This morning started on a sad note when Erica and I drove David and Julian to the airport. David received a message from the airline saying he should be there 4 hours before departure. We were in disbelief and left Erica’s place 3 hours before the flight was due to leave. The drive to the airport was easy and check in went quickly. Before Erica and I got home I got a text from David saying they were through security and ready to board an hour and 45 minutes prior to departure. So much for needing to arrive 4 hours early.
With things being so hot we were hesitant to do anything but “chill” at home. I was getting hungry so we headed out to get some food. After filling my tummy we decided to take the metro to a get together that Erica had heard about. It was a musical event hoping to raise money for people affected by the recent 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Colombia. As soon as we arrived I knew this wasn’t for me. There were loud drums and I value my hearing so I stayed outside. Even outside the venue it was too loud for me. My travel partners were in agreement so we made a donation to the cause and left. As soon as we departed we were greeted with rain. It was like being back at the fountain park and it was WONDERFUL!
Back at Erica’s apartment we regained our energy by watching a movie and doing some reading. Then it was time to celebrate my birthday with a special dinner. It’s not my birthday for 2 more weeks but it’s unlikely that Erica will be in town then, so we celebrated tonight. We had an excellent meal at Los Castaños 2 [C. José Antonio Zapata, 4, Arganzuela, 28045 Madrid]. The meal was superb.
We started with alcachofas (in English, artichokes). Actually, they started us with a crab paté that was so delicious that I didn’t get a picture until there were only remnants on the plate.Rodaballo (in English, Turbot) with potatoes. Also very tasty. We shared flan (in English, flan) for dessert.
And to celebrate my birthday the waiter brought a special surprise.
My new favorite drink, Crema de Orujo
Now it’s time to pack because we are leaving tomorrow. I just received a message from the airline. They want us to arrive 4 hours prior to the flight’s scheduled departure. Hmmmm
That’s all for this trip. You won’t have wait long for my next post. Friday we leave for ……….
I awoke this morning and got out of bed with great difficulty. I checked the forecast and it said a high of 97° and a low of 77°. Out of curiosity I checked the temperature for Hermosa Beach and saw the high was expected to be 77°. As they say, “There’s no place like home”
Erica took a poll asking us what would we like to do and where we would like to go today. She made a variety of suggestions. I voted for anyplace with air conditioning. We finally agreed to go to Retiro Park. This is a beautiful park with a variety of vegetation, wildlife, and water. I’ve been there a number of times and I never tire of going there. Well maybe I would make an exception on a day as hot as today. When we arrived at the park we found out that the authorities had closed the park due to safety concerns.
Disappointed that we couldn’t tour Retiro (although we did spend some time looking at it from outside the fence) we needed a back up plan. I was already exhausted but suggested we return to the water park and the group agreed. Soon after arrival I got soaked and my attitude and energy level were completely different. It was a fun time and getting cooled down was superb.
After drying off we went to visit a new friend. A magician named Augustin who we met at the Magic Live Convention in Las Vegas earlier this month. He invited us to visit him at his home magic museum. Upon entering Augustin showed us an incredible array of magic memorabilia filling every room and hallway. Even much of his ceiling was covered. After that he gave us a very impressive 25 minute magic show. He did some great sleight of hand and card tricks. It was impressive and funny.
Here we are with our new friend, Augustin Dalvi. Notice the pen sticking through Julian’s ear.
Tomorrow will be a sad day as David and Julian will be returning home. It was so great that they could join us. I suspect tomorrow will be a boring blog day because I am looking forward to spending the entire day at the pool.
The main reason for this trip was to see our daughter Erica and the eclipse (definitely in that order). The eclipse was spectacular as was the visit with Erica. Having David and Julian along has also been a joy. Julian is just 9 years old and has been an amazing trooper. He has had to put up with horrible heat, a foreign environment, a doting grandmother, and me (no explanation needed on that one).
Since Julian has been so great we decided to devote our day to the child. Prior to returning to Madrid we went to the Museo de la Evolucion Humana (MEH for short, young people will get a laugh out of that. The joke had to be explained to me). We then had a 2+ hour drive from Burgos to Madrid which had me drained and ready for a nap.
Julian demonstrating how to enjoy a 2+ hour drive.
Just as I was about to get ready for my nap, Erica came into the room and said “We’re going to Madrid Rio Park to play in the Chorros”. I didn’t want Erica to think her dad is an idiot so I said great let’s go. After she left the room I pulled out my Spanish dictionary and saw that chorros means diarrhea. I quickly learned that chorros can also mean fountain.
