Wrapping Up

Some random notes:

1.  The second clothesline was a good idea, but it might be good for one of the lines to have suction cups instead of velcro loops.

2. The pepper was popular, too, but I should have left the peanut butter at home.  I never had an opportunity to share it, and I didn't want to bring it home, so it stayed in Madrid.

3.  Take a good map. It occurs to me that I don't even have a good map of Madrid, but that isn't so necessary anymore, after five trips.  Still....

4.  French Lay's BBQ chips actually taste like steak with onions, and they don't shed that bright orangey stuff. Mussels and eels will not be appearing on my favorite foods list any time soon - or ever. Nor anchovies.

5.  An unscheduled day by yourself is a wonderful thing, but you need a whole day, not just half.

6.  Packing list was perfect - jeans, capris, long sleeved shirt, 3/4 sleeve shirt, three short sleeved shirts and a t-shirt (my emergency shirt), t-shirt and shorts for swim coverup/pajamas, 1 extra bra, five underwear, two no-show white socks, three black crew socks, sandals, swimsuit.  On the plane, yoga pants, socks and Skechers, 3/4 sleeve blouse.

Now to go pack everything in the right bags for flying tomorrow!

A Grand Day Out

My flight to Paris got in about five minutes early, but it was still about two hours of waiting for the shuttle, checking into my hotel, taking the shuttle back to the airport again, buying a train ticket, waiting for the train, etc., before I was ready to embark on my big day in Paris.  It was going to be a grand adventure, and in the end, it was - just not the adventure I had envisioned.

Shuttle to and from hotel? Check
Train ticket? Check
Ride to Gare de Nord? Check

So far, so good - but that's where it kind of fell apart.  First, no one told me that you have to have your ticket to put in the machine to get out of the station. So I had to step aside and dig through my purse to find it. And apparently, like Madrid, where you get off of an arriving train is nowhere near the actual station, so when I finally found my way out, I didn't know what side I was on.  I tried matching the tour bus map to Google maps, but it turns out that the tour bus map doesn't have street names, only pictures of the places that the tour goes, with the general direction marked.  Some other people were looking for the station, too, so I set out walking in the same direction they did, but lost them at some point.  I got very lost for a bit in a decidedly Muslim area of town.  Interesting window shopping, but I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures.  There was litter everywhere, and it smelled like pee, and I just wanted to find the bus. When I say there was litter everywhere and it smelled like pee, I don't just mean that neighborhood, either.  It was the same everywhere I was.

I ended up seeing the tour bus go by and tried to follow it to a stop, but the driver wouldn't let me on without being at an official stop, nor would he even let me ask where one was.  Eventually, after maybe a 45 minute huge, circular walk, I ended up in front of Gare de Nord, but was still unable to find the bus place.  I stopped into McDonald's for a drink and to use the bathroom (though I might have skipped the drink if I knew you didn't need a code to get into the bathroom), then tried to call the bus place.  The call wouldn't go through, but since the error message was in French, I didn't have a clue what I had done wrong.

Gare de Nord

 I took one more stab at finding it, but eventually decided to give it up.  I didn't want to get too far from Gare de Nord and not be able to find my way back to go back to the airport.  So I went in, bought myself a sandwich and some chips for dinner, and headed back. I saw Gare de Nord, and I saw some pretty buildings near there.  I walked five miles, and I learned how to take the RER B from the airport. I learned that Paris is dirty and smells like pee.  I'm a little disappointed in myself for not being able to pull this off. On the plus side, I didn't buy a ticket online for the tour bus, either for the day I couldn't get into town at all, or for today, so that's $30 saved.  If I ever come back, I'll do it with more time and a real plan - and definitely a real map.

Random pretty building in Paris.

Historic Valencia

My last day in Spain (for now). Sad! as Trump would tweet.  My visit to Valencia was too brief, but at the same time, I'm ready to head home.

We started the day at the historic city center, visiting the basilica to see the Virgin of Valencia.  The amount of gold was unbelievable, as was the beautiful painted ceiling.  Carlos said that a couple of weeks ago, on the Virgin's feast day, they moved the statue of the Virgin from the basilica to the Church next door, and the plaza was jammed with people. Whether you are Catholic or not, Carlos says,  the Virgin's help is sought by everyone who has problems.

The Virgin of Valencia

We then walked through some of the narrow streets, and came upon a Segway tour guide who offered to let us try the Segway for free (in hopes of getting us to buy a tour, and wasn't a bad deal, but we didn't have time). I talked Carlos into trying it, but I couldn't really tell if he liked it or not. It would have been a nice way to see the old part of the city - maybe next time.

Carlos and the Segway

This instrument is called a handpan.  It's like a steel drum, but played with the hands.  The music was really gorgeous, and I bought a CD.

Then we stopped into the Parroqia San Nicolas to see Valencia's "Sistine Chapel".  We rented audio guides, which was a good idea (and something I was finally allowed to pay for).  The church is absolutely breathtaking, and we really needed the guides for explanation of what we we seeing.  The problem was, we had no idea how long the whole thing was, and we had to quit after #13 because we needed time for lunch before taking me to the train.  Maybe it only went to 15, or maybe it went to 30, who knows? But it was easily one of the highlights of Valencia for me.

