Travel&Vacation

La Chocolateria The days prior to my flight to Spain took me on an emotional roller coaster ride. My boss literally had a heart attack at the office Wednesday morning (2 days before my leaving for Spain). A major artery to the heart was blocked and luckily I was able to get the ambulance there on time. Luckily, they caught and treated it on time. I was a bit uneasy about leaving for Spain being as my boss, the owner of the company, was still in the hospital and normally I am the next in charge. However, he assured me that it was OK for me to go on vacation and I did check up on him and the office several times via email while on vacation.

So now that my superhero job of saving lives was on a hiatus, I headed to Newark Airport with Peggy. We arrived fairly early and had 2 hours to kill after checking in, so I made the executive decision of getting a sit down dinner and a couple of cocktails. Plaza Mayor I really really really needed happy hour after the week I just had. We still had plenty of time before boarding, so we did a little shopping and sat down near our gate. Little did we know, almost everyone on our plane had already boarded. There were no announcements! Meanwhile, the only reason we knew to board was because we saw a family running towards the gate! Peggy and I quickly grab our belongings and headed on the plane.

Our flight arrived in Madrid shortly before 10AM. Geri’s flight from JFK was arriving around 10:30AM. Peggy and I waited and waited and waited… but no sign of Geri. We finally managed to ask someone the status of the flight. Of course!!!! We were at the wrong terminal. So we hop on a shuttle bus to take us to the other side of the world (or so it seemed). Puerta Del Sol You will be amazed how many people they are willing to cram on that shuttle bus. I remember saying to Peggy, “I can only imagine what India is like”. Timing was perfect!!! Geri’s flight had been delayed and was just landing. So 3 hours later, we finally left Madrid airport and headed to The Best Western Arosa to meet UK Matt (mattrilla). He had arrived a day earlier and was eagerly anticipating our arrival and entertainment. =) Luckily, I knew some spanish and my friends were quite impressed by how well I spoke. However, they do not speak spanish… so that really isn’t much of a compliment.

When we arrived to the hotel, all I wanted to do was head to the gym. Peggy decided to join me, while Geri and Matt went to look for food during siesta time. Palacio Real The hotel gym was pathetically small. Although, it was very clean… probably because NOBODY every uses it. Their cardio machines were not working properly and/or broken. They did have free weights, a ball and a mat. So I was fine. I tried working out with Peggy for a while, but she eventually gave up after 20 minutes. I returned to the room an hour later.

After taking a quick shower, Peg and I headed over for a snack at La Chocolateria for churros y chocolate. Yummy! This snack is so sinful! We eventually caught up with Geri and Matt who were at Plaza Mayor (apparently nursing their pitcher of sangria.. amateurs!). So Peggy and I ordered our own pitcher and guzzled down our sangria while taking in the view of the plaza, tourists and street performers. Plaza de Santa Ana After which, we walked around Puerta Del Sol, saw Plaza de la Villa (which looked much better in the travel brochures than it does in real life) and ran around the Palacio Real (literally). After our afternoon of touring, we had dinner at a restaurant near our hotel… being as Matt was getting hungry and cranky. The night was still early and even though the girls were feeling the jet lag, we decided to go to Plaza de Santa Ana for a few drinks. Bacardi y coca cola light?! Great… they have my preferred beverage! Being as Matt didn’t speak any spanish, he was stuck with the same drink I ordered. I think by the end of the trip, he truly fancied the bacardi and diet cokes (aka 2nd wind drinks). I’m quite amazed that smoking in bars and restaurants are still legal in Europe. Then again, this is still legal in so many U.S. states…