LET'S WALK!! OR BIKE!! OR DRIVE!!

Are you ready to take a walk with us?  Okay!  Let's go!!

The whole world walks here!  Some of the folks don't own cars (although, many of them do), so they do a ton of walking.  The public forms of transportation are so good that you can arrive at almost any destination you desire (in Madrid) within 45-50 minutes,-- one hour tops-- and that's from one end of town to the other.

Just last evening three couples of us went from our place, on the southeast edge of Madrid, to past the center of the old downtown (El Centro) to eat, and took the Metro (subway), making two interchanges (that's where you hop off one line of the Metro, and jump onto another line) and made it to our chosen place to eat within 40 minutes!!  

Back to the walking.  Sister Bake and I have decided to walk each evening in order to stay in shape. We have discovered some real nice walking/biking paths in our adventures out from our piso.  The leaders of the city have paid a great deal of attention to this, and as a result,  they have developed some real nice paths to accommodate those so inclined.

You can see from the picture that the path is divided: the walkers have about 6 feet, and the bikers have another 10-12 feet.  Most of the paths are well-landscaped, with great trees and shrubs and flowers lining the way.  And. . . if you choose your way wisely, you can generally find some nice shade to help keep the heat to a tolerable level.  They take this business very seriously, as you can see from the next picture.  This is another location on the same path as above.  It takes you over an nasty freeway.

                                   

When we go out to walk, we always run into (not literally!!) tons of folks doing the same thing.  Some are just strolling, while others are giving it some umph, like we do.  We have 4-5 real good loops that we use, the smallest being right around 3 miles, and the longest being about 4 1/2 miles.

HONEST!!  It is good for us to get out into the fresh air and to examine our surrounding, and the benefits to the health are already being noticed.  

Not only are the paths great, but so also are the areas they surround and pass by.  They take this to the next level at times, in order to make their fair city a nice place to experience.  Fountains, and courtyards and areas of grass and sand make the work (our walks) all worthwhile.  Below, see some examples:

They have this weird bird here.  It is black and white; about a foot or so long, maybe a little more; and makes this strange squawky noise when it tries to scold us as we walk along.  The other day we were on one of our longer walks, and I noticed this bird up on one of the lightposts.  He was just talking his head off.  It sounded a little like one of our magpies, but deeper and more throaty, so I asked Sister Bake if she thought it sounded like our magpie, only a little different.  Her answer was an instant classic:  "That's because he's speaking Spanish!!"  Good One!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can any of you out there identify this thing for  me??

Now, let's talk driving for a minute or two.  Parking anywhere in Madrid is a premium!!.  Most of the cars are very small for two reasons:  they need more room to park, and the cars get better mileage. Paco has wanted me to begin driving to some our group meetings, but I am skeptical of my ability to not run into someone, especially when using the roundabouts.  That, my friend, in an adventure!!.  

It is legal to double-park in a lot of areas, as long as you put on your blinkers.  I have seen it where there are several cars in a row, double-parked, and the drivers are sitting along the sidewalk, under the canopy, having a beer and a sandwich with one of their friends.  Yeh, I am serious!!  If you think I am crazy, take a look at this:

 

All the cars on the left of this picture are double-parked!!  The next picture shows the need for the smaller cars.

If I were to get a mission car, I'm not sure if I could find a place to park the thing!

Things can get a little tight when parking!!

The roundabouts are something else.  I know they work, but we are still getting used to them, even when we take our walks.  You do  not cross the street at the corners here.  You go down the street to the side just a little, and there you will find the cross-walk.  Do you know why you cannot cross at the corners? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Any guesses? . . . . . . . . . ..  Answer:  THERE ARE NO CORNERS!!!

But, you can also double-park at the corner!!  Try that in the US and see what it gets you!!

This last picture sort of takes us back to where we began--how they like to keep some open spaces and try to make things as 'livable' as possible.  Even when the majority of the room here in Madrid is covered with places for the people to live, they make every effort to make it pleasant for the inhabitants.  This picture is taken from our front room window, four floors up, down into the courtyard that connects our apartment building with the one next door.. When I say fourth floor, I really mean the fifth one up--they don't count the bottom one.  That's the 'base'(baw-say)--the base. We actually live on the fifth floor, but here, it is called the fourth.  Every night a group of little, old ladies comes out and sits on the bench and just passes the evening there together.  One of these nights we are going to make some cookies and go out and meet our neighbors.  We'll see how that goes.

