h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, back from Spain with a few lessons learned.

Lesson 1 - do not trust the advice given by private carpark operators!
Despite having phoned and pre-booked the day before, and checking that they did have disabled spaces, when we arrived at the airport carpark the old disabled spots were cordonned off while they painted the new ones, which were not yet ready, leaving exactly....er....none.

Lesson 2 - don't let me sing!
I did warn Dai about this on our first night, whilst "enjoying" the karaoke. But then his son, who is very persuasive, insisted that I sing Don't Go Breaking My Heart with him. Which we did, and carried it off. But then a few drinks later I got too confident. I always have the same problem with karaoke - I listen to all the awful renditions and think "I can't possibly be worse than THAT!", and then have to go and prove myself wrong. Worst part is, Dai has an internet-ready record of my caterwauling ready to unleash if I misbehave

Lesson 3 - don't drink dodgy yellow local liquers.
I'd insisted that the waiter bring me a Spanish coffee - no, no, not an Irish coffee - and so he gave me a glass with this mysterious liquid in it. We reckon the bottle's been gathering dust on the top shelf ever since Uncle Ernesto brought it back from some far flung travels years ago.

Lesson 4 - don't trust 15 year old boys.
Despite my locking the house securely, my son had managed to procure an extra back door key and was gaily climbing over the back wall and into the house to entertain his friends. Silly boy.

Lesson 5 - don't go back to work too soon!
Went in today to find that my boss is planning to re-arrange the whole team and just about triple my workload


And I've still got those mozzie bites, plus a blister on my toe...

Enjoyed duty-free shopping in Gibraltar, mind, and got some fab shoes from Fuengirola. And got complimented on my Spanish by a waiter in the hotel , but then, hotels on the Costa del Sol don't often get people who make an effort with the language.

Hmmm...I think I need a holiday to recover from my holiday.

So you had a good time then

Blimey, that sounds like some sort of 'carry on' film

Sounds like a brilliant holiday!!!!
I have a longing to go to Languedoc / Pays d'Oc... One day...

And what a silly boy you have Is the house still standing?

To be fair, yes, there were some odd looking toothpaste smears about the place, but nothing broken or damaged. He's been very sweet this morning, helping with the shopping and making me a tapas lunch (patatas bravas, chorizo in red wine sauce, marinated anchovies...)

And the yellow liquer did lead to some rather enjoyable shenanigans on the balcony (sorry to the Welsh family next door!). We had an ongoing joke about losing your deposit if you left a deposit on the sofa . And another long running gag about Harry's Hairy Hat.

And my gorgeous green shoes from Fuengirola and glamorous green leather jacket from Gibraltar made the whole trip worth while!

"patatas bravas, chorizo in red wine sauce, marinated anchovies..."

That's quite a menu! What kind of 15-year-old is he?
Sounds like quite an outfit too. Just don't start prancing round calling yourself the Green Goddess or anything

You haven't been watching Little Britain have you?

Menu sounds more complicated that the "buy 2 for a fiver" offer that Sainsburys had on their Mediterranean specialities.

Mind you, we are presently cooking prawn and asparagus risotto, from scratch!

Blimey, you're almost making me glad I never have holidays!

I love doing risottos - really slow. Let the rice soak up loads of wine before you start adding the stock.

I disagree. A good risotto can be ready in under 45 minutes. The trick is to whack the heat full up when adding the wine: this means that the alcohol evaporates and rice absorbs the flavour quickly, and they both happen simultaneously. Turn the heat back down when you add the first ladle of stock.

B

Well we've just reheated the leftovers for supper tonight, and jolly yummy it was too! Great way to make asparagus go further. Now that I've got some arborio rice I guess I'll make another one sometime.