt sorry for Sam shopping with 3 girls as we wanted to go in every shop that we passed!
As we were walking around for a long time we was getting quite restless and hungry and we couldnt beleive our eyes when we saw a Burger King!
The streets in Spain are very narrow and it was quite tight at some point and we was all on the edge of our seats, the way the roads work and how your supposed to give way and stop is very different from home.
We finally found a car park called ´Colon´. We went in a few shops and had a look around, i got a few bits for home and everyone else was having a look in shops, i felt sorry for Sam shopping with 3 girls as we wanted to go in every shop that we passed!
As we were walking around for a long time we was getting quite restless and hungry and we couldnt beleive our eyes when we saw a Burger King!
After this Gemma went into a sweet shop, we waited outside and we heard a big thud, we walked and she had knocked everything down of the display hahah, we couldnt help but laugh and the shop owner was more than friendly.
Later on this night we found out Gregor who owns the resturant who we go in all the time is a Police man, he is a lovely man and always happy to help.
15th July
We all got up bright and early although i suspect a few were feeling slighty delicate from the night before and i made us all bacon buttys for breakfast, they didnt taste the same as what we have a home but a bacon butty is a bacon butty to me.
Because we only have one bathroom between all four of us it can be quite hetic sometimes when we all want showers if we want them before we go to work.
After we all finished work this day we was all exhausted and decided to have an early night to catch up on some sleep.
Because we only have one bathroom between all four of us it can be quite hetic sometimes when we all want showers if we want them before we go to work.
After we all finished work this day we was all exhausted and decided to have an early night to catch up on some sleep.
14th July
Today it was very warm and not much wind so it was very clammy, me and sam got invited after doing some work to join Tamara who sold ice creams and refreshments down in the park, she asked us if we would like anything i choose the ice cream which had the most chocolatte on it and it went down a treat, there isnt much variety of chocolatte to choose from where in Riosecco and this has been a struggle for me as i do love my chocolatte haha.
Gemma and Carah were on the boat today, they had given all the children colour sheets and crayons. There was a little boy called Alejandro that was very cute, they were playing peek-a-boo with him and doing what they are very good at, which is entertaining small children, his brother then starting joining in and his mum and dad were aparntly very nice.
After a long day we all decided to go out for a few drinks for making it half way and to celebrate some of the challenges we had overcome and being without our loved ones for 2 weeks. When we walk throught Riosecco town everyone stares at us like were aliens, Rebeca had explained to us that because it is a very small village everybody knows each other and becauase we look like typical brits and didnt blend in with there skin tone it was obvious that we wernt local.
We went to a restuarant that we hadnt tried before and me and Gemma orderd a pizza and Carah just ordered chips, sam didnt have anything as he couldnt wait for food and ate before we came out. It turns out that mine and Gemmas eyes were bigger than our belly and Sam ended up eating the left over pizza!
We then went to a street party and nobody was dancing at all, me and Gemma decided to get the party started and show the spanish how to dance !
Sam and Carah sat down laughing there heads of and having another drink in a bar opposite were the party was. Me and Gemma was ddancing with the local crazy man
As you can tell her wasnt a full shilling but he was harmless and was making us laugh dancing with us and letting us try on his sombrao.
Eventually Sam and Carah come over to join the fun and by this point there was a few other people dancing too. We couldnt beleive it when the first english song come on which was ´saturday night´, none of the spanish people new how to do the dance so they were all copying us and by the end of the song we had the whole street dancing too it!
When the spanish music came on we were copying all the spanish locals dance moves as they are very different to how us english shake it!
This night ended with Gemma putting Carah to bed haha!
Gemma and Carah were on the boat today, they had given all the children colour sheets and crayons. There was a little boy called Alejandro that was very cute, they were playing peek-a-boo with him and doing what they are very good at, which is entertaining small children, his brother then starting joining in and his mum and dad were aparntly very nice.
After a long day we all decided to go out for a few drinks for making it half way and to celebrate some of the challenges we had overcome and being without our loved ones for 2 weeks. When we walk throught Riosecco town everyone stares at us like were aliens, Rebeca had explained to us that because it is a very small village everybody knows each other and becauase we look like typical brits and didnt blend in with there skin tone it was obvious that we wernt local.
