First Road Trip - Madrid to Malaga

Last Day in Madrid

The time difference has us up late each night so we spent most of our last day in Madrid sleeping, eating and riding the tourist bus.  The tourist bus was unfortunately full of tourists so we were ducking from cameras and we had to ride in the lower, air conditioned section of the double decker bus due to the sun and resulting heat.   The historic section was incredible and the modern neighbourhood of Salamanca was full of beautiful people and expensive shops.  The castle was definitely fit for a king or many kings….big, ornate and jaw dropping. 

We recorded and watched many travel shows prior to our departure and of course the kids remembered the famous Spanish dessert of churros and hot chocolate.  Turns out that it’s a local Madrid tradition to end the night with hot chocolate and churros in one of the cafes around Plaza del Sol and as we are on a mission to explore the cultures and traditions of Spain….it wasn’t too hard to convince Calvin and I.  The Chocolateria San Gines is hidden down an alley off of one of the Plazas and its open all night.  We arrived at 10:30pm for a heaping plate of churros and some cups of hot chocolate.  

Now this is no normal North American hot chocolate….Bill Cosby would be proud of this pudding.  You can rest your spoon on it.  We ordered four before we knew what we were in for – Noah was the only one to finish.  How is it possible that these people can be so thin? We took a leisurely route home through a few plazas and watched some street performers including the Peruvian pan flute band that seems to follow us on every trip we have ever been on.

The next day, Calvin and Noah took the metro to the train station to pick up our rental car.  There’s a reason life seems leisurely here….everything takes a long time.  Noah helped navigate the metro system and asked for many directions to get them to the train station.  He even helped Calvin interpret the GPS system that led them through the maze of one way, narrow 15^th century streets.  They managed to find our hotel and our car’s trunk was able to store all our backpacks – a good day. We were worried they wouldn’t fit.

Getting out of Madrid was easier than we expected.  The infrastructure here is very impressive.  Great roads and drivers.  We drove to Toledo to determine if it’s true that the expression ‘HOLY TOLEDO’ originated from a battle in and around their large Cathedral.  We were told that when you looked up at the celling of the cathedral you would see many, many bullet holes, therefore the expression ‘Holy Toledo’ was born.

We found a parking lot and began the search for this mysterious cathedral.  We saw a group of Italians on a tour and decided to blend in and follow them.  What are the chances a group of Italians would be seeking a Cathedral?  The original church was built in the 6^th century and the cathedral around it began in 1226 and was finished in 1493.  The kids were shocked and awed by the enormity of the structure and the beauty of the carvings and paintings throughout.  We spent a couple of hours absorbing the various sections including the robes of the Cardinals dating to the 12^th century and some of the most amazing wood carvings we have ever seen including a large carved section for the choir that was carved in mahogany with each member having his own personally carved seat and head rest.  There were a dozen or more El Greco paintings scattered amongst the Cathedral’s art gallery as he had been commissioned by the church for this Cathedral and decided to move to Toledo to live out his years.  The cathedral was a mixture of styles and religions with a beautiful mosque in one section.   It was the boys’ first introduction to Arabic architecture and they were most impressed with the intricate details in the carvings and ceramic tile paintings.  Turns out we were unable to disprove this urban myth as we did find a church with many holes in it but our guess is that the ‘Holy’ refers to the significance of this cathedral and the cardinals that it has produced. 

We were back on the road and on our way to Grenada for an overnight break on our way to Southern Spain.  An hour in to our drive we decided to find a grocery store to get some picnic supplies.  We pulled off the highway to Linares which turned out to be a beautiful detour full of olive groves and vineyards.  We picked up some food and found an olive grove where we could stretch our legs and enjoy our ham sandwiches…did I mention how plentiful and delicious the ham is here?  We walked around the olive grove for a while and got back on the road to Grenada.   We found a great cheap hotel for 42 euros per night ($58cdn).

On Our Way to Malaga

The next morning, we ran in to our first traffic jam with many Spaniards heading to Southern Spain to enjoy their weekend on the beach.  We arrived at our Villa a couple of hours later than planned.  I should clarify that almost everything is classified as a Villa in Europe including most bachelor pads.  This was a bit more of a traditional Villa than a bachelor apartment – we did want to enjoy some warm weather vacation time after all the rain this past fall / winter / spring / summer in North Vancouver.   We spent 20 minutes searching a neighbourhood in Malaga for our Villa which had the same address as our Villa in Fuengirola – 30 minutes outside of Malaga.  Once we determined we were in the wrong city, it was smooth sailing. 

Monique, Jay and the kids (friends who are vacationing in Spain as well) arrived before us and had the house open and ready for fun so we changed into our bathing suits and hit the pool to cool off.  Damn, we love the warm weather.  Had a great time, great food and plenty of laughs that night.   

The view here is great - we can see the water and the city below.  

