A guilty day

A disgracefully long lie-in this morning (just morning, but only just) started the day and then I had to balance my fear that I had wasted precious free time with my conviction that after a first week back at school such indulgence was more than justified.

After a cup of tea I leapt back into my weighty tomes of art history and soon lost myself in a thoroughly delightful meander through those areas that I am supposed to be studying and also other areas that just appeal.  For me a well illustrated book on art has the same disruptive effect on as the Guinness Book of Records – how can a normal person be methodical when confronted by a book which is packed full of equally tempting distractions.

I am determined to do “something” for my “book” this weekend (mainly because I have marking to do which I probably will not do because it is boring) and writing something is good and productive displacement activity!

Tempted away from my books by the concept of lunch we decided to go to somewhere where we had excellent value a couple of months ago but today, a Saturday the prices of the menu del dia were about 50% more than for a weekday!  We left in disgust.

We ended up in a restaurant near the Castelldefels railway station on the beach.  This is at the other end of the town from where we live and the restaurant we went into was allegedly Galician but the waiters appeared to be of Indian extraction, though the food turned out to be impeccably Spanish.  The price was good at €11-50 and I was able, after my extended period of nursing and upset tummy, to enjoy, at long last arroz al la cubana!  In something of a rice fest I also had paella and rounded things off with tarta Santiago.  Excellent value and a place to go back to.

One idea that I will take on board is the way in which they served the wine.  I was given a petite carafe of wine which was 25 cl.  Given that a bottle of wine contains six glasses (albeit mean glasses) then such a carafe should contain two glasses – which was just the right amount for a lunch. 

I do not want to give the impression that my incipient alcoholism has to be kept in check, merely that the 25 cl was an appropriate amount, the carafe looked cute and, if you think about it, it means a bottle of red will last for three meals at that rate!

This evening (at last) the Christmas tree was packed away for another year.  God knows what sort of bad luck comes with taking decorations down well after Twelfth Night, but I am prepared to take my chances!

Tomorrow I might consider packing up the Nativity Scene which is at present gracing the shelf along the side of the stairs.

Tomorrow.