Off to Madrid and Vaughan Town in Gredos, Feb. 14 - 22, 2019

Thursday, Super Shuttle got me to the airport as scheduled and I boarded the United flight to Newark as scheduled.  We taxied out to the end of the runway -  and sat there for more than 90 minutes.  There was nothing wrong with the plane, but apparently there was some problem with maintenance records.  Finally we taxied back to the gate - but we could not deplane.  Maintenance people came on board, verified what had been done and after another hour, we taxied back out and finally took off two and a half hours late.  That means the scheduled three hours between my arrival and the departure for Madrid was down to less than 30 minutes.  I was able to sprint to my flight, but only hoped that my luggage would make it.

Friday morning, I arrived in Madrid and discovered that my luggage did not make it.  I made arrangements with United to have it delivered to Hostal Ivor where I would stay Friday and Saturday night.  Then I took the Metro into Nuevo Ministerios and went to the Starbucks that is in El Cortes Ingles there - there is great wifi from the store plus restrooms, along with a large latte and croissant that I consumed while doing my class work online.  It was a sunny day, so I chose to take the four km walk to Calle Arenal where the hostal is located.  As I neared downtown, I passed by a group of street musicians - very different from anything in the USA.

Friday evening, I walked the five kms to Cafeteria Via 22  on Calle de Cartagena to join Richard's English Speaking Group.  As usual, there were a few of us Anglos and a dozen or more Spaniards, all trying to figure out some idioms that Richard had prepared for us.  I took the Metro back towards the hostal only to find out that because of construction, everyone had to get off two stops before where I planned - so my walk was a bit longer than planned.

On Saturday morning, I stayed at the hostal and my luggage was delivered around 10:45.  On United Airlines app and website, you can track your luggage and when I saw that it arrived, I called the United baggage people at the Madrid airport and was told it would be delivered in about an hour.  After the luggage was delivered and unpacked, I walked to the north west entrance of Retiro Park and wandered through the many performers, including this group of bagpipers and hand perscussionist.

The line to get into the Crystal Palace was too long, but I did go into the Velasquez Palace to see some of the art from the German artist Dierk Schmidt.  It must be me, because I did not stay long - I could not relate to any of this avant-garde art.

Saturday evening, I walked the five kms to the Vaughan Town Tapas reception at El Balandro and met the Anglos going to Gredos, Belmonte and Jaraba, the three programs this week.  As usual, it was a fun two hours of enough food and wine that no dinner was needed.  I took the Metro back with Amy who needed to go to a specific Italian clothing store to buy stuff for her adult son.  From there, I walked the four short blocks back to the hostal.

Sunday morning, I walked the five kms to the Vaughan office and was at the Starbucks on the corner when it opened at 8:00.  I had coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice and a breakfast sandwich and then joined everyone for the 8:45 departure for Izan Hotel Puerto de Gredos in El Barco de Avila.  The three and a half hour ride included a 30 minute stop just outside the walled city of Avila.

We arrived as scheduled in Gredos, did introductions, had lunch and then were given a three hour siesta.  This is most unusual, but I took advantage of this by walking into town.  Elvira came with me and I showed her,the Roman bridge that dates back to the 1400s, the river walk, the new bridge and for the first time ever for me, I was there when the castle was open.

We had our typical busy schedules, complete with phrasal verbs and idioms to explain to the Spaniards.

We were given two options for each of the three courses for each meal each day.  I did not take any dessert and most meals had a salad for the first course (they had a decent salad bar for all lunches and dinners) and then the second course.

As on past stays in Gredos, I would take Spaniards to the Rio Tormes - it is about a 20 minute walk each way to the beach.  We turn right the end of the long hotel driveway, follow the paved road until the stonewall ends and then go down a dirt road to the beach-like area on the river.   For the first time in the ten plus years I have come to Gredos, things have changed.  Someone has moved into the house, put solar panels on the house, started clearing trees from the fields and bringing the farm back to life.

On Monday and for the rest of the week, Elvira and other Spaniards would skip siesta and walk into town.  I would show them different things (as well as discover things new to me) and we would find a cafe/bar for some Spanish coffee - our hotel only has a Nespresso machine, so it is coffee made from hot water going through the little packets of coffee.  One day, we saw storks and nests on top of the castle.

We also discovered that the town library is now upstairs in what used to be the prison.  Downstairs, there is a small museum and even a mockup of what the town looked like in the 17th century.

We had wonderful weather, sunny and warm during the daytime and cool in the evenings, and there was a full moon.

Did I mention that Daryl and Alba kept us busy?

Back at the DBG in Phoenix, Tuesday was scheduled to be a potluck lunch and it was the second half of the alphabet's turn to bring in something.  I was in Spain, so my wonderful wife Patty made paella on my behalf and brought it in.  Here are a couple of photos of Charla at the serving table.

The sunny afternoons allowed me to have all but one of my one to ones outside.

