This January, my friend Laurel emailed me and our friend, Christine, with the best idea. Laurel is an actress working on musical theater shows in London. She got a part in the opera, Street Scene, and was performing at the Teatro Real in Madrid. She had a flat for a month during rehearsals and the show run. "Come to Madrid," she said. "You can stay with me and we can explore the city."
I just didn't think it would be possible as we are trying to rebuild our house and I still have Winter at home. Brent was so encouraging and supportive and said that I should go. Christine and I booked tickets and eagerly awaited the trip.
On Thursday afternoon, Christine and I met at the JFK airport to fly the red-eye to Madrid. I haven't been in an airport by myself without a little person holding my hand in forever. It felt like a decadent luxury to walk through the airport shops without worrying about little hands breaking stuff. Our flight to Madrid was uneventful, though neither Christine nor I slept much.
We arrived in Madrid on Friday morning. As we flew over the mountains of Spain, it looked like the mountains and terrain of Wyoming with scrubby trees, rocky hills, and lots and lots of brown. Admittedly, Wyoming does not have Palm Trees, but otherwise, the two areas could be twins.
We grabbed a taxi that took us to Laurel's flat right in the heart of Madrid. The cab driver stiffed us on the price, which was a little irritating.
Laurel welcomed us to her second story flat and we dumped our luggage and ourselves on her couch, so excited to see each other. What followed was an epic girl talk/catch-up/therapy session. After hours of just hanging out, we decided to head out for some food.
Laurel's flat is right by Plaza Mayor, a beautiful square with shops and restaurants. We popped over to Mercado de San Miguel to try some gourmet tapas. First, we got a couple kinds or paella- seafood and sausage. We had some churros con chocolate, a fancy cheese tapas, and some cute yogurt shots (in shot glasses, but which did NOT contain alcohol).
After eating we walked around a bit, enjoying the sights. One thing that made me chuckle was the cereal bar restaurant, which apparently is a real thing.
We stopped at a couple small grocery stores to grab a few things. I found Kinder code eggs which I bought for my kids. They always got them in Sweden but can't buy them in the U.S. There are kinder eggs in the U.S., but the ones in Europe are different.
Laurel had to go to rehearsal and Christine and I were pretty wiped by then. Laurel left us and we went to bed.
I just didn't think it would be possible as we are trying to rebuild our house and I still have Winter at home. Brent was so encouraging and supportive and said that I should go. Christine and I booked tickets and eagerly awaited the trip.
On Thursday afternoon, Christine and I met at the JFK airport to fly the red-eye to Madrid. I haven't been in an airport by myself without a little person holding my hand in forever. It felt like a decadent luxury to walk through the airport shops without worrying about little hands breaking stuff. Our flight to Madrid was uneventful, though neither Christine nor I slept much.
We arrived in Madrid on Friday morning. As we flew over the mountains of Spain, it looked like the mountains and terrain of Wyoming with scrubby trees, rocky hills, and lots and lots of brown. Admittedly, Wyoming does not have Palm Trees, but otherwise, the two areas could be twins.
We grabbed a taxi that took us to Laurel's flat right in the heart of Madrid. The cab driver stiffed us on the price, which was a little irritating.
Laurel welcomed us to her second story flat and we dumped our luggage and ourselves on her couch, so excited to see each other. What followed was an epic girl talk/catch-up/therapy session. After hours of just hanging out, we decided to head out for some food.
Laurel's flat is right by Plaza Mayor, a beautiful square with shops and restaurants. We popped over to Mercado de San Miguel to try some gourmet tapas. First, we got a couple kinds or paella- seafood and sausage. We had some churros con chocolate, a fancy cheese tapas, and some cute yogurt shots (in shot glasses, but which did NOT contain alcohol).
After eating we walked around a bit, enjoying the sights. One thing that made me chuckle was the cereal bar restaurant, which apparently is a real thing.
We stopped at a couple small grocery stores to grab a few things. I found Kinder code eggs which I bought for my kids. They always got them in Sweden but can't buy them in the U.S. There are kinder eggs in the U.S., but the ones in Europe are different.
Laurel had to go to rehearsal and Christine and I were pretty wiped by then. Laurel left us and we went to bed.