We went to a restuarant that we hadnt tried before and me and Gemma orderd a pizza and Carah just ordered chips, sam didnt have anything as he couldnt wait for food and ate before we came out. It turns out that mine and Gemmas eyes were bigger than our belly and Sam ended up eating the left over pizza!
We then went to a street party and nobody was dancing at all, me and Gemma decided to get the party started and show the spanish how to dance !
Sam and Carah sat down laughing there heads of and having another drink in a bar opposite were the party was. Me and Gemma was ddancing with the local crazy man
As you can tell her wasnt a full shilling but he was harmless and was making us laugh dancing with us and letting us try on his sombrao.
Eventually Sam and Carah come over to join the fun and by this point there was a few other people dancing too. We couldnt beleive it when the first english song come on which was ´saturday night´, none of the spanish people new how to do the dance so they were all copying us and by the end of the song we had the whole street dancing too it!
When the spanish music came on we were copying all the spanish locals dance moves as they are very different to how us english shake it!
This night ended with Gemma putting Carah to bed haha!
13th July
Carah wasnt feeling to good today so she told Gonzalo who the told Virginia and they decided to take her to the hospital, she was feleing very light headed and we suspected it was sun stroke.
Ont he way to the hospital Carahgot to know Virginia a lot better practising Spanish and English along the way. When they arrived at the hospital they told Carag to lie down, put a themometer under her arm and tested her blood pressure and pricked her finger to test blood sugars. She felt very overwhelmed as everyone rushed around her and only spoke in Spanish. Virginia translated what the doctor was saying and they gave her tablets and told her to only drink isotonic drinks. Virginia gave Carah the afternoon off and told her to rest. After sleep she felt a lot better.
Gemma stayed at the Canal, gathering information and helping Gonzalo with the canoes.
Me and Sam were doing are usual day to day duties and getting to no the workers of Matallana a lot better.
Ont he way to the hospital Carahgot to know Virginia a lot better practising Spanish and English along the way. When they arrived at the hospital they told Carag to lie down, put a themometer under her arm and tested her blood pressure and pricked her finger to test blood sugars. She felt very overwhelmed as everyone rushed around her and only spoke in Spanish. Virginia translated what the doctor was saying and they gave her tablets and told her to only drink isotonic drinks. Virginia gave Carah the afternoon off and told her to rest. After sleep she felt a lot better.
Gemma stayed at the Canal, gathering information and helping Gonzalo with the canoes.
Me and Sam were doing are usual day to day duties and getting to no the workers of Matallana a lot better.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
12th July
Today was hot hot hot 34 Degrees and it was rising all week!
I made sure i was getting every bit of sun i could on my siesta with working indoors quite a lot i didnt want to come back home looking like casper. Rebeca who i was working with who speaks good English was in Portugal on her holidays so a lady called Beatrice took her place, she was a lovely lady and although the language barrier was different i could tell she was a very funny person to get on with. In the afternoon Beatrice thought she would take us further down the farm to show us allotments, after having a quick nosey outside the window, with a wingmirror down and something else being celotapped to her car i had the feeling she thought she was a bit of a lewis hamilton. My feelings about her dodgy driving were right when we ended up of roading and Sam having to get us out of a tricky situation were she got stuck in the middle of a mud patch, Sam took to the drivers seat and got us out with a bit of elbow grease and saved the day, it was a very funny experience and we couldnt stop laughing afterwards. After this Beatrice put on a dodgy spanish cd and turned it up top notch and was singing very loudly too it, put it this way she wasnt going to be the next Adele. Infact i thought we had ran over a cat at one point.
