I promise I won’t start this post by mentioning again how hot it is. Oops.
Our main goal this morning was to procure Chloe her much anticipated churros dipped in chocolate. They are mostly a breakfast thing and because we’ve been going to bed so late and sleeping in we’ve never managed to get them – until today! It took a little while to find a place that was still serving them but we’re happy to say that we finally had some in a diner called ‘Nebraska’. We had also walked past an ‘Iowa’ café – seems like strange states to name cafes after, but whatever. Nebraska pulled through – the churros were fresh and the kids really enjoyed the dipping and eating. I ordered a ‘perrito Nebraska especial’. Supposedly it was the special of the café so I thought I’d take the plunge… not my best move. It’s a hot dog baked into a bun then covered with a slice of cheese, bacon, and a pickle. Then squirted with ketchup and mayonnaise and served with very greasy French fries. The breakfast of champions! The first bite was interesting, the second one was strange, and the third one was my last one. Their coffee was very good though, and I cleansed my palate with a churro.
We spent the rest of the morning wandering and shopping; Jennie and I each got a new pair of shoes, the kids got a few clothes and Julia bought herself some fancy flower hair clips. (Jeff carried the bags.) We soon needed a refreshment but weren’t feeling overly hungry so we were hoping for a cool, breezy place that would serve us a few tapas and we’d be on our way. We found a cute back alley café with beautiful tables inside (and air conditioned) so we sat and ordered some drinks. We’d noticed two of the waiters having a fairly intense argument and they didn’t do a great job of putting their feelings aside when they came to serve us. When we only wanted a snack we were curtly told that we were sitting in a restaurant and we must order the menu de dia. We offered to pay for our drinks and leave, but apparently that wasn’t an option either. The drinks were probably half the price of the menu (which was 12 euros) so we decided to just order it since we’d need lunch soon anyway. The kids didn’t need (or want) both a starter and a main but the guy made us order it! I said they would just have the first plate (and we’d still pay for the second, just don’t bring it) but he insisted we order it. It was quite the waste of food, but I guess that’s the way it goes! The food was actually quite good and it would’ve been a good deal if we were actually hungry. And again, excellent coffee.
We continued on through the hot, arid streets in search of a very specific popsicle that Julia had seen on a billboard. Frozen lemon in hand we headed towards home and another few hours poolside. Julia is a certified fish now that her waterwings have taken a hike. Chloe used her new Barbie pool noodles and found them to work perfectly, and we all had a nice cool down and rest. The girls started organizing and finding all of their Barbie clothes, shoes, scarves, etc and hopefully everything will end up home!
To officially finish off Spain (and Madrid in particular) we attended a flamenco show tonight. It was recommended to us as well as being one of the “top 1000 things you need to do before you die” in a NY magazine. Well, don’t forget – I’m sure that other things you should do are things like walk barefoot on dewy grass, drink fresh squeezed orange juice, or blow bubbles in the wind. This ranks up there with those things, and I’m glad we did it but it certainly wasn’t life changing in any way. The crazy thing is that there was still another show after ours and we barely made it through the early one! We actually left early before we all fell asleep on the table. Don’t get me wrong, the dancing was incredible and there was some huge talent, but the room was dark and hot and you had to kind of crane your neck to watch the show which became very tiring after awhile. But, wow, fast feet, and impressing clapping. Chloe noted that it was amazing how they could make so much music with only their hands and feet, and they did some fancy fan work as well. All in all it was worth going because we would’ve kicked ourselves for not seeing it otherwise, but we are all completely exhausted now and will be asleep in about 3 minutes. Hence, no pictures because I don’t have the stamina to sit and wait for them to upload. (This wi-fi is pretty good but for some reason it takes forever for pictures).
So, good night from Madrid… if I have some time tomorrow before we leave I’ll do a quick post but otherwise it’s hasta luego and a big travel day tomorrow. Spain has been awesome and we have had an amazing trip!
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