As some of you may have noticed, I didn’t publish my Yolo (You Only Live Once) Moments of the Month for June or July, which probably indicates how those months went. They weren’t unpleasant in any way, simply unremarkable.
Then along came August and I can’t decide on what was the stand-out moment, so I’ll be sharing with you two Yolo Moments of the Month; the first (Part I) will be covered in this post and the second (Part II) in next week’s post. As has become a trend for me, both involve the standard combination of travel and family.
In early August, Nick and I travelled to Spain to join his parents, Jane and Paul Abbott, as they celebrated their 60th or diamond wedding anniversary.
The last time we enjoyed Jane’s and Paul’s company was over the Christmas holiday in 2019, which extended until the beginning of March 2020. This was memorable as the four of us spent 10 days in Quito, Ecuador.
We also went to the beautiful Jamaican resort town of Negril to celebrate Paul’s 80th birthday, where we were joined by Nick’s brother Richard, who flew in from Spain with his partner Jenny.
Jane and Paul made it back to Spain about a week before most of Europe was paralysed by COVID inspired lockdowns and since then our contact has been limited to video calls. So, it was really special seeing them in person again as we excitedly exited the arrivals hall at Alicante Airport.
Sixty years of marriage is an outstanding achievement. Of course, over such a long period, life has presented them with several ups and downs, and yet they remain, to this day, very much in love.
They have lived all over the UK as well as spending five years in Kano, Nigeria. Together they built and sold a successful dry cleaning and laundry business, as well as raising two wonderful sons, to one of whom I am lucky to be married.
Since retirement, they have spent 15 years living in a village in southern Spain, and it was there we stayed with them for a far too short seven days. We relaxed, visited friends and enjoyed leisurely lunches at some of Jane’s and Paul’s favourite hang-out places.
A couple of days before the big anniversary, we celebrated Nick’s birthday at a fabulous seafood restaurant called Marea in Los Alcázares; a coastal town in Murcia region. Nick says that the grilled turbot he had that day was his outstanding meal of our entire three weeks in Europe. It didn’t even bother us when the birthday candle was inserted into Paul’s tiramisu rather than Nick’s flan.
On the day of the diamond anniversary, we drove to The Mansión Taratatá in Caballusa near Pinoso, an outstanding bed and breakfast owned by a lovely Belgian couple called Dominique and Christoph. She is an amazing host and runs the front of the house, while Christoph is a Michelin starred chef. In short, a great place to celebrate a milestone wedding anniversary.
When we arrived, we were greeted by Richard and Jenny, Nick’s brother and his partner, who live nearby and who are close friends of the B&B proprietors. After we settled in, we made the short drive to Richard’s and Jenny’s home, a self-contained dome that is entirely off the grid.
They have lived here for slightly more than a year, and this was our first opportunity to view their astonishing home. Astonishing not only for its construction and ability to operate without connection to mains electricity, water or sewage, but for the stunning views across miles of the Spanish countryside.
That evening, the six of us retired back to The Mansion, for an amazing 60th wedding anniversary celebration dinner prepared by Christoph. We had a great evening.
The food, atmosphere, laughs, and conversation caused several hours to pass in what seemed like only a few minutes. Jane and Paul also opened presents and cards, which included a Buckingham Palace postmarked message of congratulations from the Queen.
After a lie-in the next morning, the six of us went into the nearby town of Pinoso for lunch before returning to the dome in the afternoon.
The highlight of the evening was playing pétanque in Richard’s self made court, followed by a delicious light supper, largely the work of Jenny. It was a truly wonderful day, simple, fun, and shared with people we love who we have not seen for over two years.
While we were excited to visit Madrid for the first time, we were both extremely sad to leave behind Nick’s family as we boarded the train for the five-hour journey to the capital of Spain.
Author
Monique Abbott
Hi, I ’m Monique, founder and editor-in-chief of Yes2Yolo, travel addict, lover of home makeover projects among many other passions, including creative and inspirational writing to embolden us to live our best lives. At my core, I am a creative artistic being and I believe that creativity knows no end.
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I’ve explored over 60 countries with my husband Nick. Together we’ve partnered on some truly exciting projects such as creating and running a successful Airbnb business, chairing condo boards, purchasing fixer-uppers and renovating them from scratch on our own while balancing all of this with full-time jobs and family.
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While my personal passions are travel and home décor, I am, by profession, a lawyer with over 17 years experience.
This was such a sweet read! Wishing Paul & Jane many more wonderful days together!
Awww! Thanks Michelle. We continue to appreciate your kind sentiments & positive feedback. Thank you so much and we’ll pass on your kind wishes to Jane & Paul