What an absolutely amazing trip we had to Spain! After a year of planning, it finally happened! We loved the country - but we also love being back home:)
Tuesday 6/9 - Wednesday 6/10
We left our house about 9:30am to fly from GSP to Charlotte and landed in CLT about 2pm. We got our next flight to Madrid at 3pm and sat on the tarmac for almost FIVE HOURS! They wouldn't let us off and finally offered us water but then ran out. The plane went dark at one point while we were sitting there! They kept coming on the speakers and saying it was a maintenance paperwork thing but that we would be flying out.. blah, blah, blah! Both generators went out and they were STILL saying we were flying! I was thinking, please, I do NOT want to be over the Atlantic on this plane, just let us off!! FINALLY, they let us off but did not cancel the flight because they were still trying to make this flight happen so we were not able to leave the airport or get our luggage. By this point, I've had enough travel issues that I'm telling M that this plane is not going to be leaving! So he gets on the plane with American Airlines and gets us rebooked on a flight for later that night to London and then from there to Madrid. So, we eat dinner and get on the London flight at 11pm and have about an 8 hour flight. We land in London about 12:30pm London time and have a three hour layover for lunch. We've figured out at this point also that our luggage is not with us because it was still on the other plane. That flight was cancelled and would be leaving later on Wednesday and arriving in Madrid on Thursday. So, we don't have luggage, but at least we are still arriving on Wednesday! We buy a few toiletries at the airport in London because they had a great little store to get all the things! They even had a Lululemon that was priced much better than in the States where M and C got a few things and a Nike store where they picked up a few more items that they would need since we didn't have anything in our carry-ons! In hindsight, S and I definitely should have done the same!! We finally board our next flight at 4:30pm after a slight delay and land in Madrid, get our rental car! We tell them about our situation with no luggage and they were so sweet to put the address into my phone of a place that was kind of like a very cheap JC Penney but they close at 10pm and we are leaving the airport at 9:30pm. We literally had 10 minutes to shop for all that we'd need that night and the next day! Their clothes are in European sizes so we were trying to figure that out, we were all separated, nobody in the store spoke English and when they say they close at 10pm, they are pushing you out the door at 10pm! A very stressful start to our trip! I find S and pay for our stuff and then we head downstairs to find the boys checking out! S and I realize we both forgot pajamas so she goes to grab a couple of shirts really fast and never makes it back to us! They kicked her out of the store because it was two minutes after 10pm by this point! We have no idea where we are going, can't read the signs and need to find dinner! We see a Burger King that is open so M and C wait in the car because they are illegally parked(we are in a city so there is no drive through and no parking lot) while S and I go in. Again, not a lot of English going on! LOL! We order off an automated sign that has an English option on it but then when they call out our order, we don't even know it's for us! I'm telling you, my ignorant American self thought everyone spoke English in cities in Europe. SO WRONG!! We finally get it figured out, arrive at our hotel that we couldn't figure out parking for for about 30 minutes and check in just before midnight! The staff at the hotel is amazing and so helpful and speaks English! We are soooo tired and just glad to be able to lay our heads down!
 |
Just got on the plane in Charlotte! Little do
these peeps know, they have a VERY LONG
day(s) of travel ahead of them! |
 |
Finally made it to the Madrid airport! I took ZERO
pictures between the Charlotte plane picture
and this one! LOL! |
Thursday 6/11
We had a tour scheduled for this day! We got up early about 8:15am and got ready in our Spanish attire we'd purchased the night before and walked down the street to a hole in the wall breakfast spot! Luckily the kids knew enough Spanish to get our breakfast ordered because, again, not one person in this place spoke English! We met our tour guide back at the hotel at 10am. I'd booked him for a full day tour and am SO THANKFUL that I did! He showed us the main sites in Madrid, ordered our food, got us entry into places that we'd have had a hard time with not knowing which line to get in or what tickets we needed! He was funny and very knowledgeable! A very good choice to have the tour set up!
Our first stop was the Royal Palace. It was beautiful and a great intro to Madrid as we heard a lot of history as we toured as well! We then walked to Plaza Mayor where we walked through a bar with all the bull fighting winners photographs and bulls on the wall and then through the huge market where we saw cured pig legs for the first time and they just shave the meat right off the leg for you to eat! Next stop was Puerto del Sol which was the center of the city and so many people gather here(after we left, Spain won the World Cup and they were broadcasting videos of the Spanish people going crazy and the videos were of huge crowds in Puerto del Sol celebrating - think NYC at the ball drop on New Years Eve!). We grabbed lunch at a place that the guide recommended and where he ordered for us which was so lovely and then headed to the famous art museum, Museo del Prado, which we didn't have super high hopes of enjoying but our guide happened to be an art major and we so knowledgeable and entertaining and knew so much about the pieces of art that we actually quite enjoyed ourselves! Our tour time was over after the museum and our guide said good bye! We had a quick snack at the cafe in the museum and then walked through Parque de El Retiro since we were on the far opposite side of Madrid and probably would not this way again while we were on our trip. We walked the long walk back to our hotel and borrowed a phone charger from the nice hotel workers since we did not have a converter for the plug as it was in the suitcases that were supposedly "on the way" on the plane that was canceled and then rescheduled to arrive in Madrid Thursday. Anyway, we recharged while our phones recharged. We then went out to purchase some more clothes for the next couple of days, which S was actually quite thrilled about. They have Zara in Spain where it is so much cheaper than when you order in the US! We got most of our items there and a store called Stradivarius. We then had to find a place that had underwear, bras, razors and plug adaptors! So much stuff to buy! We got that taken care of and then ate a tapas dinner at Origin about 10:30pm(this is quite a normal time in Spain to eat dinner! Many places do not even open for dinner until 7/8pm!). We finally made it back to the hotel with full bellies and our purchases and got to bed at 1am!
