:: The Wendy House ::

cafés to the left.    cafés ahead.    cafés to the right.     

Cafés on the edge of the Lavapies district of Madrid. 

Perfect places to eavesdrop,  observe locals,  and tourists. The wait-staff of the two empty cafés ahead hold conversations across the street and physically perk-up whenever potential customers, people, walk down the street between them…

There may be a time in every bidet’s life when it waits on the street. 

The silver Moped appears to be gaurding the silver Bidet from random attack by a misguidedly malicious person that may well hold a grudge against bidets in general due to unfortunate accident in their formative years.  Its possible.  The attacker is unlikely to have been raised in the US where people are protected from high-risk,  irresponsible, youthful escapades with bidets. 

Do you think this bidet is visiting the Hotel?

The man in this photograph was giving the lady a personal guided tour of the Latin Quarter of Madrid.  In English. 

I followed them,  at a distance,  for a couple of miles hearing all sorts of lovely little details.  They nearly discovered me once when they walked down a dead-end alley and turned round to come back out.  Luckily I was still in Hitchcock sleuth mode and managed to scarper without being spotted or falling over any parked Mopeds.

According to the guide this is the oldest door in Madrid at 500yrs old.  Madrid is a fairly young city by European standards.

they do not drip messy wax,  they do not blow-out in the gentle church breezes, securely collecting donations,  equal lights for each prayer, only the bulbs need replacing and the cover eases dusting and cleaning.  These prayer installations were in both the Cathedrals I visited in Spain.

Progress? 

The emotional, sensual, experience of an electric prayer barely touches that of lighting, smelling, watching real candles. 

not the name of an English pub.

A Madrid morning moment.

Infront of a Musical Opera shop where Nun and moped pretend that they have never met before.

After taking the photo I joined the game by pretending that I was in an Alfred Hitchocock movie and followed the nun.  Just incase.   I think I managed to stay incognito,  following from a distance,  wearing dark reflective Ray Bans.

I jumped right in and fell-over on my first day in Madrid. 

Nice scrape there on my knee… …and what colour and style are those pants I’m wearing….a shade of khaki…a version of cargo….have I succumbed to the camoflauge of the masses? 

Oh fickle me and my grazed knee. 

We are sat at the beautiful Madrid airport watching the rain……

the RAIN  in SPAIN waiting for my PLANE

The Spanish locals are wearing the pants of the cargo khaki.  They are internationale.  They are slightly smaller than the US equivalent.  They look like they fit the wearer.   They are all over the place here in Madrid.  Should I be scared or simply make sure I extend my wardrobe to contain the now essential khaki pants des cargo?

fifty-third in a Wednesday series of posts attempting to uncover the many mysteries of my singleness

Reason #53: see reasons 1 though 52

I’m on Holiday in SPAIN,  Madrid,  its and exotic place,  surely you can’t expect me to write sensible reasons for being single when I’m on HOLIDAY.  You’ll have to satisfy your curiosity with a bit of re-visiting earlier gems of delightful rationality because I’m GONE.  Let’s say it together, with feeling,

GONE

MADRID

SPAIN

HOLIDAY 

(gosh,  I hope I’m alright)

Fifteen more books successfully released to the safety of half-price books.  In Exchange, three books paroled to the comfort of my handbag  No cash changed hands.  Bargain,  I gained book-shelf space and topically useful books… ..I feel a few more books coming on…. 

Libraries are fabulous social resources whose being is radically changing nature with the emergence of the Internet as an archive and social resources.  This Library,  Escorial, near Madrid has just made it onto my list of way-too-many-places I hope to visit.  I’ll have to use the bus* or train to get there  Brrrrrrmmmmmmm….Brrrrrrmmmmmmmm…..  

Without even leaving Madrid I may get to see an Eygyptian temple, a Palace where the Spanish Inquisition did some of its inquisiting,  fabulous deliberately leaning buildings, a very ornate post-office, a stadium bull ring, a crystal palace inspired by the London Crystal palace,  bars that Earnest Hemmingway drank in (not all of them),  graveyards, and of course the essential very tall thing for tourists to go to rather like Seattle’s Space Needle and Portsmouth’s Millenium tower.  

Then there are castles to be checked out,  like the Alcazar…  just outside Madrid…  more buses!!

* I like riding on buses