I got called on today in Sunday School to answer a question.  At first, I did not know what he really wanted, but when he repeated the question, I was able to give an 'adequate' answer.  I just need to forget about how many mistakes I know I will make, when I try to speak in Spanish, and just talk. Sister Bake is making strides also in learning the language. It is a tricky business.  She is doing better and better every few days.  I am proud of the way she is 'fighting the fight'!   We are learning our jobs better and better each week, also.  Soon, I hope, we will be  moving along at a good clip, with the language and the  service we render, and we will feel like we are actually contributing something of value.

THE KING'S SUMMER GARDEN & SEGOVIA

Our friends Paco and Susi wanted to get us out of town for the weekend and gave us the choice of where to go.  We chose Segovia, a 'not-so-big' town about an hour northwest of Madrid.  We got to travel up and over the Guadarrama Mountain Range on our way, and it was nice to see something besides the miles and miles of apartment buildings that blot the ground here in Madrid.  Before we arrived there I noticed that the car was leaving the main road and veering off in another direction. When, I asked what was up, Paco said that we were going to see the 'granja' (garden) before seeing Segovia.

Nestled against the northern foot of the Guadarrama Mountains, La Granja de San Ildefonso was the place chosen by Phillip V as the place to raise the produce for his dining pleasures.  There was (is) a summer palace there where the Royals would go to get out of the summer heat of Madrid. (A different king than the one that had his summer palace in Aranjuez). It sits at about 4,000 feet above sea level.  It was a beautiful, cool but sunny day!! There are massive areas of gardens, fountains,  monuments, walking paths, a labyrinth, and areas left wild for the birds and animals that frequent the area.  Some of the areas reminded us of our children  :) Here are some of the pictures from this day...

This one reminded us of any one of the grandkids,  "don't mess with me"  

There were fountains depicting the gods.
This  one is for Reagan and Angela..Diana the Huntress

Here is Poseidon or "King Triton" for the little grandkids

And here is for the hunters in the family, Dad says look at the antlers

The part for a great family outing comes next, (Devan, especially for you) the Labyrinth!

 

The sign said it would take 1 - 1 1/2 hours to go through the maze, and once you got to the middle there is a sign to help you find your way out.  We didn't have the time to try it, maybe another day.

                                                                              ON TO SEGOVIA!!!

From the 'granja', we drove on another 20 minutes and were in Segovia.  The  major attractions there are from the era in which the Romans were in rule.  I won't be difficult for you to see the difference.  Segovia sits out on the end of an 'arrow' of of land, or a point of land, with rivers on either side, with the point of land being high above the rivers and very steep on either side of the land.  The Roman fort--Alcazar--sits right out on the end of the point of the arrow.  There is no was an enemy was going to sneak up on them, nor was an enemy able to climb up and fight against them while in this fort/castle.

The major church (well, tourist-attracting wise, anyway) in Segovia is this Catholic Cathedral:

                                                 

For me, the major attraction of Segovia, is the Roman Aqueduct.  Originally over 10 miles long and containing 180 arches, it was designed to bring mountain water over one of the deep gorges  onto the point of land and thus make the fort/castle even more secure.  Besides, the ordinary folks needed to drink water also--not just the Romans!

Remember: these were put up without any mortar!!!

Somebody from that era needs to have written a book on this!!
They were quite the engineers, especially for their time.
What a masterpiece!!

If you look really close, you can see tiny holes (more like indentations) on either end of these huge pieces of stone.  They must have used some sort of pincer to grasp the stones while lifting them into place.  I would like to have watched them put these babies into place, especially the topmost ones.

On the language end of things, Sister Bake is making progress, although more slowly than she would like.  I guess we just need to bear down and 'get 'er done'!!  That's easy for me to say, I know, because I had a huge head start.  My ability to hear most of what is being said is encouraging, but my lack of speaking all I would like to say still has be stymied. We work on it every day, reading out loud from the Book of Mormon, and trying to memorize words and phrases together.  It will come--AFTER the trial of our faith, I think-------we hope!

Our mission, although not a proselyting one, still helps to accomplish God's  work and glory, which is to bring about the immortality and eternal life of  His children,  even before they come to the end of their lives here one earth.  If we can help teach correct principles of work, industry, thrift, self-reliance, and especially self-determination (where they understand that they themselves have the right, the ability, and the duty to God, to figure out how to rule themselves while in this life), then, and only then will they be able to lift themselves up and out of the levels of poverty that so often plague Heavenly Father's children, and to then enjoy life more fully, as any father would want for those  He loves.

