Charming slim book

• Book: Two Middle-Aged Ladies in Andalucia
• Location: Andalusia (Andalucía)
• Author: Penelope Chetwode

I was given this book by two dear friends, the title would make you want to pick it up. Penelope Chetwode travels on her 12 year old steed la Marquesa through the pueblos of Andalucia and writes a diary of her experiences. It IS a charming read, though by page 80 or so it did become repetitive but it really does evoke the barren nature of the area and the Spain of the 60s, when the Peseta was the currency, and when, as she writes: “The eiderdown is unknown, so the bedside mat” and “Quien duerme bien no le pican pulgas” (he who sleeps well is not bitten by fleas). She encounters Trogs (cave dwelling communities)and Posadas in the original manifestation, and, well, all manner of things and people on her trip…overall a short, entertaining read and very much of its era.

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