Well, I didn’t get my lost luggage delivered yesterday. It wasn’t delivered until 3:30 p.m. today. So my nice lost luggage man yesterday wasn’t telling me the whole truth. But not having luggage didn’t stop me from doing some sightseeing in Madrid.
After a pretty good night’s sleep despite not having PJs and toiletries, I got up this morning and enjoyed the hotel’s buffet breakfast. It was another sunny day in Madrid, although it started out cool, in the 30s. But even that cool temperature didn’t feel too bad, because it’s dry. I drank lots of water and then set out on the subway to go sightseeing in central Madrid.
I started out in Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid’s many plazas.
I walked around, enjoying the pedestrian-only streets and main thoroughfares.
Then I reached Parque del Retiro, or Retiro Park. Being a Saturday morning in the sunshine, lots of people were out walking and rowing in the park. Lots of house sparrows, pigeons, and Eurasian magpies active too.
After exploring for a couple of hours, I headed back to the hotel to check for my luggage. It was a no-show until later, but when it was finally delivered, I happily took a shower and changed clothes. Just in time for the 5 p.m. tapas reception for the English-speaking immersion school volunteers at El Balandro, a tapas bar that was a 15-minute walk from my hotel.
At the reception, there were about 30 anglos destined for three different school sessions in different towns, plus three staff members from Vaughan Town, the immersion school. We enjoyed Spanish tapas, wine (both paid for by Vaughan Town), and getting to know our fellow volunteers. Most are American, with a few Brits mixed in. After a couple hours of socializing and getting the details for the week ahead, we headed back to our hotels. I celebrated having PJs and then hit the sack.
Lori's Travels 