Whilst in Cuenca on our grand tour in April we found out that Laura and Rodrigo were getting married in June - the week before my sister Carol and John. So, having more or less invited ourselves to it, we decided to fly over and combine a short holiday with the Spanish wedding before returning for a quick turnaround for the second wedding in Retford...
Tuesday 9 June
We flew into Madrid in the evening and our lovely friend Isabel was there to meet us. We spent a pleasant evening catching up and stayed there overnight.
Wednesday 10 June
We had a timetable for the fast AVE train to Cuenca so after the rain stopped we trundled off with our bags down to Atocha station to catch a mid morning train - or at least that was the plan!
But it wasn't quite that simple and by the time we had queued for several ticket machines - none of which had any paper in them and therefore couldn't issue tickets, and then taken a number and queued again at the kiosk - we had missed two trains!
We eventually got tickets from another machine (helped by the lady attendant) - for the next fast(ish) train which didn't leave for another two hours! So there was nothing for it other than to settle down at a bar and have a few drinks and snacks!
Luckily Atocha station is big and interesting - how many other stations do you know with a full complement of shops, a tropical rain forest, artisan market and a pool of terrapins?!
So we eventually arrived in Cuenca after a long day of nothing! But at least we had arrived. We took a taxi into town, dropping Mike and the luggage off at Bar Cristal near to where we would be staying (he was sporting a fancy blue splint having broken his wrist several days previously!) and I went to Amparo and Bernardo's to get the flat keys.
After we had unpacked a bit we went for a wander down the main street and, most unexpectedly, bumped into Julia who was shopping for an outfit for the uni school prom (as a teacher, not a student!). So we had a quick beer before she had to dash off...
We then met up with Isabel and Martha for supper and a few drinks. Lovely to see them both.
Not sure what we ate but there was a combination of pate and chocolate in there somewhere I think!
Different!...
Thursday 11 June
As it was raining quite heavily we decided to spend the morning in the bar having a mostly liquid breakfast and then lunch.
Then after the rain had stopped we went for a walk even though the sky still looked quite ominous.
We walked up to the Casas Colgadas where they were repairing and repointing the walls so there was lots of scaffolding about...
As we started to stroll back down the sky got darker and darker - and then the rain began...
And the area around the Puerta de Valencia where we had been standing soon became a swimming pool with flash floods filling the Jucar river bed which had previously been only a trickle...
But we soon dried off and when the rains eased we went round to visit Amparo, Bernardo and the family. Julia helped Isabel with a bit of dog grooming and then reading, Amparo tried her hand at dog training and Rodrigo played with the toys!
Then it was out for another meal and another fun evening with Isabel and Martha and friends...
Friday 12 June
Wedding day!
As the wedding wasn't until the evening we had a leisurely day and I popped out to get my hair done in the afternoon. Sitting under the dryer with my Spanish magazines I felt as though I had stepped back in time - even the Spaniards thought it was funny when I told them!...
But the hairdresser Maria was lovely and even arranged to phone a taxi for us later!
The weather was kind to us and there was no rain and it wasn't too hot - just right! So we waited outside the church in the warm sunshine for the bride to arrive...
It was nice to see Martha showing off her lovely pins instead of hiding them in jeans!...
Amparo looked gorgeous - as always. She'd told me that she didn't want to wear anything posh - that she wanted to be able to go to the market in any outfit that she chose - I'd like to see her trotting off for her fruit and veg in that fancy frock ensemble!!
And then Laura arrived - looking stunningly beautiful!...
The inside of this church is really beautiful with a huge domed ceiling and it contains many of the pasos - tableaux - which are carried in the Easter processions.
They came out of the church to a hailstorm of rice and rose petals...
So then it was off to the reception...
... and a quick drink before heading through to the outside area where there were waiters with more drinks and canapes - and a flamenco group playing...
This lovely venue is literally at the side of the railway station and the outside area is sort of a continuation of the platform. All beautifully done and I'd never noticed it before - even though I'd been there just a few weeks previously to wait for Luisa, Ema and the grandchildren!
