Today I went with my friend Jackie (another Auxiliar) and a teacher from her school and her family for a daytrip to Aranjuez, a city an hour south of Madrid. Aranjuez is famous for the Palace, which was the spring residence of the Spanish monarchs from the reign of Philip II (1551) onward. It was really neat, one of the kings ( I don't remember which one...) had a wife who was Portuguese, and she missed the sea, so he built a fountain outside the palace, which sounds exactly like waves crashing on the beach! How romantic! That's the kind of guy I want to find! : ) We took a tour of the Palace and the gardens and enjoyed a lovely late lunch at an Irish cafe before heading back to Madrid. It was wonderful and the family was great! The mother and father both spoke English pretty well because they had lived in San Francisco for a few years before they had children. They have a 16 year-old girl and a 14 year-old boy, and the girl also brought along a friend of hers, who she will be going with to London this summer to participate in a month-long study abroad program in. We talked about school, music, and everything in between--conversation just flowed and I felt like I had known them forever! I think they would be a great host family for a study abroad student! They are so warm and welcoming! It was a pleasure for us to spend the day with them and they wouldn't even let us pay for a thing! They said they want to do these kind of day-trips once a month, on Sundays, to places around Madrid so we can see the touristic sites and they can practice their English--sounds good to me! : )
Aranjuez is also famous for its strawberries. There is a special Tren de la Fresa that takes passengers from Madrid's Atocha Train Station to Aranjuez in wooden wagons of a Steam Engine Train with hostesses dressed as in the 19th century, who provide guests with the succulent strawberries typical of the gardens of Aranjuez. It only runs from May-October, but it's definitely something I'll have to look into!
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