March 26 -- Return to Ohio

Last night when we went to bed, Steve's "allergies" were bothering him.  During the night, they were in full force. He had to get up a couple times in the night to blow his nose.  We woke up around 8:30, got ready, & packed.  We headed to the metro for our long trek to the airport.  Luckily, the metro would deliver us right to our terminal.  However, it would take us 3 different trams to get there.  We also had to purchase a special airport metro ticket.  1.5 euro got us to the airport stop & another 1 euro allowed us to enter the airport.  We knew about the special ticket & had purchased it ("airport combo") before entering the metro in the morning.  It took us about an hour to get from the apartment to the airport terminal.

(Metro!)

Once we got to the terminal, we continued down the long hallway until we found the correct service desk for our flight.  We had attempted to check-in online the night before, but our tablet was having some issues; plus, we couldn't print the tickets since we didn't have a printer.  We waited in the check-in line for about 15+ minutes.  They took our bags, gave us our tickets, and sent us on our way.  

Next, we had to go through security.  We went to the far one which was nearly dead.  It's funny how different European security i -- you don't have to take your shoes or light jackets off.  After we got through security, we had to go through a quick passport control, where we got a stamp for Madrid.  We were hungry when we got to the gate, but there weren't any food places (well there was one, but it wasn't up and running).  So instead, we bought a bunch of junk (potato chips, chocolate, Haribo gummy bears, and cookie wafers) at a duty free shop ("I like to stop at the Duty Free Shop. . . "  bonus points if you know where that came from.)

We boarded our plane & departed Madrid at 12:30 pm (or 6:30 am eastern standard time).  The first part of the flight went fine.  We were served lunch & drinks soon after take off (we both chose chicken & rice with broccoli).  Steve watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes while I started Black Swan, but then I switched to "New Years Eve" (Black Swan wasn't an eat & watch kind of movie -- ha!).  

After the movies, the flight for Steve turned south.  His Dayquil was wearing off (I only had Nyquil left but he refused).  He also got really nauseous (but I think it had to do with his sinuses being stopped up and he was bending over his screen trying to play a game).  After laying back & drinking some water, his tummy calmed down.  He was still feeling pretty crummy, though.  He kind of dozed and zoned on and off while snuggled under 2 blankets because he had chills.  I just kept watching movies (The Big Year & Water for Elephants).  Some little snacks and drinks were served which Steve nibbled on.

When it was time to descend, Steve was pretty uncomfortable due to his sinuses.  I made him take some Tylenol & I rubbed behind his ears -- to get the fluid to move -- which helped some of the pressure.  We had a bumpy end to our flight (we literally bounced a couple times as we landed).  We pulled up to the gate at 2:45 pm (local time).

After getting off the plane, we had to go through customs which took forever!  Then we had to claim our luggage & carry it to a new belt to be loaded to the next plane.  Last, we had to go through security (American style -- shoes & jackets off!) which again took longer than it should (thanks to multiple people who didn't understand the liquids rule).

We headed towards our new gate at 4pm, but first we stopped at the food court.  What better way to welcome ourselves to American, than with Chik-Fil-A?!  Our order ended up wrong (even though we both spoke English) & we got a free sandwich & fries.  Oh well :)

We mosied to our new gate, but first stopped at a shop to get Steve some sinus medicine. I had a little time to quickly chat with my mom, but not long.  We boarded flight #2 at 5:30pm.  

Our flight was supposed to take off at 5:44, but instead, it took off at 6:10.  I assume the delay had to do with the wind.  Steve had taken new sinus meds before we boarded & he could tell a differences on the ascent.  His ears popped a lot, but there wasn't much pain.  Our flight was quick & uneventful.  I journaled and read while Steve played his Tower Defense game.

The descent was a little rougher on Steve's ears.  He again asked me to rub behind them which helped.  I, too, had issues on the descent but mine was with motion sickness.  The plane was rocking a lot from the wind.  This flight was like the last in that it ended with a bounce.  

We got off the plane (where Steve literally ran into a woman because she stopped in front of him) & we got our bags without a problem.  We followed the sings & found our shuttle to get to the car (we were the only ones on the bus).  Our car was right were we left it.  We loaded Penny up & set off for home.

The 2 hour car ride home was rough -- we were tired & losing it.  We listened to a podcast of Car Talk to stay awake.  We got home just before 10pm & noticed that all the flowers and tress in our neighborhood and front yard were blooming.  Our yard was in dire need of mowing & the landscaping was becoming over run with weeds.  As we pulled into the driveway, we had the overwhelming sense that our vacation was officially over :-(.  

