Shenanigans Crossing Borders

Vered and Elyce were flying back home because Vered’s best friend was becoming Bat Mitzvah, and Vered wanted to be there.

The airport in Madrid is HUGE! We thought we arrived with plenty of time, little did we know we would have to go down 4 sets of escalators, take a tram to another section of the terminal we were in and show our passports many, many times. And go to the far end of the terminal. Of course we are at the far end, we are always at the far end.

Wait which passport?? Which line do we go in? The airport staff sent us to a line that was almost non-existent (are we really supposed to be in this line?). Yes, yes we are, it’s a family line. You read that correctly, Spain has separate lines for security purposes just for families. No rushing, no making people behind you angry because you are traveling with children, just a calm line where people care to help.

We are traveling on our German passports since landing in December so it made sense that was to be used. Of course it was, up until we boarded our plane. Holding them in my hand, they sent us out of the boarding group line and to the desk. Not sure why, but it was nothing major they just looked at our US passports, told me to use them and sent us onto the plane. Okay!

We had a rather uneventful flight, which we are not complaining about. Elyce watched 3 movies, Vered watched 4. We watched one or two of them “together” on our own seat back screens. However, Elyce fell asleep and Vered did not. The airplane food was actually edible and was enjoyed.

CTA for the win! Why spend lots of money when you can spend less than $5 to get from O’Hare home? It was a little chilly outside but we brought sunshine back with us. So we were okay, besides we knew our winter jackets were in the house.

Not sure which one of us was happier to get an Ezra hug.

Unfortunately, Ezra had a double ear infection and was feeling blah the first few days we were home. However it meant we got more time with him, since he was not going to work.

Mayrav also flew home today. Vered was very excited to not only have time with both of her older sisters but to go to the climbing gym. What a lucky girl. 🙂

So the 4 of us were home together. (some how I didn’t take a photo)

Back in Spain, JP is now solely responsible for the youngest Jawas!

AAs FTW!

Since it was only about 10 in the morning, they decided to drive into Madrid and find the synagogue, some food, and maybe something culturally interesting.

The airport is a massive complex, and about 45 minutes from downtown, and downtown itself is a massive web of above and below ground roads. Thank goodness for GPS, but still, the city is a large sprawl of new and old, streets that weave in and out of neighborhoods, construction that sometimes appears to be at a standstill, while other times traffic that flows faster than the Niagara falls.

Driving around the city, we couldn’t find parking (it was our first time here), and 1 garage actually told us our minivan was too big. He was very apologetic and helped me reverse out of the alley (only about 20m), and we discovered that the hospital has parking for larger vehicles. Not only that, the garage also has relatively clean bathrooms, so:

PITSTOP!

Next we walked a few blocks and found the Communidad Judia de Madrid (aka the Madrid Jewish Community), and asked some questions about nearby food, sabbath requirements, et al. The security here is pretty tight, and we will have to share passports if we want to come back. Most likely it will have to wait until everyone is back, because finding a hotel or airbnb in the neighborhood for a shabbat isn’t easy or cheap!

Leaving the synagogue, we found a couple of kosher options, including the local kosher store. They had sausages, chicken, wine, soup, candy, meat, etc. We got a little of this and some of that in preparation for Shabbat and upcoming meals.

We next walked around the neighborhood, found a cute little restaurant that was only just opening up. The owner invited us in, and was very sweet as we ordered a simple meal, talked about the global and local politics, and the world at large.

After a lovely little lunch, we returned to the car, drove through Madrid and saw some amazing sculptures and statues, then headed back to our home in Recas.

The house has a trampoline, so the girls unwound for a bit jumping, playing games, and getting used to the house, while JP got setup for working, and comfortable with the house. The dogs got to run around the yard and really get a feel for the space.

He also made pizza dough for the first time ever, and did pretty well. Everyone ate well!

Buenos noches!