I had intended to write this update several days ago, shortly after leaving Madrid, but not having internet access in the room makes it a little more difficult to sit down with a computer when the pool and the sunshine beckon. So, I'll limit myself to talking about my current whereabouts (the H10 Timanfaya Palace on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands) and leave that for another blog post.
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| Iberia's First Class service on the way to Madrid |
Sabine and I left Munich last Thursday morning on an Iberia flight bound for Madrid. Ah, I love airline miles with which one can buy oneself into First Class for flights that otherwise would be unaffordable! The plan was to see Howard and family for two days before leaving for Lanzarote on Saturday. Despite the fact that Howard and Sabine are my life-long friends (well, almost, when one looks at about 40-year-old friendships), the two had never met. So, the opportunity was just perfect.
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| Daddy, Eclipse, y Karen |
We arrived in Barajas in mid-afternoon, and for the next two days we partook in the Davieses' homelife and did some fine sightseeing around Madrid, a place that Sabine had never been to. On Thursday afternoon we piled into Howard's work-issued Audi A6 and went with him and daughter Karen out to the stables where Eclipse, Karen's new horse, is kept. It was a lazy afternoon, punctuated by a few cold ones and Sabine's memories of her own time as a horseback-riding girl.
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| Don Quijote and his brother, practicing the poking of the bull at Karen's horse stables |
That evening we had dinner at the house, with everyone assembled for wine, Iberian ham, great cheese, and all those other delicacies that Lydia likes to concoct. On Friday, Sabine and I took the metro to downtown Madrid,
about a 30 minute ride from the Davieses’ home just minutes away from the
Barajas airport. We had been told about the “Turibus,” an open double-decker
that affords on/off privileges and makes two loops through the “old” as well as
the “new” Madrid. It was a gorgeous day, with temperatures in the mid-70s,
maybe, and nothing but perfectly blue skies. Madrid showed itself from its
prettiest side—was it maybe because of the looming decision by the IOC on who
will host the 2020 summer Olympics?
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| Madrid from the Turibus |
Since my leg is still not anywhere near normal it was
actually quite nice to sit on this slow-moving bus and take in the sights from
a slightly different level
than that
afforded by walking the streets. I don’t want to go as far as to say that I know
Madrid, even though I can find such attractions as the Museo de Jamon and the
fancy market. I enjoyed seeing things without much exertion, and once we were
done with the bus we strolled around the old town on our own.
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| Ham, ham, and more ham |
By mid-afternoon, Howard had joined us and we started to
find places for tapas and beers—not a problem for us, at all. We went to some
interesting little bars, and it seemed that Madrid kept filling up the longer
we stuck around. Well, it was Friday afternoon, after all. Even though we spent
less than 10 hours in the heart of the city, I think we both got a really good
feel for the vibrancy of this city. What a nice day!
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| The buddies having tapas at the Casa Labras |
When we got back to the house after nightfall, both of us
were too tired to go out one more time—and we certainly weren’t hungry enough
for that, either. So, we spent a few more hours talking the evening away and
then hit the rack at a definitely un-Spanish time (around midnight), getting
ready to close down our stop-over in Madrid and continue our trip toward the
Canary Islands on Saturday morning.
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| Bocadillo de jamon plus cana de cerveza for a measly 2 euro |
Once I have faster internet service I will add a few more
pics and then continue to tell about our impressions of this interesting island
in the Atlantic, but now it is time to soak in the sun.
Jürgen
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