Travel mishaps on the way home

On Thursday morning, things started out well enough. We awoke at 5:30, showered, had a breakfast of fruit, yogurt and coffee in our room and finished packing. At 7:15 am, we were out the door.
Through the hotel, we had arranged a taxi to pick us up at 7:30 and drive us to the airport for a fixed rate of 30 euros ($45 CDN). When we got to the front door, our taxi was already waiting for us. In about 40 minutes, we were deposited at Terminal 1 at the Madrid airport.
We had booked with Air Canada but were flying to Newark on United. Air Canada often uses Star Alliance partners for various legs of our trips. As we checked in, we discovered that Air Canada had booked us twice, which was better than not at all as has happened to us in Ecuador before. Anyway, that wasn’t a problem. Customs and security went smoothly too. After a couple of hours of waiting, we boarded our plane.
Our flight was full but we had an aisle and middle seat in the middle of the plane so we could get in and out as we liked. That’s our preferred seating for a long trip. The lunch on the plane was actually pretty good and the flight attendants were generous with the wine. Watching a couple of movies and having an hour nap made the 8 1/2 hour flight go pretty quickly.
Due to the time change, we landed at Newark about 3 pm. We had to go through US Customs, which wasn’t a problem, change terminals, go through security and then wait through our 6 hour layover in the small and crowded confines of Terminal A. This is one of our least favourite airports in the world. It’s busy, crowded and they have a reputation for delays and lost luggage.
About 6 pm, with another 2 1/2 hours to wait, we started noticing delays and cancellations from Toronto and Montreal coming up on the board. We knew the weather was bad in southern Ontario and Quebec. Within a few minutes, we got an email from Air Canada flight tracking that our flight was cancelled. We were quick to get to the service counter. There was no way we were leaving Newark until the following morning. We were assigned tickets on the 8:35 am flight to Ottawa the next day. Because the delay was weather related, we were on our own to find a hotel.
While we retrieved our bags at the luggage carousel, we noticed a web address for the Newark Airport Marriott Hotel, the closest one to where we were. We reserved a room online ($217 US) then phoned the hotel on Skype to find out where to catch the free shuttle. Soon we were on the shuttle and at the hotel.
After check-in, when we tried to log on to the internet, we discovered that they wanted another $12.95 per day for that. We’ve stayed in hundreds of 2 star hotels with free internet. It’s always the expensive hotels that try to gouge you a little more. We went to the front desk and I said, “Are you really going to try to charge us $12.95 for internet?” The desk clerk immediately gave us a free access code. We’re probably not the first ones to complain.
After splitting an overpriced hamburger in the hotel restaurant, we showered and got to bed early.
By 4 am, we were up. We caught the 5:30 shuttle back to the airport. We dropped off our small packs again and went to the long line-up for security. For some reason, we had “TSA Pre-Check” printed on our boarding passes, which meant we could skip the rest of the line and go through lesser security. We didn’t have to take off our shoes, get the iPad out or any of that stuff. Very civilized. Then we went back into the Terminal A holding cell to wait.
We knew there were still high winds in Ottawa so we kept checking the board for cancellation. However, our flight left on time at 8:35 am. Our plane was a two engine jet capable of carrying about 80 passengers, so it wasn’t a small plane. Nevertheless, the trip got bumpier as we approached Ottawa.
As we came in to land, it got really bumpy. At the last second, a siren warning of severe wind shear went off and the pilot pulled up. The flight attendant told us we would make our one more attempt and if that didn’t work, we’d fly to Toronto where the storm had already passed. That would be inconvenient but it would be better to be alive in Toronto than crashing in Ottawa.
Luckily, the second attempt, although very bumpy, got us on the ground. I never cheer landings but I did this time, as did everyone else. We’re not nervous flyers but that was among the worst landings we’ve ever had. The pilots were very skilful to land the plane in such extreme wind conditions.
Once we got through customs and picked up our bags, our son Zack was waiting for us outside. He drove us to his house in Gatineau where we packed a sandwich and tea for the road and got in our car for the trip home.
By 3 pm Friday we were finally home, after leaving our hotel in Madrid at 7:30 am on Thursday. It was another long couple of travel days but, as we said at the beginning of this trip blog, if you can’t take these things in stride you better stay home.
We were in Spain for almost 5 weeks and spent about $8,500 CDN for absolutely everything. Hopefully our insurance will reimburse us for about $1100 of that to cover the money we spent scrambling because of flight delays or cancellations. We enjoyed Spain again but now we’ve seen a lot of the major cities there. Where to next? 

