Friday, I went out for a walk and stopped at a local grocery store. While the store front does not appear to be much, it is a full sized grocery store like any you would find in the USA.
One of the things I have gotten into while traveling and even sometimes at home is to buy these prepackaged salads. They typically have everything included, even a fork (tenedor). The salad made for a great lunch.
After work and an early lunch, I headed to the train station and passed by this nicely painted entrance to a school.
Fuenlabrada has minimal graffiti, but I did pass by this one store that graffiti on one side but no graffiti on the other side where a mural had been painted.
On the train ride into Atocha Station, a couple sat next me. They had a schedule of the Metro and Cercanias in their hands, and kept worriedly looking at it as we passed through several stops. Finally, the man turned to me and asked a question in Spanish - I did not understand a single word he said, so I told him that in English. He then said in broken English mixed with Spanish that they wanted to go to the Crystal Palace in Retiro Park. I assured them they were going the correct way and that I would go with them to show them where it was, as I had planned to walk by the palace on my route. So I led Luis Miguel and Maria from Merida through Atocha Station and then out the correct exit to head towards Retiro. Once we reached the Crystal Palace, I left them to stand in the long line to get in and see whatever art was on display.
I continued on to the coffee shop next to the Velasquez Palace as planned for a coffee con leche and churros, with time to read before sunset.
All was going well until a bird landed high in a tree above me and pooped on my book.
After cleaning up the book, I decided that I had read enough, took a photo of the late afternoon sun and headed out.
As I continued through Retiro Park, I passed by the lake where there are many street performers, including this magician.
At the northern exit of the park, I stopped for a couple of photos.
A couple of hundred meters outside the park on Calle Alcala, I saw Casa Árabe - I had no idea what it was, so I wandered inside and got a brochure. I learned that the Arab House contained a book store, library, restaurant, theater and there was an art museum as well. I decided I would need to explore further.
I continued on my way to my usual Friday night in Madrid activity - the English Speaking Group meeting at Via Cafe. Last week they had celebrated the ten year anniversary of the group and at their request, I had sent in a short video greeting to be part of the surprise celebration for Richard - he is the Anglo who started the group and who I met at Pueblo Ingles in Pals, a month after he started the group.
We had a pleasant evening of doing a crossword puzzle where the clues were in English and the solutions were homophones - a great way for the Spaniards to increase their knowledge of English. I had a couple of beers during the evening and left about 10:00 to take the Metro at nearby Diego de Leon station and then on the Cercanias back to Fuenlabrada. On my way to the Metro, I passed this bar - it reminded me of the many times we have done things with pink plastic flamingos with both Megan and Laura.
After a good night's sleep, Saturday morning I took another walk in Fuenlabrada, exploring another part of town.
On the way back, I took a couple of photos of the hotel.
This is in the hotel lobby.
I did some work at the hotel and then headed back into Madrid. While on the train, I saw this young boy with his mother. At the station in Fuenlabrada, it is three tall steps from the landing up into the train - yet he made it just fine on his inline skates.
I got off the train as usual at Atocha Station and again walked through Retiro Park. The park is so big that no matter which route I took, I knew I would see different things. I found this small artificial pond with a waterfall at the far end.
Helen had texted me that she was going to watch her grandsons play basketball later that morning, so I texted her these photos of kids playing football, one of the many activities in Retiro on a Saturday morning.
Several parts of Retiro are undergoing repairs. The next photos show what it is like now, a description of what it is and then what it is supposed to look like.
Many families were out on the lake.
Outside the park, flowers are still in bloom.
I arrived at Casa Árabe a bit early and relaxed while I waited for Carlos to join me. At the ESG Friday night, he asked to me meet to explore the art display.
Carlos arrived at two as planned, and we spent an hour chatting and exploring the art on display in the museum.
We then went for lunch, and afterwards, Carlos walked the two miles with me to the Vaughan Town tapas reception, where he then went off to visit a friend. There were three groups meeting - in the past, there has typically been only one or at most two Vaughan Town groups at the social, this was the first time there had been three. I met many of the Anglos including those going with me to Belmonte. Afterwards, I walked the four miles back to Atocha station - when I got back to the hotel, I had covered more than 28,000 steps which I am sure helped me get a good night's sleep.
