Home, Cold Home

We Managed to actually leave the hotel room at a reasonable time on our last day, We were up and out by 0915 and The Sleep Monster didn't even make that much of an appearance!

The hotel staff were really helpful and booked us a taxi to go to the airport, with a lovely driver who spoke barely any English but did teach us how to say first in Spanish (I think that was be badly translated "Airport, terminal one please"). He dropped us off right outside the terminal, which was useful because it was a bloody long walk even then, getting the Metro would have made it miles!

Whistle-stop tour of duty free (which seems to be cheaper online anyway?) and we were airside within about half an hour. That is, after my bag was searched and swabbed for drugs! I would have been insulted had I not realised that I brought The Old Lady some nice bath powder things... which were in my hand luggage as 3 baggies of powder. I guess they did look suspicious! Luckily they didn't find any drugs (no comments about "you got away with it then" from you lot, don't think I can't hear you!) and we were through fairly painlessly!

Very cool playing with light in the airport!

Madrid airport is different to Stansted in that Stansted seems very small and cramped airside and very vast and airy past customs, whereas Madrid is the other way around. Airside in Madrid looks a bit like a huge shopping centre, but one that is a bit barren once you get to the gate we wanted, whereas past customs in Madrid was pretty packed and fast paced until you got on the Metro. Interesting how different places in the world do things!

We stopped off for one last Spanish meal, paella! Sadly, no wine this time (which is a shame, I've certainly enjoyed that part of Spanish culture!) but just a simple bottle of coke and some chocolate to see us through the long wait.

Excuse me, we're British!

Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes in the end, which really didn't bother us too much. The funniest thing was listening to other people! We were due to board at 1240 and at 1245 they still hadn't called us, we heard a lady go to the gate and ask the staff "can we queue yet? I'm British, I like to queue". SO funny! As soon as they moved the "does your bag fit" thing in front of the gate about 90 people jumped up form the waiting chairs and formed an orderly queue! Safe to say I think most folks on that flight were British!

Leaving the sunny skies
for grey! :(

One we were on the flight (after dodging the jobsworth who wanted to put my bag in the hold) it was time to settle down for a 2 1/2 hour flight over a country I really have fallen in love with! The plane flew over fields, vineyards and mountainous areas that are just crying out to be explored! Once we were over sea there was only one thing for it: Dr. Quinn on the netbook! Gotta love portable harddrives!!

Why does it always rain on me?

We landed at Stansted in good time and got through customs without a problem, waited for a bus to take us back to mine and finally grounded at around 1630, walking through my front door to be greeted by two overly excited doggies! Nice to know I was missed! Sadly for them less than 24 hours later I was packed up and ready to go and see the Sausages down near Portsmouth for the weekend, but I'm back home now until the end of school term (Easter) when I'll be sodding off somewhere else. Suggestions please!

Happy doggies!

In conclusion: I loved Spain. I know we were only there 48 hours and I know we didn't even see all of Madrid, let alone experience the rest of Spain, but I honestly did love it. I was also being truthful when I said I'd already started the job search and plan to come back in the summer to do some English teaching abroad! Lets hope I fall just as in love in March when I jump on a plane destined for Lisbon, or Copenhagen, or Cologne, or Berlin, or Bali, or Vancouver, or....

Always Pack Your Travelling Socks!

 Our last full day in Madrid (sad face!) and we did make the most of it!

Yesterday I was stupid enough to wear my really good walking boots with really crappy socks, meaning that by the time we got back to the hotel my feet there on the verge of blisters and looking worse for wear. I've only got tiny feet as it is, all of my lovely curves on dainty feet don't really mix!! Safe to say today there was no way I was wearing my snug walking boots so the only other option was my lovely flat brown shoes that are no good for walking and pinch my toes. Safe to say that the word of the day has been: dolor! (pain!).


We started off at around the same time today as we did yesterday as most places don't open until 10am anyway. I love the Spanish. We made our way straight into town to visit the Museo de Plazo! We jumped off the Metro in central Madrid at Benco de Espana and it looked a bit like a war zone when we arrived! There were police everywhere and M said he saw a bomb squad vehicle,  not to mention the sound of what we thought was gunfire, pretty scary I must say. Thankfully, after a few minutes or sanding around wondering WTF was going on, we saw it was a protest that was actually quite calmly moving through the centre. They were throwing smoke grenades which was the reason for the loud bangs and smoke, but the reason behind the protest was fairly innocent and to do with the Uber protests. More on the story here: http://venturebeat.com/2016/02/18/spanish-taxis-block-central-madrid-in-uber-and-cabify-protest/

We avoided the protest and wandered up the road to the Museo de Prado. The Prado is an art gallery type museum instead of a museum as we would think with artefacts etc. instead this has lots of classic paintings in it. We spent about 2-3 hours wandering around the various galleries, and saw some incredible pieces. The Flemish section was really interesting, and had lots of paintings dating back from our period of re-enactment too (1460-1485). My sister, Teapot, will be really interested with the painting I sneaked a photo of because of the little white do that looks a lot like Princess! :)


One of the most amazing paintings we saw was that of Mary Tudor! The standard painting that everyone has seen in books and on TV etc, we got to see it in real life. That was a pretty incredible experience! We even got to see the really famous painting of her husband, Philip!

