Lost and Found

One of the best parts of having Alex with us is that the pace of this trip has included more moments of relaxation than our previous trips. Our days start with slow movements to get ready, we linger over breakfast and have a small handful of things we want to see or within a day. It is wonderfully relaxing and very different than our previous action packed trips pre-Alex.

We have discovered two things in our first evening here. First, the walls in our hotel room are VERY thin. As in we can almost hear the content of our neighbors conversations. We can certainly hear when they come and go every morning and evening. It has not seemed to bother Tim and Alex much but Michelle is quite happy that she brought ear plugs.

Two, the only laundromats are outside of he main town area, requiring a bus ride to get to. Since that will eat up a significant amount of our time in a day, and we each only need clean shirts, we opted to do laundry the Rick Steve’s way. Fill the bathroom sink with water, hand wash what you need and let it dry in the shower stall for a day or two. Thankfully there is a hair dryer we can use as well if needed to finish the drying. ;) It will be enough to tide us over until we get home.

The breakfast options at our hotel looked minimal so we decided to head up to a restaurant up he street. It turns out the restaurant is connected to a different hotel next door. There were a good number of people there so the mood was lively. Michelle and Tim has spanish tortillas and Alex has the buffet. This kid can pack away the food when he is in the mood. They had a juice machine and Alex had fun mixing the various juices to create his own combinations. We forsee many bathroom stops in our future for the day!

Our plan for the day was to meander around town getting lost and found again. We ended up spend a lot of time plotting the Jewish part of town and were able to find three different parks for Alex to play in. He was ecstatic.

Contrary to most European cities, every church costs to enter here. We decided to buy the tourist bracelet which would allow us entry into seven of the smaller churches, as we figured we could see all of them in the three days we were here. The pass is a bright orange wristband that basically screams “hi, I am a tourist” to anyone who sees it. Not that we really fool anyone that we are locals when we travel, but we try not to have the equivalent of a flashing neon son on our wrist either. :(

We were able to get to three of the churches. The pass has reenergized Alex as he now has a goal to get the special stamps for each church location in his map. He has a goal to finish the last four tomorrow.

As we were walking to find dinner we bumped into a video showing the history of Toledo (in Spanish with English subtitles). It was interesting to hear how three very different religions could live in the same city and still respect, value and defend each other. Makes us wish there was more of that back home. :(

We had more late night tapas at a recommended restaurant (not our favorite). The food was so so and we think we hit a shift change and the wait staff forgot about us. When we came in it was slow and by the time we left the place was packed and hot. It was still early (8:00 or so) but we opted to head back to the hotel in search of some sleep. A good, full and relaxing day.

Last Moments in Madrid and First Moments in Toledo

Alex was up early (4:30 anyone?!?) and so we were up and getting ready around 6. Since we were leaving later in the day we opted to pack up and check out early. The Marriott would store our bags all day, so this way we figured all we had to do was talk to a porter to get our bags when we were ready to head to the train station versus having to be back at noon to check out. By 8:00 am we were back on the streets off to catch the last few sights of the city.

First up was breakfast. This time Tim found a great place that had all locals in it, and ones who looked like they came in every day for “the usual”. Young and old alike. The waiter was a sweet older gentleman who was very patient as we tried to determine what we wanted. In the end it was cappuccinos for Tim and Michelle, orange juice for Alex and Spanish tortillas of various flavors for all of us. Spanish tortillas are not at all like the tortillas we have at home. They are eggs, onions, cheese and potatoes mixed together and fried. If you have no other ingredients then it tastes like potatoes au gratin. Michelle had the original, Alex had added ham and Tim had added chorizo. All of us enjoyed our selections.

After breakfast we made our way over to the Egyptian temple. Apparently at some point in history the Spanish helped the Egyptians defend part of their territory and in thanks the Egyptians gave the Spanish one of their temples. So there it is, in the middle of Madrid, an Egyptian temple. Unfortunately it was closed on Monday’s, and since there was a healthy gate and a literal guard presence we couldn’t even peek through the windows. There is always next time, right?

Second on the list was to show Alex the palace and the cathedral. Since Tim and Michelle have been in these before, and we know the patience of our kiddo stacked against a long waiting line and even longer time on his feet, we opted to just see it from the outside. In all honesty, at his age we are just thinking exposure. He won’t remember details of this trip, but if he remembers the size and scale of things, and that there are different ways of living life, then that is enough for us.

After our quick exterior look at the palace, the garden and the cathedral we headed over to a restaurant for quick kebabs and pizza and were on our way back to the hotel. We collected bags and made our way through a crowded metro to get to the train station.