One of the things I have gotten into while traveling and even sometimes at home is to buy these prepackaged salads. They typically have everything included, even a fork (tenedor). The salad made for a great lunch.
After work and an early lunch, I headed to the train station and passed by this nicely painted entrance to a school.
Fuenlabrada has minimal graffiti, but I did pass by this one store that graffiti on one side but no graffiti on the other side where a mural had been painted.
On the train ride into Atocha Station, a couple sat next me. They had a schedule of the Metro and Cercanias in their hands, and kept worriedly looking at it as we passed through several stops. Finally, the man turned to me and asked a question in Spanish - I did not understand a single word he said, so I told him that in English. He then said in broken English mixed with Spanish that they wanted to go to the Crystal Palace in Retiro Park. I assured them they were going the correct way and that I would go with them to show them where it was, as I had planned to walk by the palace on my route. So I led Luis Miguel and Maria from Merida through Atocha Station and then out the correct exit to head towards Retiro. Once we reached the Crystal Palace, I left them to stand in the long line to get in and see whatever art was on display.
All was going well until a bird landed high in a tree above me and pooped on my book.
After cleaning up the book, I decided that I had read enough, took a photo of the late afternoon sun and headed out.
As I continued through Retiro Park, I passed by the lake where there are many street performers, including this magician.
At the northern exit of the park, I stopped for a couple of photos.
A couple of hundred meters outside the park on Calle Alcala, I saw Casa Árabe - I had no idea what it was, so I wandered inside and got a brochure. I learned that the Arab House contained a book store, library, restaurant, theater and there was an art museum as well. I decided I would need to explore further.
I continued on my way to my usual Friday night in Madrid activity - the English Speaking Group meeting at Via Cafe. Last week they had celebrated the ten year anniversary of the group and at their request, I had sent in a short video greeting to be part of the surprise celebration for Richard - he is the Anglo who started the group and who I met at Pueblo Ingles in Pals, a month after he started the group.
We had a pleasant evening of doing a crossword puzzle where the clues were in English and the solutions were homophones - a great way for the Spaniards to increase their knowledge of English. I had a couple of beers during the evening and left about 10:00 to take the Metro at nearby Diego de Leon station and then on the Cercanias back to Fuenlabrada. On my way to the Metro, I passed this bar - it reminded me of the many times we have done things with pink plastic flamingos with both Megan and Laura.
After a good night's sleep, Saturday morning I took another walk in Fuenlabrada, exploring another part of town.
On the way back, I took a couple of photos of the hotel.
This is in the hotel lobby.
I did some work at the hotel and then headed back into Madrid. While on the train, I saw this young boy with his mother. At the station in Fuenlabrada, it is three tall steps from the landing up into the train - yet he made it just fine on his inline skates.
I got off the train as usual at Atocha Station and again walked through Retiro Park. The park is so big that no matter which route I took, I knew I would see different things. I found this small artificial pond with a waterfall at the far end.
Helen had texted me that she was going to watch her grandsons play basketball later that morning, so I texted her these photos of kids playing football, one of the many activities in Retiro on a Saturday morning.
Several parts of Retiro are undergoing repairs. The next photos show what it is like now, a description of what it is and then what it is supposed to look like.
Many families were out on the lake.
Outside the park, flowers are still in bloom.
I arrived at Casa Árabe a bit early and relaxed while I waited for Carlos to join me. At the ESG Friday night, he asked to me meet to explore the art display.
Carlos arrived at two as planned, and we spent an hour chatting and exploring the art on display in the museum.
We then went for lunch, and afterwards, Carlos walked the two miles with me to the Vaughan Town tapas reception, where he then went off to visit a friend. There were three groups meeting - in the past, there has typically been only one or at most two Vaughan Town groups at the social, this was the first time there had been three. I met many of the Anglos including those going with me to Belmonte. Afterwards, I walked the four miles back to Atocha station - when I got back to the hotel, I had covered more than 28,000 steps which I am sure helped me get a good night's sleep.
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