Urban jungle

Atocha station is such a pleasant place to wait for a train. Extra for a wider view. I only had just over an hour to wait; today the train journey went perfectly smoothly. By the time I booked a month ago, only business class was available on the Málaga-Madrid leg. So I was served an extremely copious breakfast in my seat, featuring potato tortilla, croissant, pan con tomate and, sadly, one of the few bad cups of coffee I’ve had in Spain.


Arriving in Narbonne just before seven, the first thing I did when I got to B’s was test the car. Bruno sputtered into life first try this time, after being abandoned for three months. Bravo! B’s shutters were all closed so I thought she was out, but I rang the bell on the off chance, and she was in. So naturally a bottle came out and we had a glass of wine and a chat before I set off home.

Even though our now not-so-new car is much more comfortable, I don’t particularly like driving it, whereas Bruno is always a joy, I don’t know exactly why. I whizzed home stopping only for a takeaway pizza. Then things went a bit pear-shaped. We always switch off the electricity and water when we’re away. I switched on the electric at the fuse box, went upstairs, remembered I hadn’t turned the water on and went back down. It took me a moment to realise that the loud gushing sound when I turned it on was not just water gurgling through the pipes, but a flood. I turned it off quickly, but the floor of the office was already awash. Out came towels, mop, bucket. 

Then I noted that the Internet connection wasn’t working. I suspect that both problems have the same cause … an invasion of at least one largish rodent. Chewed cables and the flexible inlet pipe to the washing machine riddled with holes provided evidence. So I would guess a water pipe behind the plasterboard is in the same state. Argh!

Oh well. I leaned out of the bathroom window (only place there’s a signal)  to WhatsApp S, ate my pizza, and then decided the best option was to get into bed and face the problem in the morning.

Backblipping over a nice cup of coffee in the cafe in Fabrezan.