May 20, 2013 - Madrid

Note to self: go to the dining room early for breakfast if you have to catch an early train. Luckily, we didn’t today, so the lineup was not a hindrance. Our guide, Pepa, met us at the hotel and took us on a walking tour of the old city of Madrid. She has a wonderful knowledge of the city and of Spanish and European history. This part of the city looks quite different from other European cities we have visited. Many of the buildings are built of brick, which was a cheap and plentiful resource. The ones that have stone are rough and not...

May 8, 2013 - Madrid

Farewell to Barcelona. Left on the AVE (bullet train) headed to Madrid at 10:00. Maximum speed I have seen so far is 289 km/hr (about 180 mph!). Lots of vineyards, orchards and pine trees we think...red soil occasionally. Looks pretty arid. Short neighborhood walking tour to the Royal Palace and then a tour of the first floor! Opulent to the max. 2800 rooms total! The current king and queen have chosen to not leave there...too big. They live in a smaller palace in the country. The country really loves this monarchy. She told us why but I...

Apr 26, 2013 - Bisslama Tunisie

Bisslama! Ce 26 avril, je quitte la Tunisie, Inch Allah, après 1 mois incluant les 10 jours au Sénégal. Destination Madrid, Espagne. Ce fut un séjour vraiment bien, à tous points de vue. Je dois dire un gros ~chokran~ à Philippe pour m’avoir accueilli chez lui et de m’avoir permis ainsi de vivre un quotidien en Tunisie mais pas un quotidien tunisien. ;-) Presqu’à tous les jours, debout à 6 h pour déjeuner en compagnie de Philippe. Après quelques tâches ménagères, jogging au parc ou exercices à la maison. Ensuite marche vers le village, en...

Apr 21, 2013 - Real Madrid

Friday we went to the rock pools and saw some crabs and fish E.T.C. I caught this massive fish and it was like a mini angel fish it was colourful and stuff like that. Yesterday I went to watch real Madrid vs real betis it was an exciting match. Though the ref was useless, I actually got to see CRISTIANO RONALDO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly got to touch the ball if dad didn't punch it away.Tracey if your reading this Tottenham were 1-o down to man city and won 3-1 hallelujah. Anyway Real Madrid bet real betis 3-1the same hallelujah. Today we went...

Apr 21, 2013 - around Spain

Every night at 5.30pm i went in the pool with David my grandmas and grandads friend, we played games and i won nearly everything but seemed to lose the last game.On Saturday I went to Madrid to go shopping but I had no time because we all got lost thanks to mum and grandma but we finally found our way around while the boys watched football.Madrid was very pretty but also very busy.There was loads of police officers everywhere. I visited the king and queen at the palace,but they were away( how dare they when i visited especially to see...

Nov 12, 2012 - Being a Kid in Madrid :)

Another weekend and another destination! This time it was Madrid, and although I wasn't suppose to like it (being all Barca loyal) I couldn't help it! Loved everything and it was so different from Barcelona in every way! We got to Madrid in just 2 hours on the fast train and I slept the whole way, it being a Friday morning and all, which is always a struggle. The hotel we were in was soo nice! Just two per room and an amazing free breakfast! With eggs and donuts and amazing croissants and fruit and yogurt! Cheryl would have totally...

Nov 11, 2012 - “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain”………….and apparently everywhere else this year

As we write this, our van is rocked by thunder with lightening flashes outside, including rain of biblical proportions. It is so bad that we have resorted to laughing at the weather. We started out with 3 umbrellas, but are now down to 1 as Ian turned one inside out trying to make a rain catcher and then left the second one on a bus into Madrid. As a friend of Liz’s once said, “Buy a 12 pack of umbrellas and then you will never lose another one.” This last week has seen us spoiled by some of the best art galleries in the world – the Prado...

Nov 6, 2012 - Living day to day in a closet with wheels……..

Living day after day in a space about ½ the size of a small bathroom isn’t for everyone, but we make it work! Liz has made many modifications and enhancements to our van that has made our life so much easier. Maybe we can sell some to VW to defray the costs of the trip…………We love our VW camper especially the packing up, moving on and setting up somewhere new with all our belongings on board. In the past week, we have been to the fabled mountain monastery of Montserrat just north of Barcelona, hung out on a beach site south of the Roman town...

Nov 3, 2012 - Homeward bound- civilization

Back to civilization and to the cold - it was raining and quite chilly when I got off the plane. A tee-shirt and sandals wasn't quite the correct attire for Madrid - don't believe it if you hear sunny Spain I had been warned and had checked the weather but was still not very well prepared. Loving Madrid - another great city with many many beautiful buildings. Decided to do a guided tour of the museums and art galleries - on Sundays quite a few are free, but the main museum the Museo Nacional del Prado is only free from 5pm-7pm so thought...

Oct 5, 2012 - a day of rest

Hi everybody, Today my last day in Madrid and i took it easy, went to see plaza di Espania, and i found a 2200 old temple built by the Egyptians for the god Amun, I was surprised with that in the middle of Spain. Very nice and with Egyptian carvings on the wall. In Piazza di Spania they have a beautiful statue of Don Xiotte and Pancho Villa. Which i never thought this story was Spanish Afternoon had a siesta, and tonight I will go out for a beer and some tapas. After this letter I will send my next from Panama. Till then best regards Tony

Oct 4, 2012 - Another hectic day

Hi Everybody Today I stayed in Madrid to finish things I still need to see here. Morning I went on the telecommunication building to climb on top of the tower for a good view. from there I had to visit the train station which they made like a garden, or more like a rain forest, but the result is a bit week and the trees don't look that happy. Afternoon I visited an amazing convent of the barefooted royal nuns. which are in isolation, clausura I do not know how to write it in English, if anyone can tell me. An amazing convent, a masterpiece...

Sep 30, 2012 - Sunday in Sunny Madrid

Hi Everybody Today a beautiful Sunny day, and the best place to be was the huge Flea market, checking all the rubbish on sale like I always do in every market I visit, without buying anything,......... Luckily I do not have any photos, and afternoon I was ready for a siesta as this market took the tole on me as it was on a hill with stands up and down the hill. Now I am running out of things to see in Madrid so tomorrow I might take a bus away from the city to find other attractions. Till then goodnight Regards Tony.