When left the Prado, I was not even trying to pretend that my feet were's absolutely killing me and we headed for the shopping district down the road. We wandered past Prada, Versace, Diesel, and lots of other brands... but I am far too cheap to spend 200E/£200 on a pair of trainers, despite the pain in my feet!! The hobble down the road for a few miles did allow us to see some gorgeous architecture though, I really love the shutters and little balconies at the windows. I love Spain!


We gave up in time for Tapas! I'm loving this idea of tapas! Lots of delicious dishes for not very expensive price! M got to have his Cafe Bonbon and I got to try gazpacho soup... which was interesting! I knew it was a Spanish soup usually tomato based, but I'd totally forgotten it was cold until I took the first spoonful!!! Definitely different!! The meatballs in curry sauce were nice though!

We realised pretty soon that we were not going to find me some trainers in the shopping district (as I refuse to pay 200E for trainers...) and hopped back on the metro (literally hopped, so much pain!) and headed towards Gran Via which is another main shopping district... luckily this shopping district is much more my type and houses a HUGE Primark!! So excited about that!

I grabbed a cheap (and I mean cheap, 8E!) pair of trainers and some fresh dry socks from Primark and muddled through with poor Spanish at the counter. Next stop the Farmacia for some ibuprofen from the very good looking pharmacist with the lovely accent and a quick swap over of uncomfortable shoes to trainers that were two sizes bigger than I normally take! Luckily really comfy trainers! The ibuprofen worked double quick time and by the time we landed at Sol station I was feeling 80% more comfortable.


















Outside Sol station is a big area that reminds me of Trafalgar square as its full of tourists, street entertainers and pickpockets. M caught LARPer poor thing and I had to peel him away from the strangely dessed person before we headed down the road towards the Mercado de San Miguel.

The Mercardo de San Miguel (Market of Saint Michael) is one of the oldest covered markets in Madrid (possibly even in Spain) and sells all sorts of tapas type foods such as meats, shellfish, cakes and of course lots of wine! I love Spain... we spent a while wandering around the market before deciding on a plan for dinner: buy bits from the market and some wine from the petrol station near our hotel and then eat back indoors as the market was really crowded.



We purchased chorizo, parma ham, anchovies, breadsticks, and two slices of tortilla (Spanish Omelette) and took them back on the Metro with us, 100% planning to have a quiet dinner and maybe head to the pub for a night cap. Events however took another turn and we were completely stuffed after dinner and didn;t actually move! Early(ish) night instead, nursing the blisters on my poor toes, and we'll be ready for the long journey home tomorrow.








I really don't want to leave... Its been a lovely 48 hours in Madrid, I've been impressed with how much Spanish I have remembered from years 7 & 8 and how well I've muddled through (with LOTS of help from Google Translate!!). This little trip away has actually cemented my mind that I need a new job and a new direction, so watch this space as plans are afoot!

Until tomorrow, adios y buenos noches!

Windows and Linux fans don't mix...

  

Day two in Madrid has gone really well!! I've only almost died 5 times today! White vans are just as evil in Spain as they are in the UK!

M set an alarm for 8am and met The Sleep Monster at half 8, she apparently hurled abuse at him and grumbled when he turned the light on (I have zero recollection of this and think M may be making it up!!).

When we eventually got out of the hotel (and after we dropped into Maccy Ds for breakfast...) we jumped onto the Metro and headed for the Reina Sofia which is billed as one of the best museums and modern art galleries, housing works by numerous artists including Picasso and Dali





We finally found the Reina Sofia after almost wandering into a government building and being politely told to move on (note: just because the building is "big and pretty" doesn't mean its the one we're after!!). The gallery its self is housed in a really nice building and I loved the archways! Got some cracking shots!




Here's the bit where we have to admit we're both either uncultured swines or a bit too dim to get it: surrealism! Honestly, we've seen loads today from wandering around the galleries but after about 45 minutes wandering around the Reina Sofia we just didn't get get it. Picasso... ? Dali...? There were some other ones too who are apparently really famous (uncultured...) but we kind of gave up. I enjoyed seeing the photography pieces, but even some of them were a bit way out for our tastes!