Carah and Gemma was out on the motor boat in the Canal. They said it was very rocky and Gonzalo had only ever driven it once before, Gonzalo is very funny and brings a smile to everyones faces just by laughing, he has one of those contageous laughs. There are lots of plants in the canal and they said they kept getting stuck in the motor. Carah was aparntly freaking out while Gemma was having a whale of a time finding the whole thing very amusing. They eventually made it off the boat with the help of Rafa and the other maintenance guy after getting soaked by the hose pipe off them. It was hard to find were had WIFI at first so it was wuite difficult to get in touch with family and friends
I made sure i was getting every bit of sun i could on my siesta with working indoors quite a lot i didnt want to come back home looking like casper. Rebeca who i was working with who speaks good English was in Portugal on her holidays so a lady called Beatrice took her place, she was a lovely lady and although the language barrier was different i could tell she was a very funny person to get on with. In the afternoon Beatrice thought she would take us further down the farm to show us allotments, after having a quick nosey outside the window, with a wingmirror down and something else being celotapped to her car i had the feeling she thought she was a bit of a lewis hamilton. My feelings about her dodgy driving were right when we ended up of roading and Sam having to get us out of a tricky situation were she got stuck in the middle of a mud patch, Sam took to the drivers seat and got us out with a bit of elbow grease and saved the day, it was a very funny experience and we couldnt stop laughing afterwards. After this Beatrice put on a dodgy spanish cd and turned it up top notch and was singing very loudly too it, put it this way she wasnt going to be the next Adele. Infact i thought we had ran over a cat at one point.
Carah and Gemma was out on the motor boat in the Canal. They said it was very rocky and Gonzalo had only ever driven it once before, Gonzalo is very funny and brings a smile to everyones faces just by laughing, he has one of those contageous laughs. There are lots of plants in the canal and they said they kept getting stuck in the motor. Carah was aparntly freaking out while Gemma was having a whale of a time finding the whole thing very amusing. They eventually made it off the boat with the help of Rafa and the other maintenance guy after getting soaked by the hose pipe off them. It was hard to find were had WIFI at first so it was wuite difficult to get in touch with family and friends
11th July
Today was are first day back in work after having our 2 days off, i was with Rebeca helping her at Matallana farm doing day to day stuff and sam was busy pulling weeds out, watering plants/ trees and so on.
Carah and Gemma were with Gonzalo ^^^ above in the morning, they was orignally supposed to be doign English lessons but Virginia was too busy, so they had informal ones with Gonzalo, Roberto, Miguel and Rafa.
Gemma had the hots for Rafa and kept teasing him and still does till this day, this makes Rafa very shy haha!
Virginia let them both go a little bit earlier for their dinner as the market was on and Carah needing a swimming costume, they made it just in time and Carah got conned into buying one for 20 Euros. They said the market was very similar to a flea market.
I was so ingrossed in my book this day i sat outside for all of the siesta and burnt my legs!
Gemma had the hots for Rafa and kept teasing him and still does till this day, this makes Rafa very shy haha!
Virginia let them both go a little bit earlier for their dinner as the market was on and Carah needing a swimming costume, they made it just in time and Carah got conned into buying one for 20 Euros. They said the market was very similar to a flea market.
I was so ingrossed in my book this day i sat outside for all of the siesta and burnt my legs!
10th July
This morning we wanted to go canoeing and bike riding but we all took full advantage of our lie in and didnt end up coming round until about 12ish, all those early starts from work had caught up on us! It also might have had something to do with these things.....
12 cans for 2 quid!
We didnt all have a late light in though as Carah was being eaten alive by mosquitos and flies, by 7am she was up fighting them off with a wet towel, skills!
July 9th
We decided to go to the pool and disovered (or thought we did) that they wanted 10 euros for 2 hours so we decided to go to the cheaper one near Matallana (bargain hunters)
Carah didnt have a swimming costume so she just sunbathed. Little did we no you have to wear swimming hats in which ever pool you go to, so after belly flopping in, getting shouted at by a load of spanish speaking people including the lifeguard and pointing to their heads we discoverd that we had to wear hats.. haha!
A lovely lady lent came over and leant us her 3 year olds, after we wasnt sure wheter she was trying to help us or make us look like a bit of a laughing stock as im sure the blood circulation in my head cut off.
We had a very chilled out day and felt rested.