Valencia's "Sistine Chapel"

We were walking around looking for a lunch place when I got tickled by the name of a place - El Clot.  It didn't sound like a place that had any heart-healthy dishes, for sure.  But when Carlos' first choice was closed, and the second choice turned out to have nothing we (mostly me) wanted to eat, we ended up back at El Clot. They had tapas, and we ended up with Russian salad, patatas bravas, and a cheese plate, all of which were good - and way too much food.

Then it was time to head for the train station to get back to Madrid.  I can't say enough nice things about Carlos' hosting - but I do wish I had been permitted to buy dinner or something. We said our goodbyes, then I had just enough time to get a drink from the vending machine and go to the bathroom before my train was called.  The trip back was uneventful, and I got the Airport Express bus, and then a taxi, to my hostal.

Hostals in Spain are always interesting.  Unlike hostels, hostals are small, usually family-run, hotels.  They have quirky room setups, and funky decorating, but they are cheap and clean, and good enough for the price.  My room didn't seem to have a remote for the air conditioner, and the lady had to dig up a big bag of them and come in to see which one worked.  After that was sorted, and I had my bags packed properly for flying, I tried to go to sleep.  The pillow was heavy and solid, apparently filled with something like sand.  I would get in a good position, then a shift of my head would cause the sand to drain away from the pile, and I would have to start over.  Once I did get to sleep, I was awakened by a group of loud Americans clunking big suitcases up the stairs and chatting at top volume in the hall.  Eventually, though, I did nod off.

Show and Tell and Tell and Tell

We did a lot today. Carlos picked me up at 11:00, and we went to see the Central Market, a large market where you can buy everything from meat and fruits and vegetables, to things like belts and wallets.  It is a beautiful old building with lots of colorful tilework. We thought we would get to see some eels like we ate on Saturday, but the fish section is closed on Monday because the fishermen don't fish on Sunday.  Oh well.

Central Market

 Once outside, we stopped to have a glass of horchata and some fartons.  Horchata is a cold drink that is made from some sort of nut (a tiger nut, but I don't know what that is) and sugar.  It is similar to almond milk, but sweetened.  Fartons are long tubes of pastry, flaky like a croissant inside, with a light sugar glaze.  You can eat the farton and drink the horchata, or dip it in.  Horchata is principally made in a small city near Valencia.

Next, we visited the Silk Exchange building across the street.  It was a center of commerce in the 1400s and has been very carefully restored.  They showed a film about the building and the restoration, and it surprised me when part of the soundtrack was "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing".  The next song was also Christmas-related, and when I remarked on this to Carlos, he said, "Well, it's religious music," but didn't seem to be bothered by it.  It seemed odd to me.

We walked around part of the old town, then went back to the car to go have lunch at a restaurant on the ground floor of Carlos' English school  Then we had Show & Tell, with me as the show.  We sat in on part of a class that was taught by Carlos' teacher (not his actual group), and she asked me how to pronounce "pursue" and whether you say "regardless of age" or just "regardless age". I think everyone was suitably impressed that I knew the answer.

Then we headed for Malvarrosa Beach.  This a massive beach, long and wide, beside the shipping port, near where the cruise ships dock.  I wanted to wade in the water, so we trudged over probably a half-mile of deep sand to reach it.  The water temp was great, and I almost wished I could have gone in, but wading was enough.  It was especially enough when a rogue wave hit me and drenched me from the butt down.  I was unaware that in Spain, it is acceptable to sunbathe topless on a public beach, but we saw several people doing so. We walked along the entire beach, then up to the harbor that was developed for the America's Cup yacht race several years ago.  From there we could see a couple of cruise ships, and the shipping port.

This sand castle took one week to build, and is held together with only water.  I don't know how he keeps someone from smashing it at night or something  To the left, you can see his tray for tips.

Then we went back to Carlos' school to have a drink with Carmen, so she could say goodbye (she is a teacher at the school across the street).  She had to have dinner with their son, and would not be joining us later on.  We then headed back into town, to the Razufa area, to meet up with one of Carlos' classmates, Jacinto,who wanted to meet and speak with me.  The place they chose to meet was really interesting.  It is a cafe whose walls are lined with bookshelves.  You can come in, select a book, and read while you are eating or having a drink.  But on Monday nights, they have a language exchange.  People come and put a flag on their table indicating what languages they want to exchange (English and Spanish, Spanish and German, etc),  then others can join them to speak the same languages.  The place was packed, so we sat outside.  We were joined later by Vincent, an English teacher at Carmen's school.  He had a very British accent, which was surprising.  Later, a couple came up who wanted to borrow Jacinto's lighter, and they ended up talking to us, too.  The guy sounded completely British, but he has a Spanish father and a British mother, and he lives in Spain.  Very interesting evening.  We ended up having a sandwich there for dinner.

The Unik Cafe and Library.

Tomorrow, I am not sure what we have planned in the morning. My train leaves for Madrid at 3:10, and I should be back in Madrid by 5:00.  Then I need to get myself to my hostal near the airport. And I fly out Wednesday morning for Paris.

