More on the trip to Spain.
On the Saturday morning, we set out for Guadalupe in the new car that Pedro had bought with his TV winnings (He was featured on a popular Spanish quiz show, whilst we were in Madrid). Steve and Janet were taken by the lovely Jorge and Annalise. After about an hour of fairly dull motorway driving, we turned to head into the mountains. Immediately we saw some wonderful birds which were either Cranes or Storks. This was the start of an amazing twisting journey through the mountains. Poor Pedro had to wrestle with his steering wheel as we turned this way and that for about 45 mins. Eventually we arrived at this amazing small town which was completely dominated by the monastery that was to be the setting for the wedding. We have lots of pictures waiting to be scanned. I think these will do more justice to the setting and the day itself than I can. It was a great occasion and the Spanish people really went out of their way to make 2 humble speakers of the English language only, very welcome.

We finally made it to our bed at around 4 in the morning, having danced to some truly awful Euro pop. Never mind, the atmosphere remained splendidly good natured right to the end, and although everyone had more than enough to drink, no one was suddenly turned into the sort of raging English person that we see all too often.

The journey back to Madrid was even more spectacular the journey out. Overnight, snow had turned the previously rugged mountain ranges into soft and gentle cotton wool covered fantasy lands. Not the best of conditions for driving. I was pleased that Pedro was at the wheel rather than me. Upon our descent, we then ran into very thick fog for a couple of miles before this gave way to rain for the rest of trip back to Madrid.

On our return to the hotel, we were pleased to see that we had been allocated a much larger room for the last couple of days of our trip. On the Monday, Orynthia, Janet and I went on a walk through the old town to the Segovia bridge managing to catch site of a woodpecker in one of the parks along the way. We returned to our lunch by way of the grounds of the Royal Palace, where we saw some very strange green birds, as yet they remain unidentified. Our last night in Madrid was spent with Steve and 4 of his female friends, and we had a few drinks in a couple of nice bars.

Lucky me. I don't have to return to work until 11th March. Orynthia is working, so I am just mooching around for a couple of days. Nothing I like more.