Madrid
and Segovia
November 2000
"Thanksgiving"
Tony and I have no children of our own, so we like to borrow one occasionally. So far, we have only been able to borrow ones that are related to us. Possibly because relatives are the only people not afraid to trust us with their children. For several years now, we have been planning a "kid" trip around the Thanksgiving holiday. We like to take the kids to Europe to expose them to other cultures. Previous trips have included taking my nephew Jonathan to Germany, my nephew Jared to Italy, and my niece Lauren to Paris. This year it was Jon's turn. We usually try to travel with friends who have children in the same age group so that we will have some experienced parents along in case we have questions.
When we travel to Europe on stand-by, we always look for flights that have plenty of available business class seats, but we always warn the kids that we may not get to sit in business class. When we got our boarding cards for business class for the flight to Madrid, I just handed Jon's to him and didn't comment. When we boarded the plane, I pointed out Jon's seat in business class, but he didn't believe me and tried to continue to the coach section. He was amazed at the plush accomodations and equally pleased to be seated next to another (very attractive) novice flyer. I had to explain to both of them that the items listed on their menu were free!
Soccer is huge in Europe. Jon and the other kids we were traveling with enjoyed several pick-up games in piazzas and parks around Madrid.
Jon and some of the others bought paintings from street vendors at Plaza Mayor.
Rain didn't dampen our spirits while we shopped. All of my sister's children LOVE to shop!
Small portions of appetizers called tapas are a favorite in Spain. There was restaurant on the ground floor of our hotel where we enjoyed several rounds of tapas.
There was no shortage of churches, castles and beautiful scenery on our trip.
Jon, the shopper, was barely able to get all of his possesions on the plane for the return home (again in business class, and again, next to a pretty girl!). His most prized souvenirs were "djembes" (2 of them!). A djembe is a huge and very heavy wooden drum. He didn't want to check them for fear that they would be damaged, so he carried them on. They wouldn't fit into the overhead compartment, so he had to sweet talk the flight attendant to get her to store them in the coat closet for him.
