For those of you who don’t recognize the reference, click here: Movie It’s an absolutely hysterical movie. Watch it if you haven’t seen it. I chose this title for this post because I think it accurately captures my most recent travel adventure. First, a little background on this trip. I have an 18 year old daughter, Sydney. To say she is a reluctant traveler is an understatement. I practically had to drag her to the post office two years ago to apply for a passport. So when she asked me a couple of months ago if I would be interested in going to a concert with her in Europe, I jumped at the chance. I didn’t even bother to ask who the band was or where the concert was taking place. Turns out the band is Radiohead Band Tour description. While I had heard of them, and although they are quite popular and have been around since 1985, I knew nothing of them. In fact, after listening to a couple of dozen of their songs on Spotify, I recognized only one: “Creep”. This tour would include five cities including Madrid, Bologna, London, Copenhagen and Berlin.
After a rather lengthy and involved process over two weeks including waiting behind 40,000 other ticket seekers in a virtual queue on the day the tickets went on sale, we ended up with two tickets for the first show of the tour on Tuesday, November 4 in Madrid, Spain. I asked Syd if she would be willing to extend the trip a few days for a side trip to Malta to see my new apartment and some of the tiny island country I will soon be calling home. She agreed. Let’s go!!
Day 1 – Saturday, November 1
The trip got off to an inauspicious beginning. I woke up to five text messages from Amtrak (my phone was on “do not disturb”) giving updates on the delay and then ultimate cancellation of our train to Union Station in Chicago where we could transfer to the “L” to catch our flight at O’Hare airport. Amtrak graciously arranged for a bus to take us instead. Since we were scheduled to depart around 9:00 a.m. and our flight was scheduled for 17:45, I wasn’t worried. (Note the military time – a bit of foreshadowing.) I had asked Syd the day before to text her friend (she is also the dog sitter while we’re gone who lives next door) and ask if we could get a lift to the Amtrak station. When that didn’t work out, I ordered an Uber. The town where Sydney lives isn’t very big and Uber service can be very spotty at times. Sure enough, no Ubers are available so we jump in Syd’s vehicle and head to the station, thinking that I would text one of the neighbors and ask them to fetch the car later in the day. Turns out, I missed the sign stating there is a two hour time limit, an oversight that would cost me a $25 parking ticket.
After a 2 1/2 hour bus ride and another hour on the “L”, we arrived at the airport with a couple of hours to spare. I got an American Express Platinum card not long ago for the main purpose of getting “Priority Pass” – free lounge access (along with their free food and drinks) in airports around the world. The only one available at O’Hare is the Swissport lounge in Terminal 5, the international terminal. This lounge has a 3 hour time limit and we were too early, so were forced to eat really lousy Chinese food and drop $42 in the process. Gotta love airports! About this time, I learn that our flight is delayed by about 4 hours. That also means our access to the lounge is delayed. And to make matters even worse, I had to spend the better part of two hours schlepping back to the Iberia Airlines counter in Terminal 3 to get new boarding passes because I couldn’t do it online. Ugh!
The only bright side to the delay was getting to sit in the lounge with free refreshments while watching my beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers lose yet another close game. This time it was USC winning 21-17. Ugh! The flight ending up departing about 23:00, roughly 5 1/2 hours late.
I have a terrible time sleeping on planes, but managed to doze for a couple hours during the 8 hour flight. About two hours into the flight, an announcement was made asking if there was a doctor on board. Uh-oh…
Day 2 – Sunday, November 2
We touched down in Madrid about 12:15 local time but had to stay seated in the plane for the better part of an hour while the crew dealt with the sick passenger. Whoever it was must have been in first or business class because I could see nothing while waiting. That’s just as well..
We headed to the airbnb Airbnb listing , but had to kill an hour while the host finished up cleaning the apartment. We grabbed a quick lunch. Doner Kebab Delicias Syd is not the most adventurous eater so finding suitable places to eat proved a bit of challenge the entire trip. The chicken and fries did the trick, but this Doner was disappointing and not anything like the Berliners make.
