Adios, España!

I currently sit in the business class lounge at the airport in Madrid, courtesy of my ever-traveling husband and the nicer seats we have for this flight.  A global symphony surrounds me – Spanish, Italian, French, British and the occasional American. The sights are decidedly and distinctly European – men in skinny jeans with sleek sporty (but non-sport) shoes, sweaters layered with dress shirts, the ever-present “man bag” (which no amount of cajoling could convince my own husband to wear.)  Women in equally skinny jeans or sleek leggings, fashionable short boots, scarves perfectly tied as only they can do.

Everyone here, it would appear at a casual glance, at least. is tall, thin, and gorgeous. The thin part, however, I can likely attribute to the constant clouds of cigarette smoke we walked through as we traversed this part of Spain. If there was one struggle for me with the trip, it was the pervasive scent of cigarettes – something that wreaked havoc with my asthma.

The pace of the week has been a lovely respite from that which I’m used to in the States. Leisurely dinners, where it was a greater struggle to procure the check from the waiter than it was to order – as  opposed to the rushed sense of many restaurants in America. I may have drunk my body weight in gorgeous caffè lattes, something a coffee junkie such as I could never, ever complain about.  Where in Italy I was more inclined to stop for a cup of  gelato for a sugar boost, here when my bones started to sag like a clock in a Dali painting, I would instead stop for a caffè.

Life is good.

Re-entry will be difficult as we land shortly after dinner time. We will say hello and goodnight to my family, and in the morning, throw ourselves back into the fray, head first.

My Keurig will get a workout and I may long for a Nescaffe machine instead.

As the wi-fi service was abysmal in Madrid I’ll be posting adventures this week, so check back.

For now, it’s time to board a plane. Adios, España. It’s been a wonderful trip.