Poking Around the City of Arts and Sciences

I had today to myself, so I did a little laundry, then walked down to the City of Arts and Sciences area, a block or so away, to see what was there.  The morning was a little grey, and there weren't many people around just after 10:00.  I walked around a bit, taking pictures, then found my way down to the inside, where I watched people get zipped into plastic balls so they could float around in the water for 10 minutes.  There were actually several water toys in the area, including kayaks and something that looked like a powered paddleboard.

Zipping in, and getting the ball poofed up with air.

The City of Arts and Sciences contains the Hemispheric, where there is an IMAX theatre, the Prince Felipe Science Museum, and the Oceanografic.  This is obviously not my picture, but a photo of a postcard.  You can probably see why it's hard to photograph.

Eventually, I made my way (the LONG way, of course) to the Oceanografic, Valencia's famed aquarium.  When I first walked in, it didn't look like much.  In fact, as I was just getting down to the first exhibit, I heard an "ugly American" type behind me say, "Well, this is sure no Sea World."  And no, it's not Sea World.  What looks like a fairly limited selection of exhibits on the surface is nothing compared to what awaits underground - an enormous collection of all types and sizes of jellyfish, a tunnel of water that you can walk through and watch fish swim above you, a network of connected exhibits arranged by geographic area, and all types of sea life, viewable from above and below.  It was really great - so great, in fact, that I ended up spending about five hours there.  When it got toward lunch time (my lunch time, not Spanish lunch time), I got an enormous hamburger with the works, fries, and Coke Light.  After that, it seemed the place filled up with families, and little kids were everywhere.  No one melts down like a Spanish toddler who has been thwarted, either - screaming, throwing themselves on the ground, kicking, crying. It became increasingly hard to get around without stepping on somebody. When I had had enough, I ended my day with the dolphin show.  It was really great, and included some tricks I have never seen before, especially the ones with the trainers in the water with the dolphins.

Some of the beautiful jellies.

The tunnel.

My late afternoon plans got cancelled, and on the way back to the hotel I spotted a Carrefour sign. Thinking I would go in and grab something for dinner, I was astonished to find not just a Carrefour, but an entire three-story mall!  With a Subway and a McDonald's.  I have vowed not to eat any American fast food (though if they had had a Taco Bell, like I saw last night, I might have wavered) so I went on to Carrefour and found myself a "New Yorker" salad kit, complete with a fork.

The mall next door.

I tried to catch up on Survivor, but it pooped out about 3/4 through the May 10 one, so it will have to wait till I get home. All in all, it was a nice day, just poking around by myself, not talking to anyone, and eating what I wanted, when I wanted.

Tomorrow, Carlos will pick me up at 11:00, and he's taking me for Show &Tell at his English teacher's.  I think we plan to see the Central Market, and I'm not sure what else.

New Taste "Treats"

It has been a very long day.
I ran into Carolyn, Mary, and Karen this morning as I was leaving the Eurobuilding.  We chatted for a few minutes with an Irish guy who asked if we were with Vaughantown, then I grabbed a cab to Atocha Station.  In the light of day, arriving to where the bus dropped me off last week, it all makes perfect sense.  I had about an hour to wait before my train, so I sat by the rainforest to watch the board where they post the track numbers for each train.  When my track came up, I went through security (along with a bride and a couple of bridesmaids in pink top hats with veils) and boarded the train.  It was a very fast, smooth ride.  The movie was a Spanish one, so I wasn't tempted to watch is, and I kind of dozed a little along the way.

Carlos met me and we dropped off my bags, then drove to a little village called El Palmar, on Albufera Lake, to have lunch.  Well, I guess you still call it lunch even if it takes the whole afternoon.  It actually took about, oh, three hours.  We had a drink, then two starters, then a salad, then a rice dish (but not paella, since real paella has chicken and rabbit), then coffee.  It was an interesting experience.  He wanted to show me the specialties of the area, and this just so happens to be the peak season for the small mussels that live in Albufera Lake.  Oh boy.

Mussels

He had to show me how to eat them (and he knew I was very unsure of the whole thing), but I only gagged on the first one.  After that, I had the routine down.  It probably wasn't the same routine he had, since he actually chewed them and all, but it worked for me.  Open the shell, hold my breath, scoop the mussel out with my top teeth, swallow quickly, exhale, and take a drink of water or a bite of bread.  I thought I was being really subtle about it, but he laughed about it when he told his wife later.  OK, mussels were doable.  The next starter was eel and potatoes in a spicy broth.  He didn't tell me until I tried it that Karen hadn't eaten it at all, and his wife hates it.  The flavor was not so bad, but it just looked nasty. It actually didn't have a bad flavor, but once is probably enough.  These eels are also only fished in Albufera Lake.  They come in from the sea through a natural channel.  The sea, of course, is salty, but the lake is freshwater.  If the sea level is too high, they close a dam to keep the salty water from getting into the lake.  The lake is used to irrigate the local rice fields, as well as drain them, and it gets its distinctive green color from the rice (not sure how).

