Take me to the Kasbah!!!

King and Queen Farouk have moved outside to the day bed by the
pool. Too sumptuous for words! (Although very uncomfortable!!)

We moved from the ancient city of Fes to Marrakech after a very long drive. I (Chris) was so excited to to arrive in this place as all my romantic ideas about Morocco have been tied up in Marrakech...like "take me to the Kasbah". Spoiler alert: (if you don't want your ideas about the Kasbah spoilt - look away now!) a Kasbah (any Kasbah) is a fort. Boring!!! No Moroccan sultans to whisk me away for some Kasbahian delights...how disappointing. (Wait till I blog about Casablanca - more spoiler alerts!!) Anyway our hotel was called the Kasbah hotel, so it had to suffice. (See the sultan and sultana in day bed by the pool and Kasbah towel).

See I have been to the Kasbah!

The following morning we visited the Palais El Bahia which was a former residence of a grand vizier. The name of the building means "the Brilliance", which is a slight exaggeration, but it is a beautiful old palace with lovely courtyard gardens and a Koranic Schoolroom for the younger children, with an alcove where the "honoured" teacher would sit.

Two teachers in the alcove of honour.
James, our US tour friend, was a
Principal back a number of years ago.

In this expansive residence, we also saw the Harem's quarters. The harem could also include mothers-in-law and other female relatives as well as the concubines. Each wife (up to four) each had their own residences, otherwise there would be fighting. Near these were the Grand Vizier's private rooms, as well as his receptions rooms, where he would receive his guests, etc.

One of the courtyards in the Palais El Bahia.

Then we were off to the (market)  in Marrakech to see its delights. Again we enjoyed the streets and stalls of the market, but it was not as narrow and as busy as Fes. There were more motorbikes however than donkeys and the same BALAK applied, except this time it was moving vehicles (a bit more unnerving!)

Jars of colourful treasures. Have you heard of the famous Argan oil which is "an oil produced from the kernels of the argan tree, endemic to Morocco, that is valued for its nutritive, cosmetic and numerous medicinal properties"? Well, we have bought some...so we will be curedfrom everything you can think of...hopefully!!

We dropped into a Farmacia (their version of a Pharmacy) with its jar lined shelves, with every imaginable colour represented. We had a short demonstration of the jars' delights, herbal remedies and cure alls, then we were given an opportunity to buy these treasures (of course!!!). We bought the potions that will give us eternal youth...so you won't recognise us when we get back, because we will look so young. Joking aside there were some beautiful scents that we couldn't resist, so if we don't look any younger, we will at least smell good.

Whispering sweet nothings!!!!

Once through the market streets we entered the famous Djemaa el Fna (the market square)...and there we were fascinated by...the monkeys...the snake charmers...the acrobats...the story tellers. Very enjoyable to watch. I didn't find it as delightful as Fes, but David enjoyed it every much. We would like to come back and spend more time here one day.

This was a highlight for me...these monkeys were just gorgeous.
The one on my left started to investigate my hands and was
intrigued by the scar on my left forefinger...then nuzzled into
my neck. I want one!!



Again the market stalls were a wonderment and delight for the senses. We could happily get lost in these market lanes for days!!!!!!!!

Olives...what a gorgeous sight!

Typical market lane...so much to see..so much to do...so much to buy!

On our trip around Germany and also in Spain we were intrigued by the stork nests built on everything tall - telephone poles and chimneys were the tall things of choice. Unfortunately, none of these nests housed the storks themselves, as they had all flown south for the winter. This was disappointing. But, joy of joys, in Morocco the stork nests have storks and I have the photos to prove it...so for anyone who missed the joys of seeing storks, these photos are for you.

Storks really do exist!!!

Does this mean the birth rate is up in Morocco?





Sensory overload in Morocco - first port of call, FES!

Ladies and gentlemen, David and I would like to tell you a little bit about our experience in the magificent North African country of Morocco. It will be hard to use words to describe the sensory experience that is Morocco, so we will try to do it with pictures (and a few words).

