So, I'm a little delayed with setting up the travel blog and posting to it. The delay is all part of the waiting game in Spain. It took a bit longer to get our internet service activated, but I actually didn't mind being "disconnected" for awhile, although I did miss my Facebook word games (Scrabble - sadly I can't play here because of incompatible versions or something, Word Twist, Wordscraper, Scramble). Waiting in lines, waiting for service, waiting in general is just part of life here, but it doesn't really bother me so much. Some of our Spanish friends seem more bothered by all the waiting for us. When we signed up for our cell phone service, I didn't realize that we had been waiting there and trying to get our service for an hour and a half plus until Antonio mentioned it. And the line in the grocery store didn't really bother me either until Luis mentioned that such a wait wouldn't happen in the U.S. He mentioned the efficiency of Wal-mart which I think is funny since I think the total opposite of Wal-mart. I guess it's all relative. Maybe I'm not bothered by the waiting so much because I don't really have anywhere that I desperately need to go afterwards. Or maybe everything is still such an adventure. Or maybe it's nice to just slow down for a little while. Perhaps if I lived here, the waiting would really get to me. For now, I'll just wait and see. :-)
Everyone has been asking how our travels have been so far and so far, so good. I'll recap what we've been through in our first week in Europe and then try to post more regularly. Bear with me as I'm new to the whole blogging thing. I'm not sure what/how to write. I'm just hoping to use this as a venue to keep in touch with everyone and to document our adventures for the girls to look back on in the future. So, here goes our first week in Europe...
The flight over
Both Analea and Miia are awesome travellers. The girls, as usual, charmed our fellow passengers and the flight attendants who did a lot to help us with the girls - entertaining them, offering us the bulkhead row so we could use a baby cot (which we rejected because we didn't want to lose the under the seat storage and we thought it would be too distracting for Analea - dumb move on our part). We've never really had any problems flying with them, although Analea gets way more distracted by the other passengers and all the other activity on the plane than Miia. Flying domestically, we never bought Analea a seat and just held her on our laps. This time we thought that flying out during the night, buying a seat, and having her sit in the car seat would lull her to sleep. We thought wrong, very wrong. The airplane, the people, the televisions in the back of the seats just proved to be sensory overload for her. While she wasn't unhappy, she had a lot of trouble falling asleep which meant we (John and I) didn't get much sleep. We did everything we could - tried to make a little tent to hide the distractions from her but it only served as a funny game. We tried to create a little bed in an empty row - that worked for all of 0 seconds. She thought that was even funnier than the tent. We then asked for the bulkhead baby cot but sadly that row was taken up by someone. The only thing that seemed to work was John holding her. She eventually fell asleep with 3 hours left in the flight but it was a restless sleep. Meanwhile, in the last row on the plane, I made a bed for Miia, buckled her in and she was out until we almost landed. I tried to sleep but was captivated by a very bad Bollywood movie and an even worse romance movie with Jennifer Aniston or was it Jennifer Garner or maybe Sandra Bullock. Then there were the nice warm towels that periodically made their way down the aisles and the glasses of juice and water and snacks. Hmmm...I wonder where Analea inherited her ability to be easily distracted from.
Munich, Germany
Once we arrived at the Munich airport around noon, we had to decide what to do. "Do we hang out at the airport for 7 hours or do we try to go into to the city?" I couldn't imagine how we would entertain the girls for so long. I really wanted to sleep but knew there was no way that would happen. So after finding a place where we could store our carry on bags and finding out that the ride on the S-Bahn would take just 40 minutes, we decided to go ahead and venture into Munich. We had just enough time to take the train into Marienplatz, see the Glockenspiel, grab some food and get back two hours before our flight departed for Valencia.
No problem until we went to get a snack at a local bakery which happened to be packed with locals. Waiting in Spain? That's nothing really compared to the waiting we did in Munich for
1) someone to take our order
2) someone to bring us our order and
3) someone to give us our bill and take our money.