Madrid Housing Accomodations

Our apartment in Madrid was our absolute favorite.  Enrique, our host, spoke very poor English (he admitted it to us), but his apartment made up for that!  It was decked out in Ikea products (of course).  It had a very open layout and was very clean.  We felt most at home in his apartment.  He had a nice heating/cooling system that was in multiple rooms, a big water heater (hot water was never an issue), electric stove, internet and television (although it was all in Spanish).  It's location was pretty good too-- about a block away from a metro stop.

(Dining area)

(View from the dining area into the living room.  That black wall at the far end of the living room was a chalkboard wall!  He left us a message explaining that Sunday was Europe's daylight savings jump -- they jump a couple of weeks after the US does theirs.)

(View of the living room from the entrance.  If you were to turn right at this point, you would enter the kitchen.)

(The kitchen was very open.  It had an electric stove/oven, dishwasher, and a laundry machine.)

(Enrique is trying to collect magnets from all his guests.  He had asked us to bring a magnet from our hometown.  It was hard to find a magnet, but we found an Ohio State keychain that I glued a magnet piece behind.  It's the last magnet on the freezer.  He had magnets from NY, Stanford University, and some from Germany.  If you continued through the kitchen, you'd get to the bedroom.)

 (The bed wasn't the best, but it was high off the ground-- the beds in Rome & Madrid were 6" off the ground.  It was also more worn in the middle, so Steve and I kept falling into the middle towards each other.)

(Bathroom)

As nice as Enrique's apartment was, we were very excited to know that the next bed we would sleep in would be our own :-D!!

***Note:  We found all our accommodations from airbnb.com.  We had the apartments to ourselves, we assume our hosts either have a 2nd apartment or stayed with a friend.

March 25 -- Last Day in Madrid

Today, we slept in until 9:30.  After getting ready, we headed to the plaza right outside our apartment.  It was busy with a street market.  We walked by some of the booths and noticed lots of clothes and shoes for sale.  We headed up Calle Toledo towards Plaza Mayor & turned right towards Plaza del Sol.  We were headed to a ticket location to redeem our vouchers for tonight's bull fight.

(View of the street market form our balcony)

Before heading to the ticket place, we detoured to look for churros con choclate (well known in Madrid).  We found the recommended location, but it was hopping and we weren't in the mood.  We found the ticket area a few blocks away.

After redeeming our vouchers we continued our walk towards Parque Retiro.  Along the way, we witnessed an older man peeing into a tree in a sidewalk.  He didn't even have the care to turn his back to the busy street.  The park had a lake in the middle that was filled with rowboats.  There was a walkway all the way around the lake that was full of street entertainment.  We glanced at some puppet shows, a dancer, and magician as we walked around.  We went to the opposite side of the park to see the "crystal palace".  Inside was some weird art exhibit and we didn't understand it.  So we headed back to the busier area.

(There were several of these little puppet shows set up.)

(View across the lake towards the busy street entertainment)

(We walked completely around the lake and stopped on the opposite side of the entertainment.  There was some monument that we sat in front of for awhile and people watched.)

(A view of some of the gardens.)

On our last pass by the entertainment, we saw a guy with large dummies on his back.  He would bend over & make the dummies dance (his legs were the male dummy's and his arms were the female dummy's legs).  He was pretty good and we tossed some coins into his container.

(We have a video of the guy dancing, but I couldn't get it to upload.  You will just have to settle for an action shot.)

(Here you can see the guy poking out from under the dummies preparing for the next dance.)

We backtracked out of the park towards Plaza Mayor.  Along the way, we witnessed some protest in Plaza del Sol. A big group of people were chanting and had signs.  They were all wearing yellow shirts that had pictures of cutout people.  We think it had something to do with college but really had no idea.  We continued on our way and got lunch at Pans & Co again.  After lunch, we waded through the crowds (it was so busy due to the street markets and it being a Sunday) and headed back to our apartment.  We ducked into a little store and bought some pasta and sauce for tonight's dinner.  We noticed that most of the market was up & bustling while others were packing up.

