This Could Get Ugly

So far I've done two walking tours in Europe and both have been wins. Today we learned how to tell if the orange trees around Sevilla are bitter or sweet, that we totally missed a half finished building (that we took a picture in front of yesterday), that the pigs that make the best jamon (ham) are only fed acorns and also that the Roman city was about 7 feet below the current city floor and you can still see some of the columns.

Today tragedy may have hit our travels though. We noticed a small tear during Ehren's nap in the $5 stroller we bought at a garage sale the day before the trip. And by the end of day Ehren had his hand through the hole and was using it to hold on. We have no idea what we are going to do if that gives way. We use the stroller for his high chair and then also as his major mode of transportation. I wish it was as simple as just buy another one (and it may come to that) but we have yet to see a throw away Walmart-esque umbrella stroller. If we have to buy a new one we may end up with the Cadillac of little strollers and that may be our souvenir from the trip. Let's all cross our fingers I come home with a really cool antigue Spanish tile and NOT a ridiculous stroller.

We also went out last night on a Spanish date and our friends kept Ehren. We came home at midnight and thought for sure that would be early but turns out the old part of Sevilla shuts down at a more reasonable hour so midnight was just right. We had a leisurely tapas and saw a Flamenco exhibition. It was great to be out like our travels used to be. In some ways traveling with a kid slows you down but it also speeds you up. At every sight you feel like you need to rush through before he melts down or get through before he wakes up and you know every waiter in town is trying to get you in and out. So, an evening of just sitting at a table discussing what part of town we would live in for over an hour was a nice switch. The flamenco was cultural but the slow meal was glorious.

Travel with Friends

Blogging is a little harder when you have friends and two babies running around the apartment. You just don't have as much time as you did in Madrid.

We are staying just a bit out of the old city center so we have a 2 bedroom flat instead of a studio since there are more of us but the downside is...more walking. I'm kind of disappointed that after this trip of walking my clothes won't be fitting any looser. In fact at the rate I'm going I will actually be outgrowing clothes. One of the tragedies of pregnancy.

Sevilla has treated the kids quite well. It's our friend's first Spanish city and so far they love it. Hopefully they decide to just stay and live here and that way we can come visit.

So far we've seen the largest cathedral in Europe although it's only the 3rd grandest. In the Fykes opinion this is the best cathedral we've seen. The Sacrisity and Treasury made this one so much more interesting for us. I could let Joshua go on about the light and scale for a paragraph or two but instead we'll just say add it to your list and honestly if you have to chose one cathedral this maybe should be it.

More than anything we've just been able to hang out with our friends and soak up some Spanish culture. While having other people changes things, I recommend it. Especially if they are people you really like. Plus you get pictures with the whole family that way.

Madrid Food Win

Spain is NOT known for its food and I AM known for my picky-ness so I wasn't sure how the two of us would mix. Thus far it's been just a tolerant experience but today there is a big W in the food column.

We stumbled on the best lemonade frozen drink thing that Joshua actually went back the 15 minute walk a few hours later to get another one. I had a great fried squid sandwich for lunch and for dinner we had tapas at Casa Toni which needs to go on everyone's MUST EAT list if coming to Madrid. We had a patatas bravas (plate of fried potatoes in spicy sauce) and champinones al plancha (sauteed mushrooms) and they were both great. Plus, not only was the food great the staff was super friendly. And, they didn't just talk to us but they each came out from behind the bar to play with Ehren and make sure he was having a good time. As we were leaving one of them even took my pulse and informed me that we would have a boy...I guess we'll see.

We have decided on this trip we will take a day of rest at least once a week and after a busy start we decided today was going to be that day. We woke up late, saw the Grand Palace and Madrid's oldest door and then went home for a real siesta before our evening entertainment.

A huge sport here is bullfighting. They have huge arenas that hold 23,000 and they fight once a week during the warmer weather. We lucked out that this Sunday was a corrida which means real matadors not the young inexperienced ones with smaller bulls. However, after having gone tonight I don't think I would care either way. While trying to be culturally sensitive Joshua and I have no interest in ever doing that again and don't understand the appeal. I can get behind the pageantry, costumes, band and cheering but that is about it. I don't want to see the matador get gored nor do I want to watch the bull bleed out for 15 minutes. We watched one of the six kills to say we'd done it but we had to force ourselves to stay after they brought the horses out to stab the main artery in the bull's neck and at that point we hadn't even seen a matador yet.

Don't get me wrong I like a good steak and I'm not in denial about where that meat comes from but this was just too much. It felt to me like the games at the Colosseum where they thought...hmmm...these people are sentenced to death so let's make a sport out of it and sell tickets. Just not my idea of fun.