 |
| Breakfast as little Spanish children |
 |
| The Royal Palace |
 |
| Puerto del Sol - not too crowded |
 |
| That is our guide, Geza, on the right. |
 |
| Parque de El Retiro |
 |
This bookstore was so neat - it was built INTO
the side of the building! |
 |
The sky was beautiful on our walk from
our shopping excursion to dinner! |
Friday 6/12
We definitely slept in a bit today! Jet lag is real and we have been going, going, going! We walked down the street and got breakfast at a different hole in the wall place! We then drove about two hours to Valladolid to visit with our sweet friends for the afternoon! Oh how nice it was to see them!!! Their son, Alvaro, played soccer with C for two years and their daughter and S know each other loosely from games and just being the same grade. Their whole family took the day to spend with us! We drove into downtown Valladolid and it reminded me of being about the same size as Greenville! It was perfect! We went to a few tapas restaurants and they ordered their favorites to share with us. We were introduced to my favorite drink, tinto de verano, which was also S's first alcoholic drink. It was so yummy and refreshing and we ordered it all over Spain after this! We were also introduced to Greek Frozen Yogurt! OH MY!! This was my favorite food we discovered there! DELICIOUS! We then went to the local professional soccer team's stadium where Alvaro and his dad, Fran, participated in a friendly soccer game and we got to watch. Loved seeing them play! There was a small reception afterwards and we visited for a bit before heading back to their house. The boys all went fishing in the river in their neighborhood and then joined us girls at their neighborhood "club" for drinks and tapas and all their friends were down there as well! We ate and drank for hours and finally made ourselves leave and drive back to Madrid. We got back at 2:30am!! AND, THREE of our suitcases were waiting for us! S's did not make it... oh dear! This was one of the highlights of our trip and a day we won't forget spent with amazing friends showing us their country!
 |
| First tinto de verano |
 |
| Greek Frozen Yogurt |
 |
| Alvaro |
 |
| Fran |
 |
| The cheering squad |
Saturday 6/13
After such a late night, we were definitely not getting up early this morning! We got up with just enough time to make it to our cooking class - no breakfast and NO COFFEE! It was about a 30 minute walk to our class where we met up with a girl that was working for the summer in Spain from University of Notre Dame and a couple from Australia. The cooking class was really good! I have found that doing cooking classes in other countries is such a fun and educational experience! We made a Spanish omelet and churros! After cooking we were able to enjoy the food in the ancient wine cellar and just chat with the other guests! And, as if that was not enough food, we stopped and got chocolate strawberries on our way back to the hotel(we'd seen people eating them and they were sold right next to our hotel and for the past two days we'd wanted to try them!) which were very yummy and then M was able to get his first siesta while the rest of us regrouped a bit(and I spent time trying to track down S's suitcase!). We walked up the hill by our hotel to check out Temple de Bood and then walked back through Madrid to see Plaza Mayor and San Miguel Market once more. We purchased some fruit and the pig leg meat at the market this time. We ate a paella dinner - oh, M and I had walked around some more near Puerto del Sol but the kids did not want to so we gave them the address of a restaurant recommended by our guide on Thursday and just told them to meet us there! We thought they would stay together, but NO, they left each other and just hoped for the best! So much for the buddy system! Anyway, after dinner we walked through the La Latina area, got ice cream just before it was closing, saw the Royal Palace at night all lit up and finally had our heads hit the pillow about midnight!
 |
You can see we got our luggage back! C and M
definitely no longer looking like little
Spanish boys LOL! |
 |
| Views from Temple de Bood |
 |
| Plaza Mayor |
 |
| San Miguel Market fruit |
Sunday 6/14
We got ourselves up earlier this morning to get breakfast before checking out of the hotel and starting the drive to the coast. We made a stop for lunch in Alarcon where we ate in a fortified castle! So neat! All the little towns we stopped in on the trip were so "European" and I loved every one of them!
