The Tour Guide Has a Larger Group

On Saturday out-of-town guests were still arriving for my cousin Werner's birthday celebration.  Ruth and Doris and I were having breakfast in the hotel when Werner's other sister, Brigitta, and her partner, Peter, arrived.  They had flown into Madrid from Zurich on an early flight.  Their room was not yet ready, so they joined us for breakfast along with Brigitta's daughter, Anatina, who had arrived the day before.

Ruth, Doris and I had no specific sightseeing plans for the day, but we were planning on venturing out for a few hours in the afternoon.  We asked Brigitta, Peter and Anatina if they would like to join us, so my little "tour group" expanded from two to five.

We headed out to the Puerta del Sol, the plaza which is the heart of Madrid.  Being a weekend, the plaza was much busier.

 Here I am with Anatina, Peter, Brigitta and Ruth. (Doris took the picture.)

 The ladies of my very exclusive "tour group"

  

Brigitta poses with one of the street performers on the Puerta del Sol.

We continued on into the picturesque, old neighborhood of La Latina.  We came to the Church of San Isidro which is dedicated to one of Madrid's patron saints.

Because of the antique limousine parked in front of the church we were certain that a wedding was in progress.

 

I have found that in Spain and Mexico, no one minds if outsiders enter the church during weddings, baptisms, etc.  So we went inside.

 

As you can see from this picture, it was a fairly small wedding.  However, it was a very elegant affair.  A small group of musicians performed classical music throughout the ceremony.  My "tour group" was quite taken with the beauty of the music, and we ended up staying for the rest of the wedding.

 

Afterwards we went to one of the many tapas bars in La Latina and had a light lunch.  By then it was time to return to the hotel because we had to get ready for Part Two of the big birthday celebration.