Getting food took a bit longer than we thought it would but we still had just enough cushion time to get back to the airport. Luckily, the S-Bahn stop was just outside the bakery. We made our way to the station..."Oopsie! I guess I'll take a picture of the cuckoo clock tower (Glockenspiel) with my camera from Miss Betty next time, " said Miia. Ah, the power of guilt. "Ok, Miia, run back up there with Daddy quickly and take your photos. But hurry back." Still enough time...the next train wasn't coming for 14 minutes and that would put us at the airport with time to get our bags and get to the gate. As we make our way to the elevator, John mumbles something about the train line that goes to Flughafen (Munich airport), S something or other which is leaving in 11 minutes. We can't all fit in the elevator so I go in the elevator with the girls and John will meet us downstairs. Somebody pushes a button. The door closes...the door opens...all of us pile out of the elevator and I am greeted by the labyrinth that is the German mass transit system. We're in a 3-d star with many spokes leading to different places and I suddenly realize that I have jet lag. John is nowhere in sight. The escalator is really long...maybe he hasn't made it down yet. "Let's wait for Daddy, Miia, " I say as I quickly scan the S-Bahn and U-Bahn signs all over the walls. What did John say? Something about an S train. Which line did we take S1 or S8? Well, there's one that says it's going to the Flughafen and look it's leaving in about 10 minutes...that was around the time our train was leaving. "Maybe Daddy said he'd meet us at the platform. Let's go check." We have no cell phones...no way to communicate with each other. As we're riding up the escalator and reach the platform, I realize that we're in a huge station...the platform is soooo long. "Where is John?" We walk up and down the platform? There are several ways to get on to the platform. Oh, s***. "Where's Daddy?" "Uh, I'm not sure right now. He'll meet us." "Mommy, that's our train. That one's going to the airport. What if Daddy's on it?" "He won't get on without us, Miia. Don't worry." We go back downstairs and wait by the elevator and I read another sign that says Flughafen..a different track. "What?!?" How many lines are there to the airport? Which elevator did we get out of? Let's try that track. Walking frantically along the platform looking for John in his black wool jacket - uh, everyone has dark brown hair and a black wool jacket. "Where's Daddy? Are we going to miss another train? Are we going to miss our plane?" "No, we won't, Miia. We'll find him." (Um, how much cushion time do we have? I notice it's slowly eroding.) "Let's borrow someone's phone to call Daddy." "Well, that won't work, Miia. He doesn't have a phone." "Well, he can borrow someone's." I look for someone who looks like they might speak English. "Sprechen zie Englisch?" I ask if she knows which train goes to the Flughafen and she tells me that there are two - this one and another one. Thanks. We go back to the other one and just as I think of looking for an authority figure to page John, we see him walking through the crowd, looking frantically for us. Miia was never happier! Me too. "What happened?" John went to go find the German police who he asked to help look for us. We made the next train and arrived with plenty of time to catch our flight. Near disaster averted.
Everyone has been asking how our travels have been so far and so far, so good. I'll recap what we've been through in our first week in Europe and then try to post more regularly. Bear with me as I'm new to the whole blogging thing. I'm not sure what/how to write. I'm just hoping to use this as a venue to keep in touch with everyone and to document our adventures for the girls to look back on in the future. So, here goes our first week in Europe...
The flight over
Both Analea and Miia are awesome travellers. The girls, as usual, charmed our fellow passengers and the flight attendants who did a lot to help us with the girls - entertaining them, offering us the bulkhead row so we could use a baby cot (which we rejected because we didn't want to lose the under the seat storage and we thought it would be too distracting for Analea - dumb move on our part). We've never really had any problems flying with them, although Analea gets way more distracted by the other passengers and all the other activity on the plane than Miia. Flying domestically, we never bought Analea a seat and just held her on our laps. This time we thought that flying out during the night, buying a seat, and having her sit in the car seat would lull her to sleep. We thought wrong, very wrong. The airplane, the people, the televisions in the back of the seats just proved to be sensory overload for her. While she wasn't unhappy, she had a lot of trouble falling asleep which meant we (John and I) didn't get much sleep. We did everything we could - tried to make a little tent to hide the distractions from her but it only served as a funny game. We tried to create a little bed in an empty row - that worked for all of 0 seconds. She thought that was even funnier than the tent. We then asked for the bulkhead baby cot but sadly that row was taken up by someone. The only thing that seemed to work was John holding her. She eventually fell asleep with 3 hours left in the flight but it was a restless sleep. Meanwhile, in the last row on the plane, I made a bed for Miia, buckled her in and she was out until we almost landed. I tried to sleep but was captivated by a very bad Bollywood movie and an even worse romance movie with Jennifer Aniston or was it Jennifer Garner or maybe Sandra Bullock. Then there were the nice warm towels that periodically made their way down the aisles and the glasses of juice and water and snacks. Hmmm...I wonder where Analea inherited her ability to be easily distracted from.
Munich, Germany
Once we arrived at the Munich airport around noon, we had to decide what to do. "Do we hang out at the airport for 7 hours or do we try to go into to the city?" I couldn't imagine how we would entertain the girls for so long. I really wanted to sleep but knew there was no way that would happen. So after finding a place where we could store our carry on bags and finding out that the ride on the S-Bahn would take just 40 minutes, we decided to go ahead and venture into Munich. We had just enough time to take the train into Marienplatz, see the Glockenspiel, grab some food and get back two hours before our flight departed for Valencia.