The park was a short drive from Erica’s apartment and as soon as we arrived at the fountains the children immediately got in and got wet.
Do you recognize the two chidren playing in the water?Soaking wet we posed for a picture. The water felt amazing, I didn’t want to leave. I said the day would be devoted to the child but I didn’t say which one.
In spite of being soaked, just a few minutes later I was totally dry. Isn’t it interesting what 102° temperature can do? No wonder people don’t own clothes dryers in Madrid.
From there we headed to dinner at El Pimiento Verde [Calle de Castelló, 18, Salamanca, 28001 Madrid]. We’ve eaten there on previous trips. Erica reminded me that last time I said the Rape (Monkfish) was the best fish I’d ever eaten. I don’t remember that, but how could I not order something that I gave such a glowing review? The fish was for 2 so Patrice volunteered to join me. Neither one of us was disappointed.
Rape (Monkfish) with potatoes. This was the portion for 2 but if you promise not to tell anyone I think I could have eaten the whole thing myself.
I awoke early this morning and found my travel party was all still asleep except for our hostess. Erica was awake and she invited me to go on an early morning walk, which I did. The weather was delightful at 7:30 AM and we encountered some walkers and joggers. Finally we stopped for my Spanish favorite: cafe con leche and tortilla de patatas. Unfortunately the bar (aka cafe) was not very good at making either. We weren’t crazy about the food but the local birds were. Check out this video of the birds feasting on our leftovers in spite of us still sitting at the table.
When the rest of the troop awoke we discussed our plans for the day. Should we attend one of the many museums in Madrid? Should go to a park? I voted to go to the pool and chill. The water was wonderful but unfortunately there were some tiny ants that didn’t like us invading their space.
Then we headed to a local mall and bought some essentials (hair dryer, new shoes, t-shirt, I think you get the idea). Next we went for an essential in my mind………… some ice cream.
Julian got a chance to meet Erica’s dog, Wynona. See below.
Patrice, Me, David, Julian, and Erica with Wynona.
Then we had a subpar dinner that I won’t bother to discuss followed by another of my Spanish favorites… Crema de Orujo.
Yes, I do drink. But admitedly it is rare and is almost always when I am in Spain.
Chow, oh my the alcohol must be getting to me. Ciao.
As many of you know this blog started out as an email to my wonderful sister, Annette, so she could keep our mother (who was in her 90s at the time) informed of what was going on with her baby (me) while I was traveling. My incredible sister-in-law, Fayla, said “Why don’t you send the email to me because Annette doesn’t get up until ten and your mum (she’s from Australia) really wants to know what’s going on.” Then other family members wanted to know what was happening so I included them. Friends also wanted in and before I knew it I had an email going to about 30 people. At that point it became a blog and lots of others (many people I don’t even know) joined in and my travel blog was born.
At first the blog was a blast but I have to confess at times it has become a burden. Instead of chilling and enjoying a vacation I’m constantly thinking of potential blog content. Last week we went to “Magic Live” in Las Vegas. I blogged about the event last year but this year I just wanted to learn some magic (which I did) and chill with my wife. While at the convention my friend Bill, was boasting that last year he got mentioned in the blog. He seemed quite proud to the point and I felt a bit guilty about not writing about last week’s trip. Instead of writing a full blog post I can sum up the trip very briefly 1. Great magic shows and lessons (I learned a lot of new tricks), 2. Great breakfasts at Blueberry Hill, (with Bill and his son, Bill II), 3. And a stay at the Orleans hotel (a total dump where we had cold water in the shower day 1 and lukewarm days 2 and 3).
That brings us to our current trip. Patrice and I are headed to Spain to see another total eclipse of the Sun. We are accompanied by our eclipse expert (our son, David) and his youngest child, Julian. The eclipse will be fun (this will be our 3rd) but the main attraction for me is seeing our youngest child, Erica. The only child missing is our daughter, Lindsay who is busy at home taking care of her son and making our 5th grandson (due in October). Of course it would also be great to have Robyn, Robby, Owen, Charlie, and Jesse but they have other obligations.
The flight to Madrid was a success because David and Julian joined us in LA for the trip to España. The flight was very pleasant with an amazing Iberia flight crew. When breakfast was brought to us I asked if they had hot chocolate. The attendant (Christina) said no, but then said, “But I have some hot chocolate mix in my purse” I was awestruck by this kind offer but in spite of my repeatedly saying no, no, no she brought it to me anyway. It was delicious.
A scarey looking me with my hot chocholate thanks to the wonderful Iberia Airlines flight attendant, Christina.
