JUST uploaded it!!! Hope we don´t have any more problems like that, but you never know. Now that I know I CAN do it at EasyEverything with the help of the administrators I´ll probably be doing it like this more often. It´s past 2:00am and here I sit... hehehe.. But all is fine now.

Until soon!

Saludos, MadridMan

Yes! It's back! And he went to dinner at Hylogui's! Gosh, we used to go there years ago. It was always good. No one ever said no to dinner at Hylogui's.

Keep the info coming, MM!

MM - its NICE to have you back on-line! Now the rest of us Spainophiles can get "our daily dose of homesickness - I want to be there - just how soon can I get back to Madrid" feelings. Know you vare having a super time - and we all thank you for taking to time to share it with us. ENJOY

Having trouble uploading the journal for yesterday. Will try from time to time today. May just be a bad connection or too many people using the server. Thanks for your patience.

Saludos, MadridMan

Finally was able to upload it!! Woo Hoo!

Wow, what great stories from Madrid!! Now, isn't it typical that Mama Rosa never has left Spain but is planning to spend TWO MONTHS in new mexico with her daughter? MM, is your ladyfriend ready for this? I know from personal experience that a Spanish mama, isolated in an apratment in the U.S., runs out of things to keep her content quickly... there;s no paseo... you can only make so many meals, visit the mall so many times... well, maybe her computer games will keep her amused, too. But she's in for a shock when she sees how isolated we gringos are.

rgf, point well taken, we "Americans" are pretty isolated, but I think N.M. will make Mama Rosa feel right at home at least with the culture and the language. My family has been in Santa Fe and it's environs for over 200 years and the "Spanish" culture is still alive and well there. Mama Rosa will have no problem communicating, or fitting in. She will probably be fascinated by the Native American culture as well.
For Mama Rosa, I think N.M. will be a great place for her to visit. But what do I know, I am extrememely biased as it is "mi tierra". When I went to Madrid for the first time, the land and climate was so much like N.M., I knew why the Spaniards had settled there. I hope Mama Rosa really enjoys here time in N.M. by the way, what city will she be staying in?

I'm NOW writing the last journal entry of MadridMan's Madrid 2000 and will be uploading it in the next hour or so. I think this entry will be larger than ANY of the previous one. A LOT happened during this return trip/fiasco. Read it and enjoy (if you can! ARGH!! hehehe)!

Saludos, MadridMan

Just read the 'last chapter'-- wow, what a wild trip!! How did Alicia know to get that purse to the airport ... she saw it and just decided to drive out there? amazing that it all clicked. MM, you were a GREAT help to these ladies getting them to N.M. I have had many trips with mechanical troubles, overnites, diverted planes... too bad it had to happen to Mama Rosa on her first trip. But by now she has forgotten that and is remembering all the nice things you did for HER! Well, your trip certainly intruiged all of us. I wish I'd kept a journal for the Extremadura trip I took last summer. I did write a short story about Guadalupe and Trujillo, tho! Anyway, thanks for giving us this diary and que descanses mucho ahora.

I JUST uploaded the corrected version of the last two (and final) entries of MadridMan's Madrid 2000 . I quickly uploaded the draft and (much) later today uploaded the new-and-improved version minus the typos, and many of the grammatical errors. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

rfg, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yes. We left Alicia "holding the bag" as it were . We were all hugging, shaking hands, saying goodbye, and Mama Rosa handed Alicia her purse while she bent down to hug and say a few final words to her grandson, little Pablo, and forgot about it in the chaos and loading luggage. These things happen. I'm just glad Alicia got to the airport nearly at the same time as we did. Whew! I can only imagine her face and reaction as we drove off and she looked down into her hands to find Mama Rosa's purse! hehehehe.. It all worked out in the end.

Saludos, MadridMan