The good thing about leaving after one kill was we got to go eat tapas, walk through another demonstration at Puerta del Sol and then let Ehren play on the playground on our way home...you know, at 10pm when everyone else was out.

Toledo, OH's sister city

I couldn't believe it but in their treasury next to all the gold gothic style items and great El Greco paintings there is a small glass thing given by Toldeo, OH to Toldeo, Spain. I really wonder what is sitting at the city hall in Toledo, OH from Toledo, Spain.

Today we day tripped to another medieval city where you just sit and wonder how in the world it was created. Not with a wonder like the aquaduct and how did they do it without mortar, but rather how did they just keep building stuff and not end up with lots of dead ends? And how was the land given out? And why did they make the walls angled?

Toledo is the first city we've seen that still has a legitimate city wall in tact. I'm not sure if it is complete as I didn't walk all the way around it but if the civilized world comes to some sort of end I'm going to make my way to that city because it was never taken by force.

Also, quick parent travel tip: Bring a carrier for your non walking child in Toledo. We thought maybe it would be okay with a stroller since Joshua carried him all day yesterday in Segovia but we were wrong. We both ended up carrying the stroller on most streets.

Overall it was a great day of exploration and they have a great cathedral. Interesting tidbit of the day: the cardinals get to choose where they are buried in the cathedral. Literally anywhere. They just dig a hole in the 1000 year old tile and bury them and then they hang their red hats over that spot until they rot away. We found 3 red hats rotting from the ceiling and I wish I'd thought to keep looking to see how many we can find. I bet it takes a while for that red velvet to rot away so I'm sure there are more.

You'll also notice we have a lot of pictures at the train station. We had tickets for the last train of the day but we finished up early and thought we'd be responsible American parents and get our kid to bed before 11pm by catching an earlier train. Well it turns out everyone in Madrid goes to Toledo on Saturday so all the other trains were booked up. Now the train station was very interesting and it entertained us for a good 20 minutes but we were there for over 3 hours which wasn't the end of the world but was exhausting for one 15 month old.

Safety First

I laugh every time we get on a subway because Ehren insists on holding on. He is always in the stroller or backpack but he starts crying until we position him so he can hold onto some bar.

It's a great ice breaker with the other patrons on the transport because everyone thinks it's hysterical.

Abandoned Playground?

In many plazas in Madrid there are little toddler playgrounds which is just such a great idea. As a parent it has made my love of plazas grow. I've always loved the concept of a big area where everyone congregates together consistently but now you throw in the element of something for your kids to do and I just don't know how I'm going to live without them.

Side Note: I think I've mentioned stealing "wine in the driveway" from another neighborhood but now we're definitely gonna do it. There is just something to spending the evening with your neighbors on a consistent basis and since Nashville is never going to have plazas we'll use our front yard/driveway and make the best of it. Anyway, back to the playgrounds.

In the afternoon it is just too hot for anyone to play but for the last two evenings as we are heading out for our 8pm dinner we stop and let Ehren play for 20 minutes or so. Never once have we seen an age appropriate child in the area with him. I'd say there have been a couple kids who are six or seven years old with their scooter in the area but I was beginning to think this was just not something anyone else did. We came home tonight from our tapas around 10pm and that playground was packed to the hilt with under 3 year olds.

I was prepared for taking your kids to tapas and having them out on the street that late but I was just shocked that 10pm was prime playground time. This is just the regular Spanish way of life and it is fascinating and reason number 327 that we don't stay in hotels very often or we would miss it. Unfortunately Ehren was too exhausted to play but maybe in a week he'll be fully adjusted to the late night life and we can take him out for his midnight play.

Bus Success or Failure?

Today we had two Ehren meltdowns and a day trip to Segovia to see the Roman aqueduct. In a last minute switch we decided to take a bus instead of a train to Segovia for the day and the ticket and boarding process was perfect. Turns out we should have consulted with Ehren because he apparently really didn't want to take the bus and the poor people around us had to hear about it for at least 15 minutes. Luckily he calmed after some food bribery and was pretty pleasant while we walked around the aquaduct. Did you know they made those things with no mortar? How is that even possible?

Then we headed for a very Segovian lunch of roast suckling pig and did a quick tour around town. Personally for me the day was mostly forgettable past the aqueduct but it was good to get away to a more historic city and out of busy Madrid. Apparently all that adorable screaming on the bus really wore Ehren out so he spent a good bit of the afternoon like this:

We ended the day with tapas which is a little less glamorous with a toddler but still good - except for gazpacho which was a soup but they served it as a drink and it would have been bad either way I'm pretty sure. Overall, Joshua would describe it as a romantic Spanish day. We had a surprisingly cool day with a beautiful blue sky in a historic town with giant stone arches ending with tapas out with the family past 10pm.