Next week you will get to meet the wonderful people we work with, especially Lucy!

The Spain Madrid Missionaries

We had a mission conference this past week, where all of the missionaries in our mission came.  206 young Elders and Sisters, and 4 senior couples.  They call us the matrimonials.  The other "seniors" are from the Area office and the Church Mission Office.  Our missionaries are getting ipads to help them in their work and this meeting was training in how to use them.  This was the first time all of the missionaries had been together.  Some flew in from Las Palmas, 1,200 miles away.  It was pretty special to be with the young missionaries.  Their enthusiasm is something else! After the meeting, pizza, soda, hugs for past companions and wonderful friendships renewed.  Great day!

   

Let me share an experience we had this past week that might give you an idea of the nature of our "missionary" work.  We work in the country office of Self-Reliance/Perpetual Education.  One of the things we do is to instruct Ward/Branch/Stake Leaders on how to set up their own programs in their units.  The three areas of focus are: 1.) Job Search; 2.)Education for Better Work; 3) Starting and Growing My Own Business.  Most of our time so far has been in the first category.

Each units  has their own "specialist", a person who knows the program and how it should operate.  Their job is to set up study groups in the three areas mentioned and help them to keep going.  We had one of the specialists in the office the other day, picking up some  literature for her assignment.
She related the story of one of the students who was participating in one of the groups, who approached her after one of the group meetings, and said, "I realize now that I have to change my whole way of thinking .  This is more about faith--faith in God, and that He wants me to be successful--and faith in the system (that we teach)."  Tears came to my eyes as I realized that this program (self-reliance) is an eternal program, and that God does want all His children to have success in this life, and in the life to come.

I share this story because both Sister Bake and I work in an office, most of the time doing "office" types of things, and we wonder if what we do really qualifies as missionary work.  We know that it does, but it is nice to hear some of the success stories that others see happening in their areas of stewardship.  This work changes lives!!!!

You need to meet our "boss" Paco, and his wife Susi.  He really knows his stuff.  Sister Bake kindly refers to him as the gentle dictator!!!  He is awesome and he really wants us to get it right!!

One of the things that all newbies to Spain get to experience is a "bacadillo de calamares".  For those who uninitiated in these things, that is a squid sandwich!!  YUK!!  On our initial foray into the center of Madrid, Paco and Susi made certain that we had this grand experience.  The squid is cut into little circles (like onion rings), deep fat fried and tossed into a hoagie-type bun, without any  Miracle Whip (or, Miracle Whip's little cousin, Mayo).  You then dive in and if needed, hold your breath, and chew, . . . and chew, . . .  and chew.  The stuff is chewy.  I got mine down all right, along with a little help of some pop.  Sister Bake, . . . not so much!!

Yes, . . . that is a bar we are in!!  Each little 'bar place' has, at least in this case, its own little specialty. We were then herded to another little 'meson' (bar) that had another specialty, one that we truly liked, and wished that we might have had another plateful. These are called 'champinones'--mushrooms!!, and, man, were they ever good!!!  Can you say"photo-bomb"?

These were stuffed with little pieces of ham, grilled, smothered in some savory liquid, and served piping hot.   And, NO!, that drink behind my hand is not mine!!!

We are beginning to get into the life here in Madrid.  We can now take the bus, and the Metro, and get to a few places that interest us.  We also take long walks, at least three or four times a week, just to try to stay in some sort of shape.  (Yeh, I know--round is a shape!!)  We have developed three loops that we normally cruise for our walks:  one is about three miles long; another is around four; and the last one is about 4 1/2 miles long.  They all are part of some great walking/biking paths that have been developed.  Tons of people mysteriously appear in the evenings and head out to walk and to bike.  Some even say 'hola' when Sister Bake speaks to them.

This last week we took the Metro into El Centro to experience  El Retiro (the Retreat).  Originally created as a "royal"--as in royal blood--retreat.  It is huge park, (320 acres worth) full of all kinds of plants, trees and monuments, that at one time was the King's playground, and place of 'retreat'.  There were families all over the part, some just meandering around, others out on the lake in oar boats, and others just sunning themselves on the lush grass.

