May 14 - a day to explore Madrid

As we departed the hotel for our day of adventures, we noticed that each floor had some historical artifacts.  Here is Patty trying to use one of the old style phones.

Thursday morning, we went to VIPS for a hearty breakfast.  VIPS is a chain restaurant that has good value and reasonable prices.  It was obvious that their menu in English had some issues with translation.  I am sure they mean the customer can choose the beverage, not the restaurant.

We took the metro across town to the Atocha Train Station stop and then walked through Retiro Park.  We came across many noisy magpies.

We stopped to smell the roses at the rose garden.  Rather than competitions like the Roseleda, this is more permanent display.

We went north and visited the Crystal Palace - the walls are all glass.  They regularly change exhibits there.  This time it was "Tuiza: The Cultures of the Bedouin Tent" by Federico Guzmán.  "Tuiza is work that is carried out in collective solidarity.  It refers to the act of gathering, participating, and constructing something with everyone's involvement."

We then went to the Velasquez Palace, also in Retiro Park.  They have changing exhibits from the Reina Sofia, Museo Nacional de Arte (nearly all of their art is modern art, as opposed to the Prado which has work going back many centuries).  Here we saw Carl Andre's "Sculpture as Place" - it was a bit strange.

We exited the north end of the park, and as we walked to the nearest metro station, we passed a bakery that my sister Helen would love.

We took the metro back to the hotel for a respite, then went out for dinner.  We went to Terra Mundi to meet my friend Carol Prada.  She suggested this as a great place for Galician food and wine, and we were very happy with the choice.  Besides the unique decorations, we had excellent starters of grilled cuttlefish and broiled scallops.  Patty had pulpo (octopus) and Carol and I had bacalao (cod) accompanied by Albariño wine, and followed by ice cream.

Our Spanish adventure begins May 12 - 13

Off to Spain we went.  On Tuesday May 12, we left our condo at 5:30 a.m. to catch our 7:15 flight to Houston, then a flight to Newark and finally an overnight flight to Madrid.  All went well and on time, and is usual, the entry into Spain through immigration and customs was quick and easy.  We took a cab to our hotel, the Mercure Madrid Plaza de Espana.  After a rest, we had a bite to eat and set out to explore the area.

Patty at the Plaza de Espana

The view from our hotel room

 We took a walk north from the hotel towards the Moncloa district - it is less touristy and more of a residential area.  We stopped at a sidewalk cafe for a beer and a snack - the beer came in large mugs.

We then headed over to Parque Oeste, where we saw some huge aloes and agaves.

The Roseleda de Madrid is a rose garden within Parque Oeste - but it is for demonstrations and competitions which were set to happen that weekend.

A thorn between many roses or stopping to smell the roses

We then rode the Teleferico - it is a cable car system that rides over the park and the river.  It goes over and beside some of the high rise apartment buildings.  On the way back, we were level with the 12th floor of some 15 story buildings and a woman waved to us - we were only about 50 feet away from her building.  Here is a view of the royal palace to the south from our ride.

After the park, we had dinner and returned to the hotel to catch up on sleep and adjust to the nine hours difference between Phoenix and Madrid.

The beginning of May

It has been a busy eleven days.  On Friday May 1, Jane dropped her car off for service, so Patty and I met up with her at the Blue Hound Kitchen and Cocktail Bar in the Hotel Palomar for their happy hour.  Jane had been downtown for a job interview for a different position with the City of Phoenix.  Among other things we tried were "boudin balls" which is a creole dish that looks like hush puppies but has sausage, spices, and other things mixed in - they were quite good.

On Saturday, we walked with Jane on the Bridle Path and then went to the French Grocery for breakfast with French Press coffee, breakfast croissants and quiche.

Jane had on her Kentucky Derby tee shirt that Anne had sent her.

On Sunday, we did the Bridle Path again and went to the Good Egg for breakfast.  Later, while walking the dog, I spotted this damaged tree on the Carlyle property and sent in an email request to have it taken care of.

On Monday May 4, Patty and I went for a hike at Dreamy Draw and found that some of the trails have been mislabeled.  At least this time, we had a better idea of where we were.

 

On Tuesday, I was back at the Desert Botanical Garden and saw this Palo Verde tree that was blooming for a second time this spring.  It had blossomed before all the other trees, lost the blossoms and now has blossomed again.

There were also a lot of echinopsis plants in bloom.

It was a quiet day, so I left after lunch, went home, got Patty and went to Ikea where we bought new cabinets for our laundry room.  Here is what the laundry room looked like.

I was amazed how easily the cabinets went together and then hung on the walls.  Here is what it looks like now.

The laundry room rehab was easily done on Wednesday and Thursday with total time of maybe 8 - 9 hours.  That includes the time to empty the laundry room and remove the existing shelves.

Thursday evening, I was back at the Desert Botanical Garden for Flashlight Tour training.  Every summer, the garden is open Thursdays and Saturdays from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. with about twelve stations for guests to visit as they stroll through the garden.  During the training, we came across more echinopsis plants in bloom.

After walking the Bridle Path again on Saturday, I took the old laundry room shelves and repurposed them as new shelves in two closets and our store room off the patio.  I also took Shadow to the dog groomers so that he would be clean and pretty for Martha's visit.

Sunday morning, it was the Bridle Path again, then back home to pack for our trip to Spain.  On Monday morning, our new patio furniture was delivered - two large boxes and two small boxes.  There was minimal assembly and now we have these large comfy chairs on the patio.  This is the style that Patty likes.  At some point down the road, we will get some chairs that both rock and turn (which is the style I like).

Martha arrived from Portland as scheduled.  The three of us went out for a late lunch/early dinner at Federal Pizza.  And now Patty and I just have a quiet night before leaving for two weeks in Spain at 5:30 Tuesday morning.