In the early morning sun...

In the early morning sun
... with a laptop in my hand

(apologies to Gordon Lightfoot)

My last day before retirement. Flew down to Madrid to drop off my laptop and sign some papers.

Coincidentally G., an old Madrid friend with whom I haven't been in touch for years, contacted me a couple of weeks ago, just before I learned that I needed to go to the Madrid office.

I last met up with her more the 20 years ago, passing through Madrid on my way home from Seattle.

So this was a great opportunity to meet and catch up. I knew G. from Bristol, where she had given me a few Spanish lessons. When she went back to Spain I travelled with her as I had booked a short Spanish course at the University of Salamanca. Through that trip I got to know several other friends, some of whom later came to visit the U.K.

I Madrid the office was empty apart from my HR manager and an IT support guy. Everyone working from home or out sleuthing as journalists I guess. The support guy happened to hail from Oviedo, Gijón's twin city (and rival) in Asturias. So we had a long chat, before I went in to see C. my HR manager.

C. was very kind and gave me a plaque as a memento, something I had not expected. A nice touch, that I appreciated.

After leaving the office I headed to my hotel in Barajas to drop off my bags. Then lunch, a 'menu del día' in Barajas' Plaza Mayor. A surprisingly pleasant square, surrounded on several sides by old porticos and having a choice of bars and restaurants.

The then back to the hotel to practice my siesta skills, before heading off to navigate to G's home in one of Madrid's peripheral towns. It was surprisingly easy to get to. Metro from Barajas to Nuevos Ministerios in the centre of Madrid then a local train down to Getafe. I arrived in Getafe in good time. The only problem was the G. lives in Fuenlabrada, not Getafe. Somehow I'd got the two mixed up in my mind.

Fortunately I could just descend a level in Getafe station, to the Metro, with a direct connection to Fuenlabrada a few stops further on. Very impressed by Madrid's public transport.

Had a very pleasant evening reminiscing with G. Left about 10 p.m. and then a smooth trip back to Barajas by Cercanías train and Metro.

Set three alarms to get me up in time for the flight back to A Coruña and the start of a new phase in my life.

... Out on runway number one
Little 737 set to go