We hung out in our apartment for the afternoon.  I finished reading my second book of the trip (I read Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at the beginning, and then The Help) while Steve goofed off & napped.  At 5, we headed to the metro to get to the Bull fight.  The metro (same line the whole way) dropped us off right at the front gate.  We got to bypass the ticket line since we picked them up this morning.  Once inside, Steve suggested taking the 1st staircase up a level to figure out how to find our seats.  Funny enough -- the stairs dropped us off right in front of our section entrance.  A seating host took us to our seats.  The seats were cold stone, but we had a great view of the arena.  Before the trip, I had forgotten what happens in a bull fight.  I had dreaded how tonight would be watching a bull (well several) die.  Steve had done research this afternoon finding out 6 would die (there were 3 matadors, 2 bulls per matador, fought in 6 15 minute founds).  We stayed for 2 rounds (in which 2 different matadors fought 2 bulls).  We got the gist & the cultural experience but did not want to sit through anymore.  We still don't understand why it's such an event or when it's appropriate to clap.

(Bull Fight Arena)

(Bull fight Arena)

(This is the advertisement for tonight's bull fight.  The lead matador is from Segovia!)

(Our view of the arena.  About 5 minutes before the show was to start, the arena was almost half full. It was not a full crowd.)

(All the matadors, men on horses, and others involved in the fight paraded around at the beginning)

(There was a little band in the stands that would play throughout the show.  We think some of their playings would signify changes in the show.  We really don't know, ha.)

(In each 15 minute round, there would be 5 minutes of taunting and assessing the bull, 5 minutes of spearing the bull (men on horses would pierce the vein inbetween it's shoulders, then other men would trough spikes into the muscle to weaken the neck), then 5 minutes of 1 matador weakening/assessing the bull before stabbing it with a sword.)

(This is the first matador from Segovia.  He was the best (they put the best first) -- here the bull has already been pierced and spiked.  The matador lets the bull do several passes before piercing its heart with the sword.  Good matadors only need to pierce the heart 1x with a sword.)

 (Here you can see how closely the bull grazes the matador.  I don't understand the need for this section of the show other than letting the bull suffer in agony.  I also don't get the artsy moves the matador was doing, but to each their own.)

(After the bull keels over, it is attached to a horse processional that quickly takes it out of the arena (that is, after they cut off the ear and give it to the matador).  Then, little workers go crazy cleaning up the blood in the sand and prepare for the next bull's arrival.)

(Here is the 2nd matador.  He wasn't as good as the first.  He also had to use 2 different swords because the first one did not go through the heart.)

(Sorry for the grotesque picture, but thought I'd show how the matador sets the sword to enter the bull.)

After our hour at the bull fight, we hopped on the metro & headed to our apartment.  Once there, I made the pasta & Bolonesa sauce we had bought earlier.  Steve's allergies have been acting up since the afternoon's park outing.  He finished his evening off with video games (which sounds like a great way for him to finish his vacation) while I started the packing process for the last time!

March 24 -- Day trip to Segovia

Today, we left our apartment at 8:45 & headed to the metro.  We had to change trams 1 time to get to the bus station where we caught a bus to get to Segovia.

Upon getting to Segovia, we got a map from the Tourist Information & headed in search of the Ancient Roman Aqueduct.  Segoiva is small & easily laid out, making it easy to find all the sites on our Rick Steves tour.  He pointed out some interesting architecture as well as sites to see.  Before heading into the Catehdral, we stopped at a bakery - Mentes y Limon - to get a poncho segoviano (marzipan cake, a Rick Steves recommendation).  The Cathedral was like the one we visited in Barcelona, only it was really cold inside!  Luckily, our weather was nice and sunny, and if you remained in the sun, you would get hot.

(Roman Aqueduct, where our tour for the day started.)

(Eating our poncho segoviano)

(Poncho Segoviano -- a little marzipan cake.  It was very sweet and sugary.  Steve licked it more than I did.  I didn't care for the texture on the outside, but the inside was nice and creamy.)

 

(Cathedral of Segovia)

(Inside the Cathedral, there were several ornate chapels.  In one of the, there was this painting which represented death chopping down a tree (that held all life worshiping pagan gods) while Christ rang a bell to tell the people of their impending doom.)

(Inside the Cathedral, there were some very interesting books that appear to be music books.)

After the Cathedral, we continued down the main street to get to Alcazar -- a castle that helped model the Disney World castle.  We got to tour around the inside & walk up a ridiculously steep spiral staircase to see Segovia via the tower.  This marked the last site in Segovia, so we headed to a restaurant in search of Cochinillo Asado -- suckling piglet.  Rick Steves recommended it at 3 places.  The first place we went to was 42 euro, so we went to find the next location.  When we got to option #2, it was closed.  We then walked back towards the castle to look at option #3, but it was 50 euro there!  So we headed back to option #1 -- Meson de Candido.  How many times can one say they've had a Segovian delicacy under an ancient Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain?