We explored the town the next day and wandered around the beach at night.  The boys managed to sign language their way into a football match (that’s soccer folks) with a group of Spanish kids.  NO wonder they won the World Cup.  An 8 year old threw in the ball from the sideline which was headed in by a 6 year old….all the kids high fived the goal scorer – a ridiculously good play for a six year old.  After an hour, we gave the boys a 10 minute heads up and the game went to next goal wins status.  Devin made the save of the game diving across his goal to catch a shot that was targeted for the corner of his net – Aidan and Noah remind him of his great save every day.  A very proud moment for our little man.  The boys managed to recruit a few of the Spanish boys for support and after a nice passing play; they scored the next goal and won the game.  Not sure how true this is but the boys tell me farto means foul in a football match.  One of the six Spanish words they can remember…..anything with a ‘fart’ is hard to forget.  It was 10:30pm when the match ended and it was time to find dinner – seems as if we have slipped comfortably in to our new Spanish lifestyle.  Tapas on the boardwalk.  We asked our waiter to feed us and he did!

Just passed our first month anniversary – time seems to be moving slowly. 

Arrival in Spain

Madrid – Day 1

Sorry it’s been a week since I found my blogging legs again but the time difference and cheap, but delicious, wine requires some getting used to but mostly....it's the challenge of finding Wi-Fi.

We left Cape Breton in the afternoon, full of excitement about our trip but sad to say goodbye to Grampie and Grammie.  The flight from Cape Breton to Madrid via Halifax and Toronto was long but we were lucky as there was room for each of us to stretch out and get a few hours of sleep before landing in Madrid.   Two movies and thirteen and a half hours later we landed in Madrid. 

We collected our bags and needed two taxis for our ‘backpacks’.  We were fortunate to have taxi drivers who played tour guides on the way to Hotel Regina, in old town ‘Centro’ Madrid.  Our room was small and comfortable but in a perfect location for walking to all the best historical, cultural and artistic sites of old Madrid.  Centro Madrid did not offer hotels with pools but our bathroom was equipped with a bidet or as Devin calls it “butt washer” which proved to be as entertaining as any pool.  

We launched into our new European lifestyle by taking a three hour siesta.  When we awoke at 4:30pm we were anxious to explore and starving after the Air Canada chicken wing we had on the flight over.  Our first stop was Plaza del Sol which is a popular gathering spot where many streets converge like the spokes on a wheel.  It seems every second storefront is a restaurant offering various tapas options.  The boys but especially Noah was very impressed with the architecture and narrow streets.  He wondered if all of Europe would look like this. They all asked lots of questions about the carvings in the buildings and the cobblestone streets.  Aidan started his search for a Barcelona Football jersey with his favourite player Messi.   

We made it to Plaza Mayor, a 17^th century square that was a focal point of the city for hundreds of years, where Kings were crowned and beheaded and bullfights were held each week. 

We found a great spot that was busy with locals, Mercado de San Miguel which was the most amazing tapas market (think Granville or St. Lawrence Market).  There were sections for all types of food – oysters of all kinds, grilled meats, olives stuffed with sundried tomatoes, anchovies, shellfish, desserts including frozen yogurt and ice cream with your own toppings.  The boys were hungry and dug into some frozen yogurt -Aidan was mango with chocolate brownie, Noah was caramel and mango and Devin was chocolate and chocolate brownie.  It was a hit and we headed home to escape the heat.  A mild day for mid-summer Madrid at 36 Celsius. 

We left again at 8:30pm to find some dinner and found a place full of locals and luckily, a table in the middle of everything – it was early for dinner as most don’t have dinner until 10:30pm.  We asked our waiter to put together his best tapas for five and it was exceptional.  We walked much of the Centro area that night and watched many great buskers.   Madrid is truly a town that does not sleep; it was still vibrant at 11:30pm that night.   We took a few days to acclimatize to the new time zone and would sometimes stare out our windows at 3:00am – it could have been noon with all the foot traffic.

Madrid – Day 2

We awoke at noon the next day struggling to acclimatize to the new time zone.  We planned to visit a few sites and headed out to find some food.  I don’t want to spend too much time just describing meals but food is such an important part of the culture here and well, we love food !.  After spending so much on dinner last night we thought it would be wise to find a ‘cheaper’ location for breakfast…after all….how can you mess up bacon and eggs.  Did I mention the pig is part of every meal here…ham sandwiches, ham croissants, ham cookies, etc..  The eggs were runny, the bacon was undercooked and as we were nearly finished our meal, a mouse committed suicide from the top steps of the kitchen and landed on the floor only a meter from our table.  That ended our meal and our desire to eat in cheaper restaurants.  Picnics or 4 star eateries but no more cafeterias. 