Moving on we went towards the Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace) which is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family. We went via a shopping centre and paid 15E for a data sim card with 2GB data that also allows tethering! We've both spent about £10 with EE/T-Mobile in a day being given a piddly 100 or 200Mb of data. This is not worth it, tip for anyone travelling abroad: get a local Sim card for your phone! When you can use Google Maps and Google Translate you will thank me!!












The Palace building is from the 17th Centruy and absolutely gorgeous architecture! We were lucky enough to get inside the Palace and do the tour, you get to wander around some of the most beautiful rooms I've ever seen in my life. I lost count of the number of chandeliers I fell in love with and the table! OH! The table!! Someone has clearly been at it with a ruler, it was stunning!!! Sadly we weren't allowed to take photos inside the Palace, but here is a photo from Google showing what the dining room looked like! Gorgeous! I also realised that, at some point in my life, I really should invest in a throne! I could have brought a mini desk throne.... but decided not to!

After the Palace we decided to find a little tapas cafe down the road, and have some lunch. By lunch I mean salad. By salad I mean fruit. By fruit I mean grapes. We had wine for lunch! I love the Spanish culture! The conversation with the cafe owner went something like this:


Owner: "Would you like drinks?"
Us: "just one glass of wine, its lunchtime"
Owner: "no problem, sit down"

Then he brings us a small plate of nibbles.... and the bottle of wine. Well it would have been rude not to drink the entire bottle. We also finished off the tapas (choroizo... mmm mmm) and dug into a Russian Salad too! Stunning!! A bottle of lovely red wine and three plates of Tapas for 25E! Brilliant!

After the Palace we took a leisurely walk back up the road outside and through the park, Jardine de Sabatine, where M posed for a wonderful photo series we are calling "Kings (and One Queen)". Perhaps it was the wine that helped?!

One last place on our whistlestop tour was the Temple of Debod. This is a real ancient Egyptian monument in the heart of Madrid. I really enjoyed it here as we were losing the light which made it perfect for taking photos. I spent ages playing with a slow shutter speed to get that water silky smooth, and admittedly we made little ripples in the water to get a good shot. I'm really proud of them!

The temperature really dropped while we were at The Temple of Debod and it was around 7pm so we decided to head back to our hotel, have a little chill out time and then find a local restaurant for dinner. We arrived back at around 8ish and M got comfy. Very comfy... he finally woke up about half ten and, although the local restaurants were open until midnight and 1am repectively, none of us could be bothered to move after a long day's exploring!

Instead we did some reading about what we are going to do tomorrow, attempted (and failed) to get a VPN working to watch Jericho on ITV player (I will watch it tomorrow on a streaming site instead... Hans Matheson... mmm mmm!) and, at M's request, another couple of episodes of Dr Quinn!! Brilliant.



You may be wondering what on earth the title for today's blog is all about. Well M and I both have our netbooks with us, both running Linux. Both have Android (Linux) phones and I have my Nexus 7 tablet and watch, both Android (Linux). Safe to say we're not really Windows fans. Sadly this took a physical turn and we are now in a room across the hall because we attempted to open the window in our room to let some air in just before bed... it let loads of air in and wouldn't close!! Bit of a disaster but we were moved swiftly and now settled down to sleep. Windows and Linux fans do not mix! ;)

Lots of things planned for tomorrow and a very late night thanks to Window Gate(s) (see what I did there?!).

Hasta Manana!

Photosphere of the Palace grounds

Photoshpehre inside the Palace, amazing ceiling!!

iEstoy Viajando con mi Esposa!

We have arrived!!

The day started around midnight on Monday when M arrived at mine, I was busy filling in a job application and watching the Anaheim Ducks win against the Calgary Flames (wooo!!!). We were planning not to go to sleep because we has to get up so very early and spent a few hours settling down with Dr. Quinn on (I've been turning M into a Dr. Quinn fan!), we made it through the first four episodes of Season two (watched in the correct viewing order, not the order it was aired... because I'm a fussy nerd like that!! Despite our best efforts we snuggled down on the bed in my Den and fell swiftly to sleep for an hour!!


We were rudely awoken at around 0430 by our set alarms and wearily piled in for breakfast burritos
(recipe below!) at 5am. Once we were adequately fed and watered we picked up our belongings and went to catch the peasant wagon to the Airport. The only good thing about living near the airport is that its only £1.60 to get a bus right up to the terminal, sadly this also means that all public transport links go to the airport and not through my village, and the bus stops at about 2300 and doesn't start again until 0543 meaning our options for a night out in London are limited to an extortionate taxi fare home!

