Blogs from Spain, Europe - page 966

Hello everyone!! Well, I'm back in Houston already. I can't believe that it's all over. But I can't tell you all what an amazing experience it all was. Mom arrived safely in Madrid where I picked her up :) We explored Madrid a little and started our way back to the Camino. It was so great to have her there with me. There are so many times when I travel and think, " man, I wish my family was here to see this." And for the first time, mom was with me!! She and I joined back up with the crew that I had been walking with the whole time to continue on to Santiago. The last 100 miles was all through the Spanish "state" of Galicia, and it was beautiful!! The trails wound through the ... read more

Madrid on Five Euros A Day We arrived at our hotel in the middle of the old city. It took about 45 minutes from the airport, due to the time of day. We boarded the bus around 3:00 p.m., which is the time many workers head home for the day. Since Madrid is a cosmopolitan region with more than six million people, and half of them live in the city proper, traffic is congested in both directions. We are staying at the Petite Palace Hotel right in the heart of Puerta del Sol (the old city). When we arrived at the hotel, we had a couple of hours to unwind before heading to dinner and a walking tour of Madrid. Madame Robb says the rooms are tiny by American standards and some rooms have less than ... read more

This is a sort of pre-trip trip to find out what I actually need and whether I can cope spending a month or so wandering around places I don't know on my own. I woke up late for this one, which wasn't the greatest of starts, and made it to the airport about 40 minutes or so before the flight. Luckily security at Gatwick wasn't as bad as I'd been told so I managed to get to the gate well before they started boarding albeit realising I'd forgotten to bring a toothbrush, a camera and not recharged my phone. Getting there didn't feel too strange except realising that I was the only person on the flight who wasn't with someone else but I was only going to be in Barcelona for 17 hours and I thought ... read more

It was back to work after a day of sightseeing. We had planned a group study session so I met up with my tecahing practice group at one of their houses and we settled in for an afternoon of work... trying to turn a play into a successful, exciting lesson incorporating four seperate skill-based activities which turned out to be easier said than done. Renate volunteered to read us the play which she did with great gusto, reading the stage instruction and all the parts, including the parrot. Her parrot impression was so impressive even the noisy neighbours stopped talking in order to listen! After deeming our lesson plan 'good enough' we parted ways. I stayed on with Francesca, Luciana and Jade and the four of us set off to see the beach! It was again ... read more

Madrid on Five Euros a Day (part 2) Saturday was our first full day in Madrid. Having acquired a taste for the city the evening before, we were now prepared to become fully immersed. We began the morning with a typical European breakfast at the hotel. It was a serve yourself selection of cheeses, meats, melons and tomatoes. Along with these staples were scrambled eggs, slightly cooked bacon, croissants and coffee. There was also a selection of American cereals for the less adventurous. Our first adventure began with a morning bus tour of the city. A lovely Spanish lady named Corina served as our hostess. We were driven around town and entertained with an oral history of Madrid and many points of interest. We drove by the Bernabeu Stadium, home to Madrid Real and former home ... read more