Firstly (as introduction), Morocco is an emerging country...from the outside looking in it still has all the signs of being a developing/third world country. The countryside is dotted with little villages that show that not all is well with the country. Our delightful guide, Yusaf, was at pains to tell us that Morocco is a wonderful country and the young (46yo) King Muhammed VI, is known as the 'king of the poor'...he is the supreme ruler of this country (Political, Religious, Cultural, Economic) and he has instituted many new reforms since he came to power in 1999 (he succeeded his father, Hassan II, who died that year). School is free for all and the rate of illiteracy has decreased by 15% over that time... It was 80%! Although people who have the means can still send their children to private schools. But from what we saw there is still a very long way to go. (Do rich westerners have the right to make these judgments? We asked ourselves many questions every day in this fascinating Muslim country of great beauty!)

Mosques, mosques everywhere. I have never seen so many mosques in my entire life...But, wow, give me Moroccan architecture any day! Oh my word, I loved every tile, every door, every ceiling, every light fitting, every enclosed garden, every wall, every fountain, every minaret that I had the good fortune to visit. These architects and designers had class and style and had the most amazing ability to build something that is "beautiful", even in its old age. In one of the palaces we visited, (some 900 years old), there was the typical internal coutyard garden..a sensory experience (cool greenery, running water, birds singing)...to praise Allah the creator they built gardens to have taste, smell and colour...we were in their Moroccan heaven on earth. They have a "wise" way of "decompressing" from the busyness of the world outside...we walked through a number of simple, yet beautiful rooms/spaces to get to the courtyard...& rest. We too were able to praise our Creator God who created individuals with the vision, skill and ability to build such magnificent buildings.

Anyway, our first port of call was Fes (pronounced as it is spelt!) not Fez (as I have always thought!) the hat, which is Turkish!

We arrived at Fes after driving through the most astounding countryside and villages, full of "peasant" life. Morocco is only 54 years old (so our guide told us millions of times - quite apologetic at times, but mostly with the most wonderful sense of pride! He loves the king and the reforms he has brought in!) and there is still an enormous amount of work to be done to help "his" people. You could see the huge divide between rich and poor, as in every country in the world (some is more hidden than others!)

Our hotel room was a wonderful surprise. It was huge with a sitting room and balcony...see the pictures of King and Queen Farouk! But the best was yet to come...

The next morning we spent wandering around the Medina, the Fes marketplace...oh, if only I had the words to describe how amazing this place is! We only saw a "pinch" of the 9,400 alley ways that are the Medina. But we experience the wonderment of people, spices, herbs, donkeys (BALAK - get out the way!), narrow lane ways, crowded buildings...it was a sensory highlight (lost for words to describe!) So, we walked, experienced, wandered, wondered, ahhhhed and oooohed, felt "stuff" for the people, the donkeys (very hard working animals everywhere in Morocco - although Barbara Hutton (actress) started a veterinary hospital in Fes for the people to bring in their animals for treatment for free. This is now run by the government and still operates for free!), the gazillion cats (who surprisingly looked very well cared for!)  This was one the highlight of Morocco for both David and I. Enough of me...here are the pics! Enjoy Morocco and particularly Fes!

Chris and tiles...lots of tiles! These were at the
gate of the Imperial Palacee in Fes.

Trailer load of herbs...mint is very big here in Morocco. We were
introduced to Moroccan "whisky" mint tea, which is very minty
and very sweet. We had it whenever we could...even wanted to
buy a special mint tea teapot to bring home, but at 350 euros  for
a silver teapot, I thought I would make do with my mum's old
teapot at home.



Wild strawberries ready for sale in the market!



Gutting fish for sale...sardines! I think I know why the cats
look so healthy, getting the offcasts thrown to them each
day.

One of the 9,400 alleys ways in the Fes
Medina, each with its charm, smell and
colour. We were both fascinated by everything
we saw, heard and smelt. We were sorry to
leave.

These pots were very old and were for hire for
people when they required pots for large events
eg weddings, festivals etc.

The blue (tiled) stairs leading to (Mecca) the
mosque.

One of the amazing stalls in the market. Our
eyes were popping out of our heads at the
beautiful produce throughout the market.

Mint tea was the Moroccan whisky...and very enjoyable any
time of the day.



