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Toronto AirportAn Air Canada 787 was our sky limousine taking us over the ocean to Spain. I admit that I didn’t sleep at all on the plane but it was only 6 hours and we landed earlier than expected. We arrived before the tour guide! Once we all cleared customs & baggage we were whisked away to the Novatel City Centre in Madrid. Our guide is named David Ortiz. He gave us a quick walking orientation of where we were in the city and then we had the rest of the day to explore, pillage, eat and drink.
We had lunch at Cafeteria Montesa. I must explain about how Spaniards manage meal times. Lunch is not eaten until around 2 p.m. and most people eat their dinner at 9 p.m. However we were starving because breakfast on the airplane was coffee and a piece of spice cake so it was 11 a.m. and we couldn’t wait any longer.
After eating a delicious lunch with a draft of Spanish beer, we walked to the Retiro Park. Covering 118 acres right in the centre of the city, the park offers a myriad of walking trails and gigantic ancient trees; cypress, sycamore and
many I didn’t recognize. Many large buildings are featured in the park and are used to display local artists. The Palacio Cristal is a super sized greenhouse, where in the past exotic plants and trees were grown. Now it has artwork displayed inside where colourful flowers and palm trees used to prevail. Elaborate tile work and architecture make the Palacio Venezuela stand out amongst the towering pines and plane trees. This building also features the work of a local artist.
According to the fitbits on the wrists of my fellow adventurers we have walked about 15,000 steps and we are winding down from the flight and zone changes. Time to head back to the hotel and get checked into our rooms. On the walk back, we ventured into a small groceteria to look for some adult beverages to take back to the hotel. A good bottle of wine is 7 EU and beer is 1 Eu for a large can. The rest of the afternoon is spent relaxing and sipping back a sampling of the beverages with a small siesta thrown in for relaxation purposes.
Close to 9 pm we ventured out into the streets again. It seems
the entire population of Madrid is out on the streets! Our dinner is at a small restaurant about a block from the hotel with tables out on the street. The temperature is moderate and we have our dinner in the fresh, spicy Spanish air. Jane and I shared a seafood paella with goat cheese salad; Anne and Lynne shared sea bass with the same goat cheese salad and a bottle of really smooth delicious red wine. We were having such a wonderful time that we decided to split another bottle of wine and stay to enjoy our friendship.
So here it is midnight in Madrid and I’m still writing with a can of San Miguel at hand. I’m not posting this until tomorrow because I have to upload pictures yet from today.
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