Albufera Lake

When we finally finished lunch, we took a boat ride around the lake, which was really nice. The weather was perfect, the breeze cool, and the boat guy gave us each a branch of his huge citronella plant to ward off mosquitoes.  The lake used to be much bigger, he said, but it is now a wildlife refuge.  Only 40 people a year have the right to fish for the eels, just so you know.

Then we went into the city to pick up Carlos' wife to - eventually - go have dinner.  First, we drove through the old city center, then we stopped at the Colon (Columbus) Market for a drink (Coke Light for me).  The market is an actual old market which has been turned into a kind of gathering place, with a number of small restaurants and bars, a flower shop, and other things.  On Saturday night, it was full of people sitting out at tables.  Our reservation for the restaurant was at 10:00, several blocks away, but parking is a nightmare here, so we left the car and walked.  Dinner was basically tapas food.  We shared a plate of different varieties of manchego cheese (I skipped the one with truffles), then a plate of iberrico ham (not my favorite), and a tomato salad with big slices of tomato, chunks of tuna, and a couple of slimy slices of anchovy. Finally, finally, at midnight, we headed back.

Colon Market, an open air spot full of bars and restaurants.

I'm on my own tomorrow, which I am really looking forward to.  The City of Arts and Sciences area is very close by, as well as the old riverbed that has been turned into a park.  I'm going to sleep in just a bit, then get out and see what I can see!

Whirlwind Week's End

It always seems so strange for the week at VT to start winding down on Wednesday night, but it does. After that, it's all seriousness while they prepare their presentations.  They get their topics on Thursday morning after breakfast, and the presentations take place before dinner Thursday night.  So the phrasal verbs and idioms kind of get pushed to the side in favor of helping them with structure and ideas.  "My" Spaniard this year was Enrique, who had to talk about something he does differently than other people. He came up with a very cute talk about skinnydipping.  He kind of led them along, talking about his "first time" and how nervous he was, etc. etc.  And then said, "And of course, I am talking about swimming naked (he forgot the word).  It was very funny.

Enrique, the skinnydipping Spaniard.

With the pressure of the presentations finished, it was time to celebrate.  After dinner, we gathered a group to go down to a local pub in the village.  They had said it was being opened only for us, but there was a bar full of locals there when we got there around 11:30.  The little pub was actually quite nice and had a sizable dance floor, with disco lights and all.  There were about 20 of us, out of 28, there, and we all danced and had a great time.  I learned a couple of new variations of the macarena, and we got to watch Alfonso and Alba do some of their flamenco moves.  Spanish contemporary music always has a salsa beat, so even if you couldn't salsa, you could dance to it.  It was fun to see another side of the oh-so-serious Spaniards once the pressure of the week was over. Six or so of us headed back to the hotel around 1:00.  The young Spaniards got in at about 4:00.

Leaving for the pub.

Alba and Alfonso

This morning, we had to check out of the hotel, then we had two one-to-ones.  I only had one, so Carolyn and I sat in the bar and had a Coke Light and a coffee and talked about the week.  Then it was time for the group photo and the certificate ceremony. The Anglos were presented with small travel coffee mugs, as well.  Each of the Anglos got to say a few words, and we welcomed the newbies into the Vaughantown Addicts Support Group.

We had lunch at a single long table (a Vaughantown tradition), and there was cava (Spanish "champagne"), a couple of speeches, and a chance to thank our cooks and servers.  Martin, one of the Master students, who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, stood up and announced that it was Peter's birthday. Alba and Carmen looked a little shocked, because they hadn't known about it, and they like to have a cake for the person. We all sang Happy Birthday, then Martin said it wasn't really Peter's birthday, he just wanted to see if we would go along with him.  Then we made the Spaniards sing Happy Birthday in Spanish, just for the heck of it.

Many people slept on the way back.  When we got to the building, we were very surprised that the great Richard Vaughan himself met the bus!  We all had a chance to speak with him, and he thanked us for our participation.  We got checked in to the hotel, then Karen, Maria, and I went down the block to VIPS, intending to just get a drink and some snacks to have in our rooms, but ended up ordering sandwiches.  We were later joined by John, and apparently there were four or so others inside the restaurant (we were outside), but we didn't know they were there.  We spent about 2.5 hours at VIPS, then stood around outside for another 30 minutes or so (like we haven't had enough talking this week).  It was just so nice to have nowhere we had to be, the weather was perfectly pleasant, and we enjoy each other's company.

Richard Vaughan is not a myth!

My room this time is smaller but much nicer.  If I stay here again, I will do as Karen does and request a room on the 8th floor because they are better - I even have a balcony spanning the bedroom and living room.

Jorge and I had a video call a bit ago.  I got to see their new kitchen, and I also see that Paula now has contacts!  It was good to see their faces, even if the call quality wasn't the best. I blame the Eurobuilding's wifi.

Off to Valencia in the morning.  Part II of Spain 2017 is about to begin!