A lovely atmosphere with lots of dancing and chatter... and lots of drinks and canapes which just kept appearing... Auntie (our Spanish Queen Elizabeth!) was on the cocktails and Mike and Isabel managed to get a whole plate of jamon. This jamon was from an acorn fed animal and was being lovingly carved into the thinnest of slivers by a gentleman who had come especially from Madrid to do just that! I'm sure that there must be a name for a master jamon carver but I've no idea what it is! But as you can see by Isabel's face it was exquisite!...
And so we ate and we drank - and then we ate and drank some more - and again...
Amparo grabbed Laura's dad and they set off dancing.
They danced the whole length of the venue twirling and swaying to the music - and totally oblivious to anyone who was in their way. Very funny!
Then it was time for the formal reception and the meal so everyone headed inside...
So - gorgeous lobster to start - beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. Then a yummy sloe sorbet followed by lamb shoulder with peppers, potatoes and vegetables. A lot of guests were visibly slowing down by now - having been eating and drinking for about three hours already. It is not considered impolite to ask for a 'doggy bag' so quite a few of us did that (and we really enjoyed it the next day!) - which meant that we then had room for the triple chocolate 'tear' dessert!
The wines were delicious and it was after midnight before we toasted Laura and Rodrigo and got down to the serious business of dancing!...
What an evening - but the night was still young - we were celebrating Spanish style!!...
The first dance...
So lovely to see everyone enjoying themselves...
A wonderful evening - we managed to last until about 3 or 4am but many of the others stayed up until sunrise!
A great wedding and thank you so much to the family for allowing us to be part of it!
And huge congratulations to Rodrigo and his beautiful bride Laura! xx
Saturday 13 June
A quiet day!
We all managed to have a look at some of the photos and talk about the wedding - and that was about it!
But we all agreed that it had been a fabulous day and that the bride looked beautiful - and that the groom... and the children... and family... and guests... and the food... and the drink... and everything else had been perfect too.
Sunday 14 June
A few drinks with the family before getting ready to return to Madrid...
And a last walk around my beautiful Cuenca...
Monday 15 June
Back to Madrid and Isabel's flat to watch all the storm clouds from her rooftop terrace...
Tuesday 16 June
A walk in the sunshine to look at the exhibitions in the Retiro park...
Such a beautiful building and so funny watching all the professional photographers line up their shots while we just snapped away with our little cameras!...
'Let's go out on the lake' I said - totally forgetting that Mike couldn't row...
Wednesday 17 June
We went into Isabel's school to have a look round. It used to be the German embassy building and they left quite a few bits and pieces which are either on display or being used around the building...
The headteacher's office was full of antique furniture - even the chairs for pupils outside were antiques!
Mike would have spent all day in the vaulted science labs looking at everything if we'd had time!...
We'd had a lovely week and seemed to have done loads of things - but we had to go back to the flat and pack ready for our evening flight back to the UK - and get ready for our next wedding!...
Friday 19 June
So after a day spent emptying suitcases, washing clothes and generally sorting out we were on the move again.
Suitcases were repacked and outfits were checked ready for our trip to Retford and Carol and John's wedding.
But first Julie and I had to help prepare the room at the hotel.
We were very impressed that they had laid out a red carpet for us...
So - following Carol's instructions we unpacked boxes and boxes of stuff and started to decorate the room...
By the time Carol and Rianna arrived the room had started to take shape...
We popped down to look at the cup cakes which had just been delivered ready to be put on the cake stands in the morning - they were lovely!
Julie and I had time to have our hair primped and curled and I loved my fifties side roll - even though it meant I couldn't take my fascinator off all evening without looking like a lop sided mad woman!
Most of the guests thought that Carol and John were getting married there and had no idea that they would be going on a magical mystery tour!...
Then we saw our destination in the distance - a tiny Norman chapel nestling between the trees, almost invisible.
Steetley Chapel was built in 1120AD as a private chapel to a nearby manor house but the church's history goes back even further as it was most probably erected on the foundations of a wooden place of worship used by the Saxons.
