It is possible to see Madrid in a day!

After Pamplona, all a bit run down from the lack of sleep, it was a bit daunting to be showing up in one of the largest cities in Spain: Madrid.  But we found our way from the airport, through the metro, and to our hotel, the centrally located Emperador Hotel.  Upon entering our room, however, were overwhelmed with the smell of pinesol! Usually Travers and I rarely ever complain about a room to the hotel, and we debated on saying anything this time. But the longer we sat in that room, the less I wanted to be in there. The smell was horrible, the wall-paper was peeling, the room was dark and it felt like a miserable place to be. So we drew straws and decided Travers should call the receptionist to see if we could change rooms. He was extremely polite about it, but the woman was not budging, saying that all the rooms were the same, and that none of them had views or were bigger. Well, we weren't calling about the size or the view. We were calling about the smell!  That fired me up, so we grabbed our bags, went downstairs and I marched up to the desk to talk to this woman in person. And I was very polite, but also very stern emphasizing that I could not stand the smell of pinesol and that there needed to be another room for us. After a few hesitations, she finally gave us a new room on a higher floor that really wasn't that much better looking, but the smell was much better, and there was actually a bit of light that entered the room through the window so we didn't feel like we were in a dungeon anymore. Yay!

After finally getting settled, we immediately put our swimsuits on and made our way to the roof deck pool area, which was one of the reasons we decided to stay at the Emperador to begin with. It was a decent sized pool with a lot of lounge chairs in various areas, playing Coldplay over the speakers, and a drink server to bring us some cool refreshments. And after the long night in Pamplona, all we wanted to do at that moment was relax in the sun, so we did just that.

A few hours later, it was time to meet up with my cousin, Melissa and her husband Greg. They happened to be in Madrid for one overlapping day with us, so we decided to meet up with them and have dinner that night before they caught their flight the next morning back to the states. They came over to our hotel and we introduced them to Mike and Shelley, and had some champagne in the lobby while we all caught up.  We then found this restaurant in a guide book that is supposedly the world's oldest restaurant, Restaurant Botin. We strolled through Plaza Mayor, and past lots of shops and people and street performers, and found the restaurant behind the plaza.

The restaurant was in a several stories tall building, and they brought us up to the top floor. The building definitely looked old, with big wooden beams and creaky floors, but the decor was nice and authentic feeling, the service was very friendly and the food was delicious.









Since Melissa and Greg had to get up early the next day, and the four of us were all tired from Pamplona still, after dinner, we called it a night, and said our goodbyes. It was great to see my cousin and catch up as she lives in St. Louis and I rarely got to see her when we lived in SF.

The next morning, after a very restful nights sleep, we decided to see as much of Madrid as possible. Travers mapped out the city and basically became our tour guide for the day. We only got lost a few times (according to Travers we were never lost, just missed a turn here and there), and with a little help from Shelley, we went on a tour of the city, seeing lots of plazas and buildings along the way.

Travers and Shelley mapping our route

Not sure what Mike's doing behind us

We walked for several hours, through tons of plazas that were a bit underwhelming at times, all the while Travers giving us a brief comment or history about what we were seeing. We went through different neighborhoods, and made our way across the city, sweating in the heat. All getting a bit tired, we decided to head towards the high-end shopping district, where there were supposedly some good restaurants and a few nice streets to walk down. We ended up taking a wrong turn, making the walk a bit longer than necessary, so were extremely relieved to eventually find a place to eat: a fun asian fusion restaurant. We had tasty thai and asian dishes and enjoyed the air conditioned restaurant and the relief on our feet by sitting down for an hour while we ate.

After lunch, Shelley and I did some window shopping, and then some actual shopping in the Zara store, while the boys tried not to get too bored. We decided that we were all a bit exhausted, so the boys headed back to the hotel to sun-bathe, while Shelley and I shopped a bit more, then finally calling it quits to join the boys on the roof.

We rested for a couple hours, sun-bathing, sleeping, and swimming, then got ready for our evening. We were headed towards Museo Del Prado, which had free entry between 6p and 8p (thanks to a tip from my cousin!). By the time we got there we only had about 45 minutes to walk through the museum, which was plenty for the boys, and enough for me and Shelley to get our fill as well. As one of the more well-known museums in Spain, we figured we had to go and check it out, at least to just say that we'd been there. As we're not normally big museum goers, this was a big accomplishment.

After the museum, we walked to the nearby Parque del Retiro, which had a large pond in the center where people could rent boats and hang out on the water, while others sat along the pathway that surrounded it. While we didn't get in the pond, we sat on a bench nearby, watching all the people, wondering if anyone was going to fall out of their boat into the water. Unfortunately, no one did.