Relaxing and Learning in La Mancha

I had some extra time this afternoon, so I thought I would get an earlier start on this today than I have been.  I had a couple of really interesting conversations this morning.  One of the Spaniards is the dealership network manager for Mercedes-Benz.  He says his job is to take care of the dealers, establish new places for dealerships, close underperforming ones, etc.  They force him to change cars every six months, but he doesn't like to do it.  When I asked why they did it so often, he said that partly they want them to drive the newest thing, and partly it is to feed the used car market with high end "new" used cars.  He would prefer to keep his car longer.  He owns a vacation home in Asturias, near Llanes, where his daughter will be married in August.  He has been to 18 Vaughantowns.  It is a benefit that his company provides (as an English learning course), so he doesn't want to miss the opportunity to come as long as they are paying for it. He showed me a really good video of Covadonga (where Jorge and I have been twice), then sent it to me - I will have to pass it on to Jorge.  He also gave me some good tips for conversation starters with the shyer Spaniards.

On my second one-to-one, we spent the hour walking in the cemetery, looking for a grave we were told had a picture of a dog on it, as well as a Republican flag (the losers in the Civil War here in the 1930's).  They act like it is scandalous to display that flag, and the flag and dog are on the same grave.  He explained to me that these large above-ground tombs are not individuals - they are family tombs, and most of them are obviously very expensive.  He said in Spain you don't buy the plot, you lease it for 100 or 110 years.  After that, I guess, it's ok for them to recycle it if they want.  As often happens here, when you are walking and talking, people tell you things that they might not ordinarily say.  I asked if there was a particular day, like our Memorial Day, when they decorated graves and such. He did that they do that on All Saints Day, the day after Halloween, and then he added. "But sometimes on other days I go to my father's grave and I write him a letter".  Then he kind of caught himself and said, "But....I don't tell anybody."  He was happy that I agreed to walk in the cemetery with him.  I guess he had asked someone else, and they didn't want to do it, but he really wanted to go. We didn't find the dog, but I got better instructions and found it later.

The dog on the tombstone.  We are assuming the dog is actually buried there, too, but we don't know.

Then we were off on our winery tour.  The vineyard was actually very close by (only maybe a ten minute drive).  The Mercedes guy let us use his car, which was nice.  The winery was really interesting.  They produce 500,000 bottles a year, which he says is a small winery, but most of their output is exported, mainly to China and the UK.  They only employ 7-15 people at any one time.  He said they never irrigate their land because there is a river that runs through the vineyard, and the humidity from the river is enough to grow the grapes. The only move the grapes in small trucks because they don't want the grapes to break before reaching the processing place.  They do not wash them, only send them through a high-speed fan to remove leaves and stems before they are put into the specially built stainless steel tanks to ferment. Later, it is sent to barrels to be aged.  Only three people are needed to operate the bottling and labeling machine, though it can process 1500 bottles an hour.  The wine for export is not bottled, but sent on ships in huge tanks and bottled in the location.

After lunch and siesta, I came back downstairs to find that I had two hours of free time! There was a conference call group going on, and it required a lot of Spaniards, so there were a lot of Anglos left over. I spent about an hour dangling my legs in the pool, then went back in to hang out downstairs until time for my telephone session (we are given a scenario, then we go back to our rooms, and he has to call me and we have to go through the scenario on the phone).

Entertainment hour, dinner, and now it is time to get to bed.  At dinner, the guy I walked in the cemetery with said I sound like a "professional TV lady", so I guess that's a compliment. :)  Several people today have thanked me for the Beer Nuts, too, and said they couldn't believe I would bring them all the way to Spain.  Tomorrow we will spend most of our one-to-one times helping them with their presentations that they will give tomorrow night.  Most won't admit it, but they are nervous about the speech.  Tonight, one of the newbie Anglos asked what happens on the last day, and we told her about the graduation ceremony and all, and then one of my friends from last year said, "Well, and then there is the naked torch run through the village.  They have a branding iron, though, so if you don't run fast enough...."  It was really funny.  Eh, maybe you had to be there.

Alcohol and Fire

It was another perfect day here in Belmonte!  We started the day with a two-hour presentation workshop designed to help the Spaniards get ready for the presentations that they will do on Thursday.  We split into small groups and each presented part of the process of preparing a presentation.  Afterward, I had free time, which I used to work on my own presentation for this evening.  Then I met with another one-to-one.  It was beautiful outside and we noticed that they had put lounge chairs out by the pool (though we still have not received official word that we can use it), so we decided that it was enough of an invitation for us to go in and wade.  The Spaniard I was talking to traveled to China back in 1992 and spent 45 days there, and she had some great stories to tell.

Four of the Spaniards are in a Vaughan Master Class, which is a very big commitment.  It is a full time, five month class where they go to class five hours and have five hours of homework every day.  This Vaughantown is part of the Master Class for them, and they will have another in July.  They are young, and looking for their first "real" jobs (except for Edi who already owns two businesses), and they hope that intensively improving their English will help them.

After lunch and another one-to-one, I had yet another free time.  My final one-to-one was with Enrique, who lives in Valencia.  This is important information because my host in Valencia next week will be busy all day on Sunday, and I will be on my own.  Enrique told me to call him if I needed anything while I was in Valencia, so maybe we can make some plans for Sunday if he is not busy with his family.  At the very least, he gave me some good ideas of things I should see while I am there.  It actually won't bother me to have the day to poke around by myself, either, so we will see what happens.