Last day in Madrid

On Wednesday morning, we walked about a block to the Tacita de Plata churreria and chocolateria where we had been a couple of days before. Once again, we had coffee and churros which we dipped in chocolate.
We didn’t have any plans for the day other than to wander around central Madrid, absorb the culture and find a restaurant for dinner. We’d have to leave some time for packing.
We walked through the Plaza Puerta del Sol and up to the Gran Via. We watched a small film crew shooting film of an actor walking out of the subway entrance several times. It didn’t look easy getting the exact shot they wanted in all the crowds.
We wandered back through the Plaza Mayor and over to the Mercado San Miguel, which wasn’t quite as busy as it had been on Sunday. Still, it was crowded and the tapas seemed overpriced.
Near the Mercado, there were a group of African street vendors. It seemed like they didn’t have necessary permits because each of them kept his wares on a blanket, with a string tied to each corner. In a second, they could gather the blanket and run if the police hassled them. We’ve seen this in other countries before. Sometimes trying to make a living looks pretty hard.
Just around the corner from the Mercado San Miguel we found the Amicis restaurant where we talked to one of the owners who was trying to lure us in. We agreed to return a little later for the menu del dia.
When we went back there, we enjoyed a really good 2 course meal plus dessert and drinks for 13.50 euros each (about $20 CDN). Anita figured out that the man we had talked to before and his wife were the owners. She started chatting with them. They are British but have been in Spain for 14 years and opened their own restaurant 2 years ago. We told them we had enjoyed our meal and would send a review to TripAdvisor. They offered us another drink for free and chatted for awhile longer. It’s very competitive being in the restaurant business in central Madrid but there’s lots of potential if you do it right.
After a last stroll around, we retired to our room to pack so we would be ready early the next morning.

The Prado Museum

Yesterday, after breakfast in our room, we walked about 20 minutes to the Museo del Prado, one of the best art museums in the world. Because we had bought tickets online for 15.50 euros each, we didn’t have to line up at the ticket office and could go straight to the Jeronimo entrance that is for ticket holders only. We lined up a few minutes before the museum opened at 10 am. It didn’t take long to get through security and inside.
We rented audioguides for 6 euros each. The museum is huge and has dozens of different rooms. There are some sculptures and fine furniture but most of the artwork is paintings. Many of the European old masters are represented. The Prado is the home of major works by major artists like El Greco, Hieronymous Bosch, Goya, Rubens and many others.
Photography was only allowed outside and in the foyer so we took few photos. However, once again, we were amazed at what we saw. There were a few Roman sculptures from the 1st century AD but most of the art was produced between 1100 and the present. There were some miniature paintings and others that were about 5 x 6 metres. The detail was astonishing.
In 4 1/2 hours, we covered most of the museum. We were exhausted. It was time to go back to our room, open the balcony doors and enjoy some beer, wine, cheese, bread and olives. Later we went out for a walk around the Puerta del Sol area but it was a cooler evening and we didn’t last long.

The Royal Palace

On Monday morning we walked just down the street to a restaurant that specializes in churros and parros. Our hotel, the Hostal Patria Madrid, has an arrangement that their clients get a slight discount there. For 6.40 euros, we got 8 churros, coffee and a cup of hot chocolate (like pudding) to dip the churros. It wasn’t healthy but it tasted good.
Then we walked about 15 minutes to the west to the Royal Palace. We had to line up for about another 15 minutes to get in. At every tourist site here, there is security just like at an airport. However, that didn’t take long.
Once we were in, we got audioguides. It took a few minutes to figure out the sequence but once we had that organized, we started through the palace. This is the 3rd greatest palace in Europe, after Versailles near Paris and the Schonbrun near Vienna. This palace has about 2,000 rooms and is still used for state receptions, dinners and ceremonies. There are about 24 of the most important rooms that are open to visitors. No pictures are allowed inside the rooms.
The fenced and gated plaza in front of the palace is impressive on its own. To the west is a huge park that was once private but is now public. Inside the palace, we followed the set path and listened to our audioguides. Some of the smaller rooms were quite congested because there are a lot of tourists here every day. However, the bigger rooms weren’t too bad. We can’t imagine coming here in the summer when it’s 35-40C and extremely crowded. We were glad we waited until October.
The opulence and grandeur of the palace is hard to believe. Every room is decorated and furnished extemely elaborately. Royalty has its perks. There’s also a huge collection of medieval arms and armour.
After about 2 1/2 hours, we’d seen all of the areas open to the public. We walked back to our room for a short rest and then went to a Peruvian chicken restaurant, oddly enough, to eat. On our way, we took a photo from our tiny balcony and one of me standing across the street from our hotel, which is right behind me. Later, Anita took a photo from our balcony at night.
After we had eaten, it was dusk. We strolled the pedestrian streets around the Plaza Puerta del Sol for a couple of hours watching different buskers and enjoying the whole scene. We spent about 20 minutes watching a great busker orchestra composed of 6 violins, 2 cellos, a stand-up bass and an operatic singer. All of them seemed to be very good, very well trained musicians. They drew a crowd that was about the same size as the nearby line-up for lottery tickets that went around the block. We also watched a mariachi band of 8 or 9 musicians for a few minutes but it wasn’t really to our taste. There’s no end to the buskers and street vendors around the Puerta del Sol.
Finally, we went back to our room. For the following day, I bought tickets online to the Prado art museum, one of the world’s finest.