Taking a nap upon arrival after traveling 8 time zones is highly discouraged by travel experts. Screw them. Syd hadn’t slept a wink and as an 18 year-old, she needs anywhere between 8 and 20 hours of sleep per day. She went right to bed and I dozed for an hour. I went out and explored the neighborhood by myself and stumbled across this gem. Matadero
Later, Syd and I at dinner here: Bar Toboggan. There werer limited choices for a teenage American palate and Syd couldn’t handle the gorgonzola gnocchi, but discovered the Spanish potato omelette. “Fire”, she said. She also enjoyed her first legal cocktail, a Moscow Mule. I had pigs ears and cuttlefish. When in Rome… er, Madrid…
Day 3 – Monday, November 3
While Syd slept, I headed across the street to a small “supermercado” (supermarket) for some breakfast food to bring back. On the way back, I stopped for my go-to European breakfast:
I then scheduled a two hour electric Tuk Tuk tour. Tour description Our guide, Mario, was excellent and we covered a lot of ground in two hours!
Lunch followed at Taberna Los Lopez restaurant website where Syd could enjoy another potato omelet and I had french fries covered in prosciutto and soft runny eggs. Delicious!
After that more walking around to see the sights and some shopping for Syd. She spent a lot of time and some money at Brandy Melville; not so much time and no money at Louis Vitton. Holy cow, is their stuff expensive!
Day 4 – Tuesday, November 4
Concert day has arrived. Syd had the tickets on her phone. I asked what time that Radiohead would begin playing and she said 10:30. Wow, that’s late, I thought. Might need a nap later. After sleeping in until mid-morning we headed on the subway to the Museum of History of Madrid wiki . Madrid’s public transport system is terrific and we had a subway stop just five minutes from where we were staying.
The museum was very good and we spent a couple hours there.
I guess TikTok is good for some things. Based on recommendations she saw there, we ate lunch at a cool place known for its bagel sandwiches restaurant website and later a sky bar with a fabulous 360 degree view of the city. Ella sky bar
We decided to get to the concert “early” so we left our place about 19:15. We took the subway to concert, found our way in, spent some time at the merch counter so Syd could by a hoodie (85 Euros!) and found our seats at 20:30, just as Radiohead played their first song! We were among the last of about 17,000 fans to arrive. Turns out, Syd is unfamiliar (go figure) with military time and thought 20:30 meant 10:30 p.m., not 8:30. It turned out to be perfect timing as far as I was concerned. The 2 1/2 hours that Radiohead played was more than enough for me. Syd has a great time, however, and that’s all the really matters. Because the concert started earlier than expected, we had to time for anything to eat there. Due to the very slim pickings at 11:30 p.m. (23:30 for you soldiers out there), we ended up eating a very greasy pepperoni pizza from Domino’s. So greasy, in fact, that Syd ended up with another souvenir – a grease spot on her new hoodie.
Day 5 – Wednesday, November 5
Wednesday was travel day. We took a noon flight on Ryanair to Malta that lasted a little over two hours. We took a 15 minute Uber ride to Valletta to catch the ferry to the island of Gozo wiki where my apartment is located. My new landlord George met us at the harbor and drove us to Marsalforn wiki where he presented me with my new keys. Syd made a bee line for the guest bedroom and slept for several hours.
Day 6 – Thursday, November 6
I had a tentative meeting set for Thursday morning with the attorney who is assisting me with my permanent residency application. I took a Bolt (a competitor to Uber that operates in some European countries) to the ferry harbor only to find out the ferry I thought was departing at 8:45 wasn’t. With the next one leaving an hour later, I cancelled the meeting and headed back to the apartment, this time on the bus. 2 Euros is a lot cheaper than 15 for a Bolt ride. Not nearly as fast, but I wasn’t on a schedule. Syd and I spent a great day together, first walking around Marsalforn, then taking the bus to Victoria for lunch, sightseeing and a grocery store visit. Syd thought the chicken caesar salad she had for lunch was perhaps the best she had ever had. It must have been quite something for her to say something like that. Back in Marsalforn we found yet another “sky bar” (only 5 floors in this hotel) and enjoyed a couple of different cocktails made with Bajtra liqueur product description . Later we had a very good dinner at a restaurant called Smuggler’s Cave.restaurant website where I had a fantastic pizza and Syd had ravioli and an Aperol Spritz. On the beautiful stroll afterwards, I learned for the first time that Syd is a cat lover. Clearly, we need to spend more time together.
