As expected, the group of friends were already in the Hotel, each couple in their room when Anna and I arrived from the Airport.- Transferred some clothes from the suitcases to the closet, freshened aup a bit and walked down the hall of the small Hotel, looking for the right room number. At my kock, the door opened and there stood Fito; a very dear friend of mine that I hadn't seen in some years. I wasn't surprise to see his hands occupied; one holding a glass, the other with a bottle of Chivas Regal He put the glass and bottle on a table, Alicia ran over to join us...and the inevitable greetings ceremony began with warm embraces, cheek kissing, and everybody talking at the same time.

Fito asked us to sit down for a welcome drink, and then we would go greet the rest of the group - three more couples - all Fito's family and old friends of ours., so everybody was comfortable with everybody else.- Perfect ! Soooo, finished the drinks, and just as I knew he would, Fito poured a second drink saying "One more for the road" and then we go see the others .I sure wasn't going to argue. We had the time, and the Chivas was 18 years old!

Our host called the three couples, and agreed to meet downstairs and go for a walk down t o the Arch Of Triumph, on Champs Elysee's and find an outside Cafe where we could seat drinking a beer, watching the Pariseans go by, immune by now to the beauty of their city. And we did just that.- More hugs and cheek kissing - everybody talking - and off we went into the streets of Paris; two camcorders besides mine, to record the event for posterity.

It was a very pleasant walk, and the company couldn't had been better, We found the Arch of Triumph to be impressive, but don't know why, the Second World War came to mind, and in my imagination, I could see German soldiers marching thru it.

Finally we found the Cafe we were looking for, sat down and ordered a round of beer. Francis, an attorney married to Fito's sister, Silvia, said that the Hotel could get us on a small Bus to take us on a tour of the city, then to dinner at a Restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, and finally to go see the beautiful bridges that span the Seine, from one of the touring boats in that river. Sounded good, everybody agreed, and the next day schedule was set. We just added one more thing: Mass at Notre Dame, We all retired early, everybody exhausted from the long transoceanic flight. Jet-lagged !

After breakfast next morning, we met our guide - he spoke French, English and Spanish - and climbed into the small touring Bus that waited by the sidewalk. The size of the Bus was just perfect for the ten of us and the guide. The driver, with his full attention on the traffic around us, followed his instructions. Our guide, a very charismatic fellow named Anton, after Mass at Notre Dame took us all over the city, explaining and commenting on the buildings, monuments and points of interests we passed. Among other places, we visited Napoleon's Tomb in "The Invalides" and later saw the famous cabaret "Moulin Rouge" We all wanted to come back at night to have a Pernod or "absinthe," now outlawed in the U.S. but favorite drink of Moulin Rouge's most notorius regular: painter Toulouse Lautrec, (1838-1930) and watch the ladies perform the famous "Can Can",

At noon, we stopped at a small, very charming Restaurant for lunch, and Anton translated the French Menus into Spanish. Still remember that Anna and I had the same thing: Escargot, Shrimp in a special sauce, Fillet Mignon - rare - with champignons and a bottle of "House Wine", Coffee, and a Napoleon Cognac. Had a very good time and the meal was excellent.

In passing, our guide pointed out the place where the Guillotine stood during the French Revolution, and Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed: La Place de La Concorde. Somebody commented on the alleged phrase "Let them eat cake" Anton said that was just a myth. He added that Marie Antoinette's last words had been: "I beg your Pardon, sir. I didn't do it on purpose."- after inadvertently stepping on the executioner's foot.

We had a terrific time in Paris, but the time came for us to go our separate ways. Fito and family were going to tour Italy; and Anna and I to Spain. At first we were planning on flying from Paris to Madrid, but the thought came to me that probably it would be more fun, and we would get to see the countryside if we went by train. So we decided to do that, and after the farewells to Fito and Family, we found ourselves in the Train Station with an enormous language barrier, not knowing where to go and do, and about to miss our train.- Lady Luck was kind to us, and we found a Hindu Gentleman that spoke English, kind enough to help us buy the tickets and find the car where our assigned seats were located. We profusely thank the helping Gentleman, found our seats and departed almost immediately.- We looked for the Club Car, where the Bar is almost always located. and while sipping on "screwdrivers" met some interesting people from Australia and conversation developed. sprinkled with a glass or two of wine. Before we knew it, we were crossing the Pyrenees mountains; natural border between France and Spain. The train we were on was going to Barcelona; since our destination was Madrid, we had to change trains shortly after crossing the border.

In Madrid, a Taxi took us to our Hotel, just in time for a late dinner and after, a Flamenco Show at the world famous "El Corral de La Moreria", a "Tablao Flamenco" with exceptional performers; singing, dancing and playing what sounded like magical guitars, by the talent and dexterity of the artists.

We had a week to explore Madrid before continuing, also by train, to Andalucia's capital city: Seville, in Southern Spain.