Travel

Flying back from Madrid, our flight was delayed for 2 hours. We met some nice folks at the airport who were also on their way back to Houston. Two biologists/scientists (one of whom is a professor at Rice) and a gentleman who owned a cosmetics factory. It was good to have someone to talk to and pass the time in the airport.

Our initial flight was to Newark where we would change planes and then continue to Houston. Due to the delay we had to make arrangements for another connecting flight.

We cleared customs in Newark and the had to re-clear security. We had just enough time to get on the plane and come to Houston. All told it was just under 24 hours total travel time with the early arrival to the airport, the delay, connecting flight and cab ride home.

Upon arrival to the house everything was right where it was supposed to be. We’re so lucky to have had our good friend Jim keeping an eye on the place and coming over a few times a week to water the plants and feed the fish. It also appears that he did not rent the house out to vagabonds, hippies or musicians in our absence which is always a plus. There’s nothing worse than coming home from an extended vacation to to find someone subletting you residence.

I can’t even describe how nice it was to lay down in our own bed.

The next day we got up and went to collect the birds. They seem no worse for the wear and tear and things here at the house are pretty much back to normal.

I’m still jet-lagged a bit and am struggling to get my internal clock re-synched with U.S. time. I’m sure I’ll be right as rain soon and am especially glad we gave ourselves a few days at home after the trip before going back to work.

We caught the train from Barcelona to Madrid yesterday. 4 1/2 hours all told. Most of it on the high speed AVE line. We are now checked back in to the hotel where it all began, Hotel Plaza Mayor.

It’s odd to come back after travelling far and wide for the last few weeks. It’s like coming home in an odd sort of way.

This morning when I got to the breakfast table in the lobby of the hotel I found two birthday cards on my table that Cynthia had been carrying with her the whole trip! She’s so awesome!

Madrid is much quieter now than when we left it a few weeks ago. The end of September is considered the beginning of the “off” season. Now that it’s late in October it’s gotten much cooler and the tourist crowds have lightened quite a bit.

We walked over and took the tour of the Royal Palace we never got around to before. No photography allowed. WAH! It’s gorgeous. We also took the guided tour which we never do. That proved to be rather interesting and we learned a bit more than we might have otherwise.

Tonight we’re going to go out to dinner one last time to celebrate my birthday.

Our flight back to Houston is tomorrow morning and frankly I am ready. Ready to bathe in my own bath tub, ready to sleep in my own bed and ready to watch some American television (In English).

Keeping the blog up to date has been challenging, but fun. Late hours processing images and putting together the entries took it’s toll a little in terms of getting enough sleep but I think getting it written down while it was still fresh will pay off in the long run. Ultimately these posts will serve as a guide to put together our travel scrapbook and are also something I can look at to remind me of the awesome month I got to spend with Cynthia in this remarkable country.

Cynthia has agreed that bringing a laptop along has been a good thing. Initially she didn’t think that I should take a computer with me but after a few weather reports and Google map directions to obscure restaurants she has changed her tune. She’s even on board with the blogging as she will be the one to put together the scrapbook and did not have to keep her own hand-written journal of the trip. Plus she really gets a kick out of it when people comment on the entries.

Thanks to everyone who followed along. It was very cool to have this cyber-tether back to friends and family back home. Sort of a life-line to keep me from getting too homesick which I am surprisingly prone to.

We’ll see you when we get back, after we’ve gotten caught up on some sleep, re-stocked the fridge and picked up the birds.