(In front of Alcazar Castle, there were trees with Stork nests in the top.  Steve was fascinated with the storks and had to take several pictures of them.)

(Alcazar Castle.  The castle was ever changing from the 1100s-1500s.  Each royalty restored and rebuilt sections of it.  In 1500s, the royal court moved to Madrid and the castle became a state prison for a couple of centuries.  Then in 1762, it became a military school until a fire destroyed large portions of the castle in 1862. In 1882, it was finally restored to its original condition, giving us its modern day whimsical look (which was used as an example while designing the Disney World castle).)

(Inside the castle, there were some suits of armor and such.  Steve got a kick out of the pointy toes.)

(After walking up a steep spiraling staircase, we got to the top of the castle got to see views of Segovia.)

(It's hard to see, but the Cathedral of Segovia is in the background behind Steve)

(After the castle and hunting down where we were going to eat lunch, we settled on Meson de Candido.  It is the corner building across from the aqueduct.)

Steve did all the ordering, and our waiters only spoke to us in Spanish.  We each got 1/4 of a piglet, a coke & coke light (everyone around us had coke products and I wasn't about to differ from the norm.  While in Europe, I only consumed 2 coke lights, trying to stick to my Lent commitment), and a half loaf of pretzel-like bread for 53 euro.  When Steve asked for the check, she returned with a little creamer-like cup with the restaurant's name on it.  Steve thought she said it was a gift & since nothing else made since, we took it as a souvenir (no one came rushing out after us, so I assume that was the intent behind it).

(How the pig was brought out to us.  They placed it on a side serving table where the waiter cut the head off & then split the rest in half, giving us each a quarter of the piglet.)

(This is the remnants of Steve's plate.  He ate the back half, containing the spine (left) and hind leg (under the fork).  I had the rib section and shoulder blade.  I am not one who likes to see my food in its original form.  I didn't see the piglet until after I ate ours (the brought out another for a nearby table).  It was very moist and tasty and we enjoyed the Segovian experience.)

After lunch, we went back to the bus station to get a bust to La Granja.  We stood in a group outside the bus, purchased tickets (1.15 euro each) from the driver & found seats.  The ride was only 25 minutes, but it made unmarked stops with people trickling on and off.  By the 3rd stop, most of the people were getting up & we had to double check to find out it was our stop.

We were dropped off right outside La Granja Royal Palace (summer home for Spanish royalty) - our reason for visiting La Granja.  We split an audio tour & went through the palace & some of the gardens.  We knew a bus headed back at 5:55, so we made our way back to the stop.

(La Granja Royal Palace)

(Fountain that is central to the back of the palace.  The king and queen could look out their bedroom and see this central view.)

(Back of the palace form the central garden.)

(The palace is known for its very elaborate fountains; however, the fountains are only on 3 days out of the year.  Here is the fountain in honor of Diana and Apollo)

A big group was trickling in as we came.  There was no order to loading the bus & a verbal fight broke out when loading.  The big group of 30+ people were trying to get on as smaller groups were trying to get on.  Only about half of the big group got onto the bus when the bus driver explained the bus was full and he had a schedule to stick to.  The people left behind trickled out of the stop via unmarked taxis.  Other people who had been waiting on the bus called up friends and taxis, too.  Us and a British family ended up saiting around another 1.5 hours for the next bus.

(The infamous area of the bus stop.)

On the way back to Segovia, the bus made several stops along the way, but we finally got back to the station at 7:50.  The next bus to Madrid was at 8, so we booked it off the bus and ran to the ticket line.  5 minutes later, we were on the bus headed to Madrid.  It also made several stops on the way back to the main station (and even stalled out and died at an intersection), but we finally got to the Madrid station at 9:40.

We got on the metro & headed home.  We were cold, hungry, and tired form the long day (and the drama at the bus top).  It didn't help, when we got in, we had difficulties opening up the door to the apartment.  It took 5 minutes and lots of wiggling of the key to finally get the door unlocked and opened.  Once we got into the apartment, we each munched on cereal, ice cream sandwiches, chocolate, trail mix, Coke and Fanta.

March 23 -- Transition to Madrid

This morning marked our departure for Madrid.  I was up again before Steve, getting ready & finishing packing.  We left for the metro at 9:30.  This ride concluded our second T-10 ticket (meaning we used 20 rides between the two of us in Barcelona).  We got to the train station in plenty of time to get breakfast at McDonalds.  I got an egg McMuffin while Steve got hotcakes.  Only, he had issues ordering and got 2 orders of hotcakes with sugar.  He had asked for syrup, but I guess that idea was foreign to them.

