Hola

Well, we survived the journey out. Take some advice from me, don't ever travel overnight by train. Its a nightmare. The bunks are really small, really uncomfortable and really close together. I didn't sleep a wink. However, things got better once we reached Madrid. The apartment was really nice and really central. The TV didn't work but since we'd probably only have got Spanish TV anyway it didn't matter too much. On the cultural front I went to the Prado, the Reine Sophia, the Teatro Espangnol, Saint Miguel and the cathedral at the bottom of the street (can't remember the name). The Prado was a little disappointing. Velasquez isn't all he's cracked up to be when you're up close and personal although Tintiretto made up for this a little. Equally, the Reine Sophia. Guernica is, of course, fabulous and all the related sketches and photos of the development of the picture is fascinating too. But I don't like Dali. And Spanish galleries are so badly designed. They don't flow at all and you end up spending half your time retracing your steps. The Teatro was fantastic though. We saw Sweeney Todd. In Spanish. And it was fabulous. I thought Sondheim was all about the words but he's not. The music is really good too. And the others liked it. The cast were just out of this world. I went to Mass at the cathedral (I'd never been to one before) but it was a bit disappointing. Just one bloke and a nun. No choirs, no thuribles, nothing. What's that all about?

Otherwise we spent a lot of time shopping (a shirt and a tie) and drinking (too many to name and I can't even remember half of them) which was a lot of fun. Coming home, Easyjet was surprisingly good but that the fact that they'd switched our airport to Liverpool was a pain. But here I am. Safe and sound and back home. Work tomorrow. Goody. That's all. J x