I have finally finished my photo album and so in packing up the scissors and fancy paper I'd like to also pack up my final thoughts on the cities we visited in Spain. Here is my brief rundown;
Barcelona
We really enjoyed this city and it’s definitely a place I would like to return to someday and explore a little more. We were only there for 3 nights so we didn’t get to do everything we would’ve liked to, but we were still able to get a sense of the city and the people that call it home. We stayed in an apartment right across the street from the Sagrada Familia which was perfect. It’s touristy right around the church but because there aren’t any other ‘touristy’ things around there you are quickly into local neighbourhoods within a 2 minute walk. It’s a beautiful city with interesting architecture and it’s very easy to get around using the metro. I would give it a definite two thumbs up!
Begur
Begur is a small town about 1.5 hours NE of Barcelona up the coast towards France. It’s on the Costa Brava – Spain’s ‘wild’ coast and beaches (as opposed to the white sand touristy beaches of the southern Costa del Sol). We loved it – rugged yet beautiful beaches, friendly people, and delicious food. The only downside was that it is a very hilly town and it would be impossible to stay there without a car. The roads are narrow and sometimes treacherous and it was amazing to see how and where people would park! We rented a little house with a private pool and it was a relaxing, enjoyable week. They also had a delightful market and to me there isn’t anything more quintessentially small town Europe than a market! There are fruit and vegetables next to nuts and nail clippers and gorgeous scarves. So fun! I would recommend this town, but I would also recommend any of the other little towns all around it. The area is fun to explore and there are many towns to choose from that I think would all be great candidates for an interesting yet relaxing vacation.
San Sebastian
This was my favourite destination of the entire trip. The city is not too big, yet big enough to have a lot of interesting things to do and see. The beaches are beautiful – one has big waves for surfing while the other one is in a protected cove with soft, gentle waves. The tides come in and out which was fun to watch and also meant that there was a gentle slope into the water so it was shallow enough for the kids to be able to really play and have fun without worrying about getting too deep. The weather is more temperate, which was a welcome change from the heat of the Costa Brava and the heat that we knew we’d be facing when we got to Madrid. The tapas are fun and interesting and it was a pleasure to eat and drink everywhere we went! Seeing the differences in the Basque culture compared to the Catalan culture of the Barcelona area was also interesting and it’s truly amazing how different the areas of Spain are – in everything from geography to food to language. We all fell a little in love with San Sebastian and would love to return someday… as it’s fair to say that we left a little piece of our hearts there!
Madrid
Madrid is a huge city with lots to see and do. We barely skimmed the surface of sights and attractions but had an enjoyable time none the less. The metro system is fabulous and easy to figure out – and we used it multiple times every day. The city is very hot in August and the pool in our apartment complex was put to good use every single afternoon! Madrid was the first place in our entire trip that I saw a Spanish flag – before that there were Catalan flags in Barcelona and Begur, and the Basque flag in San Sebastian. This is a nation with very different cultural identities. What also struck me was the population density – there were rows upon rows of tall apartment-style buildings and never once did I see a single family home. Coming from Calgary that was very interesting and something very different than the way the majority of the people here live. I must admit that I didn’t love the food in Madrid as much as I had enjoyed it in the other cities, but then again it was nearing the end of our trip as well and perhaps I was just getting a little tired of Spanish food. It’s good, but I was dying for a huge, crisp fresh salad! I don’t know if I’ll ever return to Madrid, although I’m very glad to have seen it.
Now it's time to move past Spain and onto the next adventure - whatever that may be. The various countries and cities are floating around in my brain but there is nothing even close to decided. Vienna? Budapest? Florence? Athens? Frankfurt? So many places to explore... how does one decide? What a lucky problem to have!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Spanish thoughts.
Real life has suddenly pushed aside my regular blogging! Recovering from jetlag and preparing for back to school kind of threw me off schedule... but I have a few thoughts on Spain (and how it compares to life here in Canada/North America) that I will share for now. Sometime in the near future I still plan on posting my city by city synopsis and thoughts.
Warning - these are my personal observations and although they may sound negative please don't interpret them as complaints. I understand that different cultures do things differently, and by travelling and experiencing new things I am often lead to acknowledge that what we have here is pretty darn good! This, however, does not make me want to stop going out and seeing the world (scabs and all), because that is what makes things interesting!
