THE HEAT IS ON
In Madrid, that is! It was a sweltering 100 degrees when the plane landed. Passing through immigration, however, was a breeze. It was one in the afternoon when I finally made my way to the carousel to pick up my luggage. And boy was I shocked!
PUNETA!
The oppressive heat finally got to my head when I found out from the Continental help desk that my small luggage was left three thousand miles away. I told, nah, emphasized to the personnel behind the desk that all my clothes were in that bag. Pilar, I remember her name so well, in passable English was apologetic. Arrangement was made to have the suitcase forwarded to my hotel in Valencia. And, yes, for all the inconvenience it had caused me the airline will authorize fifty-dollar-a-day expense. "Fifty! Do you have any idea how much my underwear cost?"
OLE!
Confident that things would work out fine, I exited the terminal. The drive from Barajas International Airport to the city was pleasant. The few modern steel and glass highrises that dotted the landscape soon ushered the elegant classical architecture for which Madrid is known. It was too bad the many barricades marking roadworks completely obliterated the excitement that I felt when I first saw the spray of water from an elaborate fountain peeking through a roadblock.
Comments