Many months ago we planned an Easter vacation with the Stones. They had a few days off of work and we knew we wanted to go somewhere warm...so we picked Spain! We planned to fly from London to Madrid, then take a train to Barcelona. We wanted to see as much of Spain as we could get in a long weekend.
Learning our lesson not to book an early flight, we arrived at
London City Airport around 9am. This was our first time traveling with a baby, and to top it off we were traveling internationally. I did lots of research and determined we would bring the buggy (stroller), and breast milk through security. All worked out great except for my ice pack! I didn't even think about that one...so in the trash it went.
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| Ready for his first flight |
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| On the plane |
We took a
British Airways flight because they have such great reviews for flying with children. They did not disappoint! They gave us the special seatbelt, flotation device, directed us to the the bigger changing area, and said they would do all they could to make us comfortable. Harvey did great! I was sure to feed him during take off and landing to help his ears not pop. And to top it off BA offers free alcohol on their international flights. I decided on a hot tea with a cup of ice...I'm turning into my mom, but my cup of iced tea was great! After a 2 and a half hour flight we landed in Madrid...boy was I happy to be out of the sky. Josh gave Harvey an A- and me a C- for that flight.
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| Madrid |
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| Madrid up high |
Our first hotel for the vacation was the
Westin Palace Madrid. WOW! Highly recommend this hotel. Perfect location, and so beautiful! I could have stayed here for much longer.
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| Harvey and mom in the lobby |
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| Beautiful |
After settling in we decided to go exploring and get something to eat. We found a bullfighting restaurant and got some tapas.
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| Eggs, fries, and ham |
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| Plaza Mayor |
The
Plaza Mayor was built during Philip III's reign (1598-1621) and is a central plaza of Madrid. There were many activities going on, artists, street performers, restaurants, and lots of people just hanging out. We were careful of our belongings as pick pocketers are all over Spain, or so we were warned.
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| Botin |
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| Oldest Restaurant in the World |
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| Mini Model |
Sobrino de Botín , founded in 1725, is the oldest restaurant still running in the world. The artist
Francisco de Goya
worked there as a waiter while waiting to get accepted into the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The restaurant is also mentioned in the book
Fortunata y Jacinta
by
Benito Pérez Galdós
. The restaurant was founded by a French man Jean Botin and his spouse, and was originally called
Casa Botín. It was inherited by a nephew of theirs called Candido Remis, thus explaining the change of name to Sobrino de Botín, which survives to this day. We did not have a chance to eat here, but it was highly recommended by many.
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| Bear and Strawberry Tree |
Located in Puerta del Sol is the Bear and Strawberry Tree Statue. This depicts the coat of arms of Madrid. Not so sure about the history on this one, but I do know that strawberries do not grow on trees.
When we checked in to the hotel we noticed many people getting spots on the street for what looked like a parade. When we left the hotel around 4pm they told us the parade was starting at 7pm. We thought wow, these people are getting ready early. We had no clue how big this was going to be! We headed back to the hotel around 6:30pm and got completely stuck. The start of the parade was right at our hotel, we were so close, yet so far away. Once we reached the hotel the doors were locked and we had to show our key cards to prove we were guests. They hotel security referred to these people as "religious fanatics". It seemed a bit unorganized and unsafe with no police presence. We finally made it safely inside to regroup for a bit before we headed out to dinner.
Semana Santa: Since the 15th century Madrid has celebrated the events described in the New Testament regarding the death, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ with traditional "pasos". These are basically religious icons, taken from their normal resting places in churches around the city and paraded through the streets on the shoulders of the "costaleros", normally young men who feel deeply privileged to struggle under the immense weight of religious statues, balancing sometimes precariously aboard heavy platforms. In Madrid there are around 20 of these religious processions over the days before Easter Sunday.
Good Friday brings perhaps the most emblematic religious procession for Madrid, that of Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno, which leaves the Basílica del Cristo de Medinaceli in the Plaza de Jesús at around 7pm and parades central streets including the Puerta de Sol and Plaza Cibeles.