This is a CARAVANSERAI...so romantic for us for a number of
reasons. It is an "inn where travellers could rest from
the day's travel", used for hundred of years. Have a look at the
Youtube link (www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QpRCK1IbiE of one of our
all time favourite singer/songwriters
Loreena McKeenit, has a magificent song "Caravanserai"
which tells of the travellers who use these wayside stops.

Donkeys, donkeys, donkeys...balak, balak
get our the way...or else!

These two donkeys are taking the animal skins to the tannery.

King Farouk in his palace...our hotel room in Fes!

Queen Farouk (!!???!!)



This is the tannery in the middle of the Medina...you can actually smell it long before you see it! When you come into the building they offer you a sprig of mint to hold under your nose, which is well received and then you go up to the balcony
which overlooks the tannery. In vats, in the top right of the picture, is lime which is used to remove hair and fat etc from the skins. They then go into vats of pigeon poo(!) which, because of its high acidity, cleans the skins further. Then the dyes- magnificent rich colours & and all natural...including saffron! Skins then hung out to dry on tops of buildings. It is very dirty work, standing bare foot in the vats . The workers however, are well paid (about 5000 euros / month - av Moroccan salary is about 3000 euros). Visited several leather goods shops in the souk, and both bought a pairs of pointy toed Moroccan Berber Babouche...maroon leather "slippers"..beautiful!  (Don't google "babush" unless you want to know about "cocky assholes"!!)

 

Portugal

Seriously behind in BLOGS due to not having great internet access in Morocco. Also I have been picked up on Carmen confusion...Carmen the Opera is not the same as Carmen Miranda. I knew that of course, but had forgotten with sensory overload in Morocco...so please excuse my faux pas. (My mum was a great Carmen Miranda anyway!!)

We are well and truly past Portugal and we are back in Madrid after being in Morocco for almost a week. What an experience! But we need to go back to Portugal before we can tell you about this amazing North African country.

One of the small lanes in Coimbra!

Coimbra was our first stop in Portugal after a gorgeous drive through the Spanish and Portugal countryside. We arrived late after dark and on top of the hill was the town's famous clock tower of the university, beautifully lit up. The next day we were able to walk up to the Coimbra University through the steep and narrow lanes and stairs and through the anicent Moorish gates. People live in these lanes, including uni students.

The Uni was first a palace and the uni started in this palace in the 1500s. The Uni Library has two metres thick walls, all cedar shelving and a colony of bats (Carole perhaps you could investigate this for MECS). This keeps the temperature stable and dry and the bats deal with any insects. The shelves and tables are covered every night by leather curtains to protect the extensive and ancient collection housed in the library from bat droppings. Now that's organised!!!!

University clock tower, which was the first thing we saw
coming into Coimbra lit up at night time.

We were fascinated with the student parking around the university, with every available square inch of curb being used with cars parked nose to tail, with no possibility of walking between them. Then when they run out of curb, they double park and then some...total chaos (to us anyway!) See photo.

Serious parking issue at the Coimbra univeristy!!!

Coimbra is (yet!!!) another town we would like to come back to!!

Catherdal in Batalha! Stunning!

On our way through to Lisbon (Lisboa in Portugese!!) we dropped in at Batalha, where in the late 1385 the Portugese defeated the Castillians (Spanish) and King Joao (John) built a huge Cathedral to celebrate this victory.  He dedicated it and the monastary (still operating) to St Mary. It is quite beautiful (and we have seen many a cathedral and churches over the past few weeks). It was quite plain compared to some of the cathedral we have seen but quite beautiful in its simplicity. It was also the burial site for the King and his wife Phillipa of Lancaster and Henry the Navigator!!???! Henry was one of the King's sons and was quite an ambitious adventurer. His dream was to find an alternative sea route to India and therefore break the monopoly on the Spice trade, held by the Arabs (throught the deserts). He convinced his father the King and this begun a new era of expansion of the Portugese kingdom....controlling Gibraltar & the Meditteranian sea routes...navigating west coast of Africa & rounding the Cape of Good Hope. He founded a "Navigator's School" (very advanced for the times!). The Portugese were in a competition to control the seas with the Castillians & the Catholic Monarchs of Spain (Ferdinand & Isabella...and their explorer Christopher Columbus!) I've found this history quite fascinating & have been busy taking notes trying to fit it all together!(David) Anyway the Cathedral was quite awe inspiring! Included a tomb, in the well worn marble floor, of the "soldier who saved the King's life in the battle".  But we will need to seriously study our history of Spain, Portugal, France, Morocco, Austria, etc etc when we get home, because they are all interlinked...history was never my strong suit (Chris). Give me the numbers like 1492...because this was a very very important year in history.