We made our way for a traditionally late dinner back to a neighborhood that we had gone to earlier in the day, choosing a restaurant that had pizzas and asian fusion and nachos on their menu. It was perfect for our group and it was a more modern restaurant that was the total opposite of what we had the night before. After dinner, we wandered the streets, enjoying the city as much as we could. We found an old bar called La Venencia where they are known more for their sherry than their whiskey. The boys enjoyed both, while Shelley and I got scolded for trying to take a photo! (Shelley still managed to get this one though!)

Still a bit exhausted from our tour earlier in the day, and a bit sluggish from the heat, we opted for some chocolate dipped churros for dessert at the famous San Ginés, then called it a night.  While Madrid is a nice large city, and we saw some great things, I will say it wasn't my favorite of all the places we visited. I will probably go back, but more for a specific event, like a football match (that's soccer to all of you), or a bull fight (which we weren't able to see in Pamplona, but that are very popular in Madrid as well).  The next day we were headed to Sevilla, our 4th city on this 10 day trip, and now one of my favorites. Stay tuned...

Run baby Run

Arriving in Pamplona, we immediately knew it was going to be an adventure. Hundreds of people crowded the train station, most dressed in white with sashes and scarves of red. Some had faded red splotches on their shirts, which we later found out was sangria (apparently complete strangers will come up and splash you with their cup of sangria, just for fun). We squeezed our way through the crowd, and managed to find the bus that would take us to our hotel, on the outskirts of town.  Once settled in and changed into our best white outfits possible, we headed towards the city center to buy some festive red scarves and sashes.

The bus dropped us right in front of the plaza de toros, and right at the heart of all the action. We made our way through the crowd, everyone wearing essentially the same outfit. Grabbing some beers, we walked along the route that the bulls would be running first thing the next morning.









There were people everywhere, having a great time, and so were we. As the sun set, we grabbed some tapas for dinner, and then saw a sparkling bull run through the crowd to entertain the kids (unfortunately, a spark hit Travers' shirt and burned a tiny hole in the back of it).  We continued to make our way around the town, seeing all sorts of people and characters and festivities.  By 2am we were getting a bit tired and knew that if we were going to see the bulls run at 8am the next morning, we had to get a few hours sleep at least. So we headed back to the hotel to literally sleep for 2 hours.









Waking up at 4:30am, we headed back out to the streets to get a spot along the guardrail that they would set up before the bulls run at 8am every day.  By 5am we had chosen our spot, and proceeded to stand in the same place for the next 3 hours! Crazy you say? Well, we weren't the first ones there either, so it was good we showed up when we did. As the hours passed and the sun rose, more and more people gathered around us. We held firm and didn't let anyone get between us and our spot. After they built the rails we were able to stand on them to get a higher up position. As you can see, there is the path the bulls run, then an empty pen where runners can dive into to get out of the way, and then the wall that we and other spectators got to stand behind.











As 8am approached, people crowded everywhere they could get. Little by little, we saw people coming out onto their balconies. And by 8am they were all filled with people everywhere. If we were to do it again, we would definitely get a spot on one of the balconies, because those people probably had the best view of all.









At 8am, the starting gun was fired and we slowly saw people running down the street in front of us. Some hopped over the railing immediately, the police and paramedics helping them, and some kept on running past and a few seconds later, we saw the bulls come running up behind them, followed by more people, and finally the steers which guide the bulls to the finish line, the plaza de toros. Here are a few pics, but it all happened so fast that I wasn't able to get a great shot of the actual bulls.

















After the run ended, we made our way to the plaza de toros with the rest of the crowd, and wiggled our way to view the show that was going on in the center. Hundreds of people that had run with the bulls, gathered inside the ring, and one by one a bull would be released into the ring (horns wrapped up so as not to do too much damage), and the goal would be to stand in front of the bull as it charges and grab hold of the horns for as long as possible. It was an entertaining 'show' and some people were somewhat successful, and others not so much. There was definitely some internal damage that must have been done to a few people, but they all got up and walked away afterwards.
















 After a few minutes, a huge steer would be brought in to corral the bull and lead it back into the stadium. It was amazing to see how the bull instinctively knew to follow the steer away from the people and into the stadium below.









After less than 24 hours in Pamplona, we took a few last looks, gave a few more cheers, and bought a few more souvenirs. We headed back to the hotel for a few extra hours of sleep before hopping on another train to the largest city in Spain, Madrid!

Pintxos, Bulls, and Sun

One of our biggest trips of the year was 10 days in Spain. With our friends Shelley and Mike Rosinsky, the four of us travelled from San Sebastian for some beach and relaxation, to Pamplona to run with the bulls, to Madrid, the largest city in Spain where my saw my cousins Melissa and Greg, to Sevilla, where we ate some NY style pizza, to Estepona for some pampering and relaxation (with a few hours stopping in Gibralter), and finally to Malaga where we melted with 100°F temperatures. It was a long trip stopping in 7 cities, but we can now officially check Spain off the list!