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| Lizard art made out of CDs |
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| Table of chips for sale |
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| Mueso del Prado |
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| Steak with salsa and fries |
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| Chicken Flautas |
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| Shots after dinner |
Matt complimented the waiter on our meal and he insisted they all take shots. They were very friendly and personable in Madrid. I also noticed babies and dogs everywhere! At dinner some young teens were out with their parents and everyone at the table was drinking red wine. Everyone seemed very laid back and relaxed.
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| Oh look the parade is still going! |
After a long day of traveling it was time for bed! We could still hear the parade going on, but our bed was so comfy I wasn't awake for long. Harvey liked his baby cot too. Ready for day 2!
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| 1st night in a hotel was a success |
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| Puerta de Alcala |
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| Parque de Retiro |
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| Palacio de Cristal |
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| Harvey started sucking his thumb |
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| Madrid Cathedral |
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| Madrid Cathedral |
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| Madrid Palace |
The Temple of Debod: An ancient Egyptian temple which was dismantled and rebuilt in Madrid.
After seeing all Madrid had to offer we were ready to head to Barcelona. Madrid was pretty small and we really didn't need more than 2 days there.
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| Tapas on the patio |
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| Train to Barcelona |
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| Bye Madrid! |
The train station was really close to our hotel but we took a taxi because we had so much stuff to carry. We ended up getting first class train tickets because they were the cheapest. The car was very spacious and the seats were comfortable. They played some low rent American movie but it was in Spanish so I didn't really watch. The train ride was about 3 hours, and we got to see some of Spain's beautiful countryside. Again, Harvey was a great traveler! He liked looking out the window and people watching.
Hello Barcelona!
We arrived in Barcelona around 9:30pm, in Spain this is early! We took a taxi to the hotel,
Universal Barcelona. It was a very nice boutique hotel, and again they had a bed for Harvey. Harvey was very sleepy so we decided to just get room service and skip going out to dinner. When we woke up it was Easter Sunday! Harvey of course was dressed in his bunny and chick outfit from Granny. Our plan for the day was to see all the sites. It was recommended to take the
hop on bus tour since Barcelona is spread out way more than Madrid.
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| Happy Easter |
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| Hop On Bus |
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| What a great Daddy |
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| Hopped off at the beach |
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| Barcelona Fish |
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| Sagrada Familia |
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| Sagrada Familia |
The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic church designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. We bought a beautiful painting of the Basilica to add to our collection.
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| Sagrada Familia with mi familia |
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| Avinguda Diagonal |
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| La Pedrera by Gaudi |
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| Casa Batllo by Gaudi |
My favorite building in Barcelona! They offer tours inside but didn't seem like anything amazing, but might have been judging from the crazy line of people outside.
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| Helping dad read the map |
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| Off La Rambla |
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| Palau Guell by Gaudi |
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| Yummy tacos at Tlaxcal |
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| Out on the town |
After dinner I went back to the hotel with Harvey, the rest of the gang went out to get drinks and see the Magic Fountain display.
The next day, our last day, was beach day! We met up at 9am and walked to the beach. It was a little chilly in the morning but it cleared up and the sun was shining! We even got a little sunburn. Harvey had a good time but didn't seem to react to the beach. It was too cold to get in the ocean but we enjoyed relaxing. Matt and Josh built sand castles while Danielle and I got massages. You think baby cuddles are awesome...imagine a baby sleeping on your chest, while you lie on the beach and have your feet rubbed...AMAZING! I could do that everyday. Such a relaxing vacation.
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| Columbus, pointing the wrong way |
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| Breakfast on the beach with Matt |
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| Toes in the sand |
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| Sandcastle |
After beach time we headed back to the hotel to pack up for our flight home. We had some time before we had to leave so we went up to the roof and ate lunch. Our hotel had a beautiful pool area with an awesome view!
The Barcelona Airport was great! They had a priority line for those traveling with children. It was much faster and not so stressful trying to get everything through the machine. They also had great baby changing facilities. Barcelona was much more spread out than Madrid, and not as clean. It was more of a big city feel. I liked the laid back attitude of Madrid but of course the beach was great in Barcelona. We were so lucky to have the chance to experience both!