No problem until we went to get a snack at a local bakery which happened to be packed with locals. Waiting in Spain? That's nothing really compared to the waiting we did in Munich for
1) someone to take our order
2) someone to bring us our order and
3) someone to give us our bill and take our money.
Getting food took a bit longer than we thought it would but we still had just enough cushion time to get back to the airport. Luckily, the S-Bahn stop was just outside the bakery. We made our way to the station..."Oopsie! I guess I'll take a picture of the cuckoo clock tower (Glockenspiel) with my camera from Miss Betty next time, " said Miia. Ah, the power of guilt. "Ok, Miia, run back up there with Daddy quickly and take your photos. But hurry back." Still enough time...the next train wasn't coming for 14 minutes and that would put us at the airport with time to get our bags and get to the gate. As we make our way to the elevator, John mumbles something about the train line that goes to Flughafen (Munich airport), S something or other which is leaving in 11 minutes. We can't all fit in the elevator so I go in the elevator with the girls and John will meet us downstairs. Somebody pushes a button. The door closes...the door opens...all of us pile out of the elevator and I am greeted by the labyrinth that is the German mass transit system. We're in a 3-d star with many spokes leading to different places and I suddenly realize that I have jet lag. John is nowhere in sight. The escalator is really long...maybe he hasn't made it down yet. "Let's wait for Daddy, Miia, " I say as I quickly scan the S-Bahn and U-Bahn signs all over the walls. What did John say? Something about an S train. Which line did we take S1 or S8? Well, there's one that says it's going to the Flughafen and look it's leaving in about 10 minutes...that was around the time our train was leaving. "Maybe Daddy said he'd meet us at the platform. Let's go check." We have no cell phones...no way to communicate with each other. As we're riding up the escalator and reach the platform, I realize that we're in a huge station...the platform is soooo long. "Where is John?" We walk up and down the platform? There are several ways to get on to the platform. Oh, s***. "Where's Daddy?" "Uh, I'm not sure right now. He'll meet us." "Mommy, that's our train. That one's going to the airport. What if Daddy's on it?" "He won't get on without us, Miia. Don't worry." We go back downstairs and wait by the elevator and I read another sign that says Flughafen..a different track. "What?!?" How many lines are there to the airport? Which elevator did we get out of? Let's try that track. Walking frantically along the platform looking for John in his black wool jacket - uh, everyone has dark brown hair and a black wool jacket. "Where's Daddy? Are we going to miss another train? Are we going to miss our plane?" "No, we won't, Miia. We'll find him." (Um, how much cushion time do we have? I notice it's slowly eroding.) "Let's borrow someone's phone to call Daddy." "Well, that won't work, Miia. He doesn't have a phone." "Well, he can borrow someone's." I look for someone who looks like they might speak English. "Sprechen zie Englisch?" I ask if she knows which train goes to the Flughafen and she tells me that there are two - this one and another one. Thanks. We go back to the other one and just as I think of looking for an authority figure to page John, we see him walking through the crowd, looking frantically for us. Miia was never happier! Me too. "What happened?" John went to go find the German police who he asked to help look for us. We made the next train and arrived with plenty of time to catch our flight. Near disaster averted.
Our arrival in Valencia, Spain
It was a 2 hour plus flight from Munich to Valencia on Iberian Air. Very friendly flight staff - very disappointing food after our nice meal on Lufthansa. I suppose the white bread with ham and cheese sandwich is better than the nothing you get on a domestic flight in the U.S. And I ate it anyway because I was starving. Miia didn't touch hers - she has a very discerning nose and palate - much to her credit. She did however eat the chocolate in the children's coloring packet the flight attendant gave her. I don't remember much about the flight except that Miia and Analea slept. I think I did too - finally.
Retrieving our bags at the airport and loading them on to two luggage carts, I was afraid that we had overpacked. My dream was to travel with just two pieces of luggage and a carry-on apiece and mail the rest. And we were on par to do that until I found out how much it would cost to ship 4 boxes of stuff to Spain. Then I found out that each ticketed passenger was allowed 2 free bags. So...I somehow culled down the 4 boxes of stuff to fit into two additional pieces of luggage and we found ourselves at the Valencia airport with 4 pieces of BIG luggage (all under 50 punds - the max weight allowed), 2 car seats and 5 carry-ons. Not the light traveling I envisioned but it turns out it's all necessary.
We were met at the airport by two very gracious people - Jordi and Antonio - who are from Valencia and both at the Universidad Politcnica di Valencia. As we rolled our bags to the parking garage, I was thinking two things:
1) I really hope all our stuff is going to fit into their cars.
2) We have way too many clothes on. (I think it was about 50 something when we arrived. I wanted to jump for joy considering we had come from sub-zero weather!)