A Madrid walk

This morning after breakfast in our room, we walked to the Plaza Puerto del Sol and looked at a few restaurants. The trouble is that, being Sunday, everywhere near the Plaza is packed.
We started following a self-guided walk from a guidebook. At the south side of the plaza is a government office that is notorious for being Francisco Franco’s police headquarters. Apparently an inordinate number of those being detained and interrogated “jumped” from the windows to their deaths while trying to “escape”. This plaza is also where the war against Napoleon started in 1808. Napoleon had imposed his brother as the king of Spain. There was a protest and Napoleon’s soldiers massacred the protesters here. This is also the centre point of the highway system of Spain or kilometre zero.
This morning, the plaza was all set up for a rally protesting violence in Spain’s continuing political issues. It looked peaceful but with the huge crowd and large police presence, we thought it best to move on.
From the Puerta del Sol we walked a few blocks to the Plaza Mayor, built in 1619. It has been the site of bullfights, royal events and many trials and executions during the Spanish Inquisition. Those found guilty during the Inquisition were paraded around the square wearing billboards listing their sins. Then they were either slowly strangled or burned to death. It’s quite pleasant on a sunny 20C Sunday, though.
From there we walked a few steps to the Mercado San Miguel, a glass building full of food vendors. It’s very busy on a Sunday. We bought a bocadillo de calamares (squid sandwich) and then at another booth, a glass of white wine. As we shared our snack, we started talking to a Japanese couple next to us who spoke fairly good English. They work for an airline and were here for meetings and getting in a little sightseeing. They have travelled the world and have been to Canada several times. They even took a tour to Yellowknife to see the northern lights. Canada’s natural wonders are very attractive to the Japanese people.
We walked a few more blocks to the Cathedral of Almudena, next to the Royal Palace. We didn’t go in because the crowds are too much on a Sunday. Maybe tomorrow.
Later, we walked back down near the Mercado San Miguel to a small Chinese restaurant. Anita has a sore throat so we thought some soup and some noodle dishes might be easy to swallow. After we ate, we wandered around the Plaza Mayor a bit more enjoying all the buskers and artists. Back at the Plaza Puerta del Sol there was still a huge crowd so we didn’t bother staying there. The time changed in Spain last night so it’s getting dark a little earlier now.

To Madrid

Yesterday we checked out of our hotel, put on our packs and walked a short distance down to the taxi stand in front of the El Greco art museum. The waiting taxi took us to the train station for 8 euros. The small Toledo train station is old style and very beautiful.
While we waited for our train, Anita heard a couple of tourists speaking English so she approached them to chat. They started by saying, “We’re American but don’t hold it against us”. Many American tourists we have met over the last few years are extremely embarrassed by their current government. This retired couple, from St. Louis, said that if Trump wins another 4 years, they’ll consider leaving the country. We’ve heard that before. They’d like to move to Canada, except for the winter.
We rarely meet Trump supporters. According to this couple, staunch Republicans might go on an Alaskan cruise or something but they’d rarely consider just traveling on their own through Europe or anywhere else. That seems to be true.
Our train travelled only 1/2 hour to the Puerta de Atocha station in Madrid. The main line train area isn’t as grimy as the Cercanias commuter train section. This is the station that was bombed by terrorists in 2004.
Once we disembarked, it took us about 10 minutes to find our way through this huge station to the taxi stand. For 10 euros, a taxi took us to our hotel, the Hostal Patria Madrid. We’re about a 2 minute walk from the Plaza Puerta del Sol, the very heart of Madrid. All of the major sights in Madrid are within walking distance.
Once we were settled, we walked down to the Plaza Puerta del Sol and up one of the pedestrian streets to the Gran Via, a main shopping street. Since it was Saturday afternoon, it was extremely busy. There’s no doubt we’re in the big city now.
However, we found a restaurant that seemed to be similar to the pub food chains in Canada and had a late lunch. The food was good and the price was reasonable but we’ll probably look for something a little more Castilian in the future.
We also eventually found a supermarket in the basement of a shopping plaza, where we bought our usual supplies. We have a kettle and a refrigerator in our room so we’re all set for breakfasts.
Today, because it’s Sunday and likely very busy, we plan to follow a walking tour from one of our guide books and save the major palaces and museums for early next week.

