About Ta, a Wicked Time with E+M+O, THE Kiss of the Year, French Triplets, Massive Sand Dune, Oysters, Sun and Shrimp-Tan

Hiya mi lasses and lads.

on the top of Whernside (Yorkshire Dales)

reunited!

I am now officially back from almost one month of holiday. This year was quite special because of Easter hols and bank hols (royal wedding, etc.) we got almost a month off, which gave me plenty of time to gallivant around, to explore, to read, to chat, to sunbath, … so all in all another chilled out month…incredible how easy and relaxed life is here.

Oli and Eva all content and relaxed

First of all, I am proud to say that yesterday I said my first “Yorkshire word” without hesitating. It came all naturally…Well, some of you may know this feeling when you hear all those new words and expressions and you try to use them, but they never really feel right…it almost feels strange and unnatural to pronounce colloquialism like “innit” instead of “isn’t it”, “well pretty” for “really pretty” or “mi lad” for “my boy”, etc. Yesterday though, I was on the bus home from work and as it is local custom you always say thank you to the driver when getting off the bus (another example of how polite Brits are). I was getting ready to get off. I opened my mouth to pay my respect to the driver. And instead of former “cheers”, “thank you” or “thanks” my lips formed around the word “TA”… After that, even though it sounds silly, I felt so happy and couldn’t stop smiling. So YES, I am now naturally saying “Ta”…it does no longer feel weird and strange. It comes natural. It seems as if Yorkshire localisms start becoming more and more at home in my mouth;) Isn’t that great!!!!!!

in Leeds with Oli, Eva and Maria

April was another sensational month of many! Not only did I do lots of trips, but I was able to spend one week with Maria, Eva and Oli, which was great. It was short, but intense and I enjoyed every minute of it. After an unbelievable long journey the guys finally arrived in Leeds. I wanted to be on time to pick them up (as I am known for my unpunctuality…but well, what are 5 or 15 minutes nothing,…don’t you think?! Spanish time, innit…), so Chris and I were there 10-15 minutes before their scheduled arrival. But surprise, surpise, we waited at the wrong bus stop. I have to confess it was not the first time that this happened to me. Anyways the week was great, not only did we have some lovely dinners – hot curry followed by bangers and mash – but we also spend some amazing afternoons, walking around, taking loads of pictures and catching up. I realised how much I miss these guys…I know it is a new phase of life and blablabla, but still I am somehow sad that we do no longer see us every day and tell us every detail of our daily routine … 

spring...put flowers in your eyes

with my little princess and flowers in the hand

It was great to have them here. We went to York and took some “vintage” pictures with my Lomo Princess, we had drinks at Clarence Dock, we went hiking in the Dales and of course we went shopping.

The trip to the Dales was wonderful. Chris picked Whernside, the highest peak in the Dales…a four or five hour walk I think. The hike was gorgeous…once we reached the top of the mountain, we had to walk along a long ridge where it was unbelievably windy…we got almost blown away…but it was exciting and fun. The countryside there is just amazing. Our efforts were thanked with a deli meal at the Cow and Calf – definitely one of my favourite pubs! 

break on top of Whernside

Oli - wind o wind...

almost blown away

on the top

lovely bangers and mash

On Sunday we had a lovely English breakfast (actually the first time that I cooked a full English breakfast…yum yum yum) and then Eva hid Easter bunnies in our house, which we had to find…it was so great and took me back in time. It’s just those little things that I enjoyed so much as a kid and which once you grow up you just stop doing it’s a shame…

Cricket_Yorkshire vs. Netherlands in Leeds Carnegie Stadium

chilling in the sun

After Chris and I dropped the guys at the bus stop, I didn’t feel like going home so we went to Headingly Cricket Stadium. Chris thought we should check out rugby, but then we saw that they also play cricket. I was a bit unsure when the guy said the game is from 2.00 p.m. till 7.30 p.m. … I doubted that I can handle that much sport at once haha, so we thought we’ll just go there and possibly leave earlier (or at least I thought I would). It was lovely though. A really slow sport where people don’t really pay attention all the time. There were people reading the newspaper, eating, drinking, sunbathing, and one woman was even knitting…So in total it is just an excuse to sit in the sun and to drink…gosh dear Britain… I have to confess that I genuinely enjoyed it…I napped a bit, read my book and chilled out…

On Friday was bank holiday because THE event of the year was taking place. Kate and William finally said yes to each other. For months entire Britain was feverishly looking forward to this day. We even followed some of the ceremony on TV at the airport, waiting for our flight to the South of France, our locus of refuge from all the hustle and bustle of the wedding weekend. Olly was all excited about the kiss on the balcony, which we unfortunately missed, because we had to board our plane. But lucky us it was repeated over and over and over again on TV. What an exciting moment. 

This wedding turned into a great celebration and a massive marketing event, as numerous shops, restaurants, etc. profited from it, selling random merchandise. But all in all, it seemed like a magic moment, which made stop Britain for a second to witness their royals in awe…

Dune du Pyla

lasses and lads in the South of France

Anyways it was good to get away for the weekend. We spent a marvellous time in Montalivet and Bordeaux. We were lucky to land in this part of France, the only reason why we did, was that the flight was cheap. Somehow it all fell into place though. Adam had a cousin there in whose house we could stay, we realized that there are massive dunes and Bordeaux just around the corner. As soon as we arrived in Limoges we got our rental car and we set out for Montalivet (a 4 hrs drive, me driving again, after this year I am definitely going to be a pro.). 

Oysters fresh from the sea

eating Oysters and drinking wine

We chilled on the beach, got red as shrimp (this is what Brits are referred to normally, because as soon as it gets sunny they lie in the sun, possibly without protection and get utterly burned), had some lovely food (I tried oysters for the first time in my life…not that special to be honest), and wine, walked up massive sand dunes, swam in the pool and cruised around South of France.

Rainbow in Bordeaux

French people are funny: they can be really rude or really chatty. In our town the local Mom’s and Pop’s owner was a character, he made dirty French jokes and sold us some lovely whine which apparently has a stimulating and invigorating effect, enhancing the likelihood of getting triplets… This part of France is just amazing, Bordeaux reminded me a lot of Valencia, which made me again a bit nostalgic. I think it is time to go back there asap…Since I’ve left, I’ve been there every year, except this year…

Bordeaux

Now I am back in Leeds, today is the farewell party of the language assistants…quite early, considering that we still have one month of work. Yesterday I had a great day at work. I know that I’ll definitely miss the people here and also the schools, because now the students know me, they are more confident to talk to me…it’s a shame, but then again I am happy I was able to be here in the first place.

Good lasses and lads, have a fabulous day. Be happy and try to enjoy life.

TA