Thoughts on Spain;
Smoking – it was everywhere. You couldn’t escape the smell and the cigarette butts were everywhere – even on Greek monuments from 1 BC! It annoyed us to no end how a person smoking at a dinner table would hold their arm away from their table which put it right next to ours. If you don’t want it at your own table, please don’t give it to us! The obvious effect of it was all over many faces as well – dark bags under the eyes and that distinctive smoker’s pallor that was especially apparent on people over the age of 45.
Garbage – again, it was everywhere. The streets were cleaned nightly with little zamboni looking machines and there was also a nightly garbage pick-up. If this hadn’t occurred it would’ve been a giant mess because culturally most of the people tend to just toss their stuff on the ground when they’re finished with it. Not everyone, of course, but we saw it happen over and over again. The streets of San Sebastian’s old town were absolutely disgusting late at night, but in the morning they were fresh and clean. Begs the question – do they clean the streets nightly because the people are gross, or are the people gross because they know the streets will be cleaned every night? There definitely needs to be some kind of education campaign about litter – yuck.
Siesta time – the idea sounds nice but the implications are annoying. To have most businesses shut down for 3 hours every afternoon is weird! It’s not like they are starting that early anyway, so you go to work for a few hours, go home for a few hours, head back in the early evening for a few more hours… no wonder their economy stinks! How can you accomplish anything when you never get to really put the time in? Very strange, and I always wondered what they did at home every afternoon for 2 or 3 hours in the middle of the day – I know that personally I would prefer that time in the evening when I know I don’t need to go back to work and have to think again.
Late, late dinners – ugh. For the first week I went to bed each night feeling heavy and full – definitely not spritely! Eventually my body got used to it, but eating a large, heavy meal before bed just seems hard on your digestion. It definitely cut down on the need for a big breakfast, but if left no time for an evening walk before bed. Then again, no chips on the couch before bed either!
Kids up late – this is a very interesting cultural thing and I can’t decide if I’m for it or against it. It’s really nice (in a family sense) to be able to take your kids anywhere at any time. If you want to go out for dinner (which means after 9 pm there) the kids simply come along. We saw kids of all ages out until midnight on many occasions. However, the lack of the evening ‘adult quiet time’ was missed… you know, that blissful time after the kids are in bed and you’re able to sit in a quiet, calm house. We missed that. It made us wonder, when do the adults get to have that time? In the morning? During that ‘siesta’ time when the kids are at school? We couldn’t figure it out. Most kids were very well behaved in the restaurants so that was really nice to see and it’s obviously just expected of them. Although the lack of time to recharge and re-connect as adults was manageable for a 3 week trip, it wouldn’t be nice for eternity. I prefer the ‘early to bed for children’ custom!
We had a very enjoyable and unforgettable vacation and the positives far outweighed the negatives. For instance, the prevalance of fresh, delicious, and cheap gelato was definitely a highlight, the coffee is so, so good, the beaches were clean and beautiful, the wine was cheap (!), eating is such a relaxed affair that coming home and eating in a restaurant feels rushed, the metro systems were fast, easy, and reliable, and we felt safe everywhere we went. Oh, and the Europcar rental office in the Barcelona Sants train station was the quickest, cleanest, and most pleasurable car rental experience we've ever had anywhere in the world!
So, to sum it up, things are always different when you leave your comfort zone. I know that if people travel here from other countries they must get very annoyed by some of our customs that we feel are perfectly reasonable. But I like it that way. If the entire world was the same what fun would that be?
Warning - these are my personal observations and although they may sound negative please don't interpret them as complaints. I understand that different cultures do things differently, and by travelling and experiencing new things I am often lead to acknowledge that what we have here is pretty darn good! This, however, does not make me want to stop going out and seeing the world (scabs and all), because that is what makes things interesting!
Thoughts on Spain;
Smoking – it was everywhere. You couldn’t escape the smell and the cigarette butts were everywhere – even on Greek monuments from 1 BC! It annoyed us to no end how a person smoking at a dinner table would hold their arm away from their table which put it right next to ours. If you don’t want it at your own table, please don’t give it to us! The obvious effect of it was all over many faces as well – dark bags under the eyes and that distinctive smoker’s pallor that was especially apparent on people over the age of 45.