We all had a laugh at Sams sunburn as he didnt think he caught any, but his ginger feet were glowing red.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
July 7th-8th
On Saturday Carah spent the day with Segunda in the flour museum. Segunda canot speak English so she found it especially difficult. With her dictionary and phrase book she tried making conversation and suceeded talking about the Spanish financial crisis, sharing that the UK was going the same way. She completed 5 tours and found she could understand what the machines did and even found one from Robinsons mill in Rochdale. Carah sick and tired of going up and down the 4 flights of stairs, if that doesnt get your blood pumping then i dont no what does!
Gemma did the wine cruise with Roberto and Miguel, lots of tourists got on the boat with their children which she really enjoyed. The journey was 3 hours down Riosecco Channel. After an hour and half she did a stop and tourists and children where aloud to get of the boat. Gemma then helped Roberto and Miguel set up the tables as they has snacks which was bread, cheese and salami, to complement that, a good old glass of wine!
Gemma described the boat trip and very relaxing and said that Miguel and Roberto were lovely too.
We had our eye on the irish bar in Riosecco, so Saturday night we went in, although they didn't do Guiness..
On the Sunday Carah was wine tasting with Gonzalo as the boat trip was cancelled due to an event being held and lots of children visiting the canal. Carah helped Gonzalo with the canoes and children and also went on a boat ride with the children. As Gonzalo speaks pretty good English they both swapped phrases and sher learned a lot more Spanish.
Gemma was in the flour museum with Segunda. She was very nervous as Segunda doesnt speak a word of English. She toured the musuems with Segunda and lots of other tourists that day. Each time she was understanding Spanish a little bit more. Between the tours Gemma and Segunda had a really good chat mostly on their own occasionaly using the dictionary!
That night we had a few drinks in a few different bars ad decided to go to the disco, lets just say it ended up with me and Gemma showing Carah and Sam the way home haha!
The way people drink in Spain is so much different from England. Everyone just drinks to socialise and not to get drunk so they dont remember anything. Every siesta here there is always local residents drinking at 2,3,4 in the afternoon. You wouldn't event be aloud to do that in Manchester!
That night we watched the moon rise!
Gemma did the wine cruise with Roberto and Miguel, lots of tourists got on the boat with their children which she really enjoyed. The journey was 3 hours down Riosecco Channel. After an hour and half she did a stop and tourists and children where aloud to get of the boat. Gemma then helped Roberto and Miguel set up the tables as they has snacks which was bread, cheese and salami, to complement that, a good old glass of wine!
Gemma described the boat trip and very relaxing and said that Miguel and Roberto were lovely too.
Below is a photo of Roberto the captin of the boat, lovely guy!
On the Sunday Carah was wine tasting with Gonzalo as the boat trip was cancelled due to an event being held and lots of children visiting the canal. Carah helped Gonzalo with the canoes and children and also went on a boat ride with the children. As Gonzalo speaks pretty good English they both swapped phrases and sher learned a lot more Spanish.
Gemma was in the flour museum with Segunda. She was very nervous as Segunda doesnt speak a word of English. She toured the musuems with Segunda and lots of other tourists that day. Each time she was understanding Spanish a little bit more. Between the tours Gemma and Segunda had a really good chat mostly on their own occasionaly using the dictionary!
That night we had a few drinks in a few different bars ad decided to go to the disco, lets just say it ended up with me and Gemma showing Carah and Sam the way home haha!
The way people drink in Spain is so much different from England. Everyone just drinks to socialise and not to get drunk so they dont remember anything. Every siesta here there is always local residents drinking at 2,3,4 in the afternoon. You wouldn't event be aloud to do that in Manchester!
July 6th
Well it was the morning Jo was leaving us all and Carah and Gemma set of to work while me and Sam drove Jo to Valladolid to catch her train. It was defiantly an adventure finding that we was going the right way to Valladolid but secondly where the train station was!!
We stopped at several traffic lights and when we did Jo put down her window in desperation to ask anybody who was passing by where the train station was, we didn't make any of it out about from hand movements and after several attempts of following peoples directions we made it, with 10 minutes to go until Jo's train was due, phewww.
Trying to find our way back to Matallana was more of an adventure and Sam drove around Valladolid about 5 times until we made our way out and was finally at work.
When we got home we discoverd that Gemma and Carah had met the Mayor of Riosecco and his deputys, they said that his deputys where very good looking.
