Friday, 20th March 2009:A good nights sleep had by all. Well, at least by Mr Ludlow and Mr Evans. The boys, had a mission to stay awake most of the night and almost achieved their goal. Fortunately, Miss McHolm, Miss Dean’s and Mrs Leigh’s room was the nearest to theirs. Whoops! Sorry ladies. Another year when the men sleep through the noise and the female staff dutifully make numerous visits to the boys room, oh and one or two to the girls as well. And as for making their own beds, well the girls win hands down.
Mr Ludlow was impressed with the mess that can be made by boys after only one night. Theo gets first prize. But to be honest the logic of spreading EVERY item over the floor to make it much easier to locate items was an interesting one. Mr Evans and Miss McHolm have followed Theo’s guide to organising your room. Breakfast, consisting of a loaf of bread, cake and jam was had by all whilst plans for the day were shared with enthusiasm.
Setting off in the sun, the party of sixteen ventured out into the bright sunshine. Only a few hundred metres down the road it was noticed that poor Katie was limping badly. Such a star, not a word of complaint. We stopped off at a pharmacy to buy some blister pads only to be told that we should take her to the doctor. The SUPER team went into action. Miss McHolm and Manuela split from the party. After treatment she was feeling fine, walking without pain. Her return to the group was greeted with hugs and smiling faces by all. A call was made home and all was well.We took the children through the city, pointing out the Pension where the staff would stay. We headed towards the Parque del Retiro. On arrival, Mr Ludlow and Mrs Leigh peeled off towards the embassy, whilst Mr Evans and Mrs Dean took the children over to the park for a drink, an ice-cream and a play.
After thirty minutes in the embassy it became clear we would need the four children who required emergency passports to have their photo for ID purposes. Mr Ludlow stepped into the telephone box and appeared wearing red underpants over his trousers and a big S on his shirt (only joking kids!). Meeting Mr Evans, as they where leaving the park, a smooth hand over took place. It could have been a James Bond spy movie. Off to the Consulate again to meet M. The children thought this was quite exciting, going through the very tight security. The consulate were really helpful, I fully recommend them, but not too often! All checks done, photos taken, identities established and then we were off again to meet the rest of the party, in Bond style, just at the nick of time for the visit to the palace.
How beautiful, just like home. Patrick, the Spanish teacher greeted us and then we walked past the snaking queue of people and went in a special guest entrance. Each child was fitted with their James Bond ear piece and we were off. The guide pointed out the key features of this amazing building. Evelyn had the quote of the day, when the guide pointed to the Frescos she commented that they were nicer than her Hanna Montana picture she had on her ceiling. A challenge for mum and dad to get their paint brushes out in the style off Tiepolo (impressive knowledge, ah). The guide was interested that the children were learning Spanish. She encouraged them to ask her questions in Spanish. I hope she wasn’t expecting questions about the palace. They asked how old she was, where did she live, what was her favourite colour and not to forget the other vital question, “what is your favourite pet?”. Well at least the children’s Spanish is better than Mr Ludlow’s. There was a small clue that the children were getting tired. Near the end of the tour the guide was talking enthusiastically, pointing to historic artefacts when she turned around all the children were sitting or lying on the floor! Maybe they were admiring the marble decoration? Energy soon returned when the word shopping was mentioned.
Off we went to the Plaza Mayor via many famous sites and the odd building site.
Yippee, time to buy all those useful gifts! The days events culminated in a warm greeting by all the host families and children. Hugs and kisses were had by all. The Spanish staff explained that the families had booked a coach and on Saturday all the children would meet to go on a group trip. What a great idea and very reassuring that the children would meet each other.
Adios for now. We look forward to meeting the children at school on Monday morning and updating the Blog further.
