ten on twednesday - spain edition

So I had big ideas that I would catch up with reading blogs, facebook, email and write a blog post last night after the girls went to bed - all while catching up on grey's anatomy. Well out of all of those things, I only got to catch up with greys. Leah was cuddled in my arms - she most likely has an ear infection and we are off to dr this morning.

1. I just got back from an amazing vacation in Spain with my husband. It was so nice/weird to not have my sleep/meals/conversations interrupted by little girls. I downloaded my photos and hope to get them up today.

2. One thing I loved about this trip to spain was seeing the current generation of daddies. They were SO hands on. They pushed strollers, fed bottles, walked the criers, had special rollerblading dates and more. It is possible that because I lived in a smaller town and not a big city when I was there (13 years ago!), I saw the macho side of the men of Spain. I am oversimplifying obviously but food and children seemed like woman's work.

3. Spanish families have to coolest strollers. I have stroller envy.

4. In Spain, you are not cool if you do not have knee high boots or converse all-stars. I alas am not very cool. (off to target to rectify!)

5. I need tried and true recipes for patatas bravas and tortilla espanola. Can I buy manchego cheese and iberian ham here in the US (more specifically in CT)? I am definitely checking out the olive bar at the grocery store next time I go. And lastly, I had some great gazpacho...I forgot how good it was. And I have successfully made some yummy gazpacho...off to find my recipe.

6. I showed Hannah a few photos of Spain on the LCD of my camera. When she saw the photo of the alcazar (castle) in Segovia, she looked at me and slightly disturbed asked me if we went to Disney World. :) To her credit, our tour book said that it is rumored that Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland was designed after this stunning castle.

7. If you ever go to Spain, the metro system is fabulous. It is clean and efficient and easy to figure out. If fact, all of Madrid was very clean. They have city workers wearing lime green and the words limpia and verde - clean and green. They are out there first thing in the morning...cleaning up from the festivities of the night before.

8. Make sure your travel book is not two years old or you may find restaurants that no longer exist. (three different times)

9. Yes it is touristy but we went to Botin. This restaurant was a favorite of Hemingway and is in the Guiness Book of World Records at the earliest restaurant that is still functioning. We got there right when it opened for lunch and were lucky enough to get a table. We really thought we would be making a reservation for later that day or even the next. The food was excellent.

10. The other touristy thing that we did that I loved was taking a double decker bus tour (thanks for the rec Michele!). The weather was beautiful and we got to see a lot of Madrid. You could get on and off as many times as you wanted. So you could stop at the Palace, spend some time and hop on the next passing dbl decker. It was neat to see the streets and building from above.