This is the moment where I take a break from travel blogging. Back home now after 2 and 1/2 months based in Madrid, after 42 blogs on WordPress and 5 more on TravelBlog. I was busy apartment-hunting with my niece, IKEA-shopping for furniture, waiting and wasting lotsa time for the delivery men, and getting serious with household chores. Well, sort of.
So, how was it? I never made it out of Madrid in the first 4 weeks. In fact, the first week spent in a hotel was most boring, while the 2nd week apartment-hunting provided the excitement. I did most of my Madrid walks during the first week as there wasn’t much to do in the hotel. Besides, wifi sucks in that hotel.
The 3rd and 4th weeks were devoted to furnishing the apartment, having the appliances and furniture delivered and assembled. I enjoyed this part. In between, my daily trips were largely to Carrefour, the palenque and the Chinese stores for food and little things like sandwich bags, detergents and other cleaning stuff.
By the 2nd month, we were nicely settled and welcomed our first batch of guests. All girls. No room for men guests as there is only 1 toilet and 1 bedroom. The sofa bed in the living room warmed many backs. My “survival cooking” survived. No one grew hungry, for sure. While we had no TV and wifi yet, we spent a lot of time chatting, laughing and eating.
By this time, I have already mastered the metro system, the “free days and viewing hours” of most museums, the bus system and gained “Suki” from the palenque. My favorite vendor is this man who would always offer me a sliver of Jamon or Quezo to try. “Para prober” he always says. And I always gladly accepted. ☺☺
I’ve spent Semana Santa in Andalusia, a long drive to Valencia and a last weekend in Barcelona. In between, there were day trips to Segovia, Avila, El Escorial, Valle de Los Caidos, Toledo, Aranjuez, and Alcala de Henares using the bus, the regional train, or the fast train. I experienced ALL seasons in the last 10 weeks. In Valencia, temp went from 7 Celsius to 27 Celsius in 8 hours. In Segovia, it snowed. Crazy, I know. I have been to Costa del Sol, Malaga and Granada before and felt no craving to revisit. Not yet. I would have wanted to see Salamanca again but there was no chance. Shopping for gifts to bring home took precedence. Perhaps next time.
Now I’m home…. in sweltering heat. I miss my daily walks in cool weather. I miss dragging my “old lady’s” shopping trolley whenever I set out to do the groceries or marketing. I miss my pair of boots which I left in the apartment. Back to normal. Back to “Lola mode”. No more solo trips except to the beauty parlor. My elves waited too long and it’s time to catch up with one another.
Since I arrived, I have completed all my blogs on my Spanish “holiday” (or have I?) and stayed home most of the time. It breaks all newly- formed habits and patterns. I even miss our washing machine in Madrid! Oh well……..
lifeisacelebration 