Anyway enough self pity re lack of history knowledge...on to Fatima. The story goes..."in 1917 on the 13th May, in the Parish of Fatima, the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children and again on the 13th of each month for five consecutive months. On the 13th October 1917, (the last of those early apparitions) 70,000 people were present! (Gets you thinking, doesn't it! Worth reading about). In a subsequent & more recent appearance to Lucia (the oldest of the three, who only died recently, aged 97!) Mary is said to have warned Lucia that there would be an assasination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981, on the 13th May. There was an assassination attempt on the Pope on the 13th May 1981, but

The tree where the children saw the apparition.

because of the warning, he was wearing a bullet proof jacket & thus not killed. Later, the bullet was taken from the jacket and welded into the crown of the statue of Mary which now appears in the Fatima sanctuary."...we saw some very interesting stuff! 4 million people/pilgrims, from all over the world visit this site every year....

We were stunned by the sheer enormity of the site, with its various chapels & the Basilica, which has been built near the holm-oak tree where the apparations were reported to have occured. We walked around the area from one end to the other and were fascinated. Pilgrims (particularly on the anniversary dates) go to pray to the Virgin Mary, and make supplication for people who might be sick or dying, and they "walk" on their knees around a designated path (which could be several hundreds metres) in supplication for their loved ones. You have to admire people's dedication in this respect. Huge, huge, huge!

There is also a large, modern (2 yo) church at the other end of this enormous site - it is to the right of the massive plain crucifix seen on the skyline in the photo below. It sits down in the ground (humbly?!) We guessed it would seat several thousand people. The interesting (stunning) obsevation here was the simplicity of the design of the building. Padded seats, floor sloping towards the very plain altar, backed by a beautiful, very modern gold mosaic wall and then a huge simple cross (not a crucifix, although I, David, am reminded of the "paschal mystery"). No Mary, no "saints", (except us!). Very Christ centred. We sat silently, with only three others in the whole place! I found it easier to pray here.

Top end of the Fatima arena. To the right is the small worship
centre where the statue of Mary is situated - with the bullet
in the crown! Also the path on the right is the one were people
walk on their knees in supplication for the sick or dying loved
ones. The tree is to the extreme right, just out of picture.

(Back to Chris)...Now of course everyone has the right to make up their own mind about whether this Fatima event happened or not, but the Catholic people in Portugal (and the world) are convinced of the truth of these apparitions, and Pope JP II heeded the warning...so BELIEVE IT or NOT!!! Most of the millions of Catholics do!!

The cathedral at top end of the arena. The arena can hold
tens of thousands of people. Photo taken from "new church"end.

One young girl nearly at the end of the journey
of supplication for her loved one! Serious
dedication!!!

Splendid Spain!

We are falling behind a bit in our blogging as we are doing so much each day, by the time we get back to the hotel room we fall into bed and sleep and get up and do it all again. Although we have been able to Skype the kids (and Bella) periodically which is great! The most exciting news that we have received from home, is that Iain has finally moved out of home into a house in Vermont…great news (and we have rented out his room so he can’t move back in!)

Salamanca main square. Setting for the film
Vantage Point. Gorgeous spot!

Anyway back to business…we popped into the beautiful Spanish towns of Avila and Salamanca before we arrived in Portugal, then we visited Seville (pronounced Sev – ja, the “ll” is a y sound, so pae”ll”a is troublesome!!) after Portugal (which I will blog separately about!)

Avila and Salamanca were both fleeting visits and  were much like Toledo - medieval cities with magnificent old buildings especially the churches. In Salamanca we dropped into the city square which is stunning, and we found out it was the setting for the movie “Vantage Point”, which I have seen (and recommend anyone the watch it) and enjoyed very much.

