Hi, Esperanza!

First of all, gook luck with those 22 kids. You're gonna need it!

March 19 is a public holiday in Madrid province, apart of some other regions, but not in the whole country. The bad news are that El Corte Inglés and most of the shops will be closed that day in Madrid area.

Xanadú is a mall that opens 365 days a year, but it's not reachable by Metrosur. Metrosur only gets to Mostoles, a city 17 kilometers away from Madrid, and Xanadu is 7 kilometers further in the same road.

Don't worry about Museo del Prado because it will be open from 9 am to 7 pm.

BTW, don't tell anyone, but I have no idea about what a lombardo is, either. :-)

esperanza, I'd like to "throw out" a nice link for photos of Toledo. It's http://www.FotosdeToledo.com and it's run by a guy, a real Toledano, right here in Columbus, Ohio!

Have a GREAT time! Saludos, MadridMan

Wow - I did not realize that next Friday, March 18 is a holiday in Madrid . I will be there and have plans to go to Segovia for the day. Does anyone know if the buses will be running? Are most restaurants closed?

MadridMan, that Toledo website you recommended is amazing! Thanks so much! I am really psyched!

http://www.zocodover.com/z/inicio.asp

This is his main site and it has tons of info about Toledo. He also sells authentic swords for those of you who do not know how to get one back to the US. He knows so much about the city and is always willing to help with specific concerns!!!

Wow! Esperanza: We just got back from a short trip to Ireland (my Madrilenha wife loved it!) so I just now found your Spring-break trip plan.

Some places you might consider visiting: the Plaza de Toros (just outside the Gate and next to the Hotel Maria Cristina) and the Mozarabe Renfe station (assuming you will take a bus to Toledo because of the construction on the ferrocaril).
P.S.
I don't know how many Chaperones will be with your group but I would assume you (and perhaps Marisa) are the only ones with first-hand experience in Spain.

I wish you the best of good fortune and (just in case) I'll say a prayer for you.

Eddie, Thanks for your good wishes and prayers...I will need them for sure Unfortunately, my lovely daughters will NOT be with me on this trip(and I am getting a lot of grief because of it!) we are on different vacation cycles and they cannot take off for 10 days... My little one is really sad about me leaving...ay! I do feel a "little" guilty but, then I rememer that I AM GOING TO SPAIN and those guilty feelings go away .

Looking at the weather in Spain it seems like it will be rainy in Toledo on Friday and Saturday , so our plans may have to change. We'll see.

Esperanza writes: As well you should! Bring them back some Mazapan and Toledo Damascene trinkets. That should smooth their ruffled feathers.
If it is wet, that will present another problem: Those cobblestone streets in the old part of Toledo can be very slick when they get wet.

In my earlier post I left out the obvious Tourist stops: the Cathedral, Iglesia de San Tome where you can see el Greco's the burial of the Conde de Orgaz, the synagogue, the el Greco museum; and, of course, the Arms factory where the great Toledo knives & swords are made. Teenage boys love things like that.

Study up on the siege of Toledo during the Spanish Civil War. Tell the kids about the General who told his son to 'Die Bravely' when the enemy tried to use the son to extort a surrender by the father's forces.

Oh I am soooo embarrassed :o !!! My fast typing fingers and bad memory (my fault for not looking at my notes!)... not un lombardo.... UNA LOMBARDA! (where´s that Homer Simpson doh! sound effect Madridman?).

Torrales, thanks for clearing that up about Xanadú. I did not know it wasn´t accessible by metro, which I find to be very suprising. A few of my friends have gone and said they went there by metro... so I just thought it was accessible. Esperanza...sorry to give you bad information.

Another idea...since you will be in the Plaza de España... how about a movie in original version subtitled in Spanish... or better yet, a movie in Spanish altogether. There are lots of V.O. movie theaters in the Plaza de los Cubitos adjacent to the Plaza de España and plenty of movie theaters along Gran Vía.

If the weather is nice you could go to the Retiro and rent some row boats.

I´m still thinking of ideas!

Don't worry, Chica!

Now I know what you meant. That is a proof that gender is quite important in Spanish. Actually, the word "lombardo" exists, and means "man from Lombardy", but I couldn't guess something, not someone, called that way.

And about Xanadú, there will be metro (or something similar) there by 2007, but not now. In the big infrastructure plans of the regional government for building 73 new kilometres of Metro and Light Metro, a new line is included that will depart from Móstoles to reach Navalcarnero, and surely it will have a stop at Xanadú.

In the same Website you provide, there are directions about how to reach Xanadú (in English). See how it doesn't mention Metrosur: http://www.millsmadridxanadu.com/English/Pages/Directions.htm

BTW, that page has a big mistake saying that road A-5 (N-V is its old name) goes to Seville. It goes to Extremadura and connects to the Portuguese road to Lisbon.