Just a wee thread to let you know how we got on and some pics. Now, don't shout at me, but I haven't uploaded the pics yet, I'll try to do it tomorrow! However thought I'd tell you about our few days away.

We flew out on the Monday from Dublin with R yanair. It didn't start off well as they charged us 64 euros for excess baggage (2 kilos over). I had an argument with them as they have now changed it to 15 kilos per bag, rather than by person (we had one suitcase), so be aware of this when you next travel. We ended up buying a small, cheap suitcase in Madrid, paid for an extra bag, and still saved ourselves lots of money on the way back! The flight itself was okay, except Grace was tired and grumpy, which equals moany!

Our journey to the hotel was supposed to take about 30-40 mins in our hire car - it took us 3 hrs We got lost beyond lost - had to come back to the airport and get directions as the ones we had were wrong. When we found the little town our hotel was in, we got lost there too. By 10pm, Rob and I were stressed, arguing, and had to contend with a tired, hungry 18mth old (bless her). We eventually got to the hotel and ordered room service, then fought with Grace to get her to go to sleep.

The next day was less stressful We ventured to the zoo (didn't get lost!), which was amazing. We got to the end and realised we had missed half of it out - it was huuuugggggeeee!! We saw 2 lovely pandas who were gorgeous, Grace insisted on calling them 'teddies', so cute They do dolphins shows but we just missed it Got some photos of them though.

We went shopping on my birthday and Rob bought me a lovely bag from C orte I ngles in the S alamanca district (thanks Di!). We then had a look around the city, though didn't see as much as we wanted as Grace fell asleep in the car From what we did see, the city was lovely with amazing architecture. It reminded me a bit of London, with the tall business-y buildings and it was very, very busy

Our flight on the way back was okay until we got over the Irish Sea and hit the high winds. The plane jolted in the air and shifted to the right. I swear my life flashed before my eyes!! We had bad turbulence after that until we landed - not good.

All in all it was a lovely break, despite our struggle to get to the hotel! The hotel itself was gorgeous but didn't cater for children very well. There was no highchair available, no kids menu, and the bottom of the cot was so high that the first thing Grace did was climb out of it (it was more a crib)! I had to use my Spanish quite a bit, which was good for me as I want to get back to it. Lastly, if you go there with kids, bear in mind that restaurants don't open until after 9ish at night - we didn't know this! It meant a lot of planning when it came to food for Grace - for my birthday we had dinner in McDonald's as it was the only thing open at that time But Grace got to bed at a reasonable hour, which was necessary for the trip home the day after!

Sorry, that turned into a novel! Well done if you got this far I'll post some piccies tomorrow x

__________________

Married Rob on 4th June 2004 in Altrincham, Cheshire

Grace Kathleen arrived on 22nd July 2006 at 11.34pm, weighing 6lbs 12oz

My angels - October 2005, September 2007 and May 2008. Never forgotten xx

Sorry to hear that the flight wasn't good, but at least you enjoyed your time there.

__________________
The IVF worked!!! William Robert born 21st Dec06www.picturetrail.com/jonathansel

I can imagine what you must have felt on the bad flight.
Sounds like you had a nice time though and reading about it makes me want to visit Madrid now! Looking forward to seeing all your pics especially one of your new bag!

__________________
Jenny xx

Hi Jen,

I'm pleased that overall you enjoyed your break and had a lovely birthday.

Its a shame things got off to a bad start though. The journey to your hotel sounds so stressful, I can only imagine what it felt like for you.

I would love to see some photos

x

__________________