Ourense to Madrid

I arrived at Ouense Station in good time to have breakfast and buy a ticket for the 8.29 train. I was amazed to be told there were no trains to Madrid for the next 2 days, “due to work on the line”. For some unknown reason, the incompetent woman in the ticket office sold me a ticket for Leon, then change for Madrid. It later transpired that this ticket was for tomorrow! I only discovered this when I was trying to board said train. After much argument, it appeared there was a replacement bus to Zamora, which would connect to a Madrid train. Why I had not been told about this originally, I don’t know. Anyway, the replacement bus was a very comfortable 3.5 hour trip, in a luxurious bus on the motorway. It was a lovely sunny day, with nice scenery from my front seat, but I was still fuming over the misinformation I’d been given previously.

The train from Zamora to Madrid fairly rattled along reaching 250 km per hour, even in the long tunnel after Segovia. I began to feel more human after finding the buffet and ordering a beer and a sandwich. It was a relief to arrive at my hotel in Madrid, the Barcelo Imagine, with its strange musical theme, a little haven of tranquility 2 minutes walk from Chamartin Station. I was given a nice quiet room on the 1st floor, but I was keen to visit the roof garden and look out at the view. I remembered last year having a room on the 6th floor, from which I could observe trains coming and going all afternoon (as well as watching a homeless man who was squatting on the waste ground just below, and had even planted a veggie patch). He was still in residence!

Trains coming and going at Chamartin.

Homelessness.

Now for a glass of sparkling in the bar.

Healthy fruit platter.