Felt a bit like The Beatles... but not as much as
when I was in China wandering to a charter jet
 (same as used by private jets) with guitar in hand!

We arrived at the airport at around 0550 and, thanks to some generous fast track passes that were donated to the cause, were through security baggage by 0630! Just in time to have a wander through the revamped terminal. A little tidbit of information here: When I was 18 I had a job working at Wetherspoons airside in Stansted Airport, I LOVED that job and the folks that worked there and had a great time. That was, however, 10 years ago and my goodness how the terminal had changed!! It is entirely unrecognisable and so very easy to lose my barings!! The Windmill Bar has changed completely and looks nothing like it did when i worked there at all, so very strange!!

Memories!!

We stopped in for a drink and then headed down to gate 45 for our flight. Luckily no-one questioned me about my rather large "one personal bag" or the fact that my tripod renders my carry-on bag too tall, so thankfully we were right through and on the plane in no time!

and we're off!!

Settled down in time to hear the Captain state that the journey to Madrid would be "bumpy" and boy was he right! For the entire flight there seemed to be turbulence! I did wave to my house on the flight over (although, truthfully I'm not sure if it was my house!) and I think we flew over Jersey...or possibly Guernsey... or possibly the Isle of Wight?! I can hear my dad singing a song about the IoW right now that I won't share with you!!

Start as you mean to go on: with food!

We touched down in Madrid with a fairly pleasant landing and passed thorough customs in record time (despite having a near miss where my bag got caught on the escalator and almost pulled me over the side!), ready to navigate the Metro to our hotel. We've picked up a tourist travel card for three days that gives us access to unlimited use of public transport in the Madrid area, this will be really useful and, as it runs out on Thursday and we fly home Friday, we're planing on being a bit lazy and hopping in a taxi to the airport Friday morning!

I am so proud of this photo...

Its the first time, as an adult, I've been on the underground service in another country and I was really surprised to note that it smelled exactly like London... minus the piss! It was easy to navigate too, although the Madrid Metro has numbers (line 1, 2, 3, etc) rather than names (Central, Circle, Victoria, etc). Getting to our hotel was a doddle too, we're about a 15 minute walk from a metro station!

I'm please to report that our hotel is LOVELY! We've pad around 30E (can;t find the Euro sign..) a night and were expecting just above hotel standard, but we've actually got a really nice hotel that is above Premier Inn standard! It also has A BATH!! <3

Few hours kip in the hotel and it was off to find some food, what do you eat while you're in Spain? Japanese Sushi of course! It was an interesting experience trying desperately to order from a Japanese lady who spoke Spanish and precious little English, my appealingly bad Spanish helped us through with a lot of pointing, hand signals (the polite ones) and nods... we wont mention the fact that we ordered off of the Valentines menu... We finished off our food by heading over the road from our Hotel to the Irish Pub! Such cultured people we are!!

Back at the hotel by midnight and, after a long day, there was only one thing to do... plug in M's harddrive to the smart TV and watch an episode of Dr. Quinn before bed!

Tomorrow we plan to head into town and see a few of the tourist sights, more selfies to come I promise!!

Buenas noches mis amigos!

We're off to Sunny Spain!

It's 2016!!

2015 was a bit crap for various reasons, with some good highlights, so this year is going to be really awesome.

I've decided to do some more travelling this year, as I feel like I need to see more of the world. You see loads of things across the media about this country and that country and this and that... I sit and wonder is it really like that? Are people really like that? With that in mind I thought now is probably the best time to get up and find out! I figured that, although I'm earning ok, I am never realistically going to be able to move out on my own unless its in rented accommodation, and even that will have to be some hideous house share, and I can't do that again! So might as well put my earnings towards some fantastic trips, only thing to do was to get a new passport, which The Old Lady and The old man kindly brought for me for my birthday!

By the way... I have nothing against Australia,
and do plan to visit...
but it looks like my pin fell out!

Over the next few years (or until life takes another massive change) I plan to travel the world, go to as many different countries and experience as many different cultures as I can. I'm hoping to be able to take photos of different places and get some new perspective. I realise everyone says that but you never know. anything will be new to me and that's what's important!

M booking our trip,
while I watched the ice hockey!
COME ON ANAHEIM!!

With that in mind: first stop is Spain! I know its not a particularly adventurous destination for you seasoned travellers out there, but I'm going with one of my very dear friends, M, and his passport runs out in a few months so we're stuck with the EU and I was told "I have a drawer of Euros, so pick somewhere in the Eurozone". After spending a few hours scouring Google, Trip Advisor, TravelSupermarket and eventually booking with Expedia (never do that by the way, they are liars...) we've booked or trip to Madrid.

