Happy 30th to Me!

We headed out to San Agustin del Guadalix to visit the Hubers on Thursday April 30.  We had a long weekend and decided to spend the night at their house.  We watched the kids play soccer, we played games and we had fun.  Paul got a cake at a grocery store nearby and we celebrated my birthday with the Hubers on Friday May 1. 

Templo de Debod and New Friends

As our time in Spain was coming closer to an end, I wanted to take Glenn to the Egyptian temple.  He hadn't remembered going 2 years ago and I thought he would really enjoy it.  April 29th Glenn and I took the metro and found our way to the Templo de Debod.

Parque Rio

April 25th we were set to meet up with the Hubers again at the park--the same park this time.  And that park was Parque Rio.  We took the metro there and had fun running and chasing through the hedge mazes.

Burger King

April 22 Glenn and I ventured to a restaurant on our own.  Glenn had completed the 1st grade workbook that we brought along, so we decided to go out for lunch for a change.
Glenn chose Burger King.
After getting out food we went upstairs to eat.  They also had a little interactive playroom.

Paul and Glenn Sunday Walk

April 19 Paul and Glenn went for a walk.  If I'm remembering right, that was the Spanish Mother's Day.  They went out to let me have a nice quiet afternoon nap.

Carnival at Parque Juan Carlos

Saturday April 18 we had plans to meet with some friends at a park in Madrid.  In our emails back and forth, we got mixed up on which park it was.  When we got to the Parque Juan Carlos and the proposed meeting spot, Paul called them and found out that they were at a different park.  Because of timing and money, we decided to just stay where we were and meet up with them again another day.  We were lucky to find that at Juan Carlos there was a fun carnival going on!

Jardin el Capricho

April 11 we met with the Huber family at the Jardin el Capricho.
It's a less-know garden in Madrid but it was beautiful!

All the Extra Pictures from March and April

March and April were filled with little adventures and fun moments.  

Easter

Happy Easter!

Easter Procession

Thursday April 2 we went for a walk in the late afternoon.  We found a different park and enjoyed playing there.  We then used up Paul's meal tickets he gets from work to get dinner at a doner kebab place.  On our way home we happened upon an Easter procession taking place on the street that intersects the one our hotel is on!  We were there at a perfect time to see it all.

Parque Juan Carlos I

Monday March 30, Glenn and I had plans to meet with some friends at the Juan Carlos I Park.  It was close to Paul's work so he was going to walk with us there.  He then decided to go with us!  He had days off later in the week, so he just switched the days he would work/not work.  

It was a good thing he did come with us.  It is a HUGE park and their meeting spot was ambiguous and since we didn't know the park very well, if we didn't have his phone and What's App, then we wouldn't have met up with our friends.  Glenn and I would've wandered around, probably gotten lost and tired and sad.  

So we were happy to have him along for that reason, plus we also like spending time with Paul!  And so do the other kids.  They all knew him from when he had come alone before and he was always coming up with fun games and things to do with them.  It was fun for me to watch these other kids love and respect Paul.

Rome Again

For our trip to Florence, we decided to tag on a day at the beginning and at the end to see some things in Rome.  Our first day there, the weather was really beautiful and we enjoyed a walk around the city.  The next time we came to Rome, it rained--all day.  It was rainy and windy and chilly.  I guess we couldn't expect perfection two days! :D

We hadn't planned our time very well--just thinking that we would do the tourist hop-on hop-off buses, get off at the Vatican and tour there.  Then depending on how much time we had left, we could see other things more in depth.

Well that didn't really work so well.  It took us awhile to even find a place to buy tickets for the tourist bus, and then when we did, we waited and waited for the bus to come.  I take that back.  There was one bus filling up with people, but it didn't have any cover for the top, so people were only sitting down below.  We sat down, but then when we looked out the window we  realized that we couldn't see out!  They had advertisements all over this bus, preventing the windows to be of much use to tourists wanting to see the city.  So we got off and waited for the next bus.  Supposedly they come every 15-20 minutes.  Um, not that day.  We waited and waited.  Then when a new bus did come, a large school group of kids got to go on.  Then when they realized that it was too full with them, they got to take over the next bus as well.  But we were able to squeeze on that one--getting seats on the top.  This bus at least at a tarp over it, but the seats were all wet and it was cold.  Oh well, we had paid for it already and so we got on.

Florence Day 5

Our last day in Florence, we went to more museums.

We started out by seeing the Medici Chapel Museum.

Pisa

Monday, March 23 we took a train out to Pisa for the day.

Florence Day 4

If you can believe it, we spent our fourth day in Florence going to museums again.

We started out Sunday morning at the Museo Nazionale del Bargello.  Bargello comes from a Latin word that means castle or fortified tower.  This building, now housing the museum, used to be a palace for the first Captain of the tower.  It later housed the highest magistrate in the Florence City Council.  It is the oldest public building in Florence, being constructed beginning in 1255.  It also was a former barracks and prison.

Florence Day 3

Our third day in Florence, Saturday March 21, we spent at the Palazzo Pitti.

It is named for Luca Pitti who was the original owner and banker in Florence.  Later the powerful Medici family bought the palace and it became a great house full of art and treasures.

Florence Day 2

Our second day in Florence we visited more museums.

We started at the Uffizi Gallery Museum.

Florence Day 1--Thursday March 19

Thursday March 19th, we started our day walking across the river Arno from our rented apartment to the downtown area.  

We had a beautiful view of Ponte Vecchio--the old bridge.

On to Florence

After a few hours in Rome, we caught a train to Florence.  We were excited to see the countryside.  Because of where our seats were, it was difficult to take pictures to show it off.  We did see quaint little towns and vineyards and castles on the hill.

Rome, Italy

Wednesday morning, March 18th, we were up really early to catch a flight to Rome, Italy.

Paul had scheduled a airport shuttle to pick us up around 3:45am.  When we went downstairs to wait, we found out that it had come and gone without us.  Apparently we were a couple minutes too late.  Paul had been looking out the window periodically, but never saw it.

So there we were on the streets of Madrid at 4am with no way of getting to the airport.  We walked to the next block, in hopes of finding an early taxi.  Thankfully one came after only a few minutes.  Even though we were bummed about missing the shuttle and being awake that early to catch it, taking the taxi that early in the morning was just as good.  We got there soon and without problems.

We had a couple hour wait at the airport and noticed they do things a bit differently than in the States.  I don't know if I could even describe it necessarily, but it is different. :D

Soon enough we were off!  We were on our way to Italy!!