First entry from Madrid

Today (Sunday/Monday August 7/8) was such an eventful day – I feel I need to write about it while it is still fresh. Not sure when I’ll get to post this, as I don’t have Internet access yet. But is 10:15 pm Madrid time on Monday, and I’ve been up since 8:30 am Boston time on Sunday.

The trip to the airport did not appear to start well. First of all, it was pouring rain in Arlington, making packing of the car a somewhat wet endeavor. Second, due to weather, US Air significantly our flight from Boston to Philadelphia, making it impossible to catch our connection from Philadelphia to Madrid. However, the US Air representatives were incredibly helpful and put us on a non-stop Boston Madrid Iberia flight. With out 5 big bags to check, 2 smaller but very heavy carry-ons, and two kid backpacks, Nora, Nathan, and I pushed two heaping luggage carts from one terminal in Logan, through the parking lot, to the international terminal. The Iberia reps were also very helpful and didn’t make us pay for our extra checked baggage – we had already paid online with US Air.

The flight was surprisingly short. Nora and Nathan did a wonderful job of being good travelers. My only complaint is that they didn’t sleep (this was a red-eye flight). When sleep time came, Nathan rested for a bit but then needed to go back to using his iPhone. Nora couldn’t stop watching (even without sound) a movie on the cabin TV. I probably had about 2 hours with my eyes closed, but no sleep. Nathan did fall asleep as he was listening to his iPhone and ended up getting about 2 hours of sleep. Nora did not really even rest.

Madrid’s airport is very easy to navigate; customs was smooth sailing. We bought some euros, checked email (boingo wireless at the airport), and ate a bit. We then loaded our huge mound of luggage into a taxi (it wasn’t easy finding a taxi that could hold all of our luggage and us as well) and went to near Nuevos Ministerios and the Real Madrid stadium to meet with the relocation office.

As seems to be typical of the way things are done in Spain, everything was happening at the last minute with our apartment rental. The relocation agency was on the phone and email with the bank to set up a bank account, with the rental agency to set up the lease paperwork, etc. We waited for about 90 minutes at the relocation agency for everything to be ready – Nora and Nathan were amazingly good and even energetic, listening to music and dancing. We left our luggage at the relocation place and then took a cab to the rental agency headquarters which was somewhat near the Prado. Paperwork was signed (imagine a 10 page legal-ese seeming lease but in Spanish) and keys were exchanged. (They handed me two sets of keys, with (no kidding) about 10 keys in each ring. I don’t yet know what all of the keys are for, but there is one for the main entrance to the urbanizacion, one for the entrance to my ‘portal’ or building, one to our apartment, one to the mailbox, one to the paddle ball court, a garage-door opener for the parking garage (which we don’t need), and a few more keys that I’m not yet sure what they do.)

Back to the relocation agency, picked up our luggage, and took a cab up to our apartment. (By the time, Nora was having trouble staying conscious.) Lugged our huge mound of luggage from the curb through and up to the apartment. Our flight landed at 7:15 am, and we were in the apartment by noon. All told, this was remarkable progress.

The relocation agent and the rental agent went through a checklist of what was in the (furnished) apartment – the lease had a long list (e.g., 10 forks, etc.). Nora fell asleep and Nathan did for a short bit. The apartment is really nice – very clean and new feeling, small but just the right size for us. Small kitchen, pretty big living/dining area, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a nice porch. This place is a good bargain and just what we were looking for.

After letting Nora sleep for a couple of hours, I worked hard to rouse her. We then went in search of food (on foot). The weather was typical for Madrid right now – hot (low 90’s) but very dry. Very bright and intense sun. We walked about 15 minutes to an area where there are a ton of restaurants. It was about 2:30 pm, which happens to be when Spaniards eat lunch. Typically you get a daily menu (at these places, for about 10 euros) with a 2 course meal and dessert. The kids had hamburgers off a kids’ meal. My meal really wasn’t good at all.

We then walked 10 minutes or so back to our local grocery store and got some minimum supplies for dinner and breakfast. The kids were very good about walking the 15 minutes back from the store carrying groceries. It is nice that this walk is through a very nice park with good shade.

Once back, we went down to the swimming pool in our complex. It was a hot, clear day, and the pool was wonderfully cool. There we met the English-speaking lifeguard and our first neighbors – Brits with 3 girls, the two youngest of which are Nora’s and Nathan’s age. Instant playmates and very friendly parents – we hung out by the pool for several hours. In addition to a nice pool (which is 1-2 meters deep) there is a kiddie pool, a small basketball hoop, and a slide in a sandbox. It is a very nice hangout for this small urbanizacion – there probably are only 32 apartments in this complex.

A quick and lite dinner of pasta, read a few pages to the kids, and then they collapsed at about 8:45 pm. I did some unpacking and now am ready for bed! As we flew into Madrid, we saw a gorgeous sunrise, and the sunset was just as wonderful. A good beginning to this year!

Update: Had some jet lag issues with the kids sleeping last night. Nora woke up at midnight and was up and needed some company until 1:45, and then Nathan was up at 2 and needed some hand holding until about 3. But the good news is that everyone then slept until 11 am! So at least we are rested....