Saturday July 4th was spent visiting the Royal Palace, looking at some more important works of art in the Prado Museum followed by dinner at Hard Rock Cafe - in celebration of US Independence - with the requisite purchase of souvenirs.
But only then did things start to get really interesting.
July 4th was also the day of the Gay Festival in Madrid and it was only as we were walking back to the apartment after dinner that we realized that the main activities were taking place between us and the apartment. After making our way down to Gran Via and realizing that our way was blocked by thousands upon thousands of people partying in the street, dancing on platforms, and riding open-top double-decker buses, we doubled-back and attempted to find a way around all the festivities.
We were out of luck however and so after encountering a comedian on stage in drag entertaining a smaller crowd and a cross-dresser in full Vegas showgirl regalia chatting with some buddies by a food stand we then found ourselves having to cross Gran Via again. We spied an entrance to the Metro and targeted that so that we didn't have to work against the crowd as much. After that the crowd began to thin out a bit and things started to return to normal but only after the boys experienced some more close-quarters time with local and assorted nationality tourist folks there to enjoy the party.
While not necessarily quite the adventure we had planned we certainly lived up to the UlloaSullivan Adventures tag line that day.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Update from the road #6
It took us a long time to get going yesterday. In fact, it was another couple of hours after my last post that the boys finally woke up - that was around 3:30pm. Neither Michelle or I had eaten so I immediately set about making cereal, followed by toast and fried eggs. Yummy.
It was clear that we weren't going to be doing much in the way of sightseeing so we checked to see whether the local movie theatres were showing any movies in English. Lo and behold, the theatre we spotted last night next to the Haagen Dazs place was so we decided we would go and see the new Megan Fox movie. After that we headed back to the apartment for a game of Scrabble but decided we need some more adventure in our day - or, rather, Matthew and Justin were still hungry and wanted to get some more of the Tortilla they had the night before - so headed back out to the place we ate at the night before.
In spite of it now being 12:45am the place was still jumping and it took us a bit of time to find a table. Happily our patience paid off, however, as not only did we get to order the food we were after, but Uncle Craig got to play Wingman to our two nephews and arrange for this photo to be taken with our lovely waitress. These boys still have a lot to learn. :)
Then it was back to the apartment to finish the game of Scrabble and watch Camino a la Perdition (Translation: Road to Perdition) before getting an early night at 4:30am.
It was clear that we weren't going to be doing much in the way of sightseeing so we checked to see whether the local movie theatres were showing any movies in English. Lo and behold, the theatre we spotted last night next to the Haagen Dazs place was so we decided we would go and see the new Megan Fox movie. After that we headed back to the apartment for a game of Scrabble but decided we need some more adventure in our day - or, rather, Matthew and Justin were still hungry and wanted to get some more of the Tortilla they had the night before - so headed back out to the place we ate at the night before.
In spite of it now being 12:45am the place was still jumping and it took us a bit of time to find a table. Happily our patience paid off, however, as not only did we get to order the food we were after, but Uncle Craig got to play Wingman to our two nephews and arrange for this photo to be taken with our lovely waitress. These boys still have a lot to learn. :)
Then it was back to the apartment to finish the game of Scrabble and watch Camino a la Perdition (Translation: Road to Perdition) before getting an early night at 4:30am.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Update from the road #5
I think they must be exhausted.
We went to bed around 2:30am last night after venturing out to take in some of the atmosphere and enjoy some Tapas at an open air restaurant near Teatro Espanole (translation: Spanish Theatre). It's Madrid - everyone eats and stays up late here - and we did have a nice siesta yesterday afternoon to set us up for it. But I have to admit that I didn't expect everyone to still be sleeping 11 hours later! Yep, it's now 1:30 in the afternoon - almost time for our next siesta - and I am the only one awake!
I got up at around 10:15 and headed out to do a spot of grocery shopping so that we had stuff for breakfast and to get a coffee. When I got back a little after 11:00 I did manage to disturb M by knocking some of the dry clothes that are currently hanging over the kitchen doorway - it was an accident; they are hanging very precariously - as I went to put the milk and yoghurt and the surprise treat of a box of Mini Magnum ice creams in the fridge.
The apartment we're staying in is pretty cool - not just because it has air conditioning, unlike Paris - and is in a very central location. We're within walking distance of most things we'll want to see and do - Prado Museum, Retiro Park, Royal Palace, etc. - and above a Flamenco bar. It also has a washing machine that we are putting through it's paces already.
Note: We did offer the boys the bedroom with the two twin beds that can be separated but they said they were more than happy to share the sofa bed in the living room.