After work that day we went on our first 'big shop' at the supermarket 'LUPA' and bought in lots of food, that only ended up lasting us a couple of days, we bought lays, pasta, cereal (special k :) ) and i even found some hotdogs!
In spain there is no soft bread anywhere it is all very hard and like baguettes so we was all happy when we found some proper bread
We stopped at several traffic lights and when we did Jo put down her window in desperation to ask anybody who was passing by where the train station was, we didn't make any of it out about from hand movements and after several attempts of following peoples directions we made it, with 10 minutes to go until Jo's train was due, phewww.
Trying to find our way back to Matallana was more of an adventure and Sam drove around Valladolid about 5 times until we made our way out and was finally at work.
When we got home we discoverd that Gemma and Carah had met the Mayor of Riosecco and his deputys, they said that his deputys where very good looking.
After work that day we went on our first 'big shop' at the supermarket 'LUPA' and bought in lots of food, that only ended up lasting us a couple of days, we bought lays, pasta, cereal (special k :) ) and i even found some hotdogs!
In spain there is no soft bread anywhere it is all very hard and like baguettes so we was all happy when we found some proper bread
We thought this was the only supermarket in Riosecco but we was soon to discover there was one which was closer to our apartment called 'DIA' it had more variety in there and they even sold M&MS
July 4th-5th
The workers of Matallana where still trying to find some other places that might be more conviniant where we could stay for the duration of the stay, the hostel was great but because there was going to be other people there for some of the stay we thought it would be better if we could find somewhere that we could settle into propally. After some searching Rebeca suggested two places after some calls, one being a hotel/hostel another being a rural apartment, as soon as Rebeca described the apartment to is it sounded too good to be true so we decided to visit there first...
As you can tell by the picture as we was pulling up we was shocked at how nice it was, we didnt think we was in spain it looked like something out of a film! We was greated by Javier and his wife (the owners of the apartment) Javier who we call Danny because he looks like Danny Devito
He always has a smile on his face and although he doesn't speak any English he always tries to help! we had a look around and decided which room that we wanted and later that day we packed and moved into the apartment, it was lovely and cosy and felt right :)
On the Thursday night we all went out for a meal as it was the last night that we was spending with Jo until she let us be free and to do everything on our own! We went to a lovely restaurant and it was blasting out Frank Sinatra tunes like there was no tomorrow.
On the Thursday night we all went out for a meal as it was the last night that we was spending with Jo until she let us be free and to do everything on our own! We went to a lovely restaurant and it was blasting out Frank Sinatra tunes like there was no tomorrow.
Friday, July 20, 2012
July 3rd
While we had the car we had a few trips out to the wine tasting musuem and the the bull ring, this was the start of many of the journeys which were to come.
They were all stunning sites and something that we will always remember.
Jo then had to sort the placements out and potential new living arrangements as the placements at Matallana had fell through. Jo met up with Valentin, Rebeca and other workers in Valladolid and decided that Gemma and Carah were to work at Castilla Canal in Riosecco. There they would be working helping Gonzalo (who you are to hear about later) putting canoes away, helping in the flour factory and also helping on The Antonio de Ulloa tourist boat. Sam was going to be working doing general gardeninig duties that would need to be ccarried out in Matallana farm and me (Sophie) would be helping Rebeca out with general day to day activites. After we had thought about it we decided it would be best to move to live in Riosecco instead of all being based at Matallana as Carah and Gemma would have no way of getting to work. Virginia the manager of Medina de Riosecco recommended a hostel which was situated on the Castilla Canal. We was all up for it so that day packed all off our stuff back in our suitcase and moved into the hostel. Virginia explained that nobody would be in the hostel until the 3rd week in so that we would have the hostel to ourselves.
The hostel was very clean and new built and had lots of beds, it made the five of us look lost in the huge place to ourselves.
We decided to go out for soemthing to eat for tea as we were all starving and went to the first place we could find, it was wuite expensive and none of us new what anything was at first, we got there in the end with a little help from the dictionary's and each ordered something to eat, i had something that i wouldnt normally have.. seebass, Gemma thought she was one ahead when she thought she orderd chips but when they came it turns out they were crisp!