Before dinner was the entertainment hour.  My presentation was about Normal, IL and how it got its name.  As part of my presentation, I handed out the Beer Nuts that I had brought, which they were very enthusiastic about.  Most had never seen them.  One girl came up to me afterward and asked, "The name of Normal, Illinois - is it true?  It is really called Normal?"  Even some of the Anglos had never heard of it before.  Another girl is going to ask her sister-in-law in TX to send her more Beer Nuts, so she wanted to know if they sell them all over the US.  So, I think it went pretty well!

After dinner was our queimada, the witches incantation to ward off bad spirits (and, I think, to replace them with alcoholic ones).  The concoction of high octane alcohol, lemon, apple, cinnamon, sugar and coffee beans is set on fire and ladled until the flames turn blue.  Alba did manage to set the table on fire a couple of times, but she blew it out before any damage was done. Then the queimada is distributed, and everyone gives a toast to the group before tasting it.  If you ever get a chance to taste queimada...don't.  It tastes a little like gasoline and it smells worse.  But it is fun to watch it being made, and we had three wonderful witches to read the spell in the three languages - English, Spanish, and Gallego (the dialect from Galicia in northwestern Spain where the ceremony originated).  It was very funny.

See? There is only a little bit of fire on the table, it's nothing!

Up and Down the Town

It was a great first day at Vaughantown!
At 10:00, after breakfast, I walked down to the market with my first one-to-one "victim" of the day.  The market was not a lot different than last year, except that there was no chandelier store!  There did seem to be more underwear stores, though (anyone need a 3 euro bra?). We kept wondering how people could buy these random clothes.  There was no place to try anything on, for one thing.  I did see a local woman, with a dress on over her clothes, looking at herself as the vendor held up a mirror, so I guess they have it figured out.  I don't know.  I think I would rather take the bus to another town to shop.

Nothing like coming around the corner and getting hit in the face by a bra hanging in your way.

We also sought out the post office, so that I could mail a promised postcard to a friend at Lowe's.  When we got back, we met in separate Anglo/Spaniard groups to talk about upcoming activities.  Then I had free time, so I went back to the market to see if I could find a jacket. I did not - but I did find a very cool mural on the side of a little casa rural (like a small hotel).

I have shown this to several people, and they kept saying, "Are you sure it's not real??"

After my free time I had a really interesting discussion one of the Spaniards about the Spanish unemployment system, and labor laws in general.  The guy, whose name is Edi, reminded me a lot of Nic in manner.  He is 27 but owns two restaurants, and is working with some partners on creating some phone apps for different things.  He said that in Spain, employers have to be very careful about who they hire because if they have to fire them for any reason, they have to pay them one month's salary for each year they worked, and then they get unemployment.  So it can be expensive for an employer to fire someone.  He also said that, by law, everyone gets 30 days of paid vacation each year, but the company can assign half of the days as "holidays", and the workers can plan the other half.  On the downside, Spanish minimum wage is about $3.75/hour.

We had our hotel tour this afternoon, but the girl with the good English was not working today, so we got a young girl who looked fairly terrified at having to speak English in front of 30 strangers.  We had to remind her of some of the interesting points of the tour because she didn't have all of the information (or she just skipped it because she didn't know how to say it).

After a hilarious entertainment hour and dinner, we had a pub quiz (trivia quiz), and my team came in second by two points.  Now it's off to bed -  another full day tomorrow!  Tomorrow night I have offered to do a presentation about my home town, and I can get those 3 lbs of BeerNuts out of my bag.

Back in B Town

Back in Belmonte.
When I was planning this trip, I kind of wondered what it would be like to be back at the same location again, after having just been here last year.  I didn't know if it would still seem new, or if it would be boring, or what.  I am happy to say that it is really nice to be back here.  A few little things have changed, but not much - and it was good to know the location of the hallway restroom when we came in from the bus.  The four of us who were here last year have been filling the others in on where things are, where they serve breakfast, where they post the assignments, etc.

My room is on the second floor (well, the Spanish first floor), overlooking the center courtyard.  Instead of overlooking the village, my room overlooks the side of the cemetery.  Actually, it doesn't overlook anything - I am looking directly at the fence of the cemetery.

The interior view from my room.

Tomorrow is once again market day!  I'm looking forward to scouting out some bargains. I would actually like to find a windbreaker, but we will see.  The Spaniards seem excited about it, but they don't know what they are in for, just like us last year.  :)

Our group this time is 16 Anglos and 12 Spaniards.  As a whole, the Spaniards are a younger group that we have had before.  I have only talked to three of them so far, one on the bus, and two one-to-ones today.  The Anglos are all from the UK and US, with the exception of one couple from Australia.  There is a woman from WI who nows lives in TX, a woman from "northwestern IN", two from Atlanta, a couple from OR, one from WA, and several others whose homes I haven't heard yet.  But this should be interesting because we have a Carol, a Carolyn, a Coral, and a Karen (all Anglos).  Every Spaniard has a different name this time, too, which is unusual.  All but three Anglos have done Vaughantowns repeatedly.  One woman has been about 20 times, one 9 times, and several of us 4 times.

