Madrid

Only You Atocha is a very classy hotel. After a day from hell travelling, it was a pleasure to arrive and to be given a glass of champagne at Reception. I had dinner at the Spanish time of 9.00 pm in the 7th floor restaurant:

From here is a view over the city with the main Atocha train station in the foreground:

I just had a light meal of pasta with mushrooms:


My room had a nice greeting for me when I stepped inside (a personal message on the TV screen):

It took me a while to figure out how to turn it off! My mind and body were in a frazzled state after the journey. Why? Well first of all, I arrived early at the bus station in Jaen intending to have something to eat. Nothing was open: nada! I had a long trip ahead of me. In my backpack was a dry bread roll and a miniature bottle of Tio Pepe sherry, that’s all! But better than nothing.

Finally, I was on the 15.30 bus to Madrid, with a quick change at La Carolina. Here I managed to procure a take-away beer in a plastic glass. I carried it precariously onto the bus. Ahead of me in the aisle, a woman was stowing a heavy bag on the overhead shelf. She couldn’t quite manage it and it fell back onto me and my beer, spilling half of it (but mostly onto her trousers).

At a motorway service stop of 10 minutes, I really wanted and needed an ice cream. The ice cream fridge was locked and I had to join the refreshments queue to get it opened. I suppose this is to prevent theft. I was afraid the bus might leave without me, till I noticed the female driver having a cigarette so I was safe! Now there was only another 270 kms to go. This explains why I was so frazzled.