The hostel was very clean and new built and had lots of beds, it made the five of us look lost in the huge place to ourselves.
We decided to go out for soemthing to eat for tea as we were all starving and went to the first place we could find, it was wuite expensive and none of us new what anything was at first, we got there in the end with a little help from the dictionary's and each ordered something to eat, i had something that i wouldnt normally have.. seebass, Gemma thought she was one ahead when she thought she orderd chips but when they came it turns out they were crisp!2nd July
We came downstairs and waited until everybody was ready, me and Gemma had to take hay fever tablets as the climate and pollen was very different from England. We went for our breakfast at half 9 and had toast and yogurts. The first thing that we wanted to get sorted was a car for us to get about in and too and from work. We sat down and discussed how much we was all willing to pay.
Jo, Sam and the others from Matallana went out in search off a car. Everyone said it was a struggle getting it and they was out for a good few hours but they managed to get one, a silver golf Volkswagen.
Later on we had a chat and discovered that the summer camp that Gemma and Carah was supposed to be working on had fell through and there were no children coming so there placements could not be at Matallana.
Jo, Sam and the others from Matallana went out in search off a car. Everyone said it was a struggle getting it and they was out for a good few hours but they managed to get one, a silver golf Volkswagen.
Later on we had a chat and discovered that the summer camp that Gemma and Carah was supposed to be working on had fell through and there were no children coming so there placements could not be at Matallana.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Sunday 1st July!
Well... the start of are adventure, It was a cold Sunday Morning and we all had to meet to get the minibus to the airport at 9.20. I was first to arrive followed by Sam, Carah and lastly Gemma. When we was finally ready and suitcases to go a blackcab turned up instead of a minibus. After saying are final goodbyes to are loved ones we had to do it all over again. Take Two...and the minibus finally turned up.
The journey to liverpool airport was around 40 minutes and i think everybody was feeling a bit aprehensive............
We got to the airport and checked in morealess straight away, we timed it just right!
After this we went through security and all of use was fine apart from Gemma ... suprise suprise.
Next stop was burger king while we waited to be called to board, this time soon passed and before we knew it we was all sat down and ready for take off.
As the plane turned around we knew that any moment we was about to go through the dreaded moment of the runway and soon be up in the sky, we all held each others hand as this happen and we was soon up in the air and overlooking some great sites.
The journey to liverpool airport was around 40 minutes and i think everybody was feeling a bit aprehensive............
We got to the airport and checked in morealess straight away, we timed it just right!
After this we went through security and all of use was fine apart from Gemma ... suprise suprise.
Next stop was burger king while we waited to be called to board, this time soon passed and before we knew it we was all sat down and ready for take off.
As the plane turned around we knew that any moment we was about to go through the dreaded moment of the runway and soon be up in the sky, we all held each others hand as this happen and we was soon up in the air and overlooking some great sites.
As we was getting further towards Spain when we looked out the window the land looked almost all of a beige colour which was a bit of a difference from seeing green everywhere, when we arrived in Valladolid we soon discovered it was because the land was very dry in result of the sun and the climate being very warm and hot.
We was only in the air for a matter of hours and it was soon time to get off, when we touched down it was another speedy process and we was soon allowed off the plane.
The walk from the airport to the metro-link seemed to last forever. When we did finally get there we came face to face with the challenge of getting our train tickets, we finally got there with the help of Jo and we were well on are way. Being on the metro-link was a really good experience Spain were in the finals of the European Championship against Italy and the metro was cram packed of Spanish supporters all covered in Spanish face paint and the atmosphere was really good. After we got the metro we then had to get the trian to Valladolid, when we arrived in Valladolid we was greeted by the workers of Matallana. As we was speaking we heard a massive cheer which filled the whole streets with excitement and we gathered Spain must of scored. We then got in two separate cars while they drove us to Matallana where we was staying.
When we we arrived we was taken back to how beautiful it was.
After we got all of are things unpacked we sat down in the dinig room and had something to eat, we was all really tired so went to bed. But that didnt stop the girls from getting up at 7.30 that morning!!
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