wow

Apparently I've reached my limit at posting photos for this blog and in order to post more photos, I'll need to buy space.  Not happening.  If I were whoring my blog out and trying to make money off my story or jumping on the cookbook bandwagon, maybe.  Since this thing is for fun and sharing stuff with family, no.  After all, isn't that why I pay for internet/phone service each month?  I might have to go back to the old fashioned way of sharing like email or maybe even fb.  I'll do some research.  I might have to use the blog service through Lens Captured.  I've got some thinking to do.

i have something

I want to share.

I'm updating the website and Facebook page.  Yesterday I received the files for the new logo.  If you thought this blog was neglected, ha.  I'll finish my Spain details... eventually.  Right now it's all about TCB.

it's not that i don't

want to post about the trip today, it's just that my mind is somewhere else.  I've been thinking lately about all the dust my camera has been collecting.  The last few days I've been thinking about changes to my website and fb page.  Today I took the first step and am having a new logo made.  Once that gets here, I'll continue on with the changes.  For now, my mind is working all sorts of ways, thinking about it all.  But for now, it's getting late and I have the munchies.  must. find. food.

our hotel was in

a great location.  It was on Gran Via which reminded me of New York's Time Square.  After we booked the hotel and started researching more, I found out it's actually a Best Western hotel.  I'll admit I got a little scared but that was gone once we got there.  We liked the hotel.  Anyway, we finally got there, settled in and cleaned up.  We decided it was too late to stick with the original plan of going to the bull fight for a bit and then on to the stadium so we made the decision to skip the bull fight.  (I mean it does happen every Sunday while Spain doesn't always go to the soccer final... well, possibly yearly but not weekly.  I looked at it like this, would I go to something that happens once a week or to a massive Superbowl party at Cowboys Stadium.)  Anyway, we decided to go to the stadium.  We talked to the lady at the front desk and she gave us a map for the Metro.  (From here on I'll just refer to the Metro as the subway because that's what it is.)  Anyway, she gave us a map and showed us a direct route to the stadium.  We stopped for a quick bite and pitcher of sangria at The Drunken Duck.  I had a really good sandwich.  I don't remember what it was called but it was pastrami, cheese, lettuce, boiled eggs, asparagus and mayonnaise.  After the meal, we headed for the stadium.  (And I made note of a bakery we passed before we got to The Drunken Duck.)

Sure there were taxis and buses but the subway is just so fast, cheap and easy.  We found the correct stop, which was just a few blocks down from our hotel on Gran Via.  Unfortunately, the escalators weren't on but that didn't really matter getting down to our stop.  People started making their way down to catch the subway.  They were dressed up in jerseys with their faces painted and wearing Spanish flags as capes while chanting.  It was pretty exciting.  Then we got to the stadium's subway stop.  OMG.  I thought I was going to pass out and die right there while working my way back up to the street.  It started off well but on the second set of stairs which had to have equaled four regular flights, I had to stop for a break.  When we finally got out to the street, the party wasn't hard to find.  People were everywhere.  This was more like Bourbon Street.

We already posted most of those pics on Facebook so I won't repeat.  I will show you my team spirit though.  Red shoes were all I had.  Thank goodness I wore them because they were perfect for all the walking and stair climbing I faced.  The crowd was rowdy and drunk so we decided we could just as easily, and probably more comfortably, find a bar to sit in and watch the game.  So then it was back to the subway to catch a ride back to Gran Via.  We got up to the street and came across a bar where people were gathered.  We walked up to watch the tv and just a few minutes later, the game was over.  Spain won.  That's when the real partying started.  I'll stop here because this celebration might take a few posts.

after leaving

Houston at 8:30pm on a Saturday, with an hour layover in London, we landed in Madrid around 4:00 Sunday evening.  It was all good because I knew we had plenty of time to catch the hotel's 5:30 shuttle from the airport to the hotel.  Our plan was to get to the hotel, change, head out for food and drinks, make our way to the bull fights, leave after I'd seen enough and then end the night watching the EURO 2012 finals at the stadium on a big screen with all the locals.  Okay, so we landed, found our suitcase, somehow managed to find an airport shuttle to the correct terminal and eventually found the right lounge.  So there we were, waiting for our shuttle... the shuttle that we waited and waited for.  I called the hotel to make sure we were in the right spot to catch the shuttle and that's when the lady let me know the shuttle driver had to leave early that day.  So we found a taxi.  Yes, basically we killed an hour and a half at the airport waiting for the free shuttle that would never come.  30 euros ($37) and approximately 15 minutes later,  we arrived at Hotel Atlantico. 

First thing I had to do was turn on the lights and air conditioner.  (It was central air but the thermostat would not even work until all the power would work.)  Luckily, I'd read up on things and knew in order for the power in your room to work, a key had to be inserted into this thing on the wall.
And then we had power.  Here are a couple of views of the room.

(A view from the bed towards the balcony)

And then there's the bathroom

It was a nice size with a pretty big shower and double sinks and a bidet just off camera to the right of the toilet.

Of course after getting the inside pics, I had to go out on the balcony to get those views.
Looking to the right

And to the left

I didn't take a picture of the front of the hotel so here's a screen shot of what they have on their website.  I circled our balcony.

Getting to Madrid and checking into the hotel seems like a good stopping point.  Next time I'll pick up with when we didn't go to the bull fight.

One more thing I'd like to share is a dessert I found on Pinterest.  I'm guessing everyone liked it because it was gone in less than 48 hours.  It's a pie crust laid flat with an apple mix on that then a crumble mix on that with caramel drizzled on top, basically an apple pie pizza.

believe it or not but

I'm not logging on to write all our trip details.  I need to get all my pictures together.  I have some on my phone, some on my computer and some on my external hard drive.  I just need to get my stuff together.  For now I'll post some I took from our hotel balcony.  It's just a few little details.

I tried a new dessert recipe tonight.  It's pretty good.  It's some apple pizza thing I found on Pinterest.  Maybe I'll go take a pic of it with my phone and show it off tomorrow.  I said maybe...

FYI, I just went and looked back at my first post.  It was April 16, 2007.  This blog is 5 years old.

between vacation

and apartment hunting, how was I supposed to have time to blog?  Easy answer.  I didn't.  I would try to pick up where I left off and give details about vacation but all this rain and Pinterest have me busy making hamburgers out of vanilla wafers.  (Hamburgers with ketchup only.)

You know how I operate.  I'm still trying to get back into my groove.