Garbage – again, it was everywhere. The streets were cleaned nightly with little zamboni looking machines and there was also a nightly garbage pick-up. If this hadn’t occurred it would’ve been a giant mess because culturally most of the people tend to just toss their stuff on the ground when they’re finished with it. Not everyone, of course, but we saw it happen over and over again. The streets of San Sebastian’s old town were absolutely disgusting late at night, but in the morning they were fresh and clean. Begs the question – do they clean the streets nightly because the people are gross, or are the people gross because they know the streets will be cleaned every night? There definitely needs to be some kind of education campaign about litter – yuck.
Siesta time – the idea sounds nice but the implications are annoying. To have most businesses shut down for 3 hours every afternoon is weird! It’s not like they are starting that early anyway, so you go to work for a few hours, go home for a few hours, head back in the early evening for a few more hours… no wonder their economy stinks! How can you accomplish anything when you never get to really put the time in? Very strange, and I always wondered what they did at home every afternoon for 2 or 3 hours in the middle of the day – I know that personally I would prefer that time in the evening when I know I don’t need to go back to work and have to think again.
Late, late dinners – ugh. For the first week I went to bed each night feeling heavy and full – definitely not spritely! Eventually my body got used to it, but eating a large, heavy meal before bed just seems hard on your digestion. It definitely cut down on the need for a big breakfast, but if left no time for an evening walk before bed. Then again, no chips on the couch before bed either!
Kids up late – this is a very interesting cultural thing and I can’t decide if I’m for it or against it. It’s really nice (in a family sense) to be able to take your kids anywhere at any time. If you want to go out for dinner (which means after 9 pm there) the kids simply come along. We saw kids of all ages out until midnight on many occasions. However, the lack of the evening ‘adult quiet time’ was missed… you know, that blissful time after the kids are in bed and you’re able to sit in a quiet, calm house. We missed that. It made us wonder, when do the adults get to have that time? In the morning? During that ‘siesta’ time when the kids are at school? We couldn’t figure it out. Most kids were very well behaved in the restaurants so that was really nice to see and it’s obviously just expected of them. Although the lack of time to recharge and re-connect as adults was manageable for a 3 week trip, it wouldn’t be nice for eternity. I prefer the ‘early to bed for children’ custom!
We had a very enjoyable and unforgettable vacation and the positives far outweighed the negatives. For instance, the prevalance of fresh, delicious, and cheap gelato was definitely a highlight, the coffee is so, so good, the beaches were clean and beautiful, the wine was cheap (!), eating is such a relaxed affair that coming home and eating in a restaurant feels rushed, the metro systems were fast, easy, and reliable, and we felt safe everywhere we went. Oh, and the Europcar rental office in the Barcelona Sants train station was the quickest, cleanest, and most pleasurable car rental experience we've ever had anywhere in the world!
So, to sum it up, things are always different when you leave your comfort zone. I know that if people travel here from other countries they must get very annoyed by some of our customs that we feel are perfectly reasonable. But I like it that way. If the entire world was the same what fun would that be?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The final leg home.
Before our final day sinks into the recesses of my brain I'll do a quick rundown of our trip home on Sunday, Aug. 29th. After waking up by the rooster named Julia (up much earlier than usual) we packed up our things and did the final check to make sure no Barbie shoe was left behind. We had intended on taking the metro to the airport (1 euro each and about 45 minutes) but in the end we just weren't up to the 3 switches and all the stairs. So, we were wild and crazy and took a taxi! I know, we get nuts sometimes. It was about 30 euros and 20 minutes and we didn't need to think or stand and hold onto a bar the whole time!We were quite hungry so after checking in we went to a little café in the airport. It was kind of interesting because it was a sandwich bar with about 40 different kinds of sandwiches that you bought by the half for a euro each. Some were really strange and gross sounding so I did my best to find some that I thought we'd eat. I bought a tuna and corn, and a tuna with cream cheese and walnuts. Umm, yuck. We all did our best to get them down but in the end it just wasn't worth it and we went against all of our beliefs and slipped next door to McDonalds. I'm still shaking my head at eating there but I must admit it hit the spot. The Happy Meals were fun - nuggets and fries like at home but it also came with a mini water, apple slices and a toy. Usually you need to choose between the apples and fries but apparently not in Spain! The kids thought it was fun and Jeff and I stole most of the fries. (Which taste identical to here, do they import the potatoes?)
