Back in Phoenix, on Jan. 22 we went out for dinner at Il Vinaio in Mesa - this was our first time there and it was excellent. We shared an appetizer of kangaroo sausage, then Patty had linguini with mussels and I had baked macaroni and cheese with lobster.
After dinner we went to the Mesa Arts Center for Nat Geo Live show on the search for the black panther.
Thursday the 23rd, Patty took me to the airport, I flew to Newark and then on to Madrid on Friday. As usual, I took the Metro to Nuevo Ministerios, had coffee and wifi, then walked to Hostal Avenido. The hostal was excellent.
Friday afternoon, I met my friend Ken when he got off the bus from Gredos and we both went to Hostal Avenida. Then we went out to the English Speaking Group at Cafeteria Via 22.
Saturday, we went to Vaughan Town's Tapas Reception for Anglo volunteers at El Balandro.
On the walk back to the hotel, the Gredos Mountains were beautiful.
On Monday evening, I did a presentation about the Desert Botanical Garden. I shared samples of several foods and beverages with everyone.
On my before breakfast walks, we had beautiful sunrises.
As many times before, our schedules kept us busy all day.
Rather than take a nap, during siesta I would walk into town. I saw portions of the old walled town, as well as the local castle with stork nests on the walls and towers.
One day, we were assigned to teams and had to take photos mimicking certain professional photos. One a scene was from the TV show Madmen.
Another was from a famous Tim Burton movie.
Another was a famous painting from Frida Kahlo; we choose her self portrait with artist Diego Rivera.
We needed a creative selfie of our team named "Flamingo Party."
And finally an ad for coffee - we chose Nespresso.
Next to the hotel, there is a new farm.
Beautiful mountains are to the west and south of the hotel in Gredos Mountains National Park.
One afternoon siesta, I went with three people to the local chocolate factory.
On the way, we passed one of the gates to the old city.
I bought many goodies to bring back to the USA.
The week went extremely well, ending with presentations by all of the Spaniards on Thursday and much celebration after dinner. As always, Darryl and Carlotta were excellent and sent us pictures and videos from our program.
Friday afternoon, it was back to Madrid, walk to Hotel NH Madrid Zurbano and then to the English Speaking Group. Saturday Ken and I had breakfast. Then he went off to visit museums and I went to meet up with Richard, Carol, Soledad and Laura for drinks and an extended lunch/dinner in the La Latina section of Madrid. I arrived a few minutes early and wandered through Mercado de la Cebeda.
They had an old fashioned toilet with the tank at head height and the seat at the usual height.
We had drinks there at one of the bars, Puesto Maracuya. Then we stopped at Muniz and later at Taberna Calatrava for tapas.
Finally, we stopped at Cerveceria Kiev where I had a beer from Lithuania.
Before heading in to the Metro, I passed the theatre. La Latina is a great part of Madrid to explore.
And then I returned to my hotel after a very nice day in Madrid before heading back to the USA.
After dinner we went to the Mesa Arts Center for Nat Geo Live show on the search for the black panther.
Thursday the 23rd, Patty took me to the airport, I flew to Newark and then on to Madrid on Friday. As usual, I took the Metro to Nuevo Ministerios, had coffee and wifi, then walked to Hostal Avenido. The hostal was excellent.
Saturday, we went to Vaughan Town's Tapas Reception for Anglo volunteers at El Balandro.
Sunday we took the bus to Izan Hotel Puerto de Gredos in El Barco de Avila. After lunch, we had a three hour siesta, so I went into town with three other people. We stopped at one of the mini museums on Plaza Mayor. Upstairs, there were photographs from a local bird lover.
On the walk back to the hotel, the Gredos Mountains were beautiful.
On my before breakfast walks, we had beautiful sunrises.
As many times before, our schedules kept us busy all day.
Rather than take a nap, during siesta I would walk into town. I saw portions of the old walled town, as well as the local castle with stork nests on the walls and towers.
One day, we were assigned to teams and had to take photos mimicking certain professional photos. One a scene was from the TV show Madmen.
Another was from a famous Tim Burton movie.
Another was a famous painting from Frida Kahlo; we choose her self portrait with artist Diego Rivera.
We needed a creative selfie of our team named "Flamingo Party."
And finally an ad for coffee - we chose Nespresso.
Beautiful mountains are to the west and south of the hotel in Gredos Mountains National Park.
On the way, we passed one of the gates to the old city.
I bought many goodies to bring back to the USA.
The week went extremely well, ending with presentations by all of the Spaniards on Thursday and much celebration after dinner. As always, Darryl and Carlotta were excellent and sent us pictures and videos from our program.
They had an old fashioned toilet with the tank at head height and the seat at the usual height.
We had drinks there at one of the bars, Puesto Maracuya. Then we stopped at Muniz and later at Taberna Calatrava for tapas.
Finally, we stopped at Cerveceria Kiev where I had a beer from Lithuania.
Before heading in to the Metro, I passed the theatre. La Latina is a great part of Madrid to explore.
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