Blogs from District of Madrid, Spain, Europe - page 3

I've never been one to resist the Ryanair sales ✈️- the aim of this one was to find somewhere that stood a chance of still being warm in November and had good flight times. Cheap, of course was always high on the list. Madrid seemed to tick all the boxes ☀️? and with our usual, we might as well go there too approach, we settled on Madrid, Seville and Cordoba. Never been to Madrid, Seville had been on the wish list for a while and Cordoba had the 'Game of Thrones' connection so all good? Sadly that was back in April and it was now November and months of concerning health issues had taken priority.? We had completed the last of the tests the week before and thankfully had finally received good news? Although I had ... read more

Guernica came into my life in Toronto, June 1973. It was in a large art book. I cried for the horrors of war, the brutality. Picasso showed me the degradation of the Spanish Civil War. But at the time I marched in the streets protesting the horrors of the Vietnam war. I shouted into a megaphone, "Hey! Hey! LBJ, how many kids have you killed today." Guernica the original is monumental in it size and power. Then came the first September 11th, 1973. Salvador Allende, recently elected president of Chile was assassinated, apparently by the CIA. A small print of Guernica was taped to my wall. Over the last few days we have spent about 30 hours in gallerias, Prado etc. We have feasted on the great works of art. Images we've seen in book and ... read more

With Jane still far from the top of her game, virtually without voice, we practiced the underground, timing our way to where we will have to catch our train to San Sebastion early tomorrow morning. Easily done, so no panic situation tomorrow. With the underground not proving a problem, under Jane’s direction we headed to Banco de Espana even swapping lines along the way. Making our way slowly along the Alcala we took in the Fuente de la Cibeles and Palacio de Comunicaciones until we reached Puerta de Alcala, observing the police efficiently directing the heavy but constantly moving traffic. We entered Parque Del Retiro along Avenida de Mejico which guided us straight to the lake and Monumento a Alfonso XII. Here the small dinghys were out in force with pairs or more endeavouring to manoeuver ... read more

I am travelling with the best of companions. Yes, Jane. We have travelled together in many countries over many, many years (with many more to go) and even though I say it myself, our teamwork is top-of-the-wozzer. Today has been a perfect example of that with regards to organisation, finding our way, meeting people, taking risks, conversation, laughs and tenderness. As this is my diary, I’m allowed to say it! Madrid is one of Europe’s great cultural capitals and we know that we will not be able to see or experience everything Madrid. We walked for nearly 6 hours straight today and in that time we saw what a diverse and vibrant city it is. It is packed with things to do for all ages. It diverse range of attractions such as the leading art museums ... read more

Flight to Madrid Another successful transatlantic flight is complete! Cody and I flew Iberian Airlines on nonstop flights to Madrid on April 19th. Being short has its advantages sometimes, because my leg room seemed much more spacious than Cody's! After being served a surprisingly good airplane meal (about the same standard as dorm food), consisting of an odd cinnamon carrot salad, cheesecake, and chicken with potatoes, we managed to tackle some good movies/TV shows on the flight: Kelly - Wonder, Greatest Showman, Big Little Lies (Pilot Episode) Cody - Jumanji, Greatest Showman, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, Downsizing Eight hours later we arrived at Madrid (12:30 am CST, 7:30 am Madrid time). It took a little bit of time to figure out how to take the subway to get to our hotel near the Centro, ... read more