We had a whole pocketful of euro coins so I let the kids go nuts in the vending machines. Gummy bears, chocolates, drinks... they thought it was great (and I was happy that my wallet was 2 pounds lighter!). Although we had booked with British Airways our connector flight back to London was on Iberian Airlines. I wouldn't recommend this airline to anyone unless it happens to be very, very cheap. You actually had to pay for water and soft drinks - for 2.50 euros! I've never encountered that before, and especially not at a price like that. I can understand a small fee (if they're trying to keep people from over ordering), and I can also understand charging for alcohol, but almost $4 for a Sprite? Weird. Then when I was waiting for the bathroom I had to kind of half stand in the back galley area where the two stewardess' were. A teenage boy came and stood behind me and so we were both kind of in there and I could see the flight attendants were both sitting eating a proper warm meal off of a tray. (No food had been offered and as far as I could tell there wasn't a first class on the plane). One of the flight attendants stood up, rudely waved the boy and myself out of the back area and dropped the curtain mumbling something about interrupting their lunch. It was a 2 hour flight!!! Could they not have eaten before or afterwards? I have never encountered something like that, it was so strange. It's not a wonder that they have some issues with their economy when they have a sit down lunch break during a 2 hour flight! That reminds me of the car rental agency in San Sebastian - they were open between 10 - 1, then 4 - 7. Too bad if you needed a car or some assistance outside of those hours!
We landed uneventfully in London and went through the rigamarole of changing terminals, more security, passport checks, etc. We had a 2.5 hour stopover but by the time we'd actually finished with all of the transfers and lines we had about 45 minutes free. We grabbed some really great food from a café serving fresh soups and salads and also bought a delightful mixture of 'sweets' from the magazine shop. We had to board a bus that drove us out to the plane which was quite far away from the terminal. Odd, especially considering the size of the plane.
We settled in and got ready for the 9.5 hour flight. After pulling away from the gate we sat on the runway for about 45 minutes - long enough to make you antsy! I don't understand why they can't start the movies in that situation, I think they do it on purpose to make you look through that fancy skymall magazine with all the crazy gadgets that you don't need but really, really want. Electric slippers, fancy popcorn machines and inversion tables seem like a great idea when you're bored and sucking back recycled air!
Take off! Hurray on-board entertainment! I have one very important piece of advice regarding movie watching on airplanes... do not watch sappy, sad love stories. I sat there trying to not cry like a baby while I dabbed my eyes with a tiny square drink napkin. Ugh. I usually watch light hearted chick flicks, or movies that I'd be unwilling to pay for in a real movie theatre but there weren't many of those available on that flight. I will not make that mistake again.
Then, to add insult to injury I broke a nail and lost an earring! But, the food was delicious and between the 4 of us we had 6 seats so the good definitely outweighed the bad. The kids slept for a few hours and we arrived back home about 30 minutes later than projected. As I mentioned in my previous post we were met at the airport by my mom who greeted us with bells on. (Literally. She had bells! Funny lady.) We tried to stay up as late as possible to re-set our clocks so we went to bed around midnight. Jeff and Julia were up at 4, I made it until a little after 5, and Chloë beat us all by sleeping until 6. No one napped the following day (Jeff actually was at work so sleeping wouldn't have been very professional...), I busied myself with unpacking and downloading pictures, and the girls set up an elaborate Barbie wedding. The kids played all day without once mentioning being tired and they weren't cranky either which was amazing. By the evening Jeff and I were complete zombies but the kids were still normal and we were hoping they'd go to bed at a normal, reasonable time. At 9 pm we realized what time it was and went up to tell the kids to get into bed - only to find that Julia had already brushed her teeth, put on her pjs and went to bed! She was already fast asleep without us having any idea she was doing that! Chloë was also in bed and said she was going to watch her iPod for a few minutes and then go to sleep - and they both slept until after 8 this morning. So, hopefully they are back on track because school starts in 2 days! Jeff and I slept okay last night, we both had about 6.5 hours of sleep so we're hoping tonight we'll be back to normal.
