Onward

Farewells from Pueblo Ingles involved a lot of tears. After all the hour long on-on-one sessions, two-on-two, group activities, dancing, sharing meals, performing skits and more serious presentations, we grew close. My email list has grown by almost 50 people and I expect that I will continue to communicate regularly with at least a dozen, perhaps more. Who writes, and how often is highly variable with things like this.

I do know from Anglos who have taken part before, that some strong friendships develope, communications are regular, and visites between countries occur.

We arrived back in Madrid about 7:30 last night. I checked back into my hostel, finding a pair of trousers (in England, pants are underwear) which Kate left here and my slippers. Managed to get myself lost walking about. Found the small, Chinese-Spanish run grocery store where I bought yougurt and bananas when I was here last. Then I wandered to one of the squares. Streets angle all over and although I knew which direction to head, I could not find the streets I wanted. When I finally arrived at the palace I had a pretty good idea of where to head. The quick errand ended up being a long, long walk, but after all the eating I did at Pueblo Ingles, it was probably a good thing.

Madrid streets are lively and friendly at night. This is a country of night owls, where socializing continues late, particularly in summer. But last night was mild, and folks were out in large numbers, on their way to restaurant dinners.

Today I head to Toledo. I haven´t decided if I will go by bus or train yet. I am headed upstairs to put last nights things back in my pack and head out. After a couple days in Toledo, I am headed to a small town, wine and olive country, for a couple quiet days. Cities are fun, but I can only do so many days before I long for small towns, rural settings.