We had not bought tickets the day before as we just wanted to check on seat availability. Only 2 of the 12 trains were sold out for the day so we were not worried about getting tickets,  it was just a matter of when. We went back to the kiosks to buy them and realized all of the kiosks had been turned into contactless ones since our last visit in 2009. That means there is not place to insert your credit card, you have to have a contactless method of payment (like ApplePay). So these luddites treked there way to the very long ticket line. In front of us were two older ladies who were also going to Toledo. They were not sure they were in the right line. Tim assured them they were. After they finished purchasing their tickets for the next train (leaving in 30 min) it was our turn. And guess what. There were only two seats left on the train leaving in 30 min. But there were some for the train leaving in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Glad for the other ladies, but wondering how we would entertain Alex for 90 minutes in a train station, we plunked down our money and headed to security. We made sure to purchase our return tickets at the same time so we could be certain we were able to get back for our flight!

The train to Toledo was a fast one and we were there in 35 minutes. Trains are funny things. There is something cold and hard in the way they are designed, but once they start moving their rhythmic rocking is hard to resist. It almost feels like being held by your mother as a baby and gently rocked to sleep. Tim was out in 5 min, Alex lasted 15 and Michelle was the last one to go with about 10 minutes until we arrived in Toledo. The nice thing was, about half the coach we were in was already
asleep by the time Michelle finally nodded off. We are not alone. :)

We arrived and determined that we would only save around 40 cents if we took the busses into town versus a taxi. We hailed a taxi (Alex’s first!) which zipped us up the hill with alarmingly fast speed. Our hotel was located easily and once we checked in we were on the hunt for some good food. The hotel clerk had some good recommendations and we were excited to work our way through the list.

The thing about towns like Toledo that we love is that half of the fun is to get lost and then find yourself and then get lost again. The curving winding streets that split off in multiple directions are so fun. It is like a secret maze where you ever know what is around the next corner. We learned that this kind of development was also a defensive measure. It is much harder to invade a city if the invaders don’t know where to go and you can hide around various corners. Toledo is pretty manageable and fun. Venice, which is also like this, is a bit crazy. In Venice you could loose yourself and never be found!

We had some great tapas at one of the recommended restaurants, grabbed Alex his first helado and were on our way back to the room. Both boys crashed out quickly and Michelle was fast to follow. We are excited to have three full days in Toledo to really dive into the city and see all it has to offer.

Aaaannnndddd we’re back!

Our first full day in Madrid began with the realization that it does not get light until around 8 am. And with our early rising son this leaves about 2 dark morning hours to keep him occupied before he we can really get going. And since most of Europe doesn’t do American style breakfast, having him wait until 8:00 to get moving is akin to torture. Thankfully the iPhone works miracles and, as he isn’t used to having free rein access to one, he was overjoyed to get it into his hot little hands. This strategy will come to backfire on us. More about this later.

Not only did we have to bide our time for a few hours, the breakfast place Tim was planning on going to turned out to be closed. At least we were not alone in our disappointment. Another younger couple came up the street, saw the same thing, and smiled at us with a slight shrug of their shoulders before turning around in the direction they came in.

We doubled back as we as we passed by a few places on the way that looked fine. Alex had a smoothie and doughnuts. Tim and Michelle had pasteries and cappuccinos. They were ok but not great. Loaded up on sugar and caffeine we headed out.

Our first walk was to Plaza Mayor, one of the main squares. It is a huge space in the city lined by shops and cafes. It has just rained and would likely rain more in the day so only a few dozen people were milling about in the square. Apparently Sundays are the days for coin collectors as they were out in the covered eves in full force. Alex was not terribly impressed with it all. And apparently the coolness of buying a sandwich and your favorite beveridge and sitting in the square chatting with your friends wasn’t quite painting the magical picture we had intended. So seven year old in tow, we moved on.

Next up was El Rastro. Surely a tangle of markets and stalls all lining a cross crossing maze of multiple streets would get a seven-year-old entertained! We started at the top so he could get a view of what it was all about. He was excited about this one, especially when we talked about the possibility of pick pockets. He wanted to hear all about how it was done and if we had seen any. Oh boy have we. Not wanting to freak him out, we kept the details to a minimum of what he needed to know. Stay close to mom and dad.

We walked down one or two of the main streets then Alex spotted a small fitness park so we played for a little bit. He was quickly done so we decided to make our way over to the Atocha train station. This is where we would be leaving for Toledo the next day and it is a beautiful We asked some older men for directions and they sweetly reminded us to watch our bag as pick pockets were about. I always love it when the locals help to take care of the tourists.

 At the station there is a full garden inside and ample seating everywhere to enjoy the view. Tim and Michelle were last here in 2009 and it sure has changed. It used to be that anyone could walk anywhere in the station so you had to be very careful with pick pockets. We were used to seeing groups of them walking around while we were waiting for our train. A bombing at this train changed all of that. Now there is a line of shops in between everyone and security in order to get to the waiting area. And once in the waiting area there is a ticket attendant that you have to pass by in order to get near a train. Gone are the days of taking your loved ones to the train station and lovingly waiving them goodbye as their train pulled away. Nowadays you will have to settle for a confirmation text that their train actually left the station.

