April 7, 2013  - Day 6 – Happy Granada! – Much warmer and very sunny!

Got up early this morning and took a cab to the Atocha train station in Madrid for a 9:05 am trip to Granada.  After five and a half very uneventful hours traveling through what appeared to be olive orchards, we arrived at the Granada train station.  Our cab driver was a lively lady who told us that we would like Granada because it was a happy city.  A ten dollar cab ride later we were at our hotel.  A rather funny glitch in the system showed up when they showed us to a room on the second floor that wasn’t made up yet.  The Housekeeper called the front desk and subsequently took us to a room on the 4^th floor with twin beds.  We didn’t like that, so we ended up back on the second floor.  After that we went out walking through this Christian/Moorish city.  Ended up with a yummy salad and 4-cheese pizza at an outdoor café’, finally in the sun.  I believe Spring has arrived.  Strolled around with ice cream – great day for the ice cream parlors!

Then we had a hurdle to cross – collecting our tickets for the Alhambra.  Getting to and into the Alhambra may be the single biggest challenge that we face on this trip.  I went on line weeks ago to buy the tickets and thought I was getting one senior and one adult (those lousy four months until I’m an official senior do make a difference).   I managed to print out the tickets but then found out that the fine print states that senior discounts are only available for European residents.  So we will have to go to the ticket office tomorrow to get Bill’s ticket changed.  We only have a half hour window to enter the Alhambra – between 8:30 and 9 am - so we have been advised to take a bus and get in the ticket line by 7:30. 

We just awoke from our regulation afternoon naps and will probably go out for a small bite and maybe some more city walking.  A shout out to my nephew Ben and his fiancée Mandy and our nieces Michele and Marisa: we came upon a wild mid-day bachelorette party in the heart of the city.  A lovely group of ladies wearing lady bug outfits were escorting the bride-to-be to what looked like every strange man in the city – accompanied by laughing, clapping, and lots of singing.  Maybe it could be a pattern for a bachelorette hoop-de-do for our own bride-to-be.  Marisa and Michele, maybe you can work on that for Mandy.  Bill just opened the door to our balcony and the sounds of the city have poured in – guess we should think about exploring!  Talk to you soon!

Picture 1: Bachelorette Party in Granada;  Picture 2 - Spanish Countryside from the train on the way to Granada; Pictures 3 & 4 - Plaza Nueva - main square in Granada.

April 6, 2013 – Day 5 – Madrid, Spain – Beautiful Day in the Park

It was still cool today but the sun was shining and it seemed like everyone in Madrid was out walking somewhere.  We went to Parque de Retiro – a gorgeous park on the east side of Madrid, just behind the museums.  So many families were out in boats on the lake in the middle of the park.  Lots of street performers and vendors.  Then we had our best meal yet: salad and pasta on Plaza Mayor – about a minute from our hotel.  We may not blog tomorrow – it’s a travel day.  We’ll be on the train from Madrid to Granada.  By the way, it’s very helpful to know a little Spanish in Madrid.  The only people we’ve encountered who speak fairly good English are at the hotel desk.  Everywhere else they only seem to know a few words.  I’m struggling to remember everything I ever learned, but we have ten more days in Spain.  I hope to be somewhat better by the time we head for Paris on April 16 – Granada, Barcelona, and Mallorca to go.  Obviously, we decided not to go to Toledo today.  Part of pacing ourselves.  After all, we only have 86 days to go.  Flying home on Day 92. 

Picture 1 - the lake in Parque de Retiro; Picture 2 - Street performers in Retiro Park;  Picture 3 - Our hotel - Hotel Plaza Mayor;  Picture 4 - Fountain around the corner from our hotel; Picture 5 - Bill and Kathie in Retiro Park;  Picture 6 - Kathie & Bill - self-portrait in Retiro Park;  Picture 6 - Our House Sitter - Sterling Fulk - just in case you wondering who is living in our house while we're gone.  

