We made it – but barely! Lochlan has not taken to flying
like her brother and she screamed (bloody murder) for 5 1/2 hours of the 8 hour,
RED EYE flight. (As a side note, I consider myself a near expert when it comes
to flying with kids. I pack the right things to bring on the plane, know the
right set-up once you board, and have tons of tricks around what to do when a
kid gets cranky at 30K+ feet. BUT NOTHING WAS WORKING!) The screaming was so
bad and so relentless four different passengers came up to offer their
assistance. One prayed for her, two offered to hold her, and one suggested we
put her hands and feet in a bowl of warm water. Lochlan went bonkers when the
water bowl came out, but I just sat there with a near-death grip on the child,
holding her while this sweet stranger drizzled warm water on her feet. By the
time Lochlan finally dozed
off, I looked like I had been peeing in my pants the entire flight. But I did
not care. She slept for an hour and then woke up like nothing had ever
happened. (Insert Expletive!)
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| The culprit, looking so entertained and happy. If only this had not been a red eye flight! |
Nonetheless, we are here and as soon as our taxi pulled out
of the airport and onto the streets of Madrid, the flight from hell was somehow
worthwhile. Our apartment is adorable and in a great location. Keller is
obsessed with the keys (never realized we were depriving him of such joy by
having digital locks and keyless car entry), and he thinks the building looks
like Paddington Bear’s apartment in London because of the staircase. We are
surrounded by cute cafes and are only a couple minutes walk from the Reina Sofia,
the Prado, and fantastic parks.
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| In the taxi on the way to the apartment. |
I have two great friends along for this part of the trip: Joan
Wellman, a dear friend who has traveled the world with me in years past through
Dustin’s GreenHouse, and Sarah Catherine Lucas (aka Saca), our sometimes Nanny and
Lochlan’s Godmother. Since we were all in the same row on the flight over, no
one got any sleep (thank you Lochlan). After a short cat-nap, we spent yesterday afternoon
wandering around in a bit (okay, a lot) of a delirious haze. We did make it to
Plaza Mayor for an early dinner. We peeped into the Torre de Oro (one of
Madrid’s shrines to bull fighting), and the girls tried their first paella. It
was fun to see the street performers, tourists, students, and locals passing
through. It has been 13 years since I was here last. As we sat there
sipping sangria and watching life unfold it felt like nothing had changed. Then
I looked down and watched as our two beautiful children took in the same
sights and sounds, and my heart was overwhelmed with joy and
gratitude.
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| An early dinner in Plaza Mayor |
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| Someone has taken a liking to the bread, he grabbed an entire loaf. |
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| We look better than we feel (and smell). |
My Spanish is coming back slowly. Saca and I have had fun
trying to remember random vocabulary words, like elevator (ascensor) and ice
(hielo). It is so good for Keller to see me / us trying to navigate a new
language. I’m hoping he will follow suit in a couple days.
Buenos Noches.
