Volunteering in Spain + Why T-Shirts are Conversation Starters

With all the exotic places in the world, why would I return almost every after year to a tiny hamlet in Spain that's more than four hours north of Madrid? Many reasons: I can stay for free in a medieval environment;  wander car-free stone lanes that wind from your two-story dwelling; live among a group of Spaniards (mostly business men and women) where we spend our days learning about each other while I'm volunteer teaching them the intricacies of the English language (and without being stuck in a classroom); and engage in hours of role playing, group games, fun brainstorming sessions, and theater rehearsals. These are some of the many reasons I return to this hamlet named Valdelavilla.

Since the native English speakers have to chat one-on-one with the Spaniards for hour upon hour over the course of a week, that's where my JCreatures™ t-shirts come in. (I've blogged about the origins of the JCreatures™ several months ago.) These images are curious enough that wearing any of the seven t-shirt images almost guaranteed a lively conversation.

 I recently guest blogged for TravelProducts.com about Valdelavilla and how my t-shirts serve a couple of functions. Find out about my adventure here.

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Marvelous Walking Tours In Madrid

Madrid is one of my specialties. And, because I often like quirky activities, I found that a walking tour with the offbeat (some might say eccentric) Chairman of the Wellington Society of Madrid fits right in with my sensibilities. I've taken many of his walking tours and, with each one, I came away with lessons in Spanish art, history, literature and plenty of royal and political gossip and rumors. Whether it's a night walking tour in Madrid or a day trip to Segovia, visitors who tour with Stephen Drake, a former art history professor, will have a unique experience.



The Wellington Society of Madrid is not a tour company, but rather a society involved with education, culture and research. So, in order to sign up for any tour, you have to first become a member (and pay 50 euros). (Prices for the individual tours vary.)

Named for the Duke of Wellington who is most remembered for the Battle of Waterloo, the Society offers its new members a free two-hour walking tour of Madrid, plus tapas/wine stops along the way, as well as a travel help line and restaurant/wine recommendations, all for a 50 euro fee.

Here's what I learned on the many walks Stephen led:

• On the Hemingway’s Madrid walk, for example, we visited the writer’s favorite watering holes, hotels, cafes and restaurants.

• On the Bloody Madrid tour, Stephen pointed out the street where an assassin killed a philandering count on orders of the king, and the apartment where a writer, as renowned as Dickens. killed himself over a lost love.


• In Aranjuez -- a day trip from Madrid -- Stephen told me that the Bourbons hated to read but instead entertained themselves on the property’s hunting grounds and landscaped gardens.

• In Segovia, most people learn about the Roman aqueduct but Stephen pointed out the house where the public executioner would stay, the four restaurants favored by King Juan Carlos, the King of Spain, and the castle that inspired Walt Disney in the 1950s.

• Visiting the Valley of the Fallen, I got the real story behind the 50-foot-tall cross that sits above the underground basilica. It was not built, as most tours are told, as a memorial to some 40,000 soldiers of the Spanish Civil War but, rather, in honor of Franco and his right-hand man. In fact, tens of thousands of Republican prisoners were the laborers over the 19 years it took to build it.

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Adventures in Travel on Blog Talk Radio

Ellen Barone (no relation) who has a new show on Blog Talk Radio called "Travel Talk" just interviewed me. Check it out. You'll learn plenty about how I plan my trips, how I manage to never check luggage, why I love Madrid, and much more.

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Madrid Insider Advice

1. The most efficient and economical way of getting from one place to the other in Madrid is the Metro. If you plan on zipping all over the city, buy a 10-journey ticket at any metro station.

2. If you don't have a lot of cumbersome luggage, the hassle-free way to get from Barajas Airport to downtown is via the #8 Metro line that's right at the airport. However, you will have to change trains (at least once) to get to your final downtown destination.

3. Be wary of this scam used by pickpocketers all over the city: you're standing near a park when prodigious amounts of "bird poop" drops on you and two sweet, well-dressed young girls with water bottles and tissues rush to seemingly help you.

4. If you don't want to look like a tourist, don't order café con leche after 12 noon. It's a breakfast drink and should never be consumed with tapas or other afternoon/evening food items.

5. In the much-visited Retiro Park, don't miss the lakeside Palacio de Cristal, a glass pavilion with contemporary art exhibitions. Then wander to the park's east side across Paseo de Duque de Fernan Nunez for lovely gated formal gardens with peacocks, pergolas and water features.

6. On the south side of Retiro Park, you’ll find plants from all over the world as you wander past shady dells in the Royal Botanical Garden.

7. Near the airport but well worth the trip, El Capricho Park, open only on weekends, is known for its French, Italian and English-style gardens. It’s easy to spend the afternoon wandering around the shady grounds.

8. Giangrossi (Calle Velazquez, 44) is an artisanal ice cream chain that's usually packed but worth it to sample the many unusual and refreshing flavors, especially the mandarin and other fruits.

9. If you are a pastry fan, check out Mallorca (in Salamanca neighborhood on Calle Serrano), a chain store that has a wide array of miniature pastries, including éclairs, Napoleans and cream puffs.

10. Valentin del Barrio (Calle Moratin, 20) is an upscale leather goods shop (with a workshop downstairs) selling everything from portfolio cases to journalist's notebook covers. The family has been in the leather business since 1934.

11. Chocoholics should look no further than Cacao Sampaka (Calle Orellana, 4) for a quick fix of everything to do with the cocoa bean, including a shop to by gift items.

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Madrid's Other Amazing Museums

The Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza seem to attract all the touist attention. But there are other museums far out of the limelight that are worth exploring.

• Housed in a turn-of-the-20th century mansion, the Lazaro Galdiano Museum displays the immense private collection of Jose Lazaro Galdiano, a Gilded Age entrepreneur and writer. The exhibits include everything from 4th century BC gold jewelry to the works of Goya, and unique small and miniature paintings, a mere one to four inches in size. Surrounding the museum is a garden landscaped in an 18th century style, one of the few surviving examples in Madrid.
• The Sorolla Museum is the former home and studio of Joaquin Sorolla, Spain's most famous Impressionist painter. Here, you'll find his most noteworthy works, including "Strolling along the Seashore", as well as his Spanish ceramics collection and antique furnishings. After wandering through the house and viewing the paintings, stroll through the lovely garden that was inspired by Andalusia, with shade trees, water features and ceramic tile work.
  

• The Monastery of Descalzas Reales is an elaborately designed convent turned museum where the nuns who were daughters of artistocrats donated precious works of art. On the tour, which is usually in Spanish only, you'll explore the many rooms and hallways displaying gold holy relics, frescoes and tapestries, including one woven from work by Rubens.
• For a completely different experience, walk through the Museo de Escultura al Aire Libre, an outdoor sculpture garden directly under an urban bridge. A small waterfall and a bubbling pool drown out most of Madrid's traffic as you explore the dozen or so contemporary pieces, mostly bronzes, by notables such as Eduardo Chillida, Joan Miro and Julio Gonzalez.
• The Real Academia de Bellas Artes houses a premier collection of classic works of art, mostly religious, by such great masters as Titian, Raphael and Van Dyck. Here, unlike the Prado, you'll find plenty of peace and quiet with more security guards than visitors.
• Given its distance from downtown -- though still accessible by the metro -- it's no wonder the Museu del Traje (Costume & Fashion Museum) is little visited. It's a shame more visitors don't take the opportunity to examine the vast collection of historical and contemporary dresses, gowns and costumes. This modern museum, with a lovely glassed-in restaurant, located in a garden with shaded paths, stands of bamboo and a pond with more than 60 spouting fountains.

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