We verified some information on a train to Toledo for the following day and headed over to the Retiro Park. This park is massive and I imagine you could actually get lost in it if you were not careful.  We headed to the center where there is a large lake. The lake has boats in it for rent, but the line was long so we opted to grab a bag of chips and enjoyed the view.

After an hour or so we headed to the Reina Sophia museaum. The museaum was free that day from 1:30-6:30. Since Alex has never been to a real museaum we were not sure how long he would last or how interested he would be, and about an hour later our suspicions were confirmed. He was hungry and tired and had been on his feet most of the day. No Cubist paintings in the world were worth more sore feet for this guy. We took the metro to our hotel and stopped off at a grocery store along the way. Ham, salami, cheeses and bread in hand we headed back to the room for some rest. 

Within a few minutes of finishing the meal Tim was asleep so Alex and Michelle headed to the underground pool. It was a pool shared by hotel guests and people who belonged to the local fitness center. The note on the pool referenced children being allowed to swim so we excitedly headed down there. The pool is a rectangle about wide enough for three lap swimmers to go side by side. When you get an active 7 year old in a pool with a person swimming laps with a pool noodle it is a managble challenge. Then you add another lap person with a pool noodle and it gets interesting. Adding a third person who is swimming laps and you just give up. The look on Alex’s dejected face when Michelle asked him what he wanted to do was heartbreaking. “I guess we can just go mom. There isn’t room for us” ugh, ouch. 

Back at the room Alex had a looooong and luxurious shower to make up for the odd pool time. By the time he was out Tim was up and crafting a master plan for a tapas pub crawl for us. It wasn’t until he put the finishing touches on it that we realized Alex was asleep. Totally passed out in the bed. We scrapped our plans and headed for bed as well. Tomorrow is a bit more sight seeing in Madrid then off to Toledo!

The Shortest Post Ever

We need to start doing these blog posts at the beginning of the day,  as by the end of the day we are wiped out! Just know that we are all well and tomorrow we will recap you with he last two days events. Spoiler alert-it was awesome and expensive in Madrid and now we are in Toledo for the next 4 days. :)

Hasta mañana!

Three hours behind schedule - we have arrived!

Just a quick note to let you know that we have arrived safe and sound in Madrid!

The adventure started well with us packed and out the door around 8 to headed south. Around 9 am we received a text that our flight would be delayed. By three hours. Yes. Three hours. Apparently there was some issue on an earlier flight, so our plan was not getting into the airport until much later than planned. We all shrugged our shoulders and took it in stride. Just another fun part of travel. At least we had a direct flight, so we could be less worried about a layover!

Tim’s brother was able to take us to the airport which was a blessing. Our flight was on Norwegian and was a low cost fare. Which means everything extra  costs more. Food and drinks on the flight, checked luggage, choosing your seats. Even blankets cost. So we made  sure to stop off at Burger King for some extea food before we went to the airport.

Check in and security were fine, and we found ourselves at the gate very early. The text we had received about the delay said that we could speak to the gate agent about a meal voucher. Turns out that we were each entitled to an $11 meal voucher to use in LAX prior to our flight for the delay. Since we already had dinner with us we opted to stock up on a few breakfast items. Croissants and muffins tasted good ar the end of the long trip.

The flight was fine. No food or drinks, but Alex was excited to see the tv screens on the back of the seats. The windows on the flight were this odd color changing that you made more or less dark but adjusting the color. Our side was purple and the other side was green-blue. They really did work to block out the light. We also had the requisite young child who was upset, crying and kicking the backs of our chairs. But Alex was able to get a good amount of sleep and we arrived safely.

We were able to find a decent room price at the Marriott for two nights, which is way more luxurious than we usually have. There is also an indoor pool which Alex is excited about. After a quick trip to the local kebab restaurant we went back to the room where the boys crashed out quickly. And I (Michelle) will quickly follow.

More adventure tomorrow!

Wheels Up - Spain Awaits!

Often Tim will call Michelle at work, and the conversation goes something like this:

Tim - "Hey, babe, want to go to [fill in the name of any given country]? We can get tickets for [insert ridiculously low price here]"

Michelle - "Sure, when?"

Tim - "[indicates a date that clearly isn't practical since Alex is in school and Michelle works]"

Michelle - "Yeah, no babe, I can't take time off then and Alex is in school"

Tim - "Man, you never want to do anything fun"

Except that last April he actually had dates that would work with Alex's week long fall break. And so Michelle said yes and here we are, the evening before boarding a plane for a week to Madrid. We can bring only small carry-on bags, so we each have the equivalent of  Jansport backpack filled with clothes. It is a little liberating to be forced into a smaller bag than we usually bring. Needless to say, we won't be bringing back many souvenirs!

We booked a hotel about an hour ago for the first two nights, and then we will see where the Spanish wind takes us. Maybe Toledo, maybe Seville, who knows! We are all pretty excited get out there, show Alex another part of the world and continue practicing our Spanish. And Alex is a little excited that the first hotel has an indoor pool. :) Seven year olds!

More to come on the flip side.