The big challenge in Salamanca is to go to the façade of the university and find the FROG in the carvings. Easier said than done, of course or else there would no challenge. Fortunately we were given some clues or else we would have been there all day as the façade is huge and the frog is small. We were all scanning the intricate carvings looking for “skulls” which was the clue given…hmmm…shouldn’t be too hard to find skulls…hmmm…another clue?...yes please…right hand column…gracias…okay, right hand column skulls…scanning slowly from the bottom…do you know how big this facade is?...keep on scanning…serious neck cramp from looking

See the frog???

 up…any sign of skulls…nup…scanning…get to the top of right hand column…have to start again…blow that for a joke…anybody else see the skulls?…yes, good I give up…where are they?...right hand column one third of the way up…where?...there...where?...there... oh, there…okay, got the skulls, where’s the frog?...there…where?...there…oh, that little lump on the top of the skull…are you kidding me?...looks like a lump on the top of the skull…well that’s it…okay, I guess if you say so…there’s the frog, I told the lady next to me…where?...there!

We both loved these little towns and vowed to come back and spend time in these beautiful places.

As for Seville, what a magnificent place…so old and touched by the Moorish people and their stunning architecture. We arrived in the afternoon just enough time to change and go out for our Flamenco show and dinner. We had dinner and all the alcohol we desired…so we drank with gay abandon. Just on the wine in Spain…we are enjoying the wine here very much, although the reds are not as big as our Australian reds they are very drinkable and when it’s on the house…they taste even better!

Then came the show. Out came a troupe of four dancers (brilliant) and off the show went for about 1 and half hours of Flamenco. It was fantastic and when plied with lots of alcohol, everyone becomes very loud and happy. We were whisked away into a world of colour and beauty, with the skill of the dancers sublime. Men and women performed their traditional dances and we lapped it up! We were

Passionate Flamenco performer!

 treated at the end to a segment of the Carmen, with the well known music (this reminds me of my mum who has been known to put some fruit on her head and tap dance around the house, Carmen style). Flamenco is a very passionate dance, and the performers were almost in pain bringing aross the story to the audience. We loved it, loved it, loved it!

On the bus back to the hotel we all sang along with our tour guide (who has a very good voice) some of the old favs...and we all sang along...free alcohol helps!!! Best night out all round!!!!

The next day we had a sleep in and nearly missed breakfast. Um-ahh! But we finally got moving and wandered into the old part of the town to find the cathedral. The Giralda (Cathedral of St Mary cathedral) is the third largest cathedral in the world (St Peter's Rome and St Paul's London are 1st and 2nd - not sure which is which though!) The following is a bit of history about the cathedral.

The Giralda (named for the giraldillo or weather vane on its summit) was the minaret of the mosque that was replaced by Seville Cathedral. Built in 1184-96, the tower was the culmination of Almohad architecture. It is considered the finest of the three great Almohad minarets: the other two are in the Moroccan cities of Rabat and Marrakesh. Topped with four copper spheres that could be seen for miles around, the Moorish tower was used both to call the faithful to prayer and as an observatory over the city.

Try and "feel" the size of this cathedral!

La Giralda was so venerated by the Moors that they wanted to destroy it before the Christian conquest of the city in 1248. This was prevented by King Alfonso X, who declared that "if they removed a single stone, they would all be put to the sword." The Giralda thus preserved, it became the bell tower of the Christian cathedral (begun 1402). Several additions were made to the Giralda in the Renaissance era, after an earthquake (1356) destroyed the original copper spheres that topped the tower. Four more levels were added at the top for the belfry (1560-68).

I don't think I can impart to you the size of this cathedral...it is enormous, and Christopher Columbus is buried here...how about that for some history!

Chris Columbus' tomb. Pretty impressive!

As part of the entrance fee you could wander up to the top of the tower which is 37 levels up. It was a surprisingly easy walk up as it was ramps not stairs (I could not do that many stairs - even with training from Hotel Marignan) so we got to the top to some stunning views of Seville. What a delight! And then the bells started to ring in the belfry where we were. It was delightful.

