Hi Jer

I'm in the library typing out this because my computer is totally out of it, being infested with the dreaded FUN-LOVE virus - aaaargh.

Fortunately I had printed out most of my important documents for our forthcoming holiday in Madrid/Cantabria starting next week.

The only thing I am worrying about really, is that after 2 nights in Madrid, we are hiring a small car and will pick it up near Atocha then collect luggage/rest of family from Hostal Martin on C. Atocha. Not being used to a) driving on the r.h. side and b) not knowing Madrid from a road point of view, I wonder how we will get on if we get lost?

We don't speak Spanish (only what we've picked up on previous travels) and wondered what to do if we get lost either in Madrid, or on our way to the coast.

We have arranged to pick up the car at 10am therefore hopefully missing the rush period.

If it was just my husband and myself, we would just blunder through and deal with whatever situation happened, but as it will be boiling hot and the car is tiny and we have 3 children, the nightmare scenario is being lost!

Hope someone can reassure me as to what to do - ask a policeman?

Thanks
Jo

Hey Jo-Anne.

Sorry to hear about that virus thing. I have recieved a lot of suspicious attachments lately from people I do not know and surely they were viruses. Since my PC is sooooo very important to me, my ploicy is to instantly delete all suspicious mails and NEVER open any attachments, especially the ones with an .EXE, .MP3, etc... file extension, those are the INSTANT killers! Opening themis similar to sticking dynamite in your disk drive and lighting it.

Well, I can't help ya on that right hand side of the street driving thing but if you get lost in Madrid, feel free to phone me on 656 266 844 (my mobile phone) and I will try to talk you out of the mess. I can not guarantee anything since I do not drive much in the city (I'm smart that way!).

If you get lost, you can try asking a cop but I fear that most of them will not speak English so I do not know how far that will get you. On the highways, even fewer "Guard�a Civil" ("Civil Guard") speak English than do police in Madrid so you may be on your own to find the right way.

I think that getting a good road map and thinking positively (repeat to yourselves "We won't get lost, we won't get lost, we won't get lost" over and over) is the best way to go about this. I think all will go well and wouild not worry too much about getting lost.

At the risk of being accused of trying to plug my new cellphone rental service here, I am going to go out on a limb since I feel in your case (travelling by car and with young children) it would be wise to have a cellphone with you. I offer a unique "call Jeremy" in case of emergency or language doubts service that I include with the rental. You can see more about the service at www.onspanishtime.com/web/cellphones.htm

Saludos,
jer...

Thanks for all that help Jer

Actually, my own cellphone from UK will work in Spain (expensive, but useful for those emergencies).

Believe it or not, one of the few things I managed to retrieve from my computer was your telephone number which I have put with all our other important things!

You are very generous with your time and help, and I really appreciate it.

Will certainly give you a wave in Plaza Mayor!

Not too worried about getting lost after leaving Madrid, it's just the thought of us being highly irritating in the city, to anyone behind us that bothers me most!

Thanks again.

Jo

That's cool Jo-Anne, as long as you have a mobile phone, it may come in handy.

Take it easy in the city when driving, don't let the natives drive you nuts (no pun intended ). The Spaniards are horrible drivers on the whole but don't let them get you nervouse, that is when accidents happen.

If you get disoriented in the city, just pull to the side of the road and take a good look at the map.

As for my time, I figure you onoy go around once inthis life so you should be good to others . Not a very deep philosophy but a good one. Besides, I love Spain and enjoy helping others to love it too.

Saludos,
jer...

Hi Jo-Anne - I sympathize with you on the driving thing - whenever I went through Sevilla in a bus or with friends in their car, traffic always struck me as pretty crazy. One thing I did notice was that Spaniards are not shy about asking for directions - even the men :-) (at least the ones I was with weren't). Don't be afraid to ask the locals - any locals, not just policemen. If they don't speak English, and your Spanish isn't getting the job done, try to get them to draw you a map (you could pantomime - or use a street map and they could mark in pencil)- the street names will be the same for both of you. - Driving on the "other" side of the road will be the most difficult probably. As a right-driving American, I can't imagine trying to navigate my way through the UK (or worse, somewhere like Hong Kong) trying to shift gears on the other side and remembering the different pedals. Just keep a positive attitude and remember that most people are willing and able to help you if need be. Good luck! -G

gabriela and jer

Yes, got that positive attitude together now, and won't worry any more about the driving aspect. Who knows where that 'wrong' turn may take us? Might be the best thing to happen, not the worst!

Thanks, and I'll be waving in the Plaza Major on Sat/Sun! (Where do I need to stand to get on the web cam?)

Jo

Hey Jo, as I have gotten personal e-mails on getting on the Plaza Webcam before, I have moved this topic to another forum at http://www.multimadrid.com/cgi-bin/jersbbucgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=6&t=000010 , just click on the link to go there.

Saludos,
jer...

Unfortunately I can't relate to the "don't speak Spanish" but let me tell you, sometimes even if you do, the directions given don't help much. Thankfully, Spaniards love to speak with their hands. My best advice is the following: Stop and be brave if you get lost, ask ANYONE, and just give them the name of something important to your getting where you need to go ("Plaza de Cervantes" or "Atocha tren"). They'll point in a direction and then you say "gracias" and move on to the next person a few blocks away.

This really does work, especially since I've been given the following set of directions by a well-meaning Spaniard: "Go down this street, take a left on Calle Ochoa, then ask someone there. They should know."

Good luck as you sally forth!

Hey Euskaldun! That is some classic advice my friend, I almost fell off my chair with the chuckle it gave me .

It is all sooooo true though! None of my American friends believe me when I tell them stuff like that, they say I am exagerating.

The most amazing, and very often used, directions given by a Spaniard (usually when he/she has less than absolutely NO idea of the answer) is:

"Ah s�, es all� en frente" - loosly translated as ---> "Oh yeah, right over there in front".

Whatever the heck that means !

The funny thing is that you can be in the Puerta del Sol and ask a Spaniard where the Faro de Madrid is and you will get that "over there in front" answer with a hand waving in the general direction.

Aaaaarggggghhh !
jer...

Well, in Valencia 20 years ago (sheesh!) it was always, "Todo recto, todo recto, no esta muy lejos." (Straight ahead, straight ahead; it's not too far.)

memories....

Todo recto and all� en frente seemed to be all I heard at times. Totally verdad.

Jer, this is for you: When I was studying in Madrid years ago, we were on a scavenger hunt and had to find a madrile�o and have that person explain the Cibeles fountain's history. We had an old man swear up and down that Cibeles was in a "convertible chariot" that spewed water because it was so damned hot in Madrid. We asked him later how to get to Plaza de Col�n and he answered "todo recto hasta all�..."

Hey Euskaldun, good stuff buddy, and soooo true!

Actually, you got lucky, that guy gave you some decent directions after all, it is straign up the Castellana.

Saludos,
jer...

p.d. as for that Cibeles description, with days like today (36�) I do not doubt it!

Jer,

It's interesting the differeent perspectives. Having spent three weeks driving in Spain recently, I thought the Spanish drivers were great. But I chose to use the Metro in Madrid itself. Of course, I happen to be a somewhat assertive driver myself.

Hey Ernesto, jer here.

Well, by far the Metro is the best choice for moving around inside the city. I too consider myself an assertive driver and it is not that I can not handle driving in Madrid but I guess I just prefer not to.

Apparently Jo-Anne and crew got around fine in and out of the city.

Hey Jo-Anne, how about an update? Any anecdotes or fun car/driving stories while you were here ?

Saludos,
jer...