I've got half term off ( 13th-21st Feb) off so we're visiting Madrid between 16th-19th, flying home on the 19th and going to visit the Sausages (they know who they are!) at the weekend. Sorted. :)
 Naturally, being me, I've packed and repacked about 5 times so far, and we have no check-in baggage allowance with Ryanair, but I think I'm sticking with this list:

1. Clothes
- undies
- 2 string vests
- 1 pair leggings
- 1 pair skinny jeans
- 1 pair PJ trousers
- 1 t-shirt
- 4 Tops (2 double as nice going out tops)
- 1 pair of flat shoes
- 1 long cardigan
- 4x socks
wearing: skinny jeans, comfy top, hoodie, scarf, & jacket


2. Liquids
(never quite sure how far their "liquids" policy goes, do balms count s liquid? What about solid perfume?)
- hand sanitiser
- face wash
- shampoo
- eye drops (contact lenses, these are essential!)
- lip balm
- solid perfume
- foundation (in a mini pot!)
- solid deodorant (home-made, in a mini pot)
- benefit travel mascara (amazing..)
- first aid balm (home-made, goes everywhere with me!)
- all-purpose soap (Lifeventure, in a smaller bottle)
- blush (Maybelline the mousse one, really nice!)
- sleepy time balm
- toothpaste (in the contact lenses pot!)
- moisturiser (home-made, in a mini pot)


3. Flight Essentials
(its only 2.5hr flight, but I'm not planning to sleep beforehand, so might as well try to sleep on the plane!)
- passport & tickets etc in their own under-clothes-carrier thing
- neck pillow
- eye mask
- earplugs (also in case M snores in the hotel!)
- mini eggs
- Green and Blacks milk chocolate (delicious!) 


4. Makeup & Toiletries
- Gelert giant travel towel (never quite trust hotel towels...)
- make-up bag (from Primark, isn't it cute!)
- MUA face palette (enough for bronzer, highlighter and a few different neutral and dark eye shadows)
- mini brushes (both eco tools and Primark, eco tools are the best)
- bronzer and powder (in contact lens case which isn't shown)
- mirror compact
- make-up remover pads (from Primark, so small..)
- 4 hair bands
- tweezers
- fold down toothbrush
- antibacterial wipes (for the plane...)
- toiletry bag to hold it all, in cammo obviously!


5. Travel Book & Organiser
- Travel book (I've been slowly filling this in over the past few weeks and will continue to as I travel the world)
- Organiser (this is great, has space for notes and a few zip up compartments, data is still expensive in EU so I might have to actually remember to write things down rather than rely On Google...)
- Pink satchel to hold books and pen!


6. Backpack & Bags
- borrowing Teapot's 40ltr backpack as mine was too tall for Ryanair...
- big blue handbag (JUST in Ryanair's "plus" bag size...)
- Tripod (technically too tall for Ryanair... we'll see if they complain...)
- Selfie stick and remote! Had to be done....
- 3 pack down shopping bags (one is a backpack style... this is a hang over from Scotland where bags were 5p, this rule also came into the UK in October... and I'm cheap)
- Water To Go bottle in the pocket (or at least it will be when I can find it...)


7. TECH
(here's where I packed too much I'm sure...I can't help being a gadget fan who hates being bored...)
- Nexus 6P phone
- spare phone (hopefully my Nexus 5, with a sim card from 3 so I can have data connection... hotel has free Wifi and we have the BT wifi password too!)
- 10" netbook
- Nexus 7 tablet
- DS lite & M3 card
- 3.5" Chinese mini tablet (its cute! It also plays video and takes a 32GB card)
- mp3 player (arrived in the post today!)
- 3 portable batteries (2 of which are solar)
- 3 EU travel adaptors
- 2 USB plugs
- 1 USB Type-C plug (for my phone... thanks Google for being such a great innovator that no-one has caught up yet)
- bluetooth speaker
- Headphones
- Moto 360 charger
- a shitload of leads and adaptors for various devices


8. Camera
- Pentax K-50
- 18-55mm kit lens
- another lens (I think its 70-300mm but can't remember. Really lovely vintage manual lens!)
- a few filters
- 2SD cards (32GB)
- remote shutter release control
- battery charger


I am clearly over packed for 4 days... but at least it fits into two bags for the flight!! I've read loads of those "round the world trip in a carry on" crap articles and every time I'm like WHERE IS YOUR TECH?!?

As usual, feel free to comment... and wish us luck!!!