View from the top of the belfry of the tower!

We love Seville and yes...we declared that we will return one day!

To'led'o NOT To'leed'o



Our first view of Toledo and the roman bridge!

 The next day we were off on our first excursion out of Madrid to - TO'LED'O the medieval capital of Spain until 1560! Toledo is a world heritage site and sits atop a rocky mound and on three sides there is the gorge of Rio Tago. Every inch of available land on this outcrop has been built on: synagogues (Jews were there until the mid 1500s), churches and mosques. The streets are tiny and meandering, very very easy to get lost. We arrives on one side of the city and walked through to the other side, being careful to remain in sight of the guide..who spoke a million miles an hour with a very broad Spanish accent...but we got the jist of the amazing history of the city.

The Cathedral - huge and imposing even from a distance!

The Cathedral is at the core of the city and is a Gothic construction which building commenced in 1227 and finished in 1493. We didn't go in this time. We moved onto the Santo Tome which is where El Greco's masterpiece "the Burial of the Count of Orgaz" is housed. We spent a while looking at this painting and being amazed at the size of it and the detail. Amazing!! (And again feeling soooooo ignorant of the history of this part of the world - there was so much going on!

And the Santa Maria la Blanca was a synagogue but was converted into a Catholic Church at some time after (ask David the details...I just take pictures!!) It was an eclectic building altogether...bits of this and bits of that...a bit confusing really...

Me and the city of Toledo...love it, love it!

On the streets of Toledo!

One of the buildings we visited!

The river that loops around the city!

We have decided that we need to come back here and get lost in the tiny narrow streets for a few days.  I hope we do!!

The old gate by which you enter the city!

Moving on......

We were feeling pretty flat after losing the wallet...so we decided to stay close to the hotel...so off we go to the local supermarket, which was shut (of course!) so decided to jump on the number 33 bus to the plaza mayor (no not plaza mayor..."platha may - or"!). I said to David "we'll just pop up to the platha and straight back to the hotel again" excepting that we were going to a shopping mall for some reason...so David said I run back and get the camera...I said no we don't need it cos we won't be gone that long (note to self: never never go out without your camera)...so we jump off at the bus stop where we thought the mall was and walked through a shopping mall that had not been completed yet...so we jumped back on the bus and tried to speak to some locals in the bus. In my best Spanish I asked a young girl where is the stop for Plaza Mayor. I was finding out real quick that the Spanish in Madrid do not speak English nor do they want or need to speak English...so she was not very helpful except to indicate that my Spanish was crap (May - or not Mayor!)...so we stayed on the bus because the bus didn't stop outside a shopping mall...so everyone else got off the bus and a lovely old lady indicated to us that we should too...so we got off the bus and followed everyone up the street.

So much for staying close to the hotel. Here we were at the Platha May-or and found ourselves in the midst of market stalls and eating places...yay!! Heaven!! We wandered around a bit and found ourselves watching a line of horses and riders making their way up the street...not only that but the last few horses were performing along the lines of the Spanish riding school horses, prancing, walking sideways, etc etc. They were marvellous to watch...then followed the "pooper scooper" cleaning trucks which were equally intriguing.

We had lunch and as we were sitting there the horses were coming back down the street, except this time they brought their friends including very very large bulls and cows "mit" horns, very very long and sharp horns although they were yoked together. If we moved onto the road we could have touched them...we didn't though.

Just when you thought that these cattle had finished passing by, there were more. This time not yoked, but single animals...huge animals, each with an enormous cow bell jangling ridiculously loud around their neck. The "running of the bulls" briefly ran through my mind as I watch these huge and magnificent animals pass by. What if they got spooked by the people with umbrellas lining the streets? Their "minders" didn't look to concerned as they walked in front of these enormous beasts. Even so, I stepped back behind the telephone pole as David very bravely photographed the event with his phone camera (because where was my camera - back at the hotel wasn't it???!!!) Following the cattle were lots and lots of Spanish people dressed in national costumes, resplendent in their colourful clothes...then the sheep came wandering by...just walking by...as sheep do! Then donkeys, goats, more people, then the horses...so many horses, beautiful horses (and the pooper scoopers!!!)

