Adventures in Madrid Travel Log: Day 4

First stop this morning is Dunkin’ Coffee which is, as you might expect, the same as Dunkin’ Doughnuts. It is Kari’s favourite coffee place so we enjoy coffee and breakfast sandwiches before heading to the Prado Museum.


At the Prado the wait is only 45 minutes which feels like 2 minutes compared to the wait for the palace. We all seem to be more awake which also means that we are more entertained while we wait.




The Prado Museum is famous for its collection and is one of the most visited sites in the world. Only a fraction of its collection is on display for lack of space even in spite of the recent addition of a new wing. I pay for the audio guide which gives both historical information, artistic insight, and context to certain featured works. The girls and I split up and have two hours on our own. I take my time, but when I realize I only have 45 minutes left and am half way through the first floor I only stop at the paintings featured on the audio guide. When I realize I only had 15 minutes left I prioritize to only the art listed as masterpieces. I still miss four rooms on the main floor and do not make it to the other two levels. Having done a history major and taken a course called Art as Propaganda I am very interested to hear about the inspiration for various works, to see paintings that I have learned about in my classes, and to revisit familiar historic events.

Afterwards we wander around the city stopping in various shops recommended by the travel books. A major souvenir shop, a candy shop featuring Madrid’s famous almond nuggat and a boutique feature products made from violet flowers.






We buy groceries for a New Years dinner from El Corte Ingles, it reminds me of a less fancy Herod’s or a fancier Bay Store (plus grocery/food section).

My favourite shop of the day is a store selling rope-bottom shoes. It is another hidden shop that Amy found in her travel guide that ends up being a very fun experience even aside from the shopping component. The shop owner and his wife are very friendly and we enjoy their company. The store has been featured in an article in the New York Times and their shoes were worn by Penelope Cruz in the movie Volver (which I haven’t actually seen).








We take a break at the apartment to drop off our purchases and freshen up before heading out to Café la Catedral, a fun restaurant just off Puerta del Sol. Our wait staff is very entertaining and we are pleased with the cuisine. We share paella, a rice and seafood dish, and croquettes, a small fried food roll containing mashed potatoes, cheese and ham, for an appetizer. I order steak and fries as my main course followed by profiterole for dessert.
We have gotten into the Spanish habit of eating late, even later than other European countries in my opinion, so by the time I get home it is already 1:30am and time for bed.

Adventures in Madrid Travel Log: Day 3

We head to El Palacio Real first thing in the morning. Well, first thing in the afternoon is probably more accurate. We get a bit turned around on the way, but our confusion leads us to a really neat 3-D Christmas display occupying the length of the entire storefront of a prominent department store.

We admire and continue our search for the palace. It's not a small palace, we wonder how we could have missed it. Once we find the palace we pose for a picture to prove we have indeed found it.

I pose with a fountain outside the palace gates.

We find the royal residence in time for the changing of the guard. Apparently the actual ceremony only happens once a month so the version we see is a less official form for tourists.


We then join the line up and wait. We wait. We move forward at a very slow rate. We wait some more. We wait two and a half hours for admission.
Amy and Megan are sad to be waiting so long.

Kari is also unimpressed, but I laugh in the face of frustration.

The line is the entire length of the palace. When we do (finally) pay, go through security, and gain admittance we tour the palace for about 30 minutes. The site was originally a fortress, but a palace was built in the 16th century. In 1734 the palace was burnt down, King Philip V had a new palace built on the same location. It is now the official residence, but is only used for state ceremonies. The royal family lives in a more modest palace on the outskirts of Madrid. The palace is very beautiful and ornate. There are some distinct differences between this palace and others I have visited. There is one room where the walls are covered in ornate porcelain décor that has been attached to the wood paneling in such a way that you could not even see the panel seams.

The palace was built facing this cathedral.

Lunch is Starbucks and McDonalds and another chocolate pastry from the famous pastry shop at Plaza del Sol.

We enjoy a bit of down time at the apartment before heading out to a small, but well-know ceramics shop; Antigua Casa Talavera. There is a variety of ceramic goods that are all handmade from different regions in Spain. Kari and I buy a matching teacup and handle-less mug.


Dinner is both a historic and a culinary experience. We eat at Casa Alberto, an old restaurant in the city.
It opened in 1827 and was a converted house inhabited at one time by Miguel de Cervantes author of Don Quixote. It has been visited by many famous people, there is a picture of Martin Sheen just over my right shoulder.

