Homeward Bound
We slept in until after 8:30, then went down to breakfast for a bite. We weren’t too hungry after the big dinner. The weather looked not as pretty as yesterday, but we decided to head out for the last few hours here. Luckily, we have an afternoon flight so no rush, but it will make for a very long day.
We took the metro back to La Latina and walked to Plaza de la Paja. I liked this restaurant sign along the way. Looks fresh!
A few minutes' stop in the Garden of the Prince of Angola. It looks like it should be a private back yard but it’s really a small public garden, with free access. Nobody else was there.
Then we visited the San Isidro Museum, which was also free. A smaller museum about the history of Madrid, with some prehistoric stuff a la the Archaeological museum, but then some pieces from the Muslim and Christian eras as well.
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| Iglesia San Pedro el Viejo |
Now it was time to head back, pack up, and head out. We stuffed the wine checks full of dirty clothes, for extra padding, and squeezed everything else back in the suitcase, lightening up our carry-on backpacks considerably. No point in carrying much on; since we have to check the wine anyway, we'll check our rollaboard as well.
Then checkout, where they tried to charge us for breakfast. It would have been a complete ripoff, since we hardly ate anything this morning. After a brief conversation with the supervisor, that charge was removed, but I wonder why the inconsistency. This is not the first time that’s happened, and they clearly told us that it was included when we checked in.
It was a slog to the train carrying all of the wine, but an easy ride to the airport, and we were there a little after 12:30. But it was a really long walk to Terminal 1 from there! Finally we checked in, cleared security (almost no wait, as they have a VIP line) and passport control (less than 5 minutes). We were in the lounge relaxing before 1:30.
The food and wine were decent and soon the boards said to head to the gate. Our jetway was at the farthest part of the terminal, in the A gates (the lounge was at the B gates), but as we got there, people started lining up, so we were the second couple to board. Unfortunately we had to stand on the jetway for a good 10 minutes, because they started boarding before the plane was fully ready.
Once we got on the plane, our overhead compartments were full of stuff which was surprising. But it was seat covers for the business class seats, so the FAs took them out and used them shortly, so the compartments emptied and we could move our backpacks to our bin.
Some nice sparkling rosé Cava to start, then we pushed back a few minutes early. After a short taxi, we were airborne. Scheduled arrival at JFK was 6:20, but we were on track for 25 minutes earlier than that. The earlier, the better, as we have to drive back to Albany and work tomorrow.
This was our first time on Air Europa, which is a SkyTeam partner. We'd booked as a DL codeshare, mainly because it was far cheaper than the DL flight which left earlier this morning. The extra time in Madrid this morning had been another bonus.
In-flight service was quite attentive and the FAs were super nice. The seats weren’t bad; almost lie-flat, but with an odd configuration. The seats were aligned normally when upright, but when the window seat was reclined, it was about a foot higher than the aisle seat. Chris did find it easier to climb in and out over me, though, so maybe that's why they are set up this way.
We watched some movies. The food was tasty and plentiful. The wines were delicious. Then we had a "bedtime" G&T before napping for a few hours. Just thinking about the drive home was making me tired!
We were still ahead of schedule when they woke us up for a snack about 90 minutes before landing. Again, nice food – I had pork cheeks confit – and a sip more wine, then it was time to switch to coffee.
We touched down as expected, 5:57 and taxied a bit – to a parking spot where we had to use a bus! That was unexpected. But they didn’t overcrowd it, and we were let off right at passport control, so it wasn't all that bad. Global Entry was fast and luggage just a few minutes' wait, so we were in the car and on the road just after 7:00.
Traffic after the usual I-678 mess was better than average, and I drove nonstop. We were home at 9:42, which was much earlier than we'd expected. That gave us time for fixing a few impending disasters at home (the fish tank was low on water, and a breaker had tripped in the sunroom, shutting off the accessory refrigerators).
We verified that all of the wine had arrived safely, had a glass of wine ourselves, and went to bed. What a whirlwind! I think I need a vacation just to recover.
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