Quite a hidden gem and absolutely beautiful!
The bus parked up and we all got off and made our way towards the chapel - some took their shoes off to avoid sinking into the grass - others just tiptoed!
Such a tiny chapel - but perfect!
Vanessa exchanged slippers for shoes and we were ready!..
I read an extract chosen by Carol and John about 'Love' - from Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
... with Luisa practising a bit of pole dancing as she boarded the bus...
Lots of photos were taken and of course we had the obligatory sibling age order shot!...
Then it was time for Pimms and canapes in the hotel gardens...
Carol, Julie, Rianna and I slipped upstairs to make sure that the room was looking as we wanted it and that all the candles were lit...
So there was a lot of primping and pouting - although James seemed a bit dubious about it all - quite rightly so!..
Aunt Margaret spent a happy five minutes trying Ema's high heels on - and strutting her stuff round the table (whilst hanging onto a chair for support!)
Don't seem to have taken any food pictures this time!
Vegetable soup followed by chicken in tarragon sauce with vegetables and then chocolate fudge cake and cream - I think!
There were no formal speeches apart from John's son saying a few words - just one or two toasts and then it was dance time!...
Aunt M got up for a boogie...
And then James took her for a twirl on the dance floor. These are lovely pictures...
So lovely to see them all having a good time!
We all had a fabulous day and everyone looked lovely - especially the bride.
Huge congratulations Carol and John - Mr and Mrs Bradley! xx
Tuesday 9 June
We flew into Madrid in the evening and our lovely friend Isabel was there to meet us. We spent a pleasant evening catching up and stayed there overnight.
Wednesday 10 June
But it wasn't quite that simple and by the time we had queued for several ticket machines - none of which had any paper in them and therefore couldn't issue tickets, and then taken a number and queued again at the kiosk - we had missed two trains!
We eventually got tickets from another machine (helped by the lady attendant) - for the next fast(ish) train which didn't leave for another two hours! So there was nothing for it other than to settle down at a bar and have a few drinks and snacks!
Luckily Atocha station is big and interesting - how many other stations do you know with a full complement of shops, a tropical rain forest, artisan market and a pool of terrapins?!
So we eventually arrived in Cuenca after a long day of nothing! But at least we had arrived. We took a taxi into town, dropping Mike and the luggage off at Bar Cristal near to where we would be staying (he was sporting a fancy blue splint having broken his wrist several days previously!) and I went to Amparo and Bernardo's to get the flat keys.
After we had unpacked a bit we went for a wander down the main street and, most unexpectedly, bumped into Julia who was shopping for an outfit for the uni school prom (as a teacher, not a student!). So we had a quick beer before she had to dash off...
We then met up with Isabel and Martha for supper and a few drinks. Lovely to see them both.
Not sure what we ate but there was a combination of pate and chocolate in there somewhere I think!
Different!...
Thursday 11 June
As it was raining quite heavily we decided to spend the morning in the bar having a mostly liquid breakfast and then lunch.
Then after the rain had stopped we went for a walk even though the sky still looked quite ominous.
We walked up to the Casas Colgadas where they were repairing and repointing the walls so there was lots of scaffolding about...
As we started to stroll back down the sky got darker and darker - and then the rain began...
Luckily we had brought small brollies with us but no coats but as the rain came down more heavily we soon started to get very wet!...
And the area around the Puerta de Valencia where we had been standing soon became a swimming pool with flash floods filling the Jucar river bed which had previously been only a trickle...
But we soon dried off and when the rains eased we went round to visit Amparo, Bernardo and the family. Julia helped Isabel with a bit of dog grooming and then reading, Amparo tried her hand at dog training and Rodrigo played with the toys!
Then it was out for another meal and another fun evening with Isabel and Martha and friends...
Friday 12 June
Wedding day!
As the wedding wasn't until the evening we had a leisurely day and I popped out to get my hair done in the afternoon. Sitting under the dryer with my Spanish magazines I felt as though I had stepped back in time - even the Spaniards thought it was funny when I told them!...
