Chinese new year

Aye it's almost upon us. The maddness of the old year is hardly gone when we find ourself approaching the end of another.
Last year was a good year. It involved much travelling. Meeting new people.
It also meant spending time with friends made on previous adventures. Bulgaria, Spain and Sweden were the highlights of the year.
Training in Sinemorits. The beach in the bay, the trees to train under, midday refreshing swims, till dan spotted the jelly fish. The after hours self defense class and the friendly security guy who was my escort for the rest of the camp. the free? house wine, the world cup and black sea fish. Make mine a bottle of Mavrud.
Spain was great on both occasions. Training in the city center river bed park, eating wonderful tapas and the working mens restuarant meals at midday. what was not wonderful was waking up lying on the floor of the hostel with no memory of how i got there. Bit tooooo much to drink be the answer to that one. Sunday with a sick hangover in Valencia. I cannot recommend it.
I managed to lose myself twice on the first day. The hostel was just off the edge of the tourist map. 'El Alto's' partner Tai saved me from myself that day and took me round to their flat to meet up with the big guy and do some training.
Madrid. Well Madrid is big. Madrid is expensive. Madrid and the whole Madrid area is beautiful and very interesting. In Spain I have this last year taken to arriving early and leaving late. So far no one seems to have noticed so there has been no 'heres yr hat whats yr hurry'. It is I find most enjoyable to just take a bit of time and wander round a place. both the Steves are great guides when it comes to showing off their respective cities.
My adrenalin moment in Madrid city came when Steve Chisolm was showing a matial arts gym that happened to be situated in a cellar. I was talking to him as i walked through the profered door. then things got kinda weird. It was like time stood still. I thought i was falling. That was ok just roll out and figure how it happened after. Then the vision of reality changed as the walls of a stairwell passed my ears and reality kicked back in. I was falling down stairs...... A full flight of them. I recon now that starting the forward movement to roll probably gave me the momentum to jump. I landed on a step 5 from the bottom and jumped the rest. Only injury, pulled muscle in thight and slightly misaligned spine.
there are lessons to be learnt here.
1/ When it seems that you are falling towards a stripy floor. The stripes may actually be, steps on a stairway.
2/ When you step through a door make sure there is some floor on the other side.
3/ when forced to jump down stairs, do not pick a step to land on, just jump. Then choose the one that falsl under your foot. That way you can't miss.
Claire and I got to stay at Raquel's. Saved a fortune. Claire denies this. But then as i said I stayed on. Had a wonderful time.
Ramon's old farm house style place was wonderfully atmospheric as was his bodega a long way underground. The barby was originally blamed to the first vomiting bug of the season.
After the seminar I stayed on for a few days and had the pleasure of attending one of the classes in Aranjuez(there the seminar is held. It is Madrid but not as we know it ). A beautiful Royal Palace town and world heritage site. Here we train in the Royal gardens beneath a wide avenue of mature trees, beside the running waters of the river and the gardens weirs and waterways.
I recently found out that I had heard of Aranjuez before. There is a very famous piece of music named after it. You'd recognise it immediately.
After the camp finished Raquel, Antonio and Lola took me for a meal in Chinchon. Chinchon has its town square double as its bull ring. It is a must see. The restuarant was just so different. we also visited the bodega beneath the resuarant after eating from our own individual barbies. that was new.
Raquel took me out for the day visiting Toledo. This is a place I have wanted to visit for a long long time. A place of swords. Shops selling swords, armour, all sorts, touristy and real side by side. And Marzepam!
It was a bit of a dream walking round the place seeing the sights and eating again in a wonderful envirenment with a mix of moorish and Christian influences.
The very next day Ramon and I set of for Cuenca.
If Toledo is a city fort built on a hill then Cuenca is a City built on a cliff face. Dramatic stuff. If walkin Toledo requires a bit of fitness then scaling Cuenta requires that you been practising a bit more, maybe on Toledo.
Cuenca hosts the Spanish Gallery of Abstract Art. It is a place well worth the visit. After all the climbing up n down the streets n paths food became an important issue. Ramon n me ate in a character filled place(another one) that fed us with local morsels and then emptied our pockets. It was worth it tho. The last day was spent in Madrid training in the Retiro with Steve Chisolm and eating expensive mushrooms with gratis earwig like creatures thrown in for good measure. They gave us another plate. we were not complaining. Eaten worse in ma sleep.
Brought the wife home a purse made of cork. From a shop that specialised in the stuff; Boxes, bags, pens, unbrellas.... ok parasols. lots of stuff. Thanks to steve C.
Laterly I was in Sweden for the European Championships. Linchopping. The doms Kirke. David Bowie as the Messia. Saw some new stuff, judged some great form and had a great time with The Russians and Evo. Also had some interesting company in Luigi Zanin. Hope I spelt that correctly. Also met Nils Klug. and others....
Bought some great tea from Paul's wife. Lucia reckons it's Dragon tea and I think she is right on that
So you go to Sweden and come back with hats scarves n chinese tea. Seems like a smooth journey. Welllllll If thats how it sounds that how it was. No vomiting getting into fights or falling down stairs. Spent an extra day wandering around the town.
Now here we are on our way again. this weekend we train in Gillingham at Steve and Kathy's place. then it's of to Portugal to visit Pam ahead of her first child arriving(with Claire leading by the hand). Then we be into Feruary, conditioning with the East coast team in Linlithgow. then it'll b March and Dan's seminar in Edinburgh followed by the British championships the next weekend.
And thats all before the seminar season begins.
It was a very good year.
Wistful just like the song.