Now we've settled back into real life with laundry and cooking and trying to get our heads around a new school year which starts in 2 days. I need to get the pictures printed off and put in a book before too much time goes by and while the memories are fresh - that will be my project for next week.
I still plan on doing a run down of the different cities we went to, and that post will come soon. Right now I need to throw some laundry in and write the kids' names in their new school shoes. Adios!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Home...!
Our plane landed last night just after 8 pm Calgary time after a fairly routine journey home. I'll write about the journey home and some reflections on the different cities a little later today - the kids are absolutely dying to go to Market Mall so we're off to do a few errands and have some lunch.
Oh, and a big shout out to my mom who not only picked us up at the airport, but had very nicely stocked our fridge with some essentials! Muchas gracias mama!!
Oh, and a big shout out to my mom who not only picked us up at the airport, but had very nicely stocked our fridge with some essentials! Muchas gracias mama!!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
The final day. Gracias Espana!
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!
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!
Friday, August 27, 2010
A sleepy day...
Another hot, hot day here in Madrid. We stayed up a little too late last night and drank a little too much cava and the adults are feeling it – let’s just say we’re moving a bit slowly today. I think Jeff and I were so excited to have someone else to talk to that when Jennie arrived we celebrated a bit too much with cheap bottles of bubbly cava!
(The picture on the left is from yesterday, it's the Plaza de Mayor where we ate some paella like proper tourists!)
This morning we took awhile to get up, dressed, and ready to go. Julia really wanted to stay home all day and play in the pool so we had a bit of a compromise and decided to head out for lunch and a look at the Plaza de Toros, then back home for some relaxation. The Plaza de Toros is big, and
grand, and it looks like they still have bullfights there every Sunday evening. We had lunch at a kebab place (I know, not traditional Spanish food but we were hungry and it smelled delicious!), then came back for a very refreshing swim. I’m so glad we have the pool, it definitely makes the stay here much more pleasant and the heat a lot easier to deal with. Julia made some big improvements in her swimming today and she finally got up the courage to take off her water wings and swim! We are all very excited for her and she’s feeling very happy and proud of herself – as she should. We made the kids come in from the pool for awhile because the sun is so hot and we didn’t want to get a sunburn or heatstroke. They weren’t overly pleased by that parenting decision but we stuck to our guns and had a bit of a rest. Then back to the pool! I think they are a little tired of touring around cities so we’re trying to balance a bit of kid stuff with the adult stuff so that everyone stays happy.After a very relaxing afternoon Jennie, Chloe and I took an excursion to the supermercado to check out all the different groceries. It's always so interesting to see the different snack foods and frozen items and we bought a few things to take home, and Chloe found some old fashioned hair rollers that she is planning to use as pool noodles for her Barbies. (Oh, did you know that pool noodles here are called pool churros? Funny.)
We went for a delicious dinner tonight in a very non-touristy place. Jeff went to school with a guy who lives in Madrid and gave us a recommendation for a neighbourhood and specific restaurant that specializes in Galician food. He told us to ask for the menu del dia because they never give it to tourists without being asked for it. What a tip! The menu was 12 euros and included a starter, a main dish, wine or beer, bread and coffee or dessert. Cheap!! Without the menu each item alone was about 8 euros so it was definitely a good deal and the food was really good. Then we hit the gelato stand for excellent, fresh gelato and rode the metro home where we are currently getting ready to hit the sack. One full day left on this vacation... in some ways it's gone by so quickly and in others it feels like we've been here for ages. One thing I'm looking forward to is my own bed... but I don't know if I'm totally ready for real life to begin again!
Tomorrow we will pack in all of our last Spanish things... churros in chocolate and flamenco dancing! And most likely the pool... then packing for home!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Shopping and swimming...
Wow, Madrid is hot. I hate to be a broken record but ayeyeyeyeye. It’s 36 C today and feels like you’re in one of those hot, dry saunas that smell like cedar. Of course you should replace the cedar with cement and the occasional whiff of urine and it comes close. Not to give the wrong impression though, we’ve actually really enjoyed ourselves here so far and it’s a pretty clean city from what we’ve seen.
