MADRID!!

Home Sweet Home!!
April led me to Madrid during Semana Santa!

I was invited to speak at an international training about student travel. Of course I jumped at the chance - going to Madrid is like going home for me. I'm a Madrid girl :)

Had decent flights over - straight shot out of Chicago. Made my way to the hotel - great locale - and then headed into center city.
It was SUCH a gorgeous day in Madrid that I wandered thru Retiro Park, saw the Crystal Palace - something new for me.

Hit up Reina Sofia and just spend hours wandering. Rarely do the kids & I get down there to see it, let alone have time to just wandered. Guernica always fascinates me...

Took a stroll thru Puerta del Sol after tapas & sangria in Plaza Mayor.


Real Madrid played Barcelona while we were in Madrid - what a great match! Didn't dare head down to Cibeles for the celebration, but watched much of it on TV. Had to head up to the stadium the next morning.


Here I am with my trusted side-kick, Bob. Red Bus Rules!

Caught a break on the rainy Madrid weather and had a pit stop thru my house...or the Royal Palace. Home sweet Home!

After the grand tour of Madrid, we headed south, in the drizzling rain, to the gorgeous town of Toledo, a walled city surrounded by a moat...gorgeous! Had another fantastic guide, Carlos, and even saw Fernando (he's amazing!). Here's the amazing Red Bus after the skies had cleared up.

A trip to Toledo would not be complete without a stop at the Damascene Factory for some Toledo gold... or to find my knight in shining armor... he's a hard man to track down!!

After our presentation afternoon, we had some free time to wander around... so we headed down to the heart of the city - in the background is the post office/communications building.

Luckily the rains had stopped and we grabbed some yummy Magnum ice cream bars and chilled in Retiro park, people watching... felt sad for the Balloon lady who got run off by the cops since she didn't have a permit.
Fran, Nichole, Courtney & I waiting for Sam near the Fallen Angel statue - one of 3 Satan statues in the world...yet no one knew where the other 2 were located...

We did Flamenco that night - was at a different locale than where we saw it in June. Was amazing! Afterwards, I needed to hit the Hard Rock to pick up a couple gifts...course I couldn't go by myself, so Sam & Bob became my bodyguards and off we went! They're such troopers!!

And, just like that, it was time to go home...or back to the States... Fran was our amazing TD and took such good care of us!
All in all, it was an amazing week in Madrid! Weather was spotty, but tolerable. Met some amazing people on our Rockin' Red Bus and got to talk travel - a girl can't ask for much more!

The amazing Red Bus Staff:

Fran, Bob, Chris, Sam, Courtney, Nichole, & I
Thanks for a great weekend, amigos!

CHINA!!

So, this is a tad late, but I guess better late than never!

This was my first Spring Break trip ever- I know, hard to believe, huh!?!? Well, what a great reason to take a trip but to see the nephews!

My brother was transferred to China in August - my sis-in-law & 2 nephews went over in January to stay for 6 months. Going from seeing them once a week to not seeing them for 6 months was unacceptable, so my cousin Amy & I booked tickets to see them during my Spring Break in March. Above is a picture from the airport - Jack was sooooo excited to see me - Will just kept looking at me, waving & saying "Hi Tep-Tep!" Too cute....


After dropping bags off at our awesome hotel, we hit Hard Rock for dinner and then saw a Chinese acrobatic show - amazing!


Next day we hired a local guide to take us around. We couldn't go into Tienanmen Square because a bunch of big-whigs were in town. We went thru the Forbidden City, which was so informative having a guide take us thru...and no one got lost this time! :)

Weather was a complete 180 from July. July was miserably hot & humid - lots of sweat. March - quite chilly - even saw a frozen waterfall. Froze going up the Great Wall, so sadly didn't ride the luge down...next time!

Got to visit the boys' school. They both attend an International School. Jack was having lunch when we went to get Will - he was one of the few without noodles for lunch - lol :)

Jack's birthday is May 16, but we celebrated on March 16. No birthday is complete without a cake & candles. :) I brough a whole suitcase full of goodies for the boys - it was like Christmas! :)

Just like at home, we kicked Eric & Lori out so we could have date night... and no date night is complete without Pizza!!! (although we had to pay for the taxi ride for the delivery girl - weird!)

One afternoon we went for leg massages...heavenly... they started with this warm tea bath, followed by a scalp massage and then the leg/foot massage...sigh...

We did a city tour of Beijing - hit Olympic Park, Birds Nest, Water Cube - places I missed in July.

A trip to China would not be complete without some shopping. Behind that door on the left was a shoppers paradise: purses, Ugs, CDs, etc... They only let in foreigners - not sure if they're knock-offs or if they 'fell' off the truck...who cares - I got a nice Coach for $15 - Lori stocked up.

Our last stop was Temple of Heave Park - it is so much bigger than when I was there in July. We had time to wander this time - was a gorgeous, peaceful place. We would have stayed longer, but we had to get out of the city. Beijing regulates who can drive in the city and on what days. Friday was the day we had to be out by 5 pm.

Was sad to say good bye to the boys, but they'll be back in June. Sadly they come home two days after I leave for Europe, so won't see them until the end of June. No worries - we'll make up for lost time. Aunt Steph dates nights to the rescue!!


Since I have Premier Executive status with United, we got free passes into the business class lounge - yeah, that's how I roll!! :)

What an awesome trip! Here's my great travel companion, Cousin Amy!