Days 1, 2 & 3 (Travel to Madrid)

Recovering in Grandma's arms at LAX after only three hours of very fitful sleep

I think three plane rides totaling over 18 hours, 3 train rides on the subway and 7 hours of layovers probably qualifies as one of our Top Five Longest Travel Journeys (in a day). It was definitely Ryan's longest to date, but he did very well (especially given that he was sick).

Sleep made possible by mommy holding a yoga-like twisting pose for 4 hours, his green travel blanket and delirium.

We left Kona late on Saturday night, and arrived in Madrid early on Monday morning. Check out how well Ryan recovered from it all once he stepped onto his beloved subway train. Smiles all around!

Once we got to our rented apartment suite (2 bedrooms), we checked in early and crashed hard for what we intended to be a short, 1-hr nap.

The apartment was in a beautiful old building, and was the perfect combination of old (see exposed original wood beams on the ceiling) and new on the inside.

Ryan was initially fascinated by the front loading washing machine in our apartment. (Note: He always removes his pants the moment we're back indoors, regardless of temperature.)

Nearly four hours later (whoops), it was dark outside. But we still walked around town and ran into a number of Madrid's famed meat delicatessens (they are on nearly every block).

This where Rich got his dinner. (I tend to avoid meals that include animals hanging upside down.) ;-)