Strange words to see together in a title, huh? I sent out a few emails to Madrid folks I found on the ASL players map, and got some nice hits!

Playing ASL with Ángel Playing ASL with Ángel

In fact, Eddy replied so quickly that he fast became my inside guy in Madrid, sharing tourism and food tips for the city. Unfortunately he came down with a bad cold just as we arrived so our meetup with him would have to wait for a while. Eddy also introduced me to Ángel and Toni, and I was subsequently able to meet up with Ángel twice: once for a tour of Club Dragon, and another back at Club Dragon to play a short ASL scenario. He’s an incredibly welcoming and nice person who retired a few years ago from banking and is at the club at least three times a week for ongoing campaign sessions.

GTS The Longest Day campaign in progress GTS The Longest Day campaign in progress

Club Dragon is an unbelievable spot just north of central Madrid that is member owned and a perfect spot for folks that play heavier games that might require multiple sessions. They have a set number of very large tables where long running campaigns can be played, or perhaps miniatures games that take a long time to setup.

Game shelf storage system at Club Dragon Game shelf storage system at Club Dragon

They also have a shelving system for finished and smooth plywood tables that can be brought out weekly (or whenever the game resumes) yet safely stowed between sessions. This keeps ample space available for games to be played on demand.

Visiting the palace with nuevo amigo Eduardo Visiting the palace with nuevo amigo Eduardo

The star of the show has been Eddy, and Julie and I finally were able to spend a day with him this weekend as he drove us out to the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. This is a Versailles-like palace between Madrid and Segovia. While it doesn’t quite have the opulence of Versailles, it has surrounding terrain to the extreme. Beautiful slopes leading to the mountains, deep pine forests. Eddy is a Manchester, England man who has spent most of his life working and living around the world, settling in Spain over 20 years ago. Next weekend we plan to go for a hike in the surrounding mountains, with at least his dog joining us if not more family.

I’m touch with Toni as well and it looks like we’ll meetup soon for a game. Such an amazingly welcoming community.

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