The trees are at least 150 ft tall.  Beautiful grounds.  Who wouldn't want this as their retreat!

This is the Crystal palace, the place for parties and afternoon lunches.
Now it is used to exhibit art.  Today was a designer of fabric and weaving techniques.

King Alphonso XII.  His mother had this made to honor him.  In front
of it is a man-made lake where you can rent a small boat and paddle around.
 

This lion is one of two that are in the entry to the rotunda and statue of the King

The story continues next Sunday!

All my immediate family and a few friends that have been to our home for dinner have had the real enjoyable experience of having me get my finger wet, cleaning the rim of the crystal glass in front of me and then running the finger around the upper rim of the glass and having the glass "sing" a woeful tune, depending on how much liquid remains in the glass!  Michelle always gives me  the evil eye, but I sort of just go on and do it anyway.

We made our first trip to the center (El Centro) of Madrid last weekend, by city bus, accompanied by our friends and co-workers, Paco and Suzi Serrano.  They guided us through the maze of buildings, and people, and introduced us to a small smattering of history and special places to eat. There were lots of people in the plazas who were trying to earn a little money by displaying to the tourists some form of entertainment, for which they hoped the tourists would toss some Euros their way.  We came across this gentleman, and I just had to laugh.  Michelle understood, but our friends did not.  You will undoubtedly get the picture:

    

He really puts me to shame!!  We enjoyed his talent for a while, then moved on.  I have a long way to go for our next family dinner.

One of the highlights of the day was a visit to one of  the many Catholic Cathedrals that dot the horizon, in all of Spain.  This one, La Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena, is one of the newer ones, and as such, is very well-built and quite stately.  It is immense, formed inside with four different halls, depicting a huge cross in its structure. We probably sat and enjoyed the atmosphere here more that any other place we visited.  

Our return trip to our 'piso' (apartment) was on the Metro (subway).  I'm glad we had someone to help us figure out how to purchase the entrance fee, and to also help us actually find the right Metro to get one, and to make the connection to the other Metro line that actually dropped us off just a couple of blocks from our home!  I think , now, that we can maneuver our way to El Centro and back when we dare to go try it again, on our own.  It's a great way to get around, especially when you do not have your own wheels, like we did in the US.

Speaking of having wheels:  Paco wants me to have a car; once I learn enough Spanish and how to use it  to teach people how to become more self-reliant.  Right now, I am not too excited about the privilege of having a car, until I can get used  to the roundabouts, and all that goes with it!!  Time will tell.

The day we chose to go was also  a big holiday: Labor Day for all of Europe.  The crowds were beyond packed, and  there were folks from all over the world visiting El Centro!! We managed to survive anyway.  (you know me: farm boy from Idaho--loving my wide open spaces!!)

Yesterday, Thursday, was a Mission Conference, where all the missionaries, from every part of the mission, came to receive some serious instruction from Elder Dykes (Europe Area Counselor in the Area Presidency) and from Elder Allen (Church Missionary Department).  We all met in the chapel on the Temple Block.  Their main focus of training was about their upcoming delivery of I-pads, to assist them in the work of inviting others to come unto Christ.  Two Hundred and six missionaries, plus a few of us 'older couples' participated in the training, from 9:15 in the morning until around 2:30 in the afternoon, without much of a break.  The spirit there was amazing.  All these "kids" who were exited to be in Spain; doing what was asked; to teach others that there is a Savior and He loves them. We then were marched outside and had a humungous group picture taken, in front of the temple.  That being concluded, they were turned loose on the waiting pizza and soda in the cultural hall!!  "Get outta the way, Brother!!!!

After helping clean up the place, we escaped around 5:00. 

Another experience from the last week was our trip to Aranjuez, a small town and branch of the Church south of Madrid.  We went to help support a group of people trying to support and encourage each other in finding work.  They have a new building for their church!!  It was very nice to see them in a nice place, compared to what they had had in the past.  Yet, in comparison to what we have here in the US--What a difference!!!  The pictures that follow show the sign outside their chapel, and the Relief Society Room.

We also visited the king's summer palace while in Aranjuez.  It is no longer used by the King.  It is a tourist attraction now.  But, what beautiful grounds!  Boxwood bushes were trimmed to make mazes, large birdcage with birds inside, fountains, trees, and beautiful flowers.

Enough for now, our goal is to add to this weekly, usually on Sunday.  Have a wonderful week!