Spain

Part 2
Acclimating

Okay, so the journey here was a little long (10 hours to Amsterdam, 2 hour layover, 2 1/2 hour flight to Madrid) and Hey!, I left my purse with EVERYTHING in it on the plane to Madrid. Widespread panic ensued, the kind that only those who have been awake for 24 hours and traveling with family can understand. Thanks to advice from Jen, I had my photocopies just in case. I notified the military lookin' guy at the airport who took me to lost and found. After waiting too long and biting off all my fingernails, the purse was returned. Dodged that bullet. First on list - get head out of butt.

Couldn't figure out how to get to the hotel via the bus (remember, no speaka at Camp Borden) so we gulped and took a small loan out for a taxi. Sorry, had to. Cost 25 euro. Really, it was 18 euro but something about a charge for all the luggage, blah, blah, blah. Fine. Whatever. You caught us at a weak moment.

And speaking of lack of sleep, it's about 4:30 AM here. Been awake since 1AM - so has Terry. Jack's sleeping quite well, thank you. No, I didn't drug him. May have to take a couple of Dramamine to get sleepy. Nighty night.


Finishing up some last minute work at the airport.

Jack grubbin' before leaving.

Group photo!

Our plane and the pilots that waved to Jack.

Jack in his window seat.

Jack FINALLY sacked out on the plane.


It's a lil' chilly outside - that's ice on the plane window.

Free wine!!


The breakfast waffle brick. We used it as a doorstop.

Wednesday, March 29th, 3:09 PM

Just got back from venturing out of the room for the first time. Jack slept all night and didn't wake up till after noon. I opened my eyes around 11:30 AM and spotted Terry still alseep. Tried to go back to sleep, but the sounds of the city told me it was time to get up and start moving. The sounds remind me of San Francisco - not a bad thing.

After cleaning up and and unrolling a couple of outfits, we were off. On the agenda, lunch and the grocery store. Start walkin'. Hard to to judge good restaurants from bad. I made the assumption that if they have a picture board on the sidewalk, we may not want to venture in. Reminds me of the Chinese restaurants that serve very cheap food at very cheap prices. Not lookin' to dig into my Immodium just yet. I think Jack was getting a little freaked out (sensory overload), so he rode on Terry's shoulders. Spotted a pizza joint with a lot of noise coming from the inside. Perfect - food we know and people who will eat there. Went inside and spotted the table of 10 teenage girls talking as fast as their rolling tongues would allow. "Ssshhhh, ssshhhh", they told each other as we walked in. At least they were trying to be polite. The crazy Spanish waitress spoke about as fast as the girls but was not nearly as polite. After about five minutes she brought a handwritten "menu" of the day. Like we could read Spanish written in swirly letters any better than printing. Nada. Finally figured that the pizza joint in the front was separate than the restaurant in the back. After much giggling and talking from the girls and not a single spotting of the crazy waitress, we hit the pavement and headed to the grocery store. Grabbed a basket (smells funny in here) and started down the aisles. Animal crackers, yes. Funny looking white things in the plastic bag, no. Got the essentials - milk, fruit, peanut butter. Enough to survive in our hotel room if need be. Got to the register and didn't know we had to weigh and mark the bags of fruit. Damn. Thank GOD the dude spoke english and was understanding (Finally a nice person!). Hiked it back to the fruit aisle, found the scale, and tested my ability to comprehend the "weighing system". Okay, fruit on scale, press button with number that corresponds to fruit, close bag. Hmmmm. Stepped back, watched the chick in front of me, then went at it like a pro. Ran back to the register (Damn! People were waiting!), muttered 'lo siento' and got a 'que pasa nada' (Thanks, Terry Sr.!) from the old Spanish lady behind us. Whew. Dodged another friggin' bullet. Bags in hand, we headed back to the hotel to eat at the cafe there. We knew there were no crazy Spanish waitresses there. Jack ordered milk, but wouldn't drink it. Did you know they served milk warm? Tastes like warm cream. Mmmmm to me, nada to Jack. Fine. The kid will survive on bread & butter and water. But hey, we have apples and peanut butter, remember? Golden. Our waiter was VERY nice and played around a little with Jack - made him smile and laugh. Thank goodness. Poor thing is a little out of sorts. Everything is different and no one is speaking English. Okay, make that tres that are out of sorts.

I gotta admit, I have a tremendous sense of adventure and desire for all things different, but this place can be very frightening. We don't speak Spanish, we're in a big city of Spanish speakers, and nothing is making sense. Keeping it together knowing that it can only get easier with each day. Still tired from the time change. Just trying to understand and comprehend is exhausting. Called Simone to get Kate's cell number (Kate, mom of Diego from preschool who is also traveling here with her family; Simone, friend of Kate's from college who lives in Madrid. Small world fact - Simone went to high school in Sonoma with Terry). No one home. Left a message and hope to hear from her soon. Kate and family are now north in San Sebastian. Think we're going to head to Barcelona on Friday, taking the bullet train, then maybe rent a car and drive up the coastline toward France. Trying to see if we can stay in some smaller towns as the larger cities are proving to be a little too challenging at times. Gotta stay somewhat relaxed as this is, after all, a vacation, right? We're going to hit the hotel hot tub at some point. Gotta wait for the masses to thin out. Really hoping to meet up with Jen, too. Maybe Barcelona? She's been a very good email friend so far. Reassuring. Anyone else wanna help?

All in all, scary as hell but worth the adventure. Gaining more appreciation for those who come to the U.S. from other parts of the world. And isn't this what this trip is about? Learning, growing and appreciating. And right now, I'd like to appreciate a Murder Burger, spicy fries and a Sierra Nevada. Patience.

I'm off to venture some more. If only they sold courage in a bottle. Wait, isn't that called Jack Daniels?!? Adios mi amigos y amigas!!

View from our room.


Sunset on Madrid.