By the time we reached Madrid by train, the mood of travel
had definitely changed for John, Dad, Rhonda and myself! We spent our time in Barcelona and
Seville going, going, going and needed a city of chill and low-key…..and Madrid
was just the place!
We spent our three days in Madrid taking in the sights,
playing Tick until the early morning hours, picking up food and snacks from the
local corner market, checking out the weekend flea market and enjoying some
local shopping . We made a point
of taking our time during meals and spent an entire afternoon and evening
eating and drinking our way around the city. We were there just long enough that it felt like we were
truly experiencing Spanish culture.
And as with most vacations, as soon as that feeling started to settle
in, it was time to uproot and move on to the next adventure. We bid Dad and Rhonda a farewell as
they were making their way (and three very long flights) back to the States.  |
| Yummy sangria and paella! |
As for John and myself, we had one final adventure before
our final travel back to America.
So as we said our goodbyes to Dad and Rhonda at the airport, we hopped a
flight to a place we heard so much about from the Brits……the Canary
Islands! We decided the best way
to end our time abroad was to have a final week to ourselves in an exotic location
to regroup before the reality and absolute insanity of moving back began. We decided to spend a week on the
island of Tenerife, one of seven small Spanish islands off the northwest coast
of Africa.
 |
| Leisurely lunch in Madrid |
We arrived in Tenerife and it didn’t take long to find out
that the bus transfer our hotel provided did not go to the airport we flew
into. After some phone calls and
trips to the information desk, we found out there was one bus that came to the
airport and took us to the other side of the island where our hotel was
located. Luckily it was early morning
and we were in no hurry, so the two hour wait for the bus didn’t seem like that
much of a problem. After an hour
and a half on the local bus and a short taxi ride, we finally arrived to our
residence for the week.
It didn’t take us being in Tenerife long to realize that the
Canary Islands to the Brits is like Mexico to the Americans! Though we were on a Spanish island, we
were surrounded by the familiar English everywhere we turned. To be honest, we spent the week doing
what most people do when on a beach vacation…..we hung out by the pool and
ocean, walked the boardwalk, took naps, ate lots of food and just took it all
in. Towards the end of our week
there, we did a final night out where we got all dressed up and went to a nice
restaurant followed by drinks at a great place called the Oriental Monkey. 
Some random things we realized once in Tenerife. Though we hoped for super tropical
weather, the weather ended up being so-so as there seemed to be quite a few clouds. But when the sun was out
or poking through the clouds, it was HOT!
So that made things interesting when by the pool. One second I was covered in a towel and
sweatshirt, the next second I was sweating and needing to jump in the pool to
cool off. It also didn’t take us
long to realize that though the hotel we stayed in had gotten great reviews, we
must have been so crazy busy booking Spain travels that we overlooked the
reviews that mentioned our hotel consisted mainly of the senior
population! Let’s just say that
the mini mall attached to our hotel had a store just of orthopedic shoes. Luckily the younger part of the island
was just a walk or short taxi ride away!
We’ll know for next time :-)
So as our time in Tenerife was coming to an end, the reality
and unknown of what lie ahead was starting to hit us. We tried our best to really take in the last of our time
abroad, as we knew that things were about to drastically change, for both the
good and the bad. So on the night
of April 17th, we packed our bags one last time and began our 48
hour trek back to where it all began……..home.