We made it to Calpe, our beach destination for the next few days around 5:30pm. We were greeted by the condo owner who showed us around the condo and gave a few recommendations. We had to get S a bathing suit and then we purchased groceries(having to use the Google translate camera feature to read labels - we learned this trick in Costa Rica!) and then had dinner at a little place right on the beach and spent the evening people watching and relaxing on the balcony!
 |
Trying to figure out gas - we filled up twice
and struggled both times! |
 |
| Alarcon |
 |
| Spain is very arid! |
 |
These little murals were painted all over the
town! |
 |
Lunch in the castle! And, drinking Lemon
Fanta was a favorite for the kids! C got them
everywhere we went! |
 |
| Condo views |
 |
| Beach in front of the condo |
Monday 6/15
It was nice to be able to get up and have coffee and breakfast in the room leisurely before heading out and spending the whole day on the beach! C made a reel with his 3D printer before we left and had it ready to fish! He bought a snorkeling face mask and was very entertained fishing as he waded - and caught quite a few! He was so enthralled with the fishing that he didn't even notice(until Tuesday evening!!) that tops were optional for women at the beach. LOL!! But when he found out his reaction was priceless!! For a pre-dinner appetizer, we walked to a local beach restaurant/bar, Tango, to watch Spain's first World Cup game against Cabo Verde. When the game was about over, we left and went to have drinks at Skybar 360 overlooking the town! Amazing views! Then, for dinner, we walked to Old Town Calpe(through the wall on this tiny stairway that you almost wouldn't know was there! It felt like Universal when you walk into Diagon Alley through an unassuming wall and enter a whole "new world"!) and ate at El Arco which was a super cute Spanish restaurant!
 |
| Lunch views |
 |
| Skybar 360 |
 |
| Old Town Calpe - so incredibly cute! |
Tuesday 6/16
I got up and had a quick coffee and then M and I went for a walk to Penon de Ifach(the big rock feature in Calpe). We didn't have tickets to go to the top, so we could only go so far, but it was still worth the walk! We stopped and ate breakfast on our way back to get the kids up and go down to the beach. We enjoyed the morning at the beach and ate lunch along the promenade. The afternoon was spent relaxing by the pool and at the beach and reading(and me on the phone still trying to locate S's suitcase!). We showered and took pictures on the beach before driving up the mountain to Mirador Morro de Toix for more great views. We ate a TWO HOUR, SEVEN course dinner at Puerto Blanco and arrived back home afterwards at midnight:) Spanish time is soooo different than US!
 |
| Roman Ruins |
 |
| More Roman ruins |
 |
| Walk up to Penon de Ifach |
 |
Cute little breakfast spot on our way back to
the condo |
 |
| Mirador Morro de Toix views! |
 |
This guy 100% enjoyed his 7 courses at
Puerto Blanco |
Wednesday 6/17
M and I took another walk, the other way down the beach, this morning! We got coffee and breakfast in town. We then walked back and got the kids up to spend the day on the beach and at the pool! AND, just before heading out to take our catamaran cruise, actually S and I went ahead and started walking to meet the boat and M and C stayed behind, S's suitcase arrived!!!!!!! We were soooo glad to see that thing - especially because we leave in the morning to head back to Madrid to leave Spain! What an adventure and I still don't exactly know where it was, but we got it back! The cruise was so cool! I couldn't get over the fact that we were in the Mediterranean Sea looking back at Spain! I was in awe! When we got back, we grabbed dinner at the restaurant right by our hotel and were able to watch the England World Cup game with a bunch of British people! Kinda neat because they were a bunch rowdier than the Spaniards watching the Spain game earlier in the week!
This morning we packed up and left Calpe! It was kinda sad thinking we were starting the end of our trip! But, we were not completely done yet! We had a few stops to make on our way back to Madrid. First we stopped for breakfast in nearby Altea and walked around and explored the streets there! We then got on the road again and stopped in Guadelest where we made a few souvenir purchases, toured the castle and then ate lunch. Our final stop en route was Toledo. Oh, I wish we'd arrived earlier because this was a very cute town! First of all, there isn't any parking in the town. Instead, we parked outside the walls and then took escalators up into the town. So different and really interesting! We ate dinner at El Trebol and then, my favorite, Myka's Greek Frozen Yogurt! Oh so good! We walked around while we ate our yogurt and explored the town and the palace, Alcazar de Toledo. By that time it was almost 10pm and most things were closing up. We made the final stretch of our return trip to Madrid arriving at midnight and staying at a hotel only 10 minutes from the airport!
 |
| Breakfast in Altea |
 |
| Altea had a lot of walking UP hill |
 |
| I just loved all the little streets! |
 |
| Esglesia de Santa Maria del Consol d'Altea |
 |
| Guadelest |
 |
| Castell de San Jose in Guadelest |
 |
We only had 4 suitcases on the ride home -
and we were lucky we got it all in the car!
LOL!!!! |
 |
| Toledo |
 |
| YUMMMMM!!! |
 |
| Alcazar de Toledo |
 |
| View from Toledo |
Friday 6/19
Well, we headed back to Greer today! It was bittersweet as we woke up, ate in the cafeteria at the hotel, returned the rental car and boarded our flight to begin the journey back to our own beds! The trip home was much smoother than the one there and all of our luggage arrived at GSP with us! It'll take us few days to reacclimate for sure! What a special, memorable trip to a beautiful country!
 |
| Bye, Spain! |