We woke up and ate a small fortifying breakfast of coconut yogurt and plums and headed off into the great wild of Madrid. Our first stop – Plaza de Espana and the statue of Don Quixote. Yes, him. It was your typical ‘statue in a park’ situation so we quickly checked that off of our mental to-do list and moved on. We found a cute little sidewalk café that still offered breakfast so we ordered a number 2, 3, 4 and 6. Very easy! Julia had hot chocolate with a potato tortilla, Chloe wanted churros and hot chocolate, Jeff a fancy grilled cheese and ham with coffee, and I had a coffee with toasted bread and some kind of tomato salsa and olive oil. The only disappointment was that they were done with churros because breakfast was about to end… but we were happy that that would be one less sugar thing consumed. The hot chocolate here is more like warm chocolate pudding – it actually formed a skin on it during the short walk between the kitchen and our table!
Then on to some shopping. Chloe is a shopper, she is constantly wanting to look in stores and browse (and is quite the opposite of her sister and father!). So, we indulged her a little with souvenir shop after souvenir shop. Plus a giant department store filled with Barbies (which Julia also loved). Somehow during the department store excursion Jeff and I were afflicted with a terrible disease called ‘boredom’ and ‘sleepiness’. We had to move on for the sanity of the family. So, on we went in the hunt for lunch. We walked for a few blocks trying to find a place that was both shady and breezy and ended up in a beautiful square. After we ordered our lunch Jeff remembered being warned about eating in the Plaza Mayor because it’s a ‘tourist trap’. Guess where we were??? That must be why the tables were so nicely arranged under beautiful umbrellas. The food was actually pretty good and not overpriced (in our opinion) but they killed you on the beverages. Oh well, we got some nice pictures and sat there for an hour – we were fine with it. After all, we are tourists!
We then wandered semi-aimlessly until we felt the rubber would melt off the bottom of our shoes. I had a tiny bit of (hot) water left in a water bottle that I’d ration off into the cap and pour on the kid’s heads. We saw some stuff, took some pictures, and aimed for the metro. Some of the stations are very hot and we didn’t want to go in without cooling down a bit so we entered the closest bar and sat down. The glasses were frosty and the beer was cold and it was instant relief. As for the kids, Chloe ordered an iced tea and Julia had a grazinado – sort of a slushy lime/lemon drink that is really popular here. For the first time ever we received tapas with our drinks (without us asking). How exciting! Unfortunately I wasn’t even remotely hungry but I appreciated them being there… Jeff had a few and said they were great. Tomorrow I will be better prepared.
Oh, I forgot to mention the amazing market we found today. It was a high end market and it was gorgeous, clean, and had the best frozen yogurt I’ve ever eaten. You chose your size and then there were about 20 different toppings to choose from – I had a black cherry one and it was unbelievable. Julia had mango and we were so involved with our own that we totally forgot to taste each others! I think we’ll head back there in the next few days because there were so many nice looking things and we need to go there hungry.
We brought our tired, hot bodies’ home for some relaxation and pool time. I can hear Jeff and the kids out in the pool right now as I wait inside for Jennie’s arrival. She should be here any minute and then we’ll head down and sit by the pool with our nicely chilled bottle of cava.
** Side note ** this is an interesting time to mention the lack of toilet paper in this country. I had read it in a guide book but didn’t really think much of it. We’ve needed to buy it in every single city we’ve been to! In Begur it was so strange – we arrived at the house and there wasn’t a single scrap of anything absorbent! No toilet paper, paper towels, napkins… nothing! Just empty hooks hanging in the bathroom. Luckily I had a few napkins in my purse to deal with the pee emergency – how strange. In a lot of public bathrooms they seem to be out of paper as well, and in all of the other apartments we’ve had a single roll which obviously doesn’t work for 4 people for more than a day or so. So now we pack our own paper!
__Later___
About to head to bed and I am way too tired to add some pictures. Jennie arrived and the 3 of us adults sat around talking and drinking cava until we realized it was late and we should eat some dinner. We went to a seafood place and had the entire top floor to ourselves... they served us a huge platter of fancy seafood and little casseroles of fish and potatoes. Yum! We tiredly stumbled home and will conquer the city again tomorrow... zzzzz.