But the hairdresser Maria was lovely and even arranged to phone a taxi for us later!
The weather was kind to us and there was no rain and it wasn't too hot - just right! So we waited outside the church in the warm sunshine for the bride to arrive...
It was nice to see Martha showing off her lovely pins instead of hiding them in jeans!...
Amparo looked gorgeous - as always. She'd told me that she didn't want to wear anything posh - that she wanted to be able to go to the market in any outfit that she chose - I'd like to see her trotting off for her fruit and veg in that fancy frock ensemble!!
And then Laura arrived - looking stunningly beautiful!...
The inside of this church is really beautiful with a huge domed ceiling and it contains many of the pasos - tableaux - which are carried in the Easter processions.
They came out of the church to a hailstorm of rice and rose petals...
So then it was off to the reception...
... and a quick drink before heading through to the outside area where there were waiters with more drinks and canapes - and a flamenco group playing...
This lovely venue is literally at the side of the railway station and the outside area is sort of a continuation of the platform. All beautifully done and I'd never noticed it before - even though I'd been there just a few weeks previously to wait for Luisa, Ema and the grandchildren!
A lovely atmosphere with lots of dancing and chatter... and lots of drinks and canapes which just kept appearing... Auntie (our Spanish Queen Elizabeth!) was on the cocktails and Mike and Isabel managed to get a whole plate of jamon. This jamon was from an acorn fed animal and was being lovingly carved into the thinnest of slivers by a gentleman who had come especially from Madrid to do just that! I'm sure that there must be a name for a master jamon carver but I've no idea what it is! But as you can see by Isabel's face it was exquisite!...
And so we ate and we drank - and then we ate and drank some more - and again...
Amparo grabbed Laura's dad and they set off dancing.
They danced the whole length of the venue twirling and swaying to the music - and totally oblivious to anyone who was in their way. Very funny!
Then it was time for the formal reception and the meal so everyone headed inside...
So - gorgeous lobster to start - beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. Then a yummy sloe sorbet followed by lamb shoulder with peppers, potatoes and vegetables. A lot of guests were visibly slowing down by now - having been eating and drinking for about three hours already. It is not considered impolite to ask for a 'doggy bag' so quite a few of us did that (and we really enjoyed it the next day!) - which meant that we then had room for the triple chocolate 'tear' dessert!
What an evening - but the night was still young - we were celebrating Spanish style!!...
The first dance...
Such gorgeous pictures - Amparo never ages!...
I LOVE these two pictures of Rodrigo dancing with Auntie!...
So it was time for everyone to let their hair down!...
So lovely to see everyone enjoying themselves...
When I first met these three they were 1, 3 and 5 years old - look at them now!...
A wonderful evening - we managed to last until about 3 or 4am but many of the others stayed up until sunrise!
A great wedding and thank you so much to the family for allowing us to be part of it!
And huge congratulations to Rodrigo and his beautiful bride Laura! xx
Saturday 13 June
A quiet day!
We all managed to have a look at some of the photos and talk about the wedding - and that was about it!
But we all agreed that it had been a fabulous day and that the bride looked beautiful - and that the groom... and the children... and family... and guests... and the food... and the drink... and everything else had been perfect too.
Sunday 14 June
A few drinks with the family before getting ready to return to Madrid...
Monday 15 June
Back to Madrid and Isabel's flat to watch all the storm clouds from her rooftop terrace...
Tuesday 16 June
A walk in the sunshine to look at the exhibitions in the Retiro park...
 |
Such a beautiful building and so funny watching all the professional photographers line up their shots while we just snapped away with our little cameras!... 
'Let's go out on the lake' I said - totally forgetting that Mike couldn't row...
Then a couple more exhibitions - the first one by an artist/photographer who is a nun who does the most exquisite paintings - and who was actually there as we came out! (It was like catching a glimpse of a famous pop star when I spotted her!) A tiny little lady who took a few pictures then rushed off somewhere with her camera.
And some modern sculpture - ... sort of patterns of lumps of things...
So that was our culture for the day - lots of it!
