Today was my first real day in Madrid; yesterday was somewhat fuzzy, hazy, sleepy. Nice though.
I was up and ready to roll around 7 a.m. It's amazing what 16 hours of sleep can do for me. I did have a few waking moments of 'where am I' but no more than I have at home.
I was the first person on the Madrid Vision tour bus. Got a great seat up top. The weather was terrific so I was set for a learning moment. Unfortunately, the earphones I got were so big, I couldn't keep them in my ears. When I did have them in, there wasn't any talking, so I'm not sure what I did see. Buildings looked old but they can build them to look that way so I'm uncertain of the historical significance of the lovely architecture. There was lots and lots of construction that is related to something like our stimulus plan. Madrid is trying to get the 2016 Olympics and they are keeping busy. Traffic was tied up due to a parade or ceremony of some type. There were horses and politicians so the street crews were trying to clean up the manure left by both. haha my own political statement!
The most impressive part of Madrid as I see it is the parks. They are beautiful, huge, and very inviting. I can't wait to get to the botanical gardens. It just seems like a place that I can just sit and watch the world go by. It's odd really because the land around Madrid is pretty barren; almost desert-like. I was pretty disappointed when flying in. There were just small clusters of trees. They have made up for that with the parks, which are numerous.
During the tour, we ran into a Trojan Mule left outside a really nice building. No one seems concerned but I'm glad I'm leaving town for a few days. https://s3.amazonaws.com/aphs.worldnomads.com/anita_81/18985/DSCN1140.jpg
One odd thing did happen on the tour. A lady came up and basically sat on my lap. She didn't seem to notice that she was waaayy into my personal space. I couldn't scoot anymore to the right, I didn't know the words for Hey! You're sitting on my leg! So, I struggled through the trip and bailed out one stop early. It's possible we're engaged. I don't know the Spanish customs.
After returning to hotel, scrubbing down really good, and gulping a coffee, I was off to my next appointment: lunch and flamenco. I got off at Puerto del Sol, which is a very busy place. I saw lots of great looking shoes--purple again. Boots were the big items. I just might have to bring home a couple pair of them. Also, something that I hope doesn't become a trend in fashion was on display. Don't ask me what this is about. These are real people! https://s3.amazonaws.com/aphs.worldnomads.com/anita_81/18985/DSCN1150.jpg
So, I've met my group. They are from all over the states and England. The lady from England is Ann and I thought the guy's name was FRITZ but turns out it was Vince. I wish those folks would speak clearly. (Maybe he should have spelled it for me like the guy in Switzerland who always spelled his name after he said it.) The group master of ceremonies is a sixteen year old (he might be older) named Jason. He's from Canada. The director is Brian from Boulder CO. We got a little prep talk from Luke Nightingale--yes, he's from England. He told us to be gentle, at first. I'm really looking forward to later in the week. Just like teaching. Lull them into a false sense of confidence. ;)
A couple of other pic's I took you might like. One is a sculpture which I entitled "Just Hanging Around." https://s3.amazonaws.com/aphs.worldnomads.com/anita_81/18985/DSCN1153.jpg
The other is for Clint. Too bad there's no donuts allowed in Madrid.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/aphs.worldnomads.com/anita_81/18985/DSCN1154.jpg
So, tomorrow it's off to La Alberca.