April 5, 2013 - Day 4 – Madrid, Spain –Cold but no rain.

We think that the Old Couple overdid it today.  We will have to learn to pace ourselves better. 

Today we went to the Royal Palace – one of the three most opulent palaces in Europe.  The other two are Versailles and Schonbrunn.  We plan to visit Versailles on this trip, but sadly, we skipped Schonbrunn when we were on our river cruise in 2010.  The palace was pure opulence.  We couldn’t count the chandeliers of Murano glass.  Six Stradivarius instruments were in the music room valued at 15 million each.  The throne room and dining room were incredible and and it was interesting to find that the palace is used for formal dinners on a fairly regular basis.  In our world, JCS means Jesus Christ Superstar.  In Madrid, JCS stands for King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia.

Then we had tapas for lunch near the Prado Museum on Calle de Jesus, notably on Calle de Cervantes.  One of the places we visited was Cerveceria Cervantes complete with a bust of Cervantes.  We discovered why free appetizers are served with drinks.  The name tapas originated during the reign of Charles III (considered one of the best kings in the history of Spain).  People were evidently drinking too much so Charlie issued a royal decree saying that every time a drink was served in a Spanish bar, something to eat had to be served as well.  The food was originally served on top of the glass so you couldn’t drink from the glass without taking the food and eating it; therefore, tapas. 

After lunch, we went to the Prado Museum and after we’d been there a relatively short time, we realized how tired we were.  This old couple really has to realize that we can’t see and do everything we want to see and do.  We got to see paintings by Velasquez, Goya, Titian, Tintoretto, and my personal favorite: Rubens. I’ve always liked Rubens because he paints women with my body type.  It always makes me feel like Rubenesque women are back in style.  I was not as excited about the Rubens painting “Saturn Eating His Son”, but art is in the eye of the beholder.  By the time we got back to the hotel, we could both barely walk.  So we took a nap and went out for dinner at about 9pm – late by American standards – early by Spanish custom.  Madrilenos are out in force at night in Madrid.  They are eating, drinking, walking, and having a wonderful time.  It reminds me of New York City at night.  We had more wine, more tapas, and ice cream for dessert. 

We were surprised by the number of beggars on the street corners and the number of homeless persons sleeping in doorways.  I guess the problem is universal. 

Pictures: 1. Bill  as a  royal palace guard; 2. Kathie at the Royal Palace, 3. Madrid on a typical Thursday night, 4. Royal Palace, 5. Royal Palace Gardens, 6. Cervantes Bar Sign

April 4, 2013 Day 3 Madrid, Spain - Cool and Rainy

The first picture you will see is our actual luggage.  We said we were only taking a carry-on and a briefcase each and that’s what we have.  However, our carry-ons got a little too fat so we checked them after all. 

I think you’re having better weather in Indiana than we are in Madrid, but who cares.  We’re still having an amazing time here.  I have so many things to tell that I don’t know where to start.  First,

the wine here is fabulous.  A bottle of white Andalusion wine that tastes like Pinot Grigio is only 4€ (Euro) – that’s right a whole bottle!  And they can’t seem to serve wine or any other beverage without giving us free food.  Yesterday, at the hotel, we had our own window on the world.  We sat at seats in the window so we could watch Madrid go by and ate a marvelous potato pie – no charge.  This afternoon, I got a diet coke and got a whole plate of olives with it. 

Last night, we went to the Bullfighting Museum which is actually a Tapas Bar.  Bill isn’t into Bullfighting, but  I found it interesting. 

I want to give a shout out to two of our friends and our daughter Krystal:  to Alaina Moore – the girl who eats a whole pound of bacon every Sunday – you have never tasted anything as good as Spanish bacon; and to Matt Socey who thinks the Food Channel is porn for the married man – we will be mentioning food A LOT in this blog because we just can’t avoid it; and to our daughter Krystal who loves artichokes – the stuffed artichokes and bacon that we had for lunch were muy sabrosa (very delicious).   We’re getting used to European coffee because it’s much cheaper than McDonalds. 