We finished eating & headed to our platform.  We had to go through security (just bags, not us).  A line was forming at our platform, so we joined it.  We got onto the train without a problem & finally had seats next to each other.  The ride was fine (2.45 hr), except for the seat in front of us.  Throughout the ride, their entire bench would rotate towards the window and into our leg area.  I finally pinned my foot against the seat to keep the little girl in front from moving it.  At the end, someone finally locked it into place.

We got off the train and searched for a phone to call our 3rd & final apartment host!  We found a phone near the metro entrance & began the phone calling process.  This one required 1 euro minimum.  We loaded it with change & dialed.  Enrique picked up but before he & Steve set the plan, the phone died (usually they count down, but this one didn't).  We loaded up more coins & completed the call.  When Steve hung up, some of the coins returned.  We bought a T-10 ticket for Madrid & got on the metro.  It was ridiculous having to carry our suitcases up & down all the stairs.  We had to change trams once.  Wen we did, the 2nd tram was packed!  We had to stack our suitcases on top of each other just to get on.

We had trouble orienting ourselves (yet again) with the map once we got off the metro.  We knew 1 road, but the intersection ones weren't labeled well on the map.  We finally found the one that was close to the apartment & asked someone to point us in the right direction.  We found the door to the complex, but saw no Enrique.  We didn't know the apartment # to ring him.  After 10 min, I stayed with the suitcases while Steve went to find a phone.  He returned shortly, but couldn't find a phone that worked.  Just about the time that Steve returned, a lady came towards the apartment and was entering the complex.  I stopped her and asked if she knew Enrique.  She told us he lived in #1A & buzzed him for us.  Steve talked to him via the intercom, and Enrique let us up!

After Enrique showed us the apartment & made recommendations, we immediately headed out on a Rick Steves tour that ended at the Royal Palace.  It was going on 4 o'clock & the last entry to the palace was at 5. We started the tour, which went through a couple plazas -- full of peddlers, street acts, & people dressed in costumes (like spongebob, mickey, minnie, dora, etc).  We were hungry & realized we needed to hurry & get to the palace.  We decided to grab food at Pans & Co & skip ahead on the tour to the palace.  We got there around 4:50 & they let us in.  There were 3 areas to tour -- 30ish rooms in the palace, the pharmacy in the courtyard & the armory in the courtyard.  We made it through the main area in an hour & htought we had 15 min to tour the other 2 locations.  However, as we started in the direction of the armory, a guard explained it was closed.  So we went & got our bag & left.

(Seedy characters and peddlers in the plaza areas.  You can see Mickey & Minnie left of center.  Tigger in the bottom right, and in the bottom left, you can see a Ninja.)

(The characters were notorious for smoke breaks.  They would have their costumes hanging off, heads beside them, and smoking.  These characters are definitely not Disney World approved.)

(This symbol is seen throughout Madrid)

(The Royal Palace.  Sadly, we were not allowed to take pictures on the inside.)

(I was trying to figure out how to do the walking tour from our location back to the starting point.  However, Rick Steves tends to be really wordy and describes directions via things you see, so we couldn't back track & tour at the same time.)

We attempted to do the Rick Steves tour backwards to where we had diverted, but it was hard to invert some of the direction.  We did hit all the main stops (like City Hall).  We backtracked to Plaza Mayor where we had began the tour.  There were still peddlers and a magic trick going on.

We headed back to our apartment, passing by a big Dia Supermarket.  We decided to check it out. It was like the Ikea of food stores!  Upon entering, you headed up an escalator to the top floor.  You pick up this little pull cart/basket & chose the times you wanted (upstairs: frozen foods, drinks, cookies, healthcare, baby products,  paper goods, pasta, etc).  The you take normal stairs (carrying your cart/basket) down.  (downstairs: meat/veggies/breads/cereals).  We waited in line & checked out.  For 7 euro we got -- 3 cokes, 3 fanta, box cereal, box ice cream sandwiches, & a twinkie).  You have to pay .05 euro for a bag, so instead, we stuffed the stuff into our backpack.  The store was pretty hopping & crazy.

We returned early (7:30ish) to our apartment & called it a night.  But first, I ate my strawberry twinkie & had a glass of Cabre & Sabate champaign (courtesy of Enrique).