I'm Home!

I didn't have time to blog about our last day in Madrid, so here goes:
We woke up late, as usual, and went straight (as straight as you can go on the Metro) to the Palacio Real, the Royal Palace. After standing in line for quite a while in the bitter cold, we were able to purchase tickets and enter the palace. It was nothing less than beautiful. What intrigues me about these places is the massive amounts of detail that centuries of master craftsmen have put into decorating the exteriors, furnishings, rooms (walls, ceilings, floors), dishes, clothes, whatever. I think America either never had that, after all we're only 200-odd years old, or we've lost it. The kings who occupied this particular palace all have put their own marks on the place so it has changed over time. There was a room for changing the royal clothes, a room for serving dinner to a very large party (the table in the room had 66 chairs around it and that only took up half of the room), a sitting room, a study, a throne room (of course), an ammunition and armory section, the queen's section, etc. etc. etc. For the Christmas season, artisans had set up a massive nativity using centuries-old figurines. Katie thought the room might have been the ball room, but a statue in the room seemed to disagree with that. We walked around it and saw various scenes of daily life in Bethlehem. At the end was the actual nativity. I noticed that the scenes contained figures with medieval clothes but that the nativity was set in Biblical times. A little conflict there, but it was lovely.
After the palace, we did a little more shopping and went back to the apartment. At the grocery store, we bought a baggett, some ham, and a tub of cheddar cream cheese. That was supper. Somewhere in the day, we broke down and had a (relatively) American meal at T.G.I. Friday's.
Ginny needed something American, and we all really enjoyed it.
After a 10-hour flight home, Katie and I arrived in Atlanta happy but tired. We hated to leave Ginny, and Ginny either didn't want us to leave or wanted to come home with us, but she will be home in the spring. She seems to be doing a great job with the English classes she's teaching to Spanish-speaking children and adults. She's just tired of being away from home and being away from a certain fellow.
I emailed Ginny this morning and told her that I'd left something in Spain...12 pounds! Yes, I toned up and lost weight. I may have to loose more before it really shows, but I'm motivated to do it now. It was all that walking, and we only ate two meals a day. Sounds like a plan to me.
Now it's time to get back to business...school. I've got lots to do before the kids come back on Tuesday. So...adios!