The area they are now living in is very attractive and it was pleasant to walk round the historic streets and call in just a few of the comfortable pubs on our way round.
We enjoyed a meal on Saturday evening in a small Spanish restaurant, with only 4 tables, which my daughter had managed to book ahead. There was no menu, but the owner/chef came out and told us what he was cooking and checked we were happy to go ahead on that basis, which we were.
Our first course was a plate with hummus, serrano ham, olives and some delicious warm bread, followed by a slice of hot and tasty frittata. The fish course of cod in a cream, onion and ouzo sauce was particularly delicious and a hit with us all, and the meat was amazing, as he brought us some perfectly cooked steak, followed by a dish with slices of my favourite, roast lamb. We enjoyed both the white and red Spanish wines we were given and our only reservation was that there was no dessert. However, as we were all stuffed with what we'd eaten, it was probably just as well. The restaurant has only been open for 4 weeks and the owner said he would be looking at bringing in some desserts in the future.
On Sunday morning we drove to another historic market town nearby to pay a visit to a patisserie and cafe that my daughter and her partner had spotted when house hunting, and we all had a coffee or hot chocolate with a lovely cake. That was on top of the hotel breakfast my husband and I had eaten a couple of hours before, but the cakes were too good to miss.
Mine is the salted caramel eclair nearest the camera.
On a more serious note, I took the Saturday newspaper to read during the journey and was concerned by the front page article which focused on the reported significant increase in the number of young people who perceive that their future is economically bleak in comparison with the experience of their parents, headlined, "'A permanent divide': stark call to act on generation gap." There is a sense that the government has protected pensioners at the expense of young adults, who have been hit by the tripling of University tuition fees, the scrapping of the education maintenance allowance and changes to the rules regarding housing benefit for single people between 25 and 35. Add to that the high costs of housing and the drop in levels of home ownership for young people and the picture is far from rosy. It also pointed out that these circumstances are likely to lead to greater social division where those young adults whose parents can afford to help them financially will leave behind those who come from families without the means to provide that support. It made me realise how lucky I am to be receiving a decent occupational pension, another area that is changing for the worse for those who come behind, even though I still have to wait a few years for my state pension. The government may yet have to rethink its current plans for the state pension and the budget on Wednesday may provide some pointers.
To end on a brighter note, I enjoy collecting humorous spelling errors on public signs and notices -markets are often a rich source of these. Today I walked past a house a few minutes walk from our house which has a sign on the front window asking people not to park on the pathway/road that runs up the side of the house. "Parking for residents only. Other vehicles will be toad."
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