We went to bed around 2:30am last night after venturing out to take in some of the atmosphere and enjoy some Tapas at an open air restaurant near Teatro Espanole (translation: Spanish Theatre). It's Madrid - everyone eats and stays up late here - and we did have a nice siesta yesterday afternoon to set us up for it. But I have to admit that I didn't expect everyone to still be sleeping 11 hours later! Yep, it's now 1:30 in the afternoon - almost time for our next siesta - and I am the only one awake!
I got up at around 10:15 and headed out to do a spot of grocery shopping so that we had stuff for breakfast and to get a coffee. When I got back a little after 11:00 I did manage to disturb M by knocking some of the dry clothes that are currently hanging over the kitchen doorway - it was an accident; they are hanging very precariously - as I went to put the milk and yoghurt and the surprise treat of a box of Mini Magnum ice creams in the fridge.
The apartment we're staying in is pretty cool - not just because it has air conditioning, unlike Paris - and is in a very central location. We're within walking distance of most things we'll want to see and do - Prado Museum, Retiro Park, Royal Palace, etc. - and above a Flamenco bar. It also has a washing machine that we are putting through it's paces already.
Note: We did offer the boys the bedroom with the two twin beds that can be separated but they said they were more than happy to share the sofa bed in the living room.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Update from the road #4
Yesterday was our last day in Paris and we took our responsibilities seriously by leaving the hotel before noon for the first time. Yes, there we were leaving the hotel bright and early at 11:30am to head over to The Louvre for some more history, culture and typical Uncle Craig/Aunt Michelle fun.
From there we headed outside for a photo opportunity in front of the museum - see if you can spot it on the Flickr site - and grabbed some lunch before making our way up to L'Arc de Triomphe (translation: The Arc de Triomphe). We were disappointed to note on our arrival that we had just missed the deadline for getting tickets up to the top as they were holding some kind of military band event there starting at 4:30pm and so after loitering for a few minutes to watch and video the arrivals of the folks in uniform we headed back to the hotel to get our stuff.
Afte a hair-raising taxi ride (mental note: remind me never to drive in Paris) to the Austerlitz train station and a beer and ice cream snack we then boarded the Elipsos TrennHotel (it's both a Train and a Hotel!) to Madrid. I think that might have been both the most fun - not counting M & M's game of Scrabble - and the best night's sleep we've had on the trip so far. I managed about 7 hours uninterrupted and M, J & M both managed to sleep for longer - even though we were on a moving train that rocked (and occasionally lurched) around as it weaved it's way across France and into Spain. I think it helped that we are all pretty much exhausted from three days of walking around Paris - the taxis just refuse to stop for you! - and we were happy to have a place to lie down for 10+ hours (even though some of us were a little longer than the beds) while the train people did all the work.
We arrived in Madrid at around 11am and headed straight over to check in to the apartment we are staying in until Sunday. We promptly went and got groceries, had some lunch and settled down for a serious Spanish-style siesta. It's now 9:14pm as I finish up this post and we are just about getting ready to venture out for dinner/tapas. It looks to me like we've got the Madrid lifestyle down already...
From there we headed outside for a photo opportunity in front of the museum - see if you can spot it on the Flickr site - and grabbed some lunch before making our way up to L'Arc de Triomphe (translation: The Arc de Triomphe). We were disappointed to note on our arrival that we had just missed the deadline for getting tickets up to the top as they were holding some kind of military band event there starting at 4:30pm and so after loitering for a few minutes to watch and video the arrivals of the folks in uniform we headed back to the hotel to get our stuff.
Afte a hair-raising taxi ride (mental note: remind me never to drive in Paris) to the Austerlitz train station and a beer and ice cream snack we then boarded the Elipsos TrennHotel (it's both a Train and a Hotel!) to Madrid. I think that might have been both the most fun - not counting M & M's game of Scrabble - and the best night's sleep we've had on the trip so far. I managed about 7 hours uninterrupted and M, J & M both managed to sleep for longer - even though we were on a moving train that rocked (and occasionally lurched) around as it weaved it's way across France and into Spain. I think it helped that we are all pretty much exhausted from three days of walking around Paris - the taxis just refuse to stop for you! - and we were happy to have a place to lie down for 10+ hours (even though some of us were a little longer than the beds) while the train people did all the work.
We arrived in Madrid at around 11am and headed straight over to check in to the apartment we are staying in until Sunday. We promptly went and got groceries, had some lunch and settled down for a serious Spanish-style siesta. It's now 9:14pm as I finish up this post and we are just about getting ready to venture out for dinner/tapas. It looks to me like we've got the Madrid lifestyle down already...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)