Oh la la! Nous allons á Paris!

Oh how exciting, Nedra and I are jetting off to Paris on Friday for a few days full of fun! I am so excited, I haven't been to Paris since my eighteenth birthday and I was not cultured enough to truly appreciate it then! After reading the Da Vinci Code I am even more enthused about le petit voyage. Looking forward to visiting the museums and using our special queue-jumping tickets.

I'm just day dreaming now about how we could have our own Jessica Parker Style day doing the whole 'we are elegant ladies strolling along the champs-elysées looking fabulous darling and eating crèpes.'

I'm sure they all speak English these days in Paris but I am willing to try out the French lingo. I'm not sure how much French I will be able to speak, I have forgotten everything! I tried practising in front of the mirror but I couldn't even ask for a table for two. La situation est terrible! Hopefully after a few hours in Paris it will all come back to me, I'm going to watch Indochina with Juliette Binoche in French in an attempt to jog my memory.

Will be back shortly with pics and tales of the two travellers. Until then, au revoir mes cheries!

Currytastic

Jaime and I went out for dinner with our lovely American friend Nedra on Friday night. Neds, being a complete pro at dining out, led the way to a lovely Indian restaurant called Swagat in the Salamanca area of Madrid. (check out the gallery and exotic music ). We had some lovely samosas and curry, it had been a long time since I last had curry and it went down a treat. I will be happy to take anyone who comes to stay in our humble abode.

We went to a quaint pub afterwards where there was a storytelling session in full swing, although I think the woman saw herself as more of a comedian than a storyteller, wittering on about her German Pilates class.

Not much else to report, as usual have been renting out all the DVD's in the store, managed to get through all of Sopranos series 5 (thanks again to Neds). Beth, our new housemate, tried to watch some with me but she spent most of the night behind her cushion and now claims to be having nightmares about huge Italians chasing her with guns. Bless!

Night x

Congratulations and Celebrations

This has been a week of celebrations! Yesterday we went out to celebrate Nedra's birthday with copious amounts of red wine and the most fantastic tapas I've ever tried in a little bar called Según Emma in the centre. Service was slow but the food was well worth the wait. Then this afternoon I received a text message from Colin informing me that his wife had given birth to a healthy baby boy, Samuel. This calls for champagne but as I am a little wary of it since I broke out in a terrible, itchy burning rash the last time I drank some (although to be honest it was Cava provided by Enrique at Christmas so it's quality is questionable) this picture well have to suffice.

The Creation Story

This made me chuckle so thought I would share it.

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Crème Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.
And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size 14.

So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.

God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's Food."

God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those extra pounds. And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.
Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.

God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good." And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. Then Satan created the NHS.

And this is someone elses thought for the day, but I like it...

Thought for the day.... There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

Back to Skool

Well, today was the first day of term and it didn't start well! I slept right through my alarm (and half of my first class) and only woke up at 9.45 when the IKEA delivery men were banging the door down. The new sofa-bed arrived and I am proud to say that I assembled it on my tod and have aching fingers and thumbs to prove it. Jaime gave it the once over when he came home, he doubted that a woman could erect a piece of DIY furniture! I proved him wrong ( touch wood it doesn't collapse!)

Today was the eclipse and it totally passed me by. It started to get dark when I was putting the sofa-bed together, I turned on the light and muttered to myself about the changing weather and not once did it twig that an eclipse was going on outside! Pissed I missed it, had spent the past couple of days thinking about what I could use to look at it safely, contemplating making a pin-hole camera and then with all the excitement of the IKEA purchase I completely forgot about it. Oh well, there's another one due in Spain in 21 years.

I'm off now to meditate in preparation for tomorrow's class of ten 15 year olds! Joy to the world. Anyone got any valium?