and wonders if anyone believes in ghosts?

Our stay in Madrid has been busy and rich with cultural experiences including a meeting with a ghost for Bon. After meeting Sammy G at the Hertz counter we arrived at our apartment which is right in the heart of Madrid. Perfect. Ok 4 flights of stairs is a challenge a few times a day but they are worth it given the location and the possibility that my bum may just be a size smaller by the time i get to the south of France! Ok - maybe not given the food and wine i'm consuming.
Anyway, the thing is that on night one, Bonnie had a terrible night where she felt like this bloke was in the room with her and Sam (as if sam would wake up!) and after a while she was so distressed she had to get up and sleep in another room, after which she had a nightmare about the same bloke being in a motorbike accident and dying... It's not the first time she has retold a ghostly experience that would be hard to make up otherwise. Ghost or bad dream?
Ghosts aside, we have visited the Prado (free after 6) the Thyssen, the Reina Sofia (free after 7), the Palace Real,adopted the siesta in the middle of the day routine as it is soooooo hot ( and we lunch at the apartment to save funds) walked through beautiful parks and visted Toledo which is a wonderful medieval city just half an hour away by very fast train. We have had great food, beer and wine and have been thankful for Sam's 6 months of Spanish at uni for
translation purposes.
The view from the apartment through the roof tops to the church dome across the way is amazing and given that the sun sets around 10pm, it is lovely to watch the sky change colour and the dome light up as night falls.
Now, reading... finished and adored the new Monica McInerney due for release later in the year. Mon, you are a star...thank you for keeping me compelled with another fantastic family saga through the long haul flight. Am currently reading Room by Emma Donoghue which i am unable to out down either!
Hope you are all well!
next stop for these happy tourists...Barcelona. See you there!
KGxx

and having a fab holiday so far.....

The flight was bearable and there was lovely GG at Heathrow ro meet us... tired and badly in need of a shower, we reached our hotel at Imperial Wharf in time to shower quickly and head off to meet Rebecca, Paul, Ann and Geoff for dinner...it was lovely to see them all but Bon and i started to flag pretty quickly and we were home by 9 ish. By this stage it was cold and wet...eek. Saturday turned out to be a much more pleasant day and after a great sleep, we walked Kings Road through Chelsea etc to Buck Palace where the Queen was happy to receive us. (well so said the flag). In fact she had put on a fine display of guards changing, music playing and general pomp and ceremony. It was no royal wedding but it pleased us nonetheless. Onto Covent Garden, still on foot, to a Photographers Gallery which turns out, is no longer there :(. Never mind.. great lunch in a little Greek cafe. and onto the museum of Sir John Soane. This was recommended to us by Susie G and was fantastic... check it out:www.soane.org. Bonnie enjoyed herself despite the fact it was a museum! Onto Portabello Road for a browse through the market before heading home and out for a fantastic chargrilled seafood platter at Megan's (Kings Road)...tired, bed, good sleep...
Sunday was hot! we hit the Camden Markets but in the end were all a bit disappointed. More fun in the op shops along the High Street. and disappointingly, the Jewish Museum that Bon was keen to visit in Camden because she missed the trip to Melb's Holocaust museum, was closed as the power had gone off in the street. (she's studying Elie Wiesel's, Night). Bummer but we enjoyed another lovely lunch of organic vegie food before escaping the crowds and heading to the Kensington High st to visit the rooftop gardens i had read about... closed! :( oh well walked home and headed to the pub on the river for a vino on what was now a lovely balmy evening. home to bed before an early start... Departing for Madrid at 9.35am.
photos will follow when i work out how to upload them from the iPad!

because today is DEPARTURE day!

I think I have ticked all the things on the list:

1. finished packing
2. waxed (sorry if that's too much info for some... they were talking about Warren Zevon at work the other day and the thought of Werewolves of London reminded me!)
3. checked in
4. printed boarding passes 
5. filled out the green cards
6. charged the iPad
7. made sure there is food for Liv (who is house and cat sitting) and that she knows bin night is Thursday night
8. selected reading matter (this is not an easy task and has been under consideration for some time.)

There were more things on the list like picking up a textbook for Bonnie and BPA free drink bottles, but frankly - that's just boring!
Had a chat to GG this morning. He is currently in the UK climbing mountains and fording streams and seems unimpressed by my constant singing of Aint No Mountain High Enough - sadly.We are looking forward to seeing him in London tomorrow.
So Qatar airlines, we are on our way and looking forward to take off!
See y'all in London
 xx

because she is home packing her bag...

There are just three sleeps to go until Bonnie and I leave for London. Graham has been in the UK now for almost a week where he has been doing some great walks around the Lakes district and visiting family and friends in Liverpool. Weather in London - not much better than here.... weather in Madrid (our next stop) - low to mid 30's.