We want to heartily recommend Hop On, Hop Off buses in any city that has them.  We have used them in Barcelona, Chicago, Budapest, New York, and now Madrid.  Now that we are both seniors, they are a deal. For 6E a day each, we got a 2-day pass.  We can go to all the major sites and get off anywhere we want.  First we took a trip around the beautiful city of Madrid today to get our bearings and a general idea of the city.  The jury is in – we love Madrid.  We have one more full day in Madrid tomorrow and then a tough choice to make -  should we take the train to Toledo on Saturday for a day trip from Madrid or should we spend another day in Madrid.  Stay tuned! 

For all our Mud Creek friends, please check out the pictures of the Cervantes Memorial.  On one side you see Cervantes, on another: Aldonza; and on the front of the monument, the statues of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza . Adios!  Watch for another post tomorrow!

Days 1 and 2 - April 2 and 3 - Madrid, Spain

I am writing to you today from Madrid, Spain.  No pictures yet, but hopefully tomorrow.  We had the best overall trip we have had in years- at least since 911.  

We highly recommend Carey Limousine – always on time – they took both of us to the airport for under $50.  This means that we didn’t have to pay parking fees and we didn’t have to inconvenience friends.  The driver was great and the ride to the airport was smooth.

Tuesday is the day to fly. Even though our flight to Atlanta was full, there was hardly anybody in the airport.  We had plenty of time for a soup and salad at Harry and Izzy’s before we boarded the plane.

Once in Atlanta,  we took the "plane-train" to Terminal E and only waited around twenty minutes before they started boarding our international flight early.  The Delta flight was amazing –  the best flight we have had since before 911.  The seats were roomy.  On-demand was free.  Beer and wine were free.  We had hot towels, then beverages and snack, then dinner, then more beverages, and a small breakfast in the morning, and then we landed a half hour earlier than planned. I watched two movies, read a book, slept a couple of hours and we were there. 

We took a cab to the hotel which we shouldn’t have done – that was pretty expensive.  Our room wasn’t ready yet so we had Café Americano and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches at a nearby restaurant and found Tourist information in Plaza Mayor, which dates back to the 16^th century .  We started to feel like we had our bearings a little bit.  Then we found a McDonald’s and had more Café Americano until our room was ready. Breakfast and the second cup of coffee at Micky D’s totaled only 12 Euros. 

Our room is interesting – a little small, and you have to put your room key into a box by the door in order to turn on the lights.  It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean and a place to sleep and that’s all we really need.  Plaza Mayor Hotel is in a 200-year old building.    We haven’t decided what we think of Madrid yet.  We’ll let you know tomorrow –  hopefully with pictures.

  

April 1, 2013

One more day before our big adventure.  The travel writer Rick Steves is our guru and he has shaped our travel philosphy:  " Be militantly optimistic" and "if things aren't to your liking, change your liking."  We hope to follow that philosophy for the next three months.  On a somber note, our friend Denise in Berlin wrote this morning to say that her Dad Karl was in the hospital.  We hope and pray that he will be fine so that we can visit and teach him Euchre when we are in Berlin.   I know that Bill has been so looking forward to seeing him again.

I don't have any European photos to share so here is a silly one from our trip to Wisconsin in February.  Many of you have already seen this so it's really for my sister Sandy whose e-mail did something really strange and she's never seen this picture.

Playing with Pictures Barcelona 2008

This picture brings back memories.  This is from our 2008 Mediterranean cruise.  Here you see us on Las Ramblas in Barcelona eating our very first lunch with huge glasses of Sangria and a tapas platter.  Lunch was almost $100 and we were quite flabbergasted.  But we soon learned where the natives go and had a 10 Euro buffet that night that included a beer.  It was delicious and much softer on the budget.