The best part of the trip of course was seeing Erica at the airport. We had to wait over an hour for our luggage. When we last visited her in December we had to wait about 45 minutes for our luggage. The take home lesson is take carry on to Madrid or go elsewhere. As I said, Erica picked us up at the airport. Yes, she now owns a car. We will be staying in her apartment. Yes, she now owns an apartment. She is taking some vacation time from her job to be with us. Yes, she now has a permanent position at the Irish embassy. Yes, it looks like we’ve lost our daughter to España.
I am finishing up the blog and it is about 9:30 pm here. It looks like it’s mid day in LA. Tonight, sunset is 9:20 pm in Madrid.
View from Erica’s apartment
As you can see from the picture Erica has a pool. The heat is oppressive here (high today in Madrid 97° but only 77° in Hermosa Beach). We hung out by the pool and went for a brief swim. Erica impressed us by swimming the length of the pool underwater. I showed her that her old man could do the same while her young friend, Aparna, failed in her attempt. I only mentioned this because we played a game of Rummikub and Aparna wanted me to make sure to tell my followers that she kicked our butts at the game.
That’s enough for tonight. I am starting to fade. Hopefully I can get a decent night’s sleep and be ready to go tomorrow. I want to have plenty of energy because we have big plans. I would tell you what those are, but the actual truth is I don’t have a clue what we are doing.
Today it is time to go home. I am happy to get back into my own comfy surroundings but it is very hard to leave our baby daughter behind. Here are a series of photos that will hopefully bring a smile to your face.
Not quite sure what farton chocolate is or how it tastes and with a name like that I am not sure I want to try it.I appreciate the effort toward recycling but possibly the people of Madrid need better aim.We were on the Christmas train (Line 3; the Yellow Line of the metro). I love this photo.Should I bring these pens to my tattoo removal volunteer gig?The entire city is decorated for Christmas, I particularly like this drawing of the 3 wise men in the metro.This warning at El Rastro is very much appreciated even if the grammar isn’t. I agree with this sentiment. I saw it on the way out because previously I had been on my phone (JUST KIDDING!)Eric was upset, no pictures of the dogs from El Perro y la Galleta restaurant. So here you are.Cigarette machine. Something we saw in multiple restaurants. So happy we don’t see them in the US any longer. If they are still in the US, I haven’t seen any. I remember there used to be one in the stairwell at Centinela Hospital. Can I confess now, that I used to unplug it?Last photo of the trio this trip. I’m NOT CRYING (yet)
I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as we did. Our next trip is not scheduled as yet but it might be sooner than you think.
Today was our last full day in Madrid with our wonderful daughter, Erica. Every moment with her is a delight because we see her so infrequently. When we leave tomorrow it will be very difficult for me.
But let’s focus on today because it appears I’m on the verge of stardom. It seems as if Erica’s colleagues have not subscribed to the blog yet but another person who I don’t know did. At this rate of growth I only need to blog for about another 70 years to make this thing profitable.
I did get an exciting pat on the back yesterday in regards to my blog. I was notified by a neurologist consultant, that one of my favorite patients, Irv, would be having emergency spine surgery last night. I messaged him to see how he was doing and let him know that I was aware of the problem. Irv confirmed that he was in the hospital about to have surgery and asked me how the Madrid swimming pool fishing was going. OMG! Someone about to have emergency surgery is reading my blog? How could I be more thrilled?
Prior to leaving on our trip, Patrice and I were experimenting with an AI program called Grok. We asked it if it was familiar with the famous blogger named Robert Reiss. It said YES! It proceeded to tell about our recent trip to New York City. That is information it could only have gotten from my blog. I’M FAMOUS! I’M FAMOUS! Before I get too excited let me back up and say it got a couple of facts wrong. It said we went to NYC to celebrate my birthday (we were actually going as a celebration of Patrice’s birthday) and that I was celebrating my 90th. I’m happy to report although my age is more than I care to admit, 90 is quite a way off. It reported Patrice’s age as 46. Nothing more will be said about that statement. I asked if it knew if the famous blogger did any other work and it correctly stated I was a doctor for UCLA health. It said we have one child (off by two) whose name is Lindsay (that is correct). When I told it that the famous blogger actually has three children it replied that I was correct (thank you for that affirmation) and their names are Amanda and Andrew. Erica and David, welcome to your new names and Patrice, relax, I don’t have a secret family.
