Friday evening, we went to the English Speaking Group meeting at 8:00 in La Roja. Carlos, one of the Spaniards, had volunteered to lead the meeting. He had print outs of about twenty phrases and gave one to each table. The task was for the group to discuss the items and find what they had in common - they all related to things from the 1989 movie "Back to the Future" and led to fascinating discussions at all the tables.
Saturday, Harry and I again had breakfast at the local bakery and then headed off to the Atocha train station. We each bought the tarjeta doroda - this is for people 62 and older. For six Euros for one year, senior citizens get a 40% discount Mon - Thur and 25% discount Fri - Sat on all train tickets. We then bought our train tickets for the high speed train to Sevilla for the days after Vaughan Town.
On the north side of the train station is the 11 March Memorial. This is a memorial to those killed and injured in the four terrorist bombings in the Madrid trains and metros on March 11, 2004. Underground, you look up into this memorial which is above ground and see things in many languages about hopes for peace and to remember those killed and injured.
We then walked north to the south end of the Retiro Park - Madrid's equivalent of New York City's Central Park. Although it was a cool January day, there was still some flora in bloom.
There are many beautiful statues in the park.
As we continued north, we came to the Crystal Palace - all the walls are glass. It sits overlooking a beautiful pond with much bird life.
Continuing north, we came to the Velasquez palace. It houses a rotating selection of art from the Reina Sofia Museum. This time the exhibition was some pretty avant garde modern art.
We then had a light lunch outside while looking out on the large pond at the northern end of the park - many families were out strolling and in small boats on the pond. After lunch, we continued walking north and out of the park, then back to our hostal for a break before heading to the Vaughan Town reception for Anglos from 5:00 to 7:00. We got to meet all of the Anglos going with us as well as those going to Gredos, had tapas and drinks, and got a short intro and instructions from the Vaughan Town staff. After the reception, Harry and I called it a night and went back to our hostal to pack our bags and be ready to go at 8:00 on Sunday morning. It was a pleasant and productive day.
Saturday, Harry and I again had breakfast at the local bakery and then headed off to the Atocha train station. We each bought the tarjeta doroda - this is for people 62 and older. For six Euros for one year, senior citizens get a 40% discount Mon - Thur and 25% discount Fri - Sat on all train tickets. We then bought our train tickets for the high speed train to Sevilla for the days after Vaughan Town.
On the north side of the train station is the 11 March Memorial. This is a memorial to those killed and injured in the four terrorist bombings in the Madrid trains and metros on March 11, 2004. Underground, you look up into this memorial which is above ground and see things in many languages about hopes for peace and to remember those killed and injured.
We then walked north to the south end of the Retiro Park - Madrid's equivalent of New York City's Central Park. Although it was a cool January day, there was still some flora in bloom.
There are many beautiful statues in the park.
As we continued north, we came to the Crystal Palace - all the walls are glass. It sits overlooking a beautiful pond with much bird life.
Continuing north, we came to the Velasquez palace. It houses a rotating selection of art from the Reina Sofia Museum. This time the exhibition was some pretty avant garde modern art.
We then had a light lunch outside while looking out on the large pond at the northern end of the park - many families were out strolling and in small boats on the pond. After lunch, we continued walking north and out of the park, then back to our hostal for a break before heading to the Vaughan Town reception for Anglos from 5:00 to 7:00. We got to meet all of the Anglos going with us as well as those going to Gredos, had tapas and drinks, and got a short intro and instructions from the Vaughan Town staff. After the reception, Harry and I called it a night and went back to our hostal to pack our bags and be ready to go at 8:00 on Sunday morning. It was a pleasant and productive day.
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