Home Sweet Home

A huge load was taken off our shoulders when the airline accepted my Recovery Certificate and we were able to board the plane home.

This has been one long and stressful trip with both of us getting sick in Morocco and then Covid in Portugal (when we thought we had colds or allergies).  But on the other hand it was a very educational and culturally enlightening trip. 

It was interesting to visit the cities and deserts in Morocco and see and hear how they have adapted to the heat and sand. Portugal's history with the Moors, Jews and Christian invasions and how that has shaped their cultures and way of life.  The earthquake of 1755 AD also did a lot to shape their country.

And then an extended stay in Madrid.  Its a beautiful city, clean, friendly, with architecturally beautiful buildings and wide avenues surrounded by neighborhoods of narrow, cobble stoned streets. 

We'll be home for a short while and then off again on another adventure soon!

Retiro Park and a Certificate

The weather is heating up so we went walking early while it was still cool.  Retiro Park is comparable to New York City's Central Park.  We visited the Crystal Palace, the Retiro Lake and walked some of the many shaded paths and lanes.  

We walked around the Palace Valazquey which was the kings summer 'cabin' at one time.  Overlooking the lake is a monument to Alfonso XII.  Its a popular place to jog and to row boats on the lake.  

I got my Recovery Certificate and John tested negative again so we are free to go home! Luckily we had little problem re-booking our flights for the next day!

Some Good News

We haven't given up on going home before the 10 days required by the CDC since I'm feeling fine even though still testing positive.  John's research shows that we could get a Recovery Certificate after 7 days so we could presumably go home on the 10th.

And then we got a call from one of the other passengers who had heard that the leader of the Outlander Group (a group of about 20 folks following their own guide on the cruise) had arranged for a doctor to come to the Westin and will give us another test.  If still positive he will write us a Recovery Certificate and we could be on our way home on Tuesday.  

We explored Madrid some more by going to the train station, back to the Plaza Mayor and the Palacio Real and the Cathedral de La Aludena where we had a nice view of the city to the west of us.

Turning Lemons into Lemonade

We spent most of the day Friday moving to our new hotel, getting our laundry done at a nearby laundromat, and exploring our neighborhood.  A good gin and tonic was needed at the end of the day.

Today we walked back to the clinic to see if they could help us get home sooner that 10 days but they could not.

So instead of moping we toured the Prado Museum.  We got the audio head sets and selected a two hour tour which turned into four hours of looking at art works by Goya, Rubens, Van Dyck, Raphael, Bosch and a lot of others.  The building is huge, holds over 1,800 pieces of art and encompasses 3 other buildings which we did not visit.  Of course no photography is allowed.

Across the street from the Prado is the Church of San Jeronimo El Real.

 

 

Toledo the Roman City

Toledo (pronounced 'Toe-lay-doe') was the first capital of Spain, built on the top of a tall hill as was the custom in the early centuries.  This was a protection for the city along with a tall wall. 

In 1085 the Christians took over the city from the Muslims and lived there along with a community of Jews until 1492 when all Jews were exiled from Spain.  Evidence still exists of Jewish homes and their synagogue which was converted to a Christian church.  There is also a Mosque with a minaret.

The most powerful people in the 13th century were the bishops of the catholic church. So the city hall was built close to the church.

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo is very large and very impressive.  A sign by the door stated that the building had a capacity of 2,450 people. A massive scene was carved into a wall surrounding the Chorus and is lit by a decorative skylight that makes the gold shine when the sun hits it just right.  In the front of the Chorus is a statue of the Virgin Mary that was from the 4th Century.

Since we are to fly home tomorrow, we all had to be tested for Covid and 22 of the 52 people on the tour tested positive, including me!  John tested negative.  We went into panic mode since we could not travel for up to 10 days and immediately had to find a place to stay starting the next day.  We also had to decide if I would stay by myself or if John would stay also (he stayed).  John felt like we should get an independent test to make sure this was correct so we walked 5 miles to find a clinic, tested again and returned to make final arrangements.  We both had during the previous week or so what we thought was chest colds. Neither of us ever ran a temperature and I was completely asymptomatic.

John canceled our flights home, contacted the family and I slept.

 

Madrid

John and I spent last evening exploring the neighborhood behind the Westin where we are staying.  It is a warren of narrow streets winding around the area filled with bars, restaurants, shops, mini-markets and people - lots of people.  

Today we went on a bus and walking tour of Madrid where over 3 million people call home.  In 711 AD the Muslims came up from the south and conquered Spain. But in 1085 the Christians claimed the country and many Jews lived here until they were run out in 1492.  In 1561 they crowned a king and became a monarchy.

We had a short stop to walk around the outside of the Bull Fight Stadium where bull fights are regularly held.

Our walk took us by the Royal Palace (the royals are not in residence) and we happened to see the changing of the guard ceremony. Then on to the City Square with buildings from the 14th, 16th, and 17th centuries. The San Miguel Market Place is an 18th century building of glass, steel, and iron.  A short walk though a pedestrian shopping district took us to the Plaza Mayor.  John is pretty sure we visited this area 35 years ago on one of our first visits to Spain.