We must have stood there for 40 minutes or more, watching the marvellous parade and we were even a bit sad when they were gone! So off we went to find out what it was all about...Transhumanica, is a celebration held each year when moving the animals from the north of Spain to the south of Spain for the winter and they just happen to walk through the streets of Madrid on the day that we were there. Amazing and seredipitous and we even got the cold sore cream we went out for! What a great day...glad we didn't stay too close to the hotel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P68DJ25eJkE this clip is in Spanish, but it gives you an idea of what Transhumanica is about. When the animals are in the streets..this is exactly where we were when we were watching the parade. The people were dressed the same as in the clip! No photos of course because we can't get the photos off David's phone...sorry! When we get home!!!

Welcome to Madrid!!!!!

Down the escalators on the Paris Metro, David and I declared our love of Paris (as per last blog) and I very confidently added "...but now we start a new adventure. We will enjoy whatever this has to offer as well!" David nodded confidently to me in agreeance."

We hopped on a train to the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport...much quicker and cheaper...and caught our flight to Madrid. When we put through our tickets at the E-ticket machine, I thought I had stuffed it up badly and took the rather odd looking boarding pass to the counter, "don't worry madame, you are confirmed on the flight, but at the moment you have no seat. Okay, I thought...trying not to panic. We got to the gate counter and as we were the last to board (cos I had a funny boarding pass!) she said "I will give you seats together...here are your boarding passes...have a nice flight!" Okay?!! We got to our seat pronto as they were Row 4 (classy end of the plane - their version of business class) with no one next to us and no one in front of us and who cares who was behind us! Also extra leg room. Ah luxury! Then we thought we should have eaten before we got on the plane as surely we won't get a meal on such a short flight...we couldn't have been more wrong. We not only got a meal, but a little bottle of French wine each. Very chic!! Very happy!! Can't get much better than this, can it??

We arrive at Madrid airport and make a decision to catch the Metro to our hotel in downtown Madrid. Now, our tour book instructions said catch a taxi to the hotel...but nooooooooo we know all about Metro (having used it about 4 times in Paris!! Such innocents we are!!) and felt very confident when the young lad at the tourist info booth said "it's easy...just catch number 8, then a number 10 and then a number 5. Sure, sounds easy doesn't it!!

We then had to get tickets for our "easy" train ride into Madrid...I let David get the tickets while I minded ALL THE LUGGAGE, and he returned from the ticket machine victorious with our "easy" tickets. Off we go...down escalator one, two and three...finally find the correct platform...not out of airport yet...get on train...watch carefully...get off in three stations...are you sure?...yes I'm sure...get off now...yes, get off now...launch the luggage off the train as the train and platform do not meet...where to now?...Number 10...which way?...that way...up one escalator...up TWO FLIGHTS of stairs pulling/pushing 30 kgs of luggage behind or in front depending whether it is up or down stairs...this is the train, quick...launch the luggage into the train (as you now know the train and platform don't meet!)...how many stations this time?...two I think...watch carefully...okay...this one?...yes this one...launch luggage off again...where to now?...this way...no, that way...okay...launch luggage...how many...who cares, I'm stuffed!!!

Finally arrive at the Metro station on the street of our hotel, but which end is our hotel? It's raining...where's the umbrella...in the suitcase (locked)...just start walking we'll find the number soon...what number is the hotel? (Very dogdy looking street for a 4 star hotel - maybe we have come to the wrong address. Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!) No 65, what number can you see...number 2. Crap!!!

David and all our luggage lugged throughout the Madrid Metro and then lugged from one end of Antonio Lopez to the other!

Our suitcases took a beating from the Madrid airport to the hotel at number 65 Antonio Lopez, but finally we throw ourselves into our hotel room and onto the bed to recover...we should have taken heed and caught a taxi! We have just enough strength to go out to the shop across the road for something to eat. David is looking rather perplexed as he looks at me and asks "where's my wallet"?

Somewhere between the Madrid airport and No 65 Antonio Lopez. Lost? Stolen? We will never know!

Welcome to Madrid!!!!!!