Then a bit of a mooch round some of the older parts of Madrid in the evening with Isabel and Fernando.Not sure if I approve of jamon in a paper cone - bit like fish and chips!!
Wednesday 17 June
We went into Isabel's school to have a look round. It used to be the German embassy building and they left quite a few bits and pieces which are either on display or being used around the building...
The headteacher's office was full of antique furniture - even the chairs for pupils outside were antiques!
It was very strange to see a display from student who had been on a trip to Bray in Ireland where my aunt and uncle live!
Mike would have spent all day in the vaulted science labs looking at everything if we'd had time!...
We'd had a lovely week and seemed to have done loads of things - but we had to go back to the flat and pack ready for our evening flight back to the UK - and get ready for our next wedding!...
Friday 19 June
So after a day spent emptying suitcases, washing clothes and generally sorting out we were on the move again.
Suitcases were repacked and outfits were checked ready for our trip to Retford and Carol and John's wedding.
But first Julie and I had to help prepare the room at the hotel.
We were very impressed that they had laid out a red carpet for us...
So - following Carol's instructions we unpacked boxes and boxes of stuff and started to decorate the room...
By the time Carol and Rianna arrived the room had started to take shape...
We popped down to look at the cup cakes which had just been delivered ready to be put on the cake stands in the morning - they were lovely!
The room looked gorgeous!
Saturday 20 June
Wedding day!
The room looked even more impressive once the chairs were swagged and the tables were laid with cutlery and glasses...
Julie and I had time to have our hair primped and curled and I loved my fifties side roll - even though it meant I couldn't take my fascinator off all evening without looking like a lop sided mad woman!
So off we went to the West Retford Hotel.
Most of the guests thought that Carol and John were getting married there and had no idea that they would be going on a magical mystery tour!...
So everyone boarded the bus and off we went!
Robin played conductor and gave us tickets - until he jammed the machine and had to take it back down stairs!!
Steetley Chapel was built in 1120AD as a private chapel to a nearby manor house but the church's history goes back even further as it was most probably erected on the foundations of a wooden place of worship used by the Saxons.
Quite a hidden gem and absolutely beautiful!
Such a tiny chapel - but perfect!
... and the ushers ushered everyone in...
The inside of the church was as pretty as the outside and Carol had decorated it with pink and cream flowers and lots of candles
Vanessa exchanged slippers for shoes and we were ready!..
Carol came in on James' arm with bridesmaid Rianna - they all looked very dapper!...
Carol looked beautiful in her vintage style dress (matched my hair!!) and her twinkly shoes...
I read an extract chosen by Carol and John about 'Love' - from Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
So after the customary throwing of rice and confetti it was time for us to get back on the bus while the newly married couple rode back to the hotel in style...
... with Luisa practising a bit of pole dancing as she boarded the bus...
I love this picture!...
Lots of photos were taken and of course we had the obligatory sibling age order shot!...
The room looked shabby chic fabulous!...
There was just enough time for everyone to apply a bit of lippy 'mum' style - which included the blotting of lips on a tissue like mum always did. What Ema didn't tell them was that it was lip plumper which makes your lips sting after application!...
So there was a lot of primping and pouting - although James seemed a bit dubious about it all - quite rightly so!..
Always game for a laugh our Auntie M - just like mum would have been.
It was time to find our seats and enjoy the evening meal... Very ladylike with a pint of bitter!...
It was time to find our seats and enjoy the evening meal... Very ladylike with a pint of bitter!...
Don't seem to have taken any food pictures this time!
Vegetable soup followed by chicken in tarragon sauce with vegetables and then chocolate fudge cake and cream - I think!
There were no formal speeches apart from John's son saying a few words - just one or two toasts and then it was dance time!...
Pesky photo bombers!...
Sisters! I love them!...
Aunt M got up for a boogie...
And then James took her for a twirl on the dance floor. These are lovely pictures...
So lovely to see them all having a good time!
We all had a fabulous day and everyone looked lovely - especially the bride.
Huge congratulations Carol and John - Mr and Mrs Bradley! xx
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