Breakfast today was at a place recommend by one of Patrice’s friends. Patrice promised to reimburse me if I didn’t like the meal. What is wrong with that picture? Cafe Murillo (Calle de Ruiz de Alarcón, 27, Retiro, 28014 Madrid) is located next to the Murillo entrance for the Prado (a famous museum which we have been to multiple times). The restaurant opens at 12 pm but online we could only get a reservation for 1 pm so we went early hoping to be seated. We arrived at 12 and told our greeter that we had a reservation for 1. She smiled at us and asked “Americanos?”
The restaurant was beautiful. Patrice and Erica shared an eggplant parmesan which was small but they liked it very much. I had the “huevos rotos” (broken eggs) which looked beautiful but was a bit disappointing. For dessert we had chocolate fondant (also known as chocolate lava cake). It was served with a scoop of ice cream and this was something I would tell all my patients to avoid. It was superb.
Eggplant Parmesan Broken EggsChocolate Fondant with ice cream. Yes, amazing.
We then toured the Real Jardin Botanico (Royal Botanical Garden). It was lovely. I especially liked the bonsai plants. I also liked the free entry, as a professor, even more.
Bonsai that reminds me of the sculpture in Sol.
This is my favorite photo from the garden.
The three of us in the Botanical Garden green house.
After a rest at the hotel we decided our final dinner in Madrid should be a Spanish traditional meal. So we took a vote between paella, cocido, Jamon Iberica and finally decided on Indian food.
Tomorrow we head for home. As usual I will finish our trip with a series of photos that I found interesting and hopefully you will too.
We got an early start today (leaving the hotel at about 11:30) to get something to eat. Breakfast looked much better than it tasted here are two photos for Claudette’s enjoyment.
Patrice had the omelette. Jamón, tomato, and toast for me.
Following lunch, (oops I meant breakfast. I got confused because we ate at noon, the traditional breakfast time for Spaniards) and headed to look at an apartment with Erica. I was very uncomfortable because some of the jamón from breakfast was stuck between my teeth. We didn’t have time to go back to the hotel so I made a quick stop at a pharmacy to get some floss. When I saw they wanted 8 € for a small container of floss my tooth discomfort was almost completely relieved. We later found some floss at a supermercado (supermarket) for about 2 € and my faith in the Spanish system was renewed.
Erica seemed to like the apartment we saw today so we visited a bank to see if she could get a hipoteca (mortgage). At the bank we learned she could get a mortgage at a 2.5% annual rate. I then interrupted the conversation and said “Forget about Erica, can you help ME refinance my house?” The banker gave me a rather curious look. I supposed it was because they don’t do mortgages for properties in the USA. I asked Erica and she said that was not the case, it was because my Spanish is not very good. Apparently, instead of asking about a mortgage I asked if the fishing is good in Madrid swimming pools.
This afternoon we were the honored guests at the Irish Embassy Christmas party. Actually, we were invited to attend after they finished eating. Apparently Erica told them if I was invited for the meal they would have to increase the party budget. It was great meeting her coworkers because they all seem to love Erica. I never tire of hearing how wonderful my children are. I also met some of Erica’s colleagues who were very interested in my blog and promised to become followers. They seemed like two wonderful people with whom I’m very pleased to share our travels and I say welcome to Patrick and Tamzin. They each agreed to get 1,000 of their closest friends to sign on as followers so I can make this a second career.
Next we headed to one of my favorite places to eat in Madrid, El Brillante (Plaza del Emperador Carlos V, 8, Centro, 28012 Madrid). This place is famous for their calamari sandwiches and the waiters who yell at each other.
The waiter spotted us as Americans and handed us the menu with pictures. Look at all the yummy choices we had. See below.
This is why you come to Spain, you just can’t get a great fried pig ear in L.A.Lamb intestines are also a tough item to find.
I also had a choice of pig stomach but even those the above items were temping but I opted for the bocadillo (sandwich) they call, “El Brillante”, the same name as the restaurant. It is fried calamari and absolutely delicious.
After eating we went to the Madrid Comedy Lab for a comedy show. I hope you are impressed that my Spanish is good enough to enjoy a comedy show in Madrid. Unfortunately I need to confess that it was all in English.
Tomorrow is our last full day in Madrid. If you don’t think it will be tough for me since we will soon be leaving our dear baby, then you don’t know me.
We had a wonderful day with Erica yesterday. We looked at another apartment which was a bit of a disappointment but had a great time going for wonderful meals, visiting the Matisse exhibition, and of course dealing with my toes. I failed to report about our after-dinner visit to Retiro park. For those not familiar with Madrid, El Retiro “The Retreat” is a real treasure. Besides its unusual beauty it adds special holiday lighting during the Xmas season. Erica was excited to share this with us. Dinner was at a restaurant across the street from the park so after a brief walk we were treated to a beautiful show. We stopped for a quick photo as we planned to circle the display and then return to the hotel.