We woke up and ate a small fortifying breakfast of coconut yogurt and plums and headed off into the great wild of Madrid. Our first stop – Plaza de Espana and the statue of Don Quixote. Yes, him. It was your typical ‘statue in a park’ situation so we quickly checked that off of our mental to-do list and moved on. We found a cute little sidewalk café that still offered breakfast so we ordered a number 2, 3, 4 and 6. Very easy! Julia had hot chocolate with a potato tortilla, Chloe wanted churros and hot chocolate, Jeff a fancy grilled cheese and ham with coffee, and I had a coffee with toasted bread and some kind of tomato salsa and olive oil. The only disappointment was that they were done with churros because breakfast was about to end… but we were happy that that would be one less sugar thing consumed. The hot chocolate here is more like warm chocolate pudding – it actually formed a skin on it during the short walk between the kitchen and our table!
Then on to some shopping. Chloe is a shopper, she is constantly wanting to look in stores and browse (and is quite the opposite of her sister and father!). So, we indulged her a little with souvenir shop after souvenir shop. Plus a giant department store filled with Barbies (which Julia also loved). Somehow during the department store excursion Jeff and I were afflicted with a terrible disease called ‘boredom’ and ‘sleepiness’. We had to move on for the sanity of the family. So, on we went in the hunt for lunch. We walked for a few blocks trying to find a place that was both shady and breezy and ended up in a beautiful square. After we ordered our lunch Jeff remembered being warned about eating in the Plaza Mayor because it’s a ‘tourist trap’. Guess where we were??? That must be why the tables were so nicely arranged under beautiful umbrellas. The food was actually pretty good and not overpriced (in our opinion) but they killed you on the beverages. Oh well, we got some nice pictures and sat there for an hour – we were fine with it. After all, we are tourists!
We then wandered semi-aimlessly until we felt the rubber would melt off the bottom of our shoes. I had a tiny bit of (hot) water left in a water bottle that I’d ration off into the cap and pour on the kid’s heads. We saw some stuff, took some pictures, and aimed for the metro. Some of the stations are very hot and we didn’t want to go in without cooling down a bit so we entered the closest bar and sat down. The glasses were frosty and the beer was cold and it was instant relief. As for the kids, Chloe ordered an iced tea and Julia had a grazinado – sort of a slushy lime/lemon drink that is really popular here. For the first time ever we received tapas with our drinks (without us asking). How exciting! Unfortunately I wasn’t even remotely hungry but I appreciated them being there… Jeff had a few and said they were great. Tomorrow I will be better prepared.
Oh, I forgot to mention the amazing market we found today. It was a high end market and it was gorgeous, clean, and had the best frozen yogurt I’ve ever eaten. You chose your size and then there were about 20 different toppings to choose from – I had a black cherry one and it was unbelievable. Julia had mango and we were so involved with our own that we totally forgot to taste each others! I think we’ll head back there in the next few days because there were so many nice looking things and we need to go there hungry.
We brought our tired, hot bodies’ home for some relaxation and pool time. I can hear Jeff and the kids out in the pool right now as I wait inside for Jennie’s arrival. She should be here any minute and then we’ll head down and sit by the pool with our nicely chilled bottle of cava.
** Side note ** this is an interesting time to mention the lack of toilet paper in this country. I had read it in a guide book but didn’t really think much of it. We’ve needed to buy it in every single city we’ve been to! In Begur it was so strange – we arrived at the house and there wasn’t a single scrap of anything absorbent! No toilet paper, paper towels, napkins… nothing! Just empty hooks hanging in the bathroom. Luckily I had a few napkins in my purse to deal with the pee emergency – how strange. In a lot of public bathrooms they seem to be out of paper as well, and in all of the other apartments we’ve had a single roll which obviously doesn’t work for 4 people for more than a day or so. So now we pack our own paper!
__Later___
About to head to bed and I am way too tired to add some pictures. Jennie arrived and the 3 of us adults sat around talking and drinking cava until we realized it was late and we should eat some dinner. We went to a seafood place and had the entire top floor to ourselves... they served us a huge platter of fancy seafood and little casseroles of fish and potatoes. Yum! We tiredly stumbled home and will conquer the city again tomorrow... zzzzz.
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