I have been very fortunate to have all of these relative’s visit me during my time here in Spain, but before I head back to the States, Ken and Ellen came over here to Madrid for a couple days to visit, and we had a great time! The weather was a little harsh, but we still had a couple good afternoons with lots of sunshine and saw all the touristy spots, it was only my 3rd time giving the same tour! Ha ha, but I don’t mind, it is fun for me always.
Ken and Ellen arrived on Febraury 4th in Madrid in the early afternoon, and were very tired. So I let them rest during the afternoon and then joined them for dinner at the Ritz, the hotel they were staying at. It was very nice seeing them, and their hotel was so nice! Dad and Mom, when they came, stayed at the Palace, so it was fun seeing a different hotel. So we ate dinner and chatted a little, it was a short trip since they were still a little tired from the trip, so I excused myslef early from dinner and set a date to meet up with them the next day. So Thursday morning, after running a tad late, Ken, Ellen, and I took off in the morning and headed towards the Royal Palace and cathedral. It was a good walk, we stopped by Plaza Mayor, La Latina, and went through some of the very local parts of Madrid. We eventually ended up at the Palace and cathedral, and checked it out. We walked around a little, looked at the cathedral, and then kept on walking. Unfortuantley we couldn’t get into the cathedral, because there was a private event going on, but no matter, we still got to see it. After a long walk, we stoped by a local tapas bar, had some cervesa and jamon, and rested a little. After starting back up again, we walked through the Opera area, and back up to Sol. We stopped by a Museo de Jamon (Ham Museum)and it wasn’t pretty. It’s amazing how much they love ham here, and Ellen and Ken were shcked as well! Ha, something you won’t see anywhere else then in Spain! I had to teach on English class, so we had to end our walk in the late afternoon, but they wanted a nap anyways. After meeting back up with them later that night, we went over to the Palace to have some drinks. It was fun talking with them, drinking martini’s, and just sitting around. I ordered a cosmo, I do not like martini’s but, I enjoyed that very much just sittin around with them. After drinks we went over to VIPS for a very very expensive meal (haha not!) Grandpa got the hamburger, and Ellen got a jamon tortilla. After dinner, they went back to the hotel, and I went home. The next day, Grandpa got food posioning! I think its from the hamburger he had at VIPS, you can’t really trust that place! So it was ust Ellen and I for the afternoon. Carson came with me in the morning to have coffee with Ellen, but then he had to go back to Las Rozas. Ellen and I went over to the Prado Museo. Ellen really wanted to see a certain painting, the naked Mohah or something like that, but unfortunatley, it was on a loan over in Paris! Bummer, but we still saw a lot more cool paintings, and walked around the hotel a bit. Grandpa was still very sick, so Ellen decided to stay in for the rest of the day to take care of him. So we ended our day early. No problem, because tomorrow we had to get up pretty early to get over to the airport to fly off to England!
I guess there was a huge snow storm the day before we arrived, so we all were a litle worried if we were going to be bale to get into Heathrow. But the flight was very smooth and we arrived just fine. After going through all the check-in’s and what not, we grabbed an old-fashion black taxi and went into London. It is sooooo weird how they drive on the left hand side. It took me awhile to get used to seeing people drive on the other side of the car too! But it was a nice ride into London, and we got to see some marching soldiers on the way there. We went straight to the Duke’s Hotel, so they could check in. It was such a nice little hotel, very cozy and comfertable. We went to grab some lunch after stopping by the hotel (there room wasn’t ready). We went to Fortnam and Mason…(I think that’s what it’s called, correct me if I’m wrong Grandma!), and I had some really good egg’s benedict. It was such a nice little restaurant, and it was nice to see a menu that wasn’t in Spanish! Ha, after lunch, we went back to the hotel so they could settle in. Grandpa stayed to take a nap, while Ellen and I were off to see the town. We did a little tour of the hotel first, and when we went into the bar to check it out, two 35 year old looking men asked us to join them for martini’s, at 2:30 in the afternoon! Ha, of course we said we couldn’t, but it was funny because we were thinking, are you hitting on the woman 20 years older then you or the kid 15 years younger then you! Ha, it was funny. So Ellen and I started off on the town. We walked to Buckingham Palace, to the Big Ben, through Green and St. James Park, past the Parliment buildings onto Westminster Bridge, saw the London Eye, went back and got lost through some side streets, passed the China Town of London, stopped into the National Portraits Museum, up Picadilly Circus, and back to the hotel. It was a good, long walk! Ellen is an excellent tour guide. So after meeting back up with Ken at the hotel, we went down to the bar to have some drinks and to await for Sarah. When she arrived, I met her, Daniel (her husband), and Edith. All of them I am somehow related too! After sitting around and chatting, Sarah, Daniel, Edith and I went back to there house, where I was going to be staying. While I was there, I met Agetha, Leo, and Tycho, and there two cats! It was a charming little home, with lots of books everywhere! I kicked Leo out of his room ha, and we all just chatted a little before going off to bed. It was a long day for me. The next day, half of the family was off to church, so Sarah and I went for an hour walk through Kensington Park. I got the chance to really talk with Sarah, and the park was gorgeous. The weather while I was there was so nice, excpet the last day with lots of rain, it was such a nice walk. After meeting up with the rest of the amily, Edith, Agetha, and I went on our own. We took the tube over to Notting Hill, where we got ome tea and went to an outdoor market. It was so fun, so many cool antiques and shops, I could have stayed there all day! Then we all went over to Oxford Street to check out some of the big stores, like Top Shop and Harrods. It was really cool! Then we all went back over to the house to join everyone for lunch. That was the first time I tried Yorksher Pudding, and it wasn’t haf bad! After lunch, we had an afternoon tea with Ken, Ellen, Cynthia, John, Paul Johnson, and his wife I can’t remember her name. We were there for awhile, sipping tea, eating cookies, and as it got darker, we drank some champagne and eventually everyone left. The Johnson family and I all sat down for dinner, and afterwards, Tycho, Edith, Leo, and I went over to a pub near there house for a beer. It was nice hanging out with them, they are all so nice. But after returning home later that night, I was so tired, it was another full day for me. The next morning, all the younger kids had school, so Tycho and I went to meet up with Ellen at the hotel, and from there we went over to the British Museum. We all saw the mummies, the Rosetta Stone, and a lot of ancient artifactes. We had a nice lunch at the museum and then eventually made our way back over to the hotel. I was in the mood for some more tea, so Ellen, Tycho and I went down to the tea room at the hotel and had afternoon tea with some small desserts. It was really fun, because it was all fancy and proper. Ellen was feeling a bit tired, so Tycho and I went back over to Shepards Bush (where the Johnson family lives) and spent the rest of the night there. Well, while all the adults went out for dinner, us kids went over to the theater and saw The Curios Case of Benjamin Button. It was a bit long, but still a good movie. After the movie we all went back to the house, and Tycho had to finish packing, and so did I, for tomorrow morning we had an early start to the airport. The next morning, IKen and Ellen showed up at the house, and I said my good byes so everyone. I had such a nice time with them all, and they invited me to come back again and stay with them! But after the goodbyes, Ken, Ellen, Sarah, Tycho, and I headed off to the airport, and I went my seperate way back to Madrid after saying good bye to everyone at the airport.
I had a really nice time in London, and these are just a couple pictures out of many I took! I will show them all when I get home. But now I am off to Madrid for some coffee and some walking around, and I hope everyone has a great Valentine’s Day and weekend! Cheerio!
Very interesting subject, thank you for posting.