Travers and I arrived a day before the Rosinskys, and flew EasyJet from Geneva to Bordeaux, then hopped on a train to San Sebastian. Arriving by mid-afternoon to our hotel, we were pleasantly surprised when our room was on the top floor with a balcony that had views of the ocean just a few blocks away! After soaking in the views, we decided to throw on our bathing suits and head out to Playa de la Concha!









We walked along the beach, taking in the beautiful water, sun, and all the people. After a few hours of sun time, we walked around town for a bit, then headed back to the hotel to shower up and get ready to go out for some pintxos (aka tapas) and sangria for dinner.

We caught a beautiful sunset on our way to the old town area of San Sebastian.  We walked through the cobblestone streets, and stopped at several different restaurants to try as many different pinxtos and sangria we could.

The next day, we slept in, then walked out to Zurriola beach, which was on the other side of the city. A bit more private, and a few less people, we rested and relaxed and got nice and tan. On our way back towards our hotel, we stopped back in old town for a tasty lunch of paella and a sandwich. We ended up sitting in the shade outside the restaurant, and amazingly were getting a little cold, so we ate quickly, and headed back to Playa de la Concha to warm up and wait for the Rosinskys to arrive. 











Once they arrived, we enjoyed some more beach time, then had a cocktail party in our hotel on our balcony.  We enjoyed some local salami and cheese, and soaked in the views of the ocean. Then we headed back to old town to enjoy some more pinxtos and sangria!

After another restful nights sleep, we did the same thing again, wandering through the town, soaking in some sun at the beach, and just relaxing as much as we could. By mid-afternoon, it was unfortunately time for us to leave. So we hopped on a train that would take us to a completely opposite environment, a energy-filled, people-filled city where they let animals run wild through the streets. We were headed to Pamplona!

Restful June

The rest of June was spent in Switzerland, a few fun weekends in Geneva, and a weekend trip to Zurich and Zug.  During June, the Euro 2012 was under way and we joined in the festivities of watching as many matches as possible.  One of the most fun places to watch was in a parking lot near the hockey stadium that was turned into a large outdoor party. There was a large screen on one end, and surrounding it were lots of booths of bars and restaurants. Tons of people would stand and watch the matches. We went here a couple times throughout the Euro and enjoyed seeing all the passion and excitement from all the fans.

We also enjoyed a few days sitting in the park by the baby plage, soaking in the sun and watching the boats and people go by. And we spend a few nights at one of our favorite summertime spots, the wakeboard club, having drinks with some friends, watching the sun set.










After two weekends in Geneva, and getting a little restless, we decided a quick weekend trip away to Zurich and Zug would be perfect. We took a train early Saturday morning to Zurich, dropped our bags at our hotel, and went exploring in one of the most popular cities in Switzerland. Zurich is a bit bigger than Geneva, and is in the German part of Switzerland, so the culture and feeling of the city is similar in some ways but very different in others. We walked down the lake, watching people and boats, and feeding some ducks and swans. Things we would also do in Geneva, but enjoying it all the same in Zurich. We found a huge park that had lots of sunbathers. And we strolled through the Old Town, finding lots of fun pubs and restaurants that we knew we'd come back to later that night.












We had an early dinner at one of the restaurants we saw in Old Town, then went to our favorite chain pub Mr. Pickwicks, to watch one of the semi-final Euro 2012 matches between Spain and France (Spain won).  After the match, we wandered through the streets, soaking in the city and then called it an early night as we had an early morning train to catch to Zug on Sunday.

Zug is a small town about half an hour outside of Zurich. We went there to take a brunch boat cruise on Lake Zug. We had received a prize last Christmas from Travers' work, so we took advantage of it, and enjoyed a wonderful brunch on a boat in the lake, on a beautiful sunny day.  We saw some pretty views from the boat, and enjoyed the sunny decks at the front and back of the boat.

The cruise was a few hours long, and very relaxing.  It was definitely something we wouldn't normally have done, but we were so glad we did. Afterwards, we hopped back on a train to Geneva, happy we were able to take a quick break from the city.

Travers at brunch

Looking back at Zug

The last weekend in June was spent saying goodbye again to the Vissers. With the Rosinsky's, we went for  some beers at a favorite of ours, Brasserie du Molard. To make sure the Vissers did everything they wanted to do before leaving Geneva, we ordered a 5 liter tube of beer, something pretty unique at bars in Geneva.  

After finishing the tube of beer, we headed up into Old Town to Pied Au Cochon for dinner.  We ended the night with some fun at one of the Vissers' favorite local pubs, L'Elephant dans la Canette. The next morning, they were off on their flight back to Washington. We miss you Vissers!









A week later we were leaving on a 10 day trip to Spain, so it was wonderful to get a relaxing few weekends in June before jetting off on another of many more trips to come this summer.