What an adventure that was! We made it back from Madrid on Wednesday and after a couple of days getting our bearings back, I can safely say it was an all-around awesome trip. Really. The things I was nervous about (traveling with a sickly baby, time change sleep issues, leaving the kids for a few nights out) were all smoothed away with hardly any effort. I dare say that Carolina slept better in Spain than she does here, but most of that was probably because she had her own room. Each night around 4 or 5 a.m. we would hear her squeak awake and get up to change her diaper, feed her about 4 oz. of milk and then put her down in her car seat tipped back to a reclining position (mostly to keep her paci in for a little while). It worked like a charm and she slept in til 10:30 or 11 a.m. most days. In fact, I had to open her door most of the time and check on her only to find her staring at the ceiling with a big, dumb grin. She really is too good to me sometimes. And yes, Elisa was pretty great too. She had her moments of exhausted craziness, but mostly, she was so excited by the new environment, new toys, lots of new words and hanging out with Papa's family. In our previous four visits with her, I didn't have to do a whole lot to get Elisa on Spanish time. Somehow she just napped when she needed the first day and after that, she was usually waking around mid-morning and going to be late after the 10 p.m. dinners. It just worked out and made for a fuss-free transition. And now seeing how the two of them did, I have to say Carolina took a page right out of the same playbook. And how lucky for me, because it made the time we spent so much more enjoyable. Here's a little peek...
The days were so bright and sunny. I forgot how much sun Madrid gets in the winter. It was like a warm hug that kept even the coolest winds from really bothering me. So nice. And with over a week to hang out and see the family, there was plenty of time to do it all: eat good home-cooked meals, meet up with friends and also take advantage of some babysitting from abuela and the aunts who clearly showered these girls with all kinds of treats and affection. I really relaxed which is just how a vacation should feel. It gives me hope for our future travels and the idea that our family life and pre-baby travel life will one day reunite. Oh, yes. I live for that time. It's something Nacho and I joke about a lot when we feel like parenthood is more punishment than reward. "Remember when we used to...?" we say. Oh, yes. I remember. We had such good lives boomeranging around the world. Iceland, Argentina, Aruba, Mexico, The Southwest and Northeast, Canada, and Spain too many times to count. And we travel well together which means we don't add stress to what can be an already stressful dance of getting ourselves and two kids to the airport and on the plane. It is a well choreographed ballet that when it works, feels like we were always meant to live this life. I don't know how else to say it. And yeah, Nacho gets all kind of worried about the actual logistics of the flight and timing and I overpack and make sure we have everything we could possible need. But otherwise, it's pretty fluid. We know how to do this and we like the freedom of travel. Having family on the other side just makes it even better. If this was a dry-run for our trip over in August, I'd say it was a stunning success. So let's hope the next six months are kind to us and our girls only grow to love this travel game as much as we do. But really, how could they not?
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