I didn't have to worry about our bags fitting as Jordi had a mini-van and everything, thankfully, fit. While John rode with Jordi and our bags to the apartment, the girls and I rode with Antonio in a taxi (a Prius - most of the cabs are hybrids or some other fuel-efficient car). The ride was such a blur as I was really starting to feel the jet lag. I do remember that he was basically taking us on a mini-tour of Valencia, telling us a little about all the places that we were passing - the park along the river, how the river was re-routed because it caused massive flooding in the city and the re-routing allowed for the building of the beautiful and huge park that follows the old course of the river. And again, I remember how warm it was and was so glad that we picked Spain as a place to take a sabbatical. Once we got to the apartment, he explained the basics, took John to the grocery store to do a little shopping and then let us try to get some sleep. He promised to return the next day to give us a walking tour of the area and help us orient ourselves.
His promise turned into a week of he and many others making sure that we all were comfortable, settled and adjusting to life in Valencia. Everyone has been so friendly and has really taken a lot of time to make sure that all is well with us. From the moment we arrived, our hosts and others have been EXTREMELY hospitable. I worry that we're taking time away from them, time that they could be using to do something else. Then I realize that they are genuinely concerned about us and want us to feel comfortable and at home here. I hope that one day we'll be able to return their kindnesses and host our new friends in the same way.
Tomorrow: paella, modern architecture, food, looking for schools, food, wondering what Analea's going to think when we get back to Philo. And did I mention food?
It was a 2 hour plus flight from Munich to Valencia on Iberian Air. Very friendly flight staff - very disappointing food after our nice meal on Lufthansa. I suppose the white bread with ham and cheese sandwich is better than the nothing you get on a domestic flight in the U.S. And I ate it anyway because I was starving. Miia didn't touch hers - she has a very discerning nose and palate - much to her credit. She did however eat the chocolate in the children's coloring packet the flight attendant gave her. I don't remember much about the flight except that Miia and Analea slept. I think I did too - finally.
Retrieving our bags at the airport and loading them on to two luggage carts, I was afraid that we had overpacked. My dream was to travel with just two pieces of luggage and a carry-on apiece and mail the rest. And we were on par to do that until I found out how much it would cost to ship 4 boxes of stuff to Spain. Then I found out that each ticketed passenger was allowed 2 free bags. So...I somehow culled down the 4 boxes of stuff to fit into two additional pieces of luggage and we found ourselves at the Valencia airport with 4 pieces of BIG luggage (all under 50 punds - the max weight allowed), 2 car seats and 5 carry-ons. Not the light traveling I envisioned but it turns out it's all necessary.
We were met at the airport by two very gracious people - Jordi and Antonio - who are from Valencia and both at the Universidad Politcnica di Valencia. As we rolled our bags to the parking garage, I was thinking two things:
1) I really hope all our stuff is going to fit into their cars.
2) We have way too many clothes on. (I think it was about 50 something when we arrived. I wanted to jump for joy considering we had come from sub-zero weather!)
I didn't have to worry about our bags fitting as Jordi had a mini-van and everything, thankfully, fit. While John rode with Jordi and our bags to the apartment, the girls and I rode with Antonio in a taxi (a Prius - most of the cabs are hybrids or some other fuel-efficient car). The ride was such a blur as I was really starting to feel the jet lag. I do remember that he was basically taking us on a mini-tour of Valencia, telling us a little about all the places that we were passing - the park along the river, how the river was re-routed because it caused massive flooding in the city and the re-routing allowed for the building of the beautiful and huge park that follows the old course of the river. And again, I remember how warm it was and was so glad that we picked Spain as a place to take a sabbatical. Once we got to the apartment, he explained the basics, took John to the grocery store to do a little shopping and then let us try to get some sleep. He promised to return the next day to give us a walking tour of the area and help us orient ourselves.
His promise turned into a week of he and many others making sure that we all were comfortable, settled and adjusting to life in Valencia. Everyone has been so friendly and has really taken a lot of time to make sure that all is well with us. From the moment we arrived, our hosts and others have been EXTREMELY hospitable. I worry that we're taking time away from them, time that they could be using to do something else. Then I realize that they are genuinely concerned about us and want us to feel comfortable and at home here. I hope that one day we'll be able to return their kindnesses and host our new friends in the same way.
Tomorrow: paella, modern architecture, food, looking for schools, food, wondering what Analea's going to think when we get back to Philo. And did I mention food?
I loved reading about the adventures so far. I could feel your anxiety when you and the girls were looking for John!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read more, and don't forget to post pictures with your blog posts. Did you share the link with mom and dad? We're going to be in Gurnee this weekend so we'll log on. Hugs and kisses to all!