Getting ready for Sarkozy's visit

The Palacio Real (Royal Palace) and us.

Sra. Molina meets up with her ex-student Mary Mihuta, now living in Madrid.

Our 3 course meal served at La Buena Fe in downtown Madrid.

Mr. Hayford writes about Friday, April 24

"Hola! Once again we all gathered at the Colegio Logos school and walked a short distance to the bus stop. We caught the 10:15 bus into Madrid and then hopped on the metro to Callao which is one stop short of Puerta Del Sol in the heart of the city. Sarah did a fabulous job of navigating the metro and getting us up to street level. At this point, Dom led us to the Palacio Real where we met up with one of Sra. Molina's former students, Mary Mihuta who has been a resident of Spain for the past four years. The line into the Royal Palace was very long as this is a must see sight when visiting Madrid. The Palace is no longer the official residence of the King & Queen of Spain, rather a place for official functions on an international scale. For instance, this Monday, French PM Sarkozy will be making a visit to the Palace. He will be greeted by King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia as well as other dignitaries. We saw the dining room where they will eat at a table set for 144 guests! It was the longest table any of us have ever seen.

Continuing on our tour, we walked through many rooms that served as bedrooms, dining rooms changing rooms, etc. We saw incredibly detailed furniture, carpets, tapestries, paintings, fireplaces, and clocks from around the world. This palace is not your typical living quarters. As Desi noted, it was very excessive!

After the tour we visited the Farmacia (Royal Pharmacy) where the Royals were able to get any pharmaceuticals they needed. The drugs were put together right there on the spot. We also walked through the Royal Armery which housed all kinds of armor for soldiers and horses when fighting in battle.

We then began our search for a place to sit down and eat. Along the way, the students and I purchased a few souvenirs. I'm very thankful for the students who are assisting me with the language when attempting to make a purchase. They are all fantastic translators for this non-speaking chaperone!

We ate lunch at La Buena Fe and had a three course meal. Pasta with shrimp, fish, pork and paella were all popular options. Muy bien! Our waiter was very entertaining as well - a great sense of humor with the students. From there we found a locutorio where several of the students called home to say hello. A very inexpensive way of calling overseas at $.20 per minute!

We then had to call it a day and headed back to Sol and the metro for the ride back to the bus station and on to the school for pickup with host students. We bid farewell to Sylvia, our main contact at the school and thanked her for all she had done for us. Sra. Molina and I also bid farewell to the students until Sunday when we head to Galicia for Part II: The Camino! We will pick up Dr. Dunn tomorrow and prepare for our departure on Sunday."

It is likely that we will have some difficulty in posting new blogs during our time on the Camino. If so, we will definitely update when we get to Santiago on Saturday, May 2.