I order one of the house specialties, oxtail stew. It is quite tasty, but a lot of work to get a little meat off the bones.


The main evening event is a Flamenco show at Café de Chinitas. We have close to the best seats in the house for a very entertaining presentation of the cultural experience of Spanish dancing. One of the performers even dances on our table.



We pose like celebrity guests at the show. Maybe they'll put our photo on the wall of fame.

After the show Megan and I reenact our favourite dramatic dancer. He is a man who takes himself VERY seriously and is the "star" of the show. Regrettably we do not get photos of him, so you will have to trust our interpretation.


After the show we top off the evening at the Chocolateria San Gines for their specialty, churros dipped in chocolate.
The churros (long thin fried doughnuts) are served on a large plate for the table, and each person gets a mug of chocolate for dipping their churros. Apparently this chocolateria ia a late-night tradition in Madrid and has been frequented by people such as Richard Gere, Penelope Cruz, and Naomi Campbell. Who am I to snub tradition?!? The churros and chocolate are delicious.


The city is getting pretty quiet as we head back to the apartment. Fortunately we catch the last train back to our place. I’m proud I have lasted so long. It’s definitely the latest I’ve stayed out since before I moved to Senegal. Hopefully this doesn’t bode ill for the remainder of the trip.

Checking In

I know some of you have begun to wonder if I'm still alive. Good news...I am! There are moments when the busyness of life threatens to overwhelm me, but thankfully I have not yet succumbed to death, neither figuratively nor literally.

I have tried (and will continue to try) to post my Madrid travel log from back in December. My grandmother always told me that patience is a virtue.

In addition to my adventures in Spain, I have since ventured out to the bush a.k.a. 'rural' Senegal with a large group of staff and students. Pictures and thoughts to follow, fingers crossed.

Olympic Days at D.A. were held at the beginning of February. Students from kindergarten through to 12th grade participated in track and field events. I enjoyed cheering them on from the sidelines. I was also assigned broad jump duty (measuring and recording jump distances). Initially I was confused by the term broad jump because I had always known this event as the standing long jump. I guess it's true what they say, you learn something new everyday. In spite of my puzzlement I still managed to convince a few middle schoolers that I had been assigned this particular event because I was a broad jump champion in Canada. Don't worry, I fessed up, though I think it would have been fun to see how far the rumour spread.

As the Middle School class sponsor I helped the students host their first major event, a tournament day, last weekend. The senate decided on a three-hour soccer tournament played on the soccer court we affectionately call the Petits Poteaux. We paused for a one-hour supper break of subway style sandwiches, chips, and cookies before continuing the day with a three-hour dodge ball tournament. 7 hours, 40-some sandwiches, one broken arm, 3 hours without power, and a broken flip-flop later, the day was an overall success due to the committed planning and willing leadership of the middle school student senate and a handful of high school refs. The tournament was scheduled to end at 10pm, I was home with my feet up by 10:20pm and the delay was mostly due to the fact that I had to walk home barefoot after my flip-flop malfunction. Kudos to the kids for an event well-planned! I would go so far as to say it was practically effortless on my part.

Valentine's Day came and went without much hubaloo, as per usual.

Wednesday was my 28th birthday, gasp! I know what you're thinking..."How can she be 28? I've known her since she was 'this' big. She can't be 28, she could barely pass for 16." It's true ladies and gentlemen, I'm 28 years old and I have photo ID to prove it.

My birthday was great from beginning to end. Kari sacrificed her sleep to get up early and make me french toast and Starbucks coffee for breakfast. The staff sang happy birthday at our morning devotional and there were birthday treats in my honour. Kari's second grade class delivered a signed balloon midday, I also received cards, messages, and a beautiful bouquet of roses. The girls took me to a Brazilian restaurant for supper. It was a restaurant I have been wanting to try since my visit last year, and it was delicious. We enjoyed cake back at the apartment and to finish the day I spoke to family and friends back home. Thank you for all your birthday wishes, I feel very loved.

This past weekend was W.A.I.S.T. (West Africa Invitational Softball Tournament). The school had 6 teams playing so we were at the ballpark morning 'til night Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. It was so much fun to watch a sport I love, to cheer on friends and students, to eat North American junk food, to bask in the sun without melting in the heat (yes Nichole, I wore my sunscreen), and to get a day off school to do all of the above.

Today, regrettably, it was back to reality. More adventures to follow.

In case you are still unconvinced that I am indeed alive, I have attached a recent picture as proof.

