Madrid combines some of the best aspects of urban environments – colorful but tidy; historic yet with an edgy modernism; peaceful parks alongside vibrant neighborhoods; a fun food culture and a laid-back lifestyle (by many standards….)
Its heraldic symbol includes a bear eating from a strawberry tree. This relates in a somewhat puzzling way to a thirteenth century agreement between the town council and the Catholic Church over ownership of land. (Apparently, in olden times strawberries grew on trees instead of bushes.)
Street art, of course….
The most comprehensive neighborhood recycling center we’ve ever seen…..
Most of our time, however, was spent sampling the culinary delights of which the Madrileños are justifiably proud… at local markets and tapas bars.
Our biggest investment on the whole trip was in Spanish olives stuffed with anchovies… tender and flavorful, and emphatically not fishy. Just right with an aperitif or simply popping them out of the can.
Good things come to an end…..the gastronomic tour of Madrid on top of all the other “food-forward” destinations had us waddling back across the Atlantic to Washington, DC and then home.
In addition to stuffed olives, a lot of cheap trinkets came home with us….
Faithful hounds were excited to see us upon our return to East Texas.
A Word or Two About Wonder and Gratitude
Most of us alive today are pretty blasé about flying and air trips….. but think for a moment about what amazing opportunities we have to travel long distances in short time periods…. to see, taste, hear and smell new environments and cultures.
Do you remember your first flight? What thrilling moments – strapping in to the seat, feeling the thrum of the engines – and glued to the window, you watch as the aircraft rises through and above the clouds, as the world as you’d known it slowly recedes until it’s just a point on a landscape.
Here’s a young pilot and poet who captured the wonder of flying in verse…..
High Flight
The poet’s name was John Magee….. he penned this sonnet while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. In December, 1941 – just over three months after writing the poem – he was killed while flying in a training exercise. He was nineteen years old.
It’s Memorial Day in the US, a time when we honor those who died defending the principles of liberty, democracy and equal rights before the law that we hold dear. Let’s acknowledge and be grateful for the gifts we’ve been given and the freedoms we enjoy while remembering those who gave the last full measure of devotion.
Go in peace.
Around the World Again 