Spring Break-Madrid, Espana!

Hola!

Iza's first (international!) flight... Warsaw to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Madrid, then reverse! She only cried on the first landing then rode the others smoothly except for a small tummy ached on the last flight. She's a natural traveler!

We got to visit with Karen, Jill's former principal, now working in Madrid. She said so many times, "She's such a good baby!"
We know
:)


Basillica de Alumeda 18 and 19C


Dark interior of the lower level... we went in the wrong entrance and I wondered why there were so many pillars with such a low ceiling... we found the main entrance another day.. pics to come


'Wrong entrance' door knocker
I love the metal weave


The skinniest, fittest and fiercest bulldog I've ever seen


old, crooked doorway


Plaza Major's main frescoed allegorical facade


detail


me 'n the babe bjornin' it


we found a great, cheaper shopping district (mostly to wholesalers) south of Plaza Major... and some wonderful mannequins!


this is not a mannequin, but still wonderful!


Finally keeping her eyes open while in the baby bjorn... so she got to see some of Madrid, too.


Caffe Spanish style



One of the umpteen impressive cathedral ceilings we saw


more to come later...

Adios!

Totally Critical Mass

Angie and Cosi on Nowy Swiat

Every last Friday of every month of the year, bicyclists across the globe get out for a 'fun' protest bike ride during rush hour in most cities on our planet. This is Angie, Cosi and I doing just that in Warszawa

The riders depart at 6 PM from Castle Square (Plac Zamkowy), with police escorts and about 2 to 3 dozen support riders (flag bearers, traffic controllers, first-aiders and thumpin' music providers :)




This ride turned out to be a 'Mall Shopper Stopper' ride, as we linked every major mall from the city center out west to the newish Factory outlet mall. However, if the serious shoppers were out... they probably were already in the malls and were still in there as we came riding by!
Cosi was using her apartment/city bike, a nice, little compact model that got lots of looks-kind of like a Bike Friday model.

We had at least 3,000 to 4,000 riders... maybe the next will be the biggest!

See you on the road!