You can see part of the Xmas light display behind us. I am sure you will agree this is very special.
As we came to the end of the display a security guard drove rather close to us and gave me a bit of a startle. We continued our stroll, then suddenly all the display lights turned off. At that point we started to walk toward the exit. Before we got to where we entered we were told by another tourist that the gate was closed and we had to find another place to leave the park. So we then started towards the metro exit. Before we could get to the metro station we met 4 tourists from Belgium who let us know the metro exit was locked. Erica said let’s try the Atocha exit. She seemed confident that we would be able to leave the park at that location but I was nervous about possibly being forced to spend the night in the park. We then picked up 3 Spanish speaking women who seemed more interested taking pictures than finding a way out of the park. Next we met a French student doing a study abroad year She seemed very grateful to Erica for apparently leading her to safety. I wasn’t as confident. Finally, all 8 of us, (we and our new found friends) made it to the Atocha gate and were able to exit the park and get back to our hotel. The whole event was a bit traumatic but will make for a funny story one day (hopefully today). Later, Patrice read about some tourists who got stuck in the park for two hours looking for an exit after closing hours. I suppose by comparison we were very lucky.
With the trauma of last night behind us, we spent today mostly looking at apartments for Erica and………. eating. Both are very fun activities for me.
A little travel tip that most of you probably already know, but maybe will help one of you. Years ago, prior to travel you would need to get local currency prior to boarding your plane at home. Now that is totally unnecessary. You will find that pretty much every merchant will take your credit card (I recommend using Apple Pay) for reimbursement. You might want some local cash for small purchases (for a dollar or two). When you use your credit card you will be asked if you want the merchant to charge you in the local currency (in Spain, it is the Euro) or US Dollars. ALWAYS choose the local currency. You will get a much better exchange rate from your bank than from the merchant. For example today we had a lunch that cost us 44.05 €. The merchant option was to pay $56.01. The conversion of 44.05 € using Google was $52.22. I was charged $51.88 on my credit card.
We are headed to a late dinner now so I will check in with you again tomorrow.
Love those comments. Please keep messaging me so I know I am not just writing to myself.
We are staying at the AC Carlton for the umpteenth time. Sorry I don’t recall the number of times we have stayed here but it is a lot. Its main attraction has been that it is near Erica’s apartment. We actually have one of the nicest rooms we’ve ever had here. Typically we have had a tiny shower and small room. This time the room and shower are very spacious. I don’t know if this has been true in the past but downstairs they have free coffee and small pastries in the morning. So this morning we opted for this new discovery of a “healthy” breakfast.
We then met Erica for a special outing. Erica has raved about her “podóloga” (foot care specialist). All my close friends know that I run for one hour four times a week. This is great for my heart but not so great for my toes. So we went to see Irene (same name as my dear mama but born about 80 years later). Erica had told us how wonderful she is and that she would transform my feet. Irene inspected my feet, opened her eyes wide, took a deep breath and then got right to work. Twenty minutes later I was a new man. My toes look and feel so much better. Irene suggested I should come back every 2 months or stop running. I have some “before and after” pictures of my toes but Patrice and Erica said, “Don’t you dare post those pictures, they are DISGUSTING”. This picture was deemed acceptable.
From right to left, Erica, Irene, guy who previously had disgusting toes.
We then headed to the Matisse exhibition at the Caixa Forum. It was advertised as costing 6 euros per person but free if you are less than 16 years old or if you have an account at Caixa bank. We didn’t qualify for either but the cashier stated if you are a professor you can get in free. So I pulled out my UCLA card indicating my academic appointment and voila, I was admitted for free and my spouse was admitted as well. We still had to pay for Erica but what a lovely surprise. The museum was first class. If you have been following the blog you know that means the toilet had a seat. The exhibit was first class as well.
Matisse self portrait.
After resting up back at the hotel, we went for a wonderful dinner at El Perro y la Galleta (Calle de Claudio Coello, 1, Salamanca, Madrid). Erica has set up meals for the Irish ambassador and other dignitaries to meet. If it is good enough for them we had to give it a try. We had an excellent dinner. We also had an interesting group sitting near us. There were 3 women speaking Spanish and one of the ladies had a dog sitting on her lap.
I don’t want to bore you with too many food pictures. So I will limit tonight to this one photo of Tarta de Queso Cremoso con dulce de leche. This is in honor of blog follower, Eric, who frequently asks for pictures of desserts.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 