We meandered around and picked up a Starbucks coffee which we swore we would not do again.  No locals partaking in the Starbucks experience.  We were walking to the Parque del Retiro to spend the day playing soccer and just chilling.  Aidan had not found his Barcelona jersey at that point as he refused to pay the 40+ euros at the souvenir shop but luckily we discovered a stall selling ‘authentic’ made in China jerseys for half the price of the souvenir shops.  He closed on the deal and looked very sporty in his new Messi jersey.   Noah bought a soccer ball for us to play with in the park and Devin picked up a flamenco fan to help us with the heat.  It’s a non humid heat so it doesn’t feel like it’s 36 degrees in the shade.

We walked around the park to find the perfect place to hang out.  It’s one of the most popular places for relaxing in Madrid.  We strolled down the tree lined avenue in the park to the lake in the middle where you can rent row boats.   There were families everywhere on a Wednesday afternoon and many sun worshippers were in their G-strings catching a few rays.  It is a HUGE park and various buskers played great music in the background.   We picked an area with lots of shade and a saxophone player played in the background.  We were there for hours with our own saxophone player…..some popsicles and some soccer and we were in heaven.  

 We waited until 6:00pm to get into one of the world’s best art galleries – the Prado Museum.  It’s full of the great artists of the world and works of art.  The Spanish kings used the spoils of North America to fund the purchases of some great art over the last couple of centuries.  The museum offered free admission at 6:00pm and we thought arriving 10 minutes early would put us ahead of the crowds.  There were 400 lined up when we got there and 400 more lined up while we waited the 15 minutes for the doors to open.  We were all in shortly after 6:00pm and really enjoyed looking at a few key pieces as a toe dipping experience for the boys.  We plan on visiting many museums and want to ‘ease’ into this with the boys.  We went to the Bosch and Fra Angelico exhibits to view the Garden of Delights and Annunciation.  The boys had different perspectives on this experience.  Devin was curious why there were so many naked women during this period but all the rich wore collars up to their ears and gowns that covered their toes.  Noah found many faces were similar in some of the works, especially the Dutch works.  He was also impressed with the pieces that were 13^th and 14^th century and noticed how different they were from the more recent works and Aidan was a bit freaked that many of the eyes appeared so real and appeared to follow him.  We could not believe how interested they were in the art and the gallery and the respect they showed for the art while walking through.  We walked the thirty minutes back to our hotel and stopped for another wonderful meal on the way.  Madrid is truly an amazing city and has well exceeded our expectations.  We regret that we have only reserved a few days of our vacation for such a wonderful city. 

First Stop - The Maritimes

I know it's not Europe, but we're going in the right direction. The beginning of our adventure starts in Atlantic Canada to spend time with the MacInnis'. The 5 of us descended on Grammie and Grampie at the end of June and the weather was lovely. We soaked up some much needed sunshine with days spent on the beach in Cape Breton. Calvin and I celebrated our 15th year anniversary on July 6th with a nice dinner

(yes, just the 2 of us) in Sydney at a great new restaurant, AMEDEO ITALIAN BISTRO. Then off to the Casino for a few rounds on the slot machines and black jack table. We weren't very lucky but we enjoyed our night together. Lobster season down here so we had a big feed of them  another night. Calvin taught the boys how to crack the shells which meant that we sat down to a  bowl of lobster meat...quite a luxury !

 After a week or so in Cape Breton we headed to PEI. I have been there a couple of times before and Calvin, many times of course but the first time for the boys. We drove to Cariboo Nova Scotia and took a ferry over to Woods Island PEI. We stayed at a great motel in Cavendish, the Silverwood (thanks for the recommendation Grace - we loved it !) with an awesome pool and a large field for football. Our second day in we drove to the airport and picked up Nana Greta so she could spend the next 4 nights with us. The sunset on Cavendish beach is spectacular, bright pink and HUGE. The boys chose to spend their time diving off the sand dune cliffs over and over and over. What do most grandmothers want to do when they start their holiday ? Shopping ? Relax on the beach ? Not Nana Greta, her preference was a tattoo...that's right a tattoo. So off we went to the local tattoo shop and picked out the most beautiful dragonfly, made the appointment for the next day and that was that. Next day , Nana was inked up ! Her dragonfly is on her shoulder and really a beautiful work of art. She didn't flinch or cry,  or anything so I thought hmmm...can't be outdone by my Mom so made my appointment as well. I went through with it while Mom and Noah sat with me for moral support. Well I did flinch and I must have kicked buddy about 20 times. It burned !! Is my mother an alien or what ? I am now the proud owner of 3 daisies on my right lower leg. Happy I did it but still a little shocked when I look down.

We are back in Cape Breton and tonight is the annual Strawberry Supper at the church. It has been going on for as long as Grammie can remember and we have been 3 times when visiting in the past. Noah, Aidan, Aunt Helen , Grammie and I went over to the church last night and hulled about 8 flats of berries. We will go over tonight and have ham, potatoe salad,homemade biscuits and strawberry shortcake with the rest of the community. So very different for this city girl but I love it. Two more sleeps until we leave for Spain !

Adios amigos