Day 7 – Friday, November 7
Friday wasn’t a great day. We took the ferry to Valletta on a windy day, meaning rough seas. Something else I learned about my daughter – she gets seasick. After a trip to the bathroom on the boat to lose her breakfast, we arrived in Valletta. We did a little sightseeing but Syd still wasn’t feeling that great. We found a place with outdoor seating to get her some lunch. I wasn’t very hungry after having leftover pizza for breakfast. The hot dog I ordered wasn’t quite what I was expecting. We headed to the airport and spent our time waiting in a nice lounge (thank you AMEX) for our flight back to Madrid. Naturally, it was delayed meaning we would miss the hotel shuttle I prepaid for. Yes, you have to pay for hotel shuttles in Madrid. On the flight I sat next to a nice Irishman who spends a lot of time in Malta on business. We immediately hit if off when he started badmouthing Trump after discovering I’m American.
I tried rebooking the hotel shuttle but it turned out to be too much of a hassle. So, 20 Euros later, an Uber delivered us to our hotel. Syd went right to bed and I had a salad in the hotel restaurant.
Day 8 – Saturday, November 8
It’s time to head back to the good old USA. Of course, with the government shutdown and the FAA ordering flight reductions due to shortages of air traffic controllers, who knows when or if we’ll get back to Chicago. (Turns out that international flights weren’t affected substantially.)
The hotel shuttle delivered us to the airport where we found another nice lounge to hang out in before the flight. Syd bought herself some rather pricey perfume and body spray in the duty free shop. She assured me it’s much cheaper than back in the States.
After a non-eventful nine hour flight, during which I slept not a wink, we landed in Chicago. After navigating customs, we’re back on the Blue Line heading to Union Station to catch an Amtrak back to Bloomington. We arrive around 5 p.m. and wait for our train which is scheduled to depart in about two hours. We no more than sit down and I hear an announcement that there is a train headed for St. Louis (with a stop in Bloomington) that is currently in the final stages of boarding. The line at the customer service desk is at least ten people deep so I grab Syd and head for the boarding area while trying to buy tickets for the train. (The app won’t let me change my reservation for the later train.)
We find what appear to be the last two seats in our train car, one in the middle and one in the very rear of the car. As the conductor comes by to check my ticket, there’s a problem. It seems that I bought two tickets for a north-bound train leaving Bloomington headed to Chicago. Ugh! Since the train is already in motion, the nice conductor lady decides not to throw us off the train, but rather asks me to call Amtrak to get it sorted out. After being on hold forever, my patience is rewarded with a $44 refund after the agent gets the whole mess sorted out.
After yet another Uber ride, this one from the Amtrak station in Bloomington, we are back to my former and Syd’s current home. And the best part? We’re home two hours earlier than expected and right in time me to watch the Nebraska – UCLA football game. At this point, we have been awake for about 21 hours straight. Syd heads straight to her room and I grab a badly-needed beer and the TV remote. Less than an hour later, I’m out cold and wake up a few hours later with the TV and lights still on. I vaguely remember Nebraska leading at halftime. I decide I’ll find out tomorrow and go to bed.
Unfortunately, I don’t sleep well with two dogs wanting to share the bed. (Syd’s mother is out of town.) So at 5:30 a.m. I’m up and checking the ESPN app on my my phone. The Huskers finally win a close one, 28-21. The perfect end to a great trip.
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