Madrid-- Bites and More Bites!

 What the h*ll.....???.... from the Wandering Berkmans!

We knew our 2 week stay in Madrid was going to be eventful-- Don would be getting multiple tooth implant surgery and I would be getting some long-awaited crowns (50 years in the making!)---  but little did we know it was going to be this eventful. 

Night 1 in our Airbnb in the Ventas section of the city, we did a visual check of the beds to make sure there were no bedbugs-- lift the sheets from the corners to see if there are actual bugs or any little blood stains.  Nasty, we know, but we do it everywhere we go.  Don checked his bed.... but, alas, only the top end, not the foot of the bed.  So the next evening-- 

Doh!!! When rechecking the entire bed, we found this little darling.

  

We spent the next 3 hours contacting the host and Airbnb, packing up in plastic bags everything we had unpacked the day before, putting non-washable items in the freezer and finding a hotel.  We finally made it to the hotel (that Airbnb paid for) at 11.30 pm, exhausted , dragging in plastic bags the few possessions we had that were not in the bedroom and presumably not laced with bedbugs.   

The next day we went back to the apartment to take all of our clothing to the laundromat to clean and dry on the hottest settings possible-- one of the few ways to really get rid of the little buggers.  Back at the apartment, we sprayed down the suitcases with some toxic concoction that most certainly took years off of our lives but was supposed to take care of bedbugs as well.  

Ultimately, we spent 3 nights in a beautiful hotel in the center of the city (one of the few available on such short notice-- lucky us!) on Airbnb's dime, and then did an early morning move to our new, much more pricey Airbnb (little available at such short notice that did not have decent ratings) in the Chamartin section of the city. 

 After all that, we deserved this deck-- 

This time we didn't unpack until we really checked all the beds.  Exhaustive searches on the internet came up with this method of checking for bugs-- iron your mattress!  The little buggers love the heat and rise to the top of the mattress, in this case looking for Don once more.  Fortunately,  we were all clear!

Admittedly, this is a pain to do so we're in the market for a set of black light bedbug detectors.  Apparently we're not the only ones who have gone through this!  

Just to add a little more stress to the stay, our move to the new Airbnb was on the same day as Don's scheduled implant surgery-- three to be precise--- and two baby teeth to be pulled.  It was two hours of fun-- shots in the roof of the mouth and lots of manhandling but he came out like a champ!

Not so much at the beginning-- looking a wee bit worried here....  

But thankfully Don healed very well.  So well that he opted to go back the next week and have his last implant put in!  He was originally going to wait until February but what the heck-- let's do this!  This one was more involved with a sinus lift and included little nails being pounded into his jaw.  No pain but he felt like all his teeth were going to come flying out of his mouth with the banging.  He prayed to the Tylenol and Ibuprofen gods like clockwork and by day 2 he was feeling much better.  

I emerged much easier, the recipient of two new crowns!  To finally have 2 "permanent" teeth after 50 years of wonky retainers and bridges is a great feeling.  I still have Invisalign movement and some other refinements to go (come February) but this was a monumental next step!  We celebrated with cañas and bacalao fritters at our beloved bar Revuelta.    

Our visit wasn't all doom and gloom, bugs and bangs-- we always manage to enjoy this country we've grown to love.  And once our teeth were less sore, we found some new culinary favs--

Who knew gazpacho even needed a twist?? This version with cherries and tomatoes and a pickle and dill garnish was amazing!

Peppers stuffed with bacalao, topped with a red pepper sauce.  We cried it was so good.  

And to mix things up a bit, we hit a Georgian restaurant for some grilled veg and the amazing, not to be missed Khachapuri-- a bread boat filled with cheese and egg.  Worth every tick up on the cholesterol chart!  

We reconnected at our old stomping grounds La Oveja Amarilla  for an interlanguage meetup (we missed you, Matt!)....

.... and took in the sights with friends Isabel and Juan.  

It drives Don crazy when I stop at every turn to take pix of the  beautiful architecture at night but who can blame me?? 

In Alcalá de Henares, the birthplace of Cervantes, we found the perfect gift for that special friend who is the Venn Diagram of a Don Quixote and Simpsons fan (you know who you are!).

Javi clued us in to the latest trend on TikTok in Madrid for those who have exhausted Tinder and need the next best thing-- go into the supermarket Mercadona at 7 pm on a weeknight.  Head to the produce section, place a fresh pineapple upside down in your cart and add in (depending on what you want ) lettuce for a hook up, lentils for something more long term.  Walk about the store and watch them flock to your cart! 

Ok, so what happens if they only have packaged pineapple??   I'm going to blame my lack of takers on that fact.   

To round out this post, we leave you with not one but two SOL videos!  

Once you've seen flamenco in Spain, next stop--  Grease in Español!  click this link and sing along--  "Te quiero a ti!"

And this very special Madrid experience that we found charming but for those who live in the area perhaps not so much: in our Airbnb, located close to the silver bean-shaped stadium of Real Madrid, we could hear every time Real made a goal.  We saved bundles in ticket costs and still got to live the drama!  Cheer along with us-- gooooooooooollllllllllllllll!!!!

We're safely ensconced in Athens, Greece now, all beds checked and no bites to be seen-- whew!  Our 6 weeks here will include a reunion with Marika who we met in CDMX but who lives here in Athens, adventure #3 with our sister from another mother Page, and another lovely reunion with our Danes, the Wornings.  Throw in a visit to an island or two and some delicious Mediterranean cuisine and we hope to be siting pretty!   

Enjoy your pumpkin spice latte, some beautiful fall days wherever you are and be well!  And thanks for following along!

(the largely healed ) Don and Monica