Adventures in Madrid Travel Log: Day 2

The temperature this morning is 5 degrees celsius. It is supposed to go up to 9 degrees celsius.

I’m cold.

We enjoy a lazy morning around the apartment. We all sleep late to recuperate from our traveling yesterday. We planned to leave the apartment at noon and we make it out the door before 1pm.

We head to the Puerta del Sol which is a main square at the heart of the city. The plaza is incredibly busy. We see many people wearing crazy hats and wigs. There are buskers scattered around the area and various kid's mascots like Mickey, Sponge Bob, and Hello Kitty. We wonder if there is a festival going on.



Our first stop is Starbucks. I must admit that I have been dreaming of Starbucks since we booked our tickets in November. I enjoy my usual; a grande caramel macchiato. It is as good as always, but especially satisfying in Madrid after a five-month fast.


On our way back to the center of the square we stop at a famous pastry shop. It is so crowded that Megan and I wait outside while Kari and Amy fight their way through the crowd. I thoroughly enjoyed my Neopolitana Chocolate, a yummy chocolate croissant-like treat.





We spend the day wandering around Puerta del Sol and its surrounding shopping area. I will be honest, I spend some money. My justification: I am on vacation!


We enjoy a late lunch at a restaurant just off the square. I have a popular tapas: patatas y aioli; a garlic sauce potato salad. It is delicious. I’m fighting garlic breath.


We visit a store that sells fans, canes, and umbrellas which is popular in the city and we continue to explore.

The square has a huge Christmas Tree structure formed by lights for the holidays. It is beautifully lit in green and red at night and creates an amazing optical illusion when you are inside looking up.


We come back to the apartment for a simple supper of pasta in red sauce and spend some time planning our next few days to ensure that we take full advantage of our time here.

Adventures in Madrid Travel Log: Day 1

Boxing Day evening, 10:38pm, we head to the airport.

We get through security quickly and wait for 2 hours and 27 minutes before boarding our flight to Casablanca.

We are happy to be on vacation.

We are sad that we are still recovering from Christmas food poisoning due to frequent and extended power cuts.

A lady next to us asks us to watch her bag. We comply, we are friendly people.

She is gone a verrrrrrrrry long time.

Kari asks me if I think it might be a bomb. I look around to make sure she was not overheard by airport security, there is only a handsome young man. He is unconcerned. I tell her she shouldn't say that word in the airport.

The lady eventually comes back.

Our first flight is relatively short. At 3:30am the flight crew turns all the lights on and serves a hot breakfast. It is the logical thing to do at 3:30am.

Kari eats a mystery meat, even though her stomach is still settling after food poisoning. It's an adventure. This adventure reaps no negative consequences.

Our layover in Casablanca is 2 hours and 47 minutes. It is a much more pleasant stay than my last visit on my way to Dakar in August. Being here reminds me of my Kindle tragedy. Being here also affords me the opportunity to read my new Kindle.

Kari restrains me from buying a beautiful winter coat in Zahara...it is already cold in Morocco and we are Northbound.

Our second flight is even shorter. We arrive in Spain at 11:39am local time. We can see our breath.

After getting our luggage our first stop is McDonalds. Yum! I have the McPollo (aka McChicken) and even attempt to order in Spanish, much to the servers entertainment.

We settle in to wait for Amy and Megan’s flight to arrive from Frankfurt. After a few hours their flight has still not appeared on the arrivals board.

Kari panicks.

In the meantime there is a fight at an Air Iberia ticket counter. It almost comes to blows. The client's boyfriend has to restrain her from pouncing on the airline representative.

Security is called.

I eventually tear myself away from the excitement and ask about the Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt. We are in the wrong terminal.

We find the shuttle easily and arrive at the correct terminal to await the girls’ flight.

We wait another 2 hours and 26 minutes.

Once the girls arrive we figure out transportation to the apartment we are staying at.

We explore the apartment. It is very comfortable and modern.

We explore the neighbourhood. It is also 'comfortable' but not so modern.

We have tapas for supper at a little restaurant and Kari watches tennis. I eat the fish because no one else really likes it and I'll eat pretty much anything. Next time we will order tapas with no fish.


The server at the restaurant does not speak English but we understand everything he says. He even directs us to a nearby grocery store to pick up a few breakfast items.

We give him a generous tip for his help.

Back at the apartment I get ready for bed. The bed itself is not particularly comfortable, but the duvet and pillows are like a dream. Under the duvet has been the only time since arriving in Spain that I have been 100% warm.

I retire at at 11:14pm. I fall asleep quickly.