A walk around Toledo

Today was another warm, sunny day. We decided that we were museumed and churched out for awhile since we’ll no doubt go into some in Madrid. For a change, we just wanted to walk around the back streets of old Toledo and enjoy the beautiful weather.
The streets are very narrow and winding, which would be okay if they were pedestrian only but such is not the case. There are many pedestrians but we still have to share most of the narrow roads with cars. The professional drivers in taxis or delivery vans are quite patient and skilled. Most of the locals are good but a few can be a little too aggressive for the narrow streets. The tourist drivers are usually way out of their depth and often don’t know where they’re going, which is understandable. The result is that you have to watch and listen carefully for approaching cars all the time. Some streets are so narrow that drivers have to pull in their side mirrors.
One of the earlier finds this morning, was a church that Isabella and Ferdinand had built in the midst of the Jewish quarter. They were making a statement. That was before they forced the conversion of about 1/3 of the Jews, the exile of about 1/3 and the murder of the rest around the year 1500 AD or so. In many places in Spain, Jews, Muslims and Christians had lived together peacefully for centuries. Such harmony is fragile, as we can see nowadays.
On one outside wall of this particular church we could see some shackles and chains hanging. These had apparently been used on Christian prisoners by Muslim Moors during the Crusades.
We were doing pretty well at finding our way around. At one point, we rode one of the two banks of escalators down the hill and back up again. These escalators go to hotels and parking lots below the hill. Big buses don’t have the room to manoeuvre on the top of the hill so many pedestrians have to get to the top somehow. The escalators help. The one we rode had six different escalators to get from top to bottom.
After a couple of hours, when we were back in familiar territory, I still took a wrong turn and got lost for a few minutes. When I eventually figured out where we were, it was a long way from where I had thought we were. In our experience, Toledo is second only to Venice for the maze of streets and the ease of getting lost.
After we regrouped in our room, I bought a beer in a little store and we went down to a small plaza to sit in the sun for a while. Then we walked up to the Mesón Palacio restaurant for lunch. For 8.95 euros each (about $13.50 CDN) we got a 2 course main meal plus dessert, bread and a beer or wine. We’ll be sending in a good review. This is a great little bar/restaurant serving typical Castilian food. They have a different set lunch menu every day that has about 4 choices for each course. Although it’s not on the main tourist trail through the old town, it’s always packed with a mix of locals and tourists enjoying the good food, fast service and reasonable prices. In the pictures, Anita is first enjoying the pisto manchego, then the pollo al chilindron and finally some type of custard and simple strawberry cheesecake for dessert.
To end the day, we walked around and sat in little plazas here and there to enjoy more sunshine. Tomorrow we take the train to Madrid.

Alcazar of Toledo

Yesterday was the sunniest, warmest day we’ve had since we left the coast of Almeria. According to the news, there has been heavy rain and flooding in other parts of Spain and France during the last 10 days or so of  a mix of weather where we’ve been.
We walked up through the Plaza de Zocodover, the main square, to the Alcazar. The Arabic word for fortress is “al-quesr” so that’s why all these old fortresses have the same name. Although this one has been through the usual incarnations, it is now Spain’s military museum. It was only 5 euros each to get in, which was a bargain considering the extent of the displays.
We first saw an old car riddled with bullet holes in which some politician had been assassinated. Beside that display was a door out to a plaza where a helicopter and some big guns were located. We went out there first because we craved some open space. Toledo is a great place to visit but it’s very constricted. It’s difficult to get an exterior photograph of any important building because there’s no space. We’re used to open vistas so we find this a little claustrophobic.
After some sunshine and open space, we wandered through the whole museum eventually. We learned of Spain’s history through the displays of battles and conquests from the Visigoths to the present. It was very interesting but by the end we were ‘museumed’ out. We took photos of some of the weapons and armour of which there were lots. We also took a photo of a painting of Queen Isabella receiving Columbus after his voyage to the new world, where he presents some treasures and some captives. Beside all of the European battles, there were many displays of Spain’s colonial adventures in the Philippines, throughout the Americas, Africa and even Vietnam.
The Alcazar itself is massive and the displays were very good. The real things, like a Royal tent from 1534 used by the king on the battlefield, were intermingled with very lifelike re-creations. This museum houses an incredible amount of artefacts
By the time we had seen the whole museum, we were exhausted. We walked up to the Mesón Palacios restaurant for a tapa and a drink. After regrouping in our room, we had some tapas and a 1/2 racione of the stewed beef with bread that we like at the Almucen 51 bar.
During another walk around in the late afternoon sun, Anita took a photo of a bakery display she liked of nuns baking. Toledo is also famous for marzipan. Finally, there’s a photo of me in the street just outside our hotel. It wasn’t long before we were done for the day.