A model, not to scale or totally accurate placement, of Belmonte.  Our hotel is at the top left.

We had an extended siesta today, and they urged anyone who wanted to go to the castle to do so then because their schedule and our schedule won't make it easy to go any other time.  I didn't elect to go because I took way too many pictures there last year and didn't really want to spend 9 euros to take more. Our group excursion this time will be to a winery about 30 minutes away from here, which should be fun.

One of our idioms today was "to move heaven and earth".  Turns out there is a Spanish expression which has the same meaning, but it is "to move Rome to Santiago".  OK, time to "hit the hay".

Happy Mother's Day!

Familiar Surroundings

The wifi access here at the Eurobuilding is a bit limited, so I will make this quick and hope it doesn't run out before I finish.

This morning, having been up very late last night texting and calling, I slept a bit later than I intended, and by the time I was ready to go, it made more sense to go ahead and check out of the AC Atocha and leave my bags for later.  I went to pick up my sweater, but the kid there looked and couldn't find it.  I say he looked, but he really glanced in one spot and said it wasn't there.  He told me that his friends would be there later and might know, but they didn't come in until 5:00 pm.  I wasn't willing to give up on it, since it was there last night, so I asked if there was someone he could call.  I had to wait while he served customers but eventually he called, and within minutes, one of the guys who was there last night walked in.  He pointed to the same corner where the other kid had looked, and what do you know?  It had fallen behind something and was there all the time!

I then headed for the botanical garden, which was wonderful.  The main gate is closed, and the entrance is actually at the south end of the Prado museum, so I was back on my "home turf".  The gardens were really great.  There was a special exhibit/sale of orchids in the main building, and I wanted to take home about 20 of them.  In the other half of the building was a display of Japanese flower arranging, and a couple of booths where they were doing calligraphy.

This bonsai was about the size of a basketball.

 

 The gardens also have a permanent collection of bonsai trees, all part of a donated private collection.  Their American cactus collection left a bit to be desired, and their sequoia was small, as sequoias go, but it was nice.  I'm sure that each season has its own appeal, but I think it will really be something in the summer.  They even have a vegetable and fruit area, with big signs saying not to pick the fruit. The gardens have been there for over 250 years, and they are not a public park, but a private research facility.  In a couple of areas, the plants looked so neglected that I thought they might want to research how to take care of them. I probably spent two hours there, then walked on down to my "old neighborhood" to have lunch at VIPS.  On the way, I encountered a protest about something.  As usual, they were loud, but polite, staying within the bounds of one lane of the street, so as not to block traffic or cause any problems.  If they did, there were many national policemen on hand to take care of things.  Not sure what it was about, but lots of whistling and chanting that you could hear from down the block.

The protest.

After lunch and a little shopping (I have now finished about half of my pharmacy shopping), I walked all the way back to the AC Atocha to get my bags, then grabbed a taxi to the Eurobuilding. When I got here, Karen (from last year) and I walked down to a little market to get a few things, then we all went over to the local spot for the tapas reception, where we met the rest of the group.  It was a nice place with really good food. It looks like it will be a fun week.  Most of the group have done this before - there are only three newbies!  We have 16 Anglos and 12 Spaniards, so that means we will have free time.  There is a rumor that the castle visit will be replaced with a winery visit, but with free time arranged so that those who want to go to the castle can do that at another time.  That will be good for those who haven't been to Belmonte before, and it won't bore those who have, by having to go to the castle again (though I might do that anyway). There is also a rumor that the pool won't open until June 1, but it was open last year and we were there earlier in May than this year. So we will see.

I'm looking forward to Monday market day, so if you need any chandeliers or fake Nikes or pajamas, let me know!

Getting Settled

As I write this, it is just after 9:00 pm.  In the past 12 hours, I have walked over 7.50 miles, and Ubered a couple more.  It was rainy off and on, so I decided to do the botanical garden tomorrow, when it looks to be nicer.

When I got here last night, it was later than anticipated, and dark. I had been up many hours at that point, and couldn't get my bearings at all. I went inside the station to see if I could find a map to figure it out, but there was nothing but metro pathways that went off in all directions.  I ended up back outside, looking for someone who spoke English.  I finally interrupted some poor businessman on his phone, and he helped me get headed off in the right direction.  It was a little scary, actually, because it was not well-lit, and I was hauling my bags along the cobblestones.  Once I got a block or so down from the main road, my memory of the map kicked in, and I finally hauled myself into the lobby about 10:30.  I have no idea why I didn't think to call an Uber.

I slept in a bit this morning, then went out to explore my new neighborhood.  The Palace is undergoing renovations and wasn't available, so I am staying near Atocha train station at the very modern AC Atocha Marriott.  It's kind of the complete opposite of the "old world" Palace - all in black, grey and white, with lots of modern art, sleek lines, and glass.  Very cool, but the shower arrangement is a little disconcerting. The shower is in a glass box right next to the room door. It has all kinds of fancy jets and a rainfall showerhead but there is just nowhere to hide if I forget to lock the deadbolt and housekeeping comes in. :)

The see-through shower

In the daylight (and having gone back and forth a few times now), everything is much easier.  There is every fast food place you could name, as well as little shops where I found my beloved Aquarius water and Coke Light, and picked up some fruit for later.  I brought my purchases back to the room, then decided to Uber down to Puerta del Sol.  My driver was very nice, dressed in a suit - and driving a Tesla. He offered me water, too, which was nice.

