01-14-2016, 04:08 PM
I returned in good order with my family and we are struggling to readjust to the states. Stacy has had the hardest time. It was really challenging for her to eat out there as they put gluten in everything. Plus Jingles, who survived quite well at my mom's, has kept us up all night with his death-rattle coughing. My mom said that he wasn't coughing very much by the end of his stay, but we suspect she just couldn't hear it. We are so poor after Spain, which wound up costing a lot more in food that we expected because the euro vs. the usd wasn't too our favor, and tapas can be deceptively expensive.
But that being said, all the woes of coming back pale in comparison to the amazing time we had in Spain. Our itinerary went as so: Madrid > Toledo (day trip) > Barcelona > Figueres (day trips) > Cadaques > Sevilla > Granada (day trip). We stayed at AirBnB's which were strategically located in the heart of towns, and a hotel in Granada which was more like a hostel because we were trying to do it all on the cheap. I will recount the adventures to the best of my abilities and try not to bore you with descriptions of the indescribable, as their was much profound beauty there that will surely elude my limited skills with words. The art, the architecture, the music, the food, it was all impressive.
Our flight over was rough. There was a snafu with our seating so we had the worst seats, center aisle and separate, our special meals weren't arranged, and we missed our connecting flight in Heathrow. But it was British Airways, which is very civilized and offered lots of free booze. We had a rushed layover in Heathrow on stand-by, just enough to tease my with the World of Whiskeys store in the terminal. Where Heathrow was insanely mobbed and chaotic, Madrid was a ghost town. We almost had to wake up our customs agent, who stamped our passports sleepily with bare a glance. We took the Metro to our AirBnB, which is a sprawling maze of connections akin to NY's subway, all written in microfilm maps, but we managed. It was the first time I felt underdressed for the subway. Spanish people got style. After a hectic sardine-can ride and a few transfers, we made it to our AirBnB, which was a tiny Euro-(ikea)-style apartment above the Rock and Roll Burger joint, which was a bar that had all night drunk cavorting, singing and banging of trash bins. But the location was perfect, two blocks from Plaza Mayor, and a short walk from the Royal Palace and the museums.
The next morning began with a strung out search for breakfast, which was harder than we first imagined because we had not adjusted to the time or the Spanish language, which is quite different than Mexican Spanish. I stepped in dogshit straight away, something I haven't done in years, and I took it as an ambiguous omen.
Day 1 was the Royal Palace, which was magnificent. We started with the Royal Armoury, two stories of well preserved arms and armor, mostly regal, parade and pageantry stuff, top of the line craftsmanship. It was the finest collection I've seen in one place, so detailed and extensive. The Palace was stunning too, the crown, the royal cathedral...it's good to be king and Spain has one of the hottest queens in the world now, not that we saw them. A street busker was playing some John Lennon on the accordian outside, which I took as a good omen. Tara embarked on a photo hunt for #distressedlions - an quest so amusing that I almost poached it off her - there are so many lion statues that have distressed expressions in Spain. She collected several dozen over the trip, but only instagramed a few.
Ok, more to come later, as time permits. Forgive me as a babble on about this trip. Writing it all out helps me process it more.
But that being said, all the woes of coming back pale in comparison to the amazing time we had in Spain. Our itinerary went as so: Madrid > Toledo (day trip) > Barcelona > Figueres (day trips) > Cadaques > Sevilla > Granada (day trip). We stayed at AirBnB's which were strategically located in the heart of towns, and a hotel in Granada which was more like a hostel because we were trying to do it all on the cheap. I will recount the adventures to the best of my abilities and try not to bore you with descriptions of the indescribable, as their was much profound beauty there that will surely elude my limited skills with words. The art, the architecture, the music, the food, it was all impressive.
Our flight over was rough. There was a snafu with our seating so we had the worst seats, center aisle and separate, our special meals weren't arranged, and we missed our connecting flight in Heathrow. But it was British Airways, which is very civilized and offered lots of free booze. We had a rushed layover in Heathrow on stand-by, just enough to tease my with the World of Whiskeys store in the terminal. Where Heathrow was insanely mobbed and chaotic, Madrid was a ghost town. We almost had to wake up our customs agent, who stamped our passports sleepily with bare a glance. We took the Metro to our AirBnB, which is a sprawling maze of connections akin to NY's subway, all written in microfilm maps, but we managed. It was the first time I felt underdressed for the subway. Spanish people got style. After a hectic sardine-can ride and a few transfers, we made it to our AirBnB, which was a tiny Euro-(ikea)-style apartment above the Rock and Roll Burger joint, which was a bar that had all night drunk cavorting, singing and banging of trash bins. But the location was perfect, two blocks from Plaza Mayor, and a short walk from the Royal Palace and the museums.
The next morning began with a strung out search for breakfast, which was harder than we first imagined because we had not adjusted to the time or the Spanish language, which is quite different than Mexican Spanish. I stepped in dogshit straight away, something I haven't done in years, and I took it as an ambiguous omen.
Day 1 was the Royal Palace, which was magnificent. We started with the Royal Armoury, two stories of well preserved arms and armor, mostly regal, parade and pageantry stuff, top of the line craftsmanship. It was the finest collection I've seen in one place, so detailed and extensive. The Palace was stunning too, the crown, the royal cathedral...it's good to be king and Spain has one of the hottest queens in the world now, not that we saw them. A street busker was playing some John Lennon on the accordian outside, which I took as a good omen. Tara embarked on a photo hunt for #distressedlions - an quest so amusing that I almost poached it off her - there are so many lion statues that have distressed expressions in Spain. She collected several dozen over the trip, but only instagramed a few.
Ok, more to come later, as time permits. Forgive me as a babble on about this trip. Writing it all out helps me process it more.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse