And so the work continues. We put in some time at the pool
this morning and then got stuck into the remaining work at 2pm. It took four
hours to pull the shower apart and remount it with better and more sealant.
John then completely pulled the vacuum cleaner apart and managed to clean its
insides so that it no longer puffs out great clouds of plaster dust every time
it is switched on. I was back on my hands and knees polishing the wooden floor,
getting off the last of the dust veneer it had taken on.
At 8pm when we finished it was 32 degrees outside. Spent
most of the evening watching the Olympics, as we have most evenings. It’s also
been great having it on during the day – we can keep an ear/eye on what is
happening while working away merrily. Absolutely wrecked at the end of
yesterday’s work and we couldn’t have a shower!! A sponge wash helped
considerably.
We received some disappointing news from Alastair yesterday.
He has just found out that he has to have an interview to get his Visa for San
Francisco. He was led to believe he could just go in to the embassy in Munich
and get a stamp. However, an interview now involves having to trip to Frankfurt
(the city he can get the earliest appointment at a USA embassy), surrender his
passport and wait 7-10 working days to receive it back again. Hence, he can no
longer travel to Barcelona to meet up with us, and obviously our plan to travel
together before he flies out from Paris is now in shreds. He has to change his
outwards flight so it leaves from Munich instead, hopefully departing after he
gets his passport in the post.
It’s a blow because we were very much looking
forward to travelling with him, as we did for three weeks last year. However,
not all is lost. John and I are now considering giving away the idea of
travelling up the west coast of France, to do research for my book, and instead
driving to Munich to spend some time with Alastair, before continuing on to Paris
and catching our flight home. We haven’t investigated this is too much detail
yet but it seems a shame to miss the last chance to spend some time with him for
10 months. From what he says, he probably has the option of internship in
Portland, Oregon for March – Aug next year if he wants one, instead of perhaps
going to Barcelona. Time will tell what he opts for I guess.