On Wednesday morning (see the schedule above), Daryl and Alba had us take two hours and go into the town.  We were able to visit one of the new stores that sells many local products beyond the traditional dried beans I had bought on a previous trip.  This time I was able to get El Bardo de Avila chocolate bars and two jars of Spanish almonds covered in chocolate, one with dark chocolate and one with white chocolate.  I also took a photo of this sports poster for Ben.

We had lots of sunny afternoons and many one to ones, plus telephone sessions, conference calls and entertainment - all with the dreaded phrasal verbs and idioms.

We took group pictures, some were serious, some were silly.

And when the week ended, we got a gift that I had not ever seen from Vaughan Town - this wonderful video put together by Daryl.

And so another Vaughan Town has ended and it is back to Madrid for the weekend.

January and February in Phoenix, Jan. 15 to Feb. 14, 2019

Miss Paulie continues to be more and more a beloved part of our family.

We continue to follow the news and the USAP webcams to see what is happening at McMurdo Station in Antarctica.  Here is the icebreaker US Coast Guard Polar Star just off the ice pier.

Besides my usual Tuesday docent time, I volunteered at Dogs Day in the Garden at the DBG - more than a thousand dogs with their owners which at $4 per dog generated more than $4,000 for the Arizona Humane Society.  My post was at the Portal where the local Agility Club has these adjustable toys for dogs (and their owners) to jump over.

What more can I say about Paulie?  She just loves to be with people and rolls over on her back so you can scratch her belly.

On a walk back from Sunday brunch at the Windsor, Patty and I passed this RV with many lovely bumper stickers and signs.

Megan sent us this photo of her holding a paper penguin in front of the Polar Star at the dock.  One of her friends is a teacher and Megan regularly sends photos of the traveling penguin to her friend's class.

Patty sends me shopping when she wants to make a special dish - this time she wanted rice noodles, but these are are the only things I could find.  Cell phones now make it easy for me to text her photos and let her choose which one she wants.

While on the new engagement committee at the DBG, I found that many well educated volunteers are not conversant with switching between Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures and between English and metric measurements - this is important because a large number of our guests use Celsius and metric measurement.  So I came up with the idea of making these bookmark like tools and made a couple dozen which I then distributed to the docents.

Did I mention that Paulie is a big part of lives now?

When Helen was here early in January, she fell in love with Paulie and when she got home, she took one of her photos and had it made into a stack of 25 greeting cards for us.

On Jan. 15, I was unanimously elected to be back on the board at our HOA.  While walking Miss Paulie, I see many things that need to be done.  I simply take a photo and email it to Amanda at our property management company, and voila, the problem is usually fixed soon - in this case it was a broken tree limb hanging over the wall onto our neighbors' property.

Here are some photos of activity at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, plus a couple Megan sent us of her on the pier in front of the Ocean Giant.

Ben and Martha sent us a couple of photos of their dog Stowe.

Patty and I went to see "The Moth Mainstage" at Mesa Arts Center.  In the lobby, they had this lovely piano painted in a colorful and unique manner.

After the USCG Polar Star had cleared a channel, the annual cargo ship delivery of goods took place with the Ocean Giant delivering a year's worth of supplies and taking back all of the recycled materials.

When I am at the DBG, one of the ways I can memorize the names of plants is by taking a photo of the sign - then, even if I forget, I can scroll through the photos on my camera and find it.

Ben came to visit from Feb. 9 - 12.  On Sunday, we went to the North Mountain Visitor Center.  Ben went out for a 90 minute run, Patty went for a 60 minute walk and I took Miss Paulie for a 30 minute walk and then sat with her until Patty and then Ben returned.  As we were getting Miss Paulie into the car, we saw this cactus wren nest with some paper woven into the nest by the bird.

When Helen was here, we got some photos of the ASU Sun Devil's baseball stadium for her grandson Nate, as his favorite Red Sox player went to ASU.  I walk by the stadium both on my way to and way back from the DBG, as it is midway between the DBG and the Washington and Priest light rail station.  One time, they were changing light bulbs so I sent Helen a couple of photos for her grandson.

More HOA duties, this time a leak in front of the clubhouse the morning after the landscapers had been there working on the irrigation system, and where the trim had been knocked off a section of the wall by one of the entry gates.

On Feb. 12, we took a group photo of the Tuesday Docents.  We were in the Ottosen Gallery in front of one of the new displays of art:

Desert Botanical Garden presents sculpture created with found materials from the imagination of artist Michelle Stitzlein. The impressive, large-scale works promote recycling through transforming simple objects into dynamic, natural forms.

Stitzlein lives and works in Ohio, where she maintains a studio in a former National Grange Hall. Through her many efforts to promote sustainability, Stitzlein teaches art workshops at elementary schools, art camps and festivals. She has assisted children all over the US to make colorful murals and whimsical outdoor sculptures by beautifying thousands of bottle caps that would otherwise end up in a landfill. A graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design, her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums nationwide, including Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, Ohio, Miller Gallery – Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, and the Franklin Park Conservatory, Columbus, Ohio.

And so another month has gone by, and now it is time to go to Spain for another round of Vaughan Town in Gredos and Daytown in Las Tablas.