Sol was jammed with people, and the Plaza Mayor had chairs and a stage all set up for some kind of concert or something, so I am glad I didn't plan to take pictures down there this time.  I went to Mercado de San Miguel and bought a caramel crepe, as well as a barca de manzana, a kind of  "boat" of flaky pastry filled with finely sliced apples (kind of like an apple pie), for later.  No more caramel crepes for me, unless I have someone to share it with - it was so rich I couldn't finish it!  Then I walked down to my favorite little store, El Rincon, where they sell Lacasitos in bulk.  I ended up walking farther down, too, to see if Steak n Shake was still there (yep).  When I had finally had enough wandering around, I took the metro back to Atocha.  The line at the Reina Sofia art museum was too long to consider going in, so I went back to the hotel for a little siesta.  Good decision, since the rain that had been threatening all day, sprinkling on and off, finally started in earnest just after I got back.

When I woke up from my nap, the rain was over so I walked over to explore Atocha station and scout out where my train will be leaving from next week when I go to Valencia.  After spending some time there, saying hello to the jillions of turtles that live there in the rainforest, I went out to find a place for dinner. Even though it was only tapas time, not dinner, what I wanted to eat IS a tapa - patatas bravas (potato chunks with spicy red sauce and garlic mayo).  I also had a tapa whose name I don't know, but it was like a flatbread "pizza" with chunks of ham and red pepper.

The Atocha rainforest.  It has pathways and benches throughout.

Some of the many, many turtles that live in Atocha.

My plan for tomorrow is to head over to the botanical garden.  I have to pass Reina Sofia on the way, though, so if there is no line I might do that first.  I have to check out of here by noon, I think, so I hope I can leave my bags for a bit before heading to Eurobuilding.  I'm meeting up with Karen, Carolyn and Mary (from last year's VT) at 4:30, and we will walk to the tapas reception together at 5:00.

Grrr, remember last year when I was so proud not losing anything on my trip?  Well, I just realized that I left my sweater at the restaurant where I had dinner.  So I went down to the lobby and asked the reception guy if he could call for me to see if they found it.  He did, and it's there, and I can pick it up at 10:00, right when I should be headed to the botanical garden anyway.  Whew!

Paris Part 1

Ok, so Part One of my plan has failed.  Because of a problem with landing (air traffic control had us too close to the plane in front of us, so we had to abort our landing and circle around to try again), we didn't get in until about 10:45. By the time we got through immigration it was almost 11:30.  I wanted to check with EasyJet to see if I could check my bag early, but I misread my boarding pass and took a long, unnecessary walk and a train ride to the wrong terminal.  And when I did eventually get back to the right terminal, they said I could only check it two hours prior to flight. So.

I could take a train (30 minutes) to where I could catch the tourist bus, and there is supposedly a left luggage office there, but the tour is 2 hours, 20 minutes. Then reclaiming my bag, train back, and security before my 6:00 pm flight. It's 12:45 now.  I guess it could be done, but I would rather not risk it.

Plan B is to do the tour when I get back to Paris on the 24th.  I will get here at noon, and have nowhere to be until the next morning. So I could go to my hotel and drop my bag, then take the train in to the city. Much less pressure. Another consideration is that, at this point, I have been up nearly 24 hours, with little sleep on the plane.  Taking the bus today could turn into a really expensive nap.

So I'll stay at CDG and enjoy some people watching, free wifi, and a baguette. C'est la vie!

EDIT:  it turns out it was a good thing I didn't do the bus today - it rained. Also good, the unnecessary  walk and train to the wrong terminal served a purpose after all.  There is a geocache in one of the parking lots on the train route. So after I dropped my bag at EasyJet, I trooped on back to get it.

Unfortunately, this is a close as I got to Paris - but I know CDG airport like the back of my hand.

What??

Where did my last three weeks go??
All of a sudden, I leave tomorrow!  I'm ready, except for actually putting things in my suitcase.

The shuttle to Chicago leaves at 12:50 pm, and the flight to Paris leaves at 6:35 pm.  By 9:00 on Thursday night, I will be in Madrid, after an afternoon spent taking a quick peek at Paris (with a longer look on the way back). Three nights in Madrid, then off to Vaughantown in Belmonte for five nights. After Belmonte, I will be taking the train to Valencia, where I will be for three nights, then back to Madrid for one night, Paris for one night, then home.  I actually tried to fly back to Paris from Valencia, to avoid backtracking to Madrid, but it wasn't possible.

I just realized that one thing I haven't done is buy my tourist bus ticket for Paris. I can do that in the morning, too.  I'm a little nervous about Paris, since I know no French, but it will be fine.  I just hope it doesn't rain.