Was the day a bust, or was it perfect?

The kids are clearly getting a little tired of travelling. They were a little bit annoyed about being uprooted again when we left Sevilla, though they're both super excited to explore the new hotel room. They're also missing the nanny a little bit since she's not as available now that we're in separate hotel rooms. This is a good reminder for me in terms of pacing, I think three destinations is about the maximum that they can handle right now. As they get a little older, I'm sure we'll be able to ask them to uproot and get used to sleeping in a new place a little more frequently, but for this trip I think we got the pace and number of destinations right.

E is thrilled to be back in a major city with public transportation and desperate to ride every bus we pass and go into every metro station on our route (he's figured out how to recognize them). Today we thought we'd take him to the train museum, just for fun. The museum has lots of old train cars, some for climbing on, a steam train and more. I checked the website for hours, figured out our route, and we were off. There was a nice big directional sign across from the train station, and an train engine outside to climb, perfect. But to our surprise, the museum itself had a small sign on the door saying that they're closed for renovation! Wow, what a huge bummer after promising a train museum (and then explaining 10 times that there would be trains inside, not more boring pictures) and making the trip across town.

Luckily there was a small science museum next door, and even though it didn't seem age appropriate, we took the kids in & they ended up having a great time. Though it wasn't the type of world class science museum you'd expect in a major city like Madrid (it felt more appropriate to someplace the size of Tacoma) there were enough hands on exhibits to keep the kids entertained, and a nice clean floor for D to crawl around on.

Next up, lunch, and then we can drop the kids home with the Nanny for naptime.

Food has started to be a challenge again as well. D is absolutely fed up with sitting on my lap and having me put food in her mouth. I think E is going to scream if he sees another Spanish Tortilla, and I'm tired of watching him eat peanut butter sandwiches and olives. After the museum we decided to take the subway back to a chain restaurant I'd spotted called "The Wok." The Wok seemed to be a takeoff on London's Wagamama, with modern design and a large selection of Asian noodle dishes. P & I snacked knowing that we'd be off to eat tapas as soon as the kids were safely back in the hotel room. The kids, however, could not have been more delighted. There was a high chair for D, and familiar asian noodle stir fry and spring rolls for E. Both of them ate more than I've seen them eat in days, and were in great spirits. It says something interesting about our lives that my kids were delighted in an asian fast food place, but completely rejected Mc Donalds.

All in all, a great morning outing, despite the closed attraction & the non-local food!

0 comments | Posted on November 9, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

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