Madrid

 Hola!
Our first full day in Madrid and we took no prisoners. The hotel room is quite a come down from Dubai but typical European where supposedly what you make up for in history and tradition you lose in modern and updated. Had breakfast and then poring over different maps decided to try our luck on the local bus and head for Museum de Paseo. No problemo whatsoever. Found a fantastic upmarket souvenir place where I have located a couple of things I will come back for when we return to Madrid in a week's time if I haven't seen better before then. We then decided to take the Madrid City Tour bus which is the equivalent of every major city's hop on, hop off bus. 21 Euro each and a great investment.
We took Route 1 which was almost 2 hours and then stumbled onto a fabulous little restaurant where we had a 4 course lunch for about 15 Euros each, plus the essential glass of local house white wine which was from the Andalusa region. Then we took the Route 2 bus which was another 1 1/2 hours. This meant that we managed to hustle back to our hotel just before 5.30 pm and we had to be ready to meet our tour group in the foyer at 6 pm. So very quick showers to freshen up and we made it downstairs with time to spare.
As others were assembling in the foyer, we stood back a bit to check out our new travel companions. Jo gave me a sideways look and said ' so are you doing your usual, and working out who you will be voting off the island!!!!' The girl clearly knows me too well. And just for your information the woman from Texas is probably going to be the first to go...
We were met by Simon, our guide and promptly set off on a coach driven by Felipe to a local restaurant for dinner. On the coach we met Ian and Helen from NZ and sat at dinner with Shelley and Mark from Victoria. After such a huge lunch I wasn't at all hungry, but liked the Sangria so much I had a couple of those!
For those of you who are Fawlty Towers fans, you would have wet yourselves over the table service
we encountered. We had barely sat down when the waiter brought our Sangrias in long glasses. As he set down Jo's glass he knocked it over so we had Simon and Shelley mopping up cutlery and glasses that were swimming in Sangria. Then as the very first course of bruschettas were being served the waiter tipped one plate over Mark's shoulder...and walked away as though nothing had happened. I
just sat back and waited for the next disaster which thankfully never happened. Manuel is alive and well, working in a local Madrid restaurant!!
Then back on the coach and back to our rooms to pack as we have to have suitcases out by 7 in the morning as we head for Toledo. Temperature expected to be 43 so I have left my boob tube, thong and hot pants out ready for tomorrow.
Time for a cleansing scotch and blog update before lights out.
Hasta la vista. (Probably should have mentioned earlier that yesterday I uploaded a 'learn Spanish' App and am currently driving Jo nuts as we go through our new Spanish words for each day. There is a test at the end of each session and so far we are scoring about an ocho which is 8. I can now
successfully ask where the toilet is, say that I don't know something and also say that I don't speak Spanish. As the online tutor tells me, at this rate I will have learnt some 2500 words and phrases in 3 months. Jo isn't as excited about this prospect as I am, reminding me that the tour is only 18 days, but I will not be deterred!!!
Haven't learnt how to sAy goodnight yet So stead will leave you with el bano.