Searching for the next millionaire .... and volunteering .....

It all started with a review in the travel section of a Sunday newspaper.  

I thought it looked interesting - but then I got distracted by Tanzania, Cambodia and London-based work. By November I had finished filming Suspects and was getting itchy feet.  As I pinned something to my notice board I saw the clipping and thought - why not?

A look at the website, checking availability for the week following the end of my contract - a little light form-filling (!) and off we go.

So it's the second of February and I'm on a coach travelling from Madrid to Rascafria - where I will spend my next week talking .....  (seriously, you had to laugh ....?).

Rascafria is about 75 minutes away from Madrid and nearer to the Sierra de Guadararama mountains.  The hotel is a Sheraton, adjacent to a monastery (the Benedictine Santa Maria de el Paular, originally built in 1390 as a Carthusian monastery) which we will come back to later.

The idea for the week is that the Spanish speaking, English learning people are immersed in English and our role is to talk and listen and talk some more ....  (Still you're laughing?).

As we arrived at the hotel, the sky was bright blue and the definite smell of snow in the air.  The ground was icy and the swimming pool looked shiny but cold and uninviting.

Each day was designed with a pattern for working and listening and the siesta ....  So breakfast at 09.00-10.00.  Then some more talking until 14.00.  Lunch 14.00-1500 and then a two hour siesta - where you could go off and explore, sit and talk and drink coffee/tea or do what the time is designed for and snooze.

The afternoon is 17.00-21.00 for more talking and listening and then 21.00-22.00 is dinner.  After that you are pretty much on your own - and probably ready for bed!

On the Tuesday we were allowed to visit the monastery and we shown around by the monk.  Here he is on the right.  He reminded me of a character in a series of books that I read when I was a school - Don Camillo - I didn't understand a word he was saying but he seemed very jolly and enthusiastic.

The Carducho exhibition was one of the places I went during my siesta - it's a series of 56 paintings, all created by Carducho and, after many centuries, has now been re-housed permanently in the Charterhouse at the monastery.  

The poster is the only photo as you aren't allowed to take pictures of the artwork.

Once we started to look around the monastery it became clear that there were rooms off rooms all rather ornate with gold leaf decorations and incredible details.  Altars covered in sculptures, decorative curves and statues.

Detail over the doorway at the entrance to the chapel

In the midst of this opulence there are pieces that are simpler -

And back to the ornate ....

Some areas were a little unsettling ....

And rather a lot of skulls underneath crosses ...

And back to the walking - if the weather was holding out and the person you were talking one-to-one was interested - you could wander off for walks to accompany the talking - and across from the hotel was a lovely walk  -

And finally, it's all about the people - a photo of the team - a fabulous week of talking (!), laughter, jokes, singing, theatre, reading and more talking (with an enormous dollop of food and luxury thrown in).

So, after all of this, it was back to Madrid and one final day before flying back to the UK.

I spent most of my Saturday at the Prado - first time in Spain, so obviously first time there.  I had a great time wandering around the galleries.

And this church is off to the left of the Prado - it looked interesting, but not enough time to have a look around it.

And finally, just in case you didn't believe me - a rather splendid certificate confirming my 80 hours of TALKING!

PS.  no millionaires ..... Mx