Yep, that's right ... I made the trek down to the beach all by myself on Friday. Actually, not ALL by myself; Garmina came with me. Garmina is name that we gave the Garmin portable GPS that I gave Oscar for Christmas. Since it is a woman's voice, we thought Garmina was a fitting name.
In 4.5 hours, with a 15 minute stop for coffee and to stretch my legs, I went from Madrid to Oliva (near Valencia). I arrived to beautiful weather and got in 2.5 hours on the beach before heading back to the house to make the beds, cook, get cleaned up, and pick up Oscar.
Oscar was able to get a last-minute flight from London to Alicante. Alicante is about an hour drive from Oliva. He was supposed to fly back to London from Alicante on Sunday afternoon, but late Friday before leaving the office he was informed that he needed to work from Madrid on Monday. So it worked out nicely and we made the car trip back to Madrid together this afternoon.
I was thinking about staying a few extra days at the beach but I preferred to spend one more day with Oscar and go back to Madrid with him. Plus, I am very hopeful that my passport will arrive soon.
Our camera is in London so I don't have any pictures of the weekend. My posts are pretty blah without pictures but I promise to post lots just as soon as I can.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Passport ...
... where D'HL are you?!
(DHL is the courrier service that is supposed to bring me my passport.)
Sorry for the partial vulgarity and bad joke but it just came to me and is the one thing that has made me laugh today :)
It's not looking good but I am still trying to be positive. The Consulate gave me a number to call to inquire about the status of my visa so I tried that today. It has been busy all day. A coincidence or do they just take it off the hook? I think the later.
It is 5:33pm so there is still time for it to get here today. If it doesn't come today, I am heading to the beach. Oscar's parents have a place near Valencia and I prefer to camp out there and wait for my passport than to be here. It would be quite the adventure since I have never taken a road trip by myself in Spain but it would be well worth it.
Place your bets on when you think it will arrive. Just to be fair, I will share all that I know with you.
1. I applied for my visa on Thursday, May 21.
2. I was told that it would take 2 days to check my fingerprints, 1 day to be reviewed and approved and 1 day for delivery.
3. There was a UK holiday on Monday so that day may or may not count.
4. In the letter that I was given, it said that the Consulate has up to 15 working days to respond but most cases are resolved within 1-2 days.
I say it gets here next Tuesday, June 2.
(DHL is the courrier service that is supposed to bring me my passport.)
Sorry for the partial vulgarity and bad joke but it just came to me and is the one thing that has made me laugh today :)
It's not looking good but I am still trying to be positive. The Consulate gave me a number to call to inquire about the status of my visa so I tried that today. It has been busy all day. A coincidence or do they just take it off the hook? I think the later.
It is 5:33pm so there is still time for it to get here today. If it doesn't come today, I am heading to the beach. Oscar's parents have a place near Valencia and I prefer to camp out there and wait for my passport than to be here. It would be quite the adventure since I have never taken a road trip by myself in Spain but it would be well worth it.
Place your bets on when you think it will arrive. Just to be fair, I will share all that I know with you.
1. I applied for my visa on Thursday, May 21.
2. I was told that it would take 2 days to check my fingerprints, 1 day to be reviewed and approved and 1 day for delivery.
3. There was a UK holiday on Monday so that day may or may not count.
4. In the letter that I was given, it said that the Consulate has up to 15 working days to respond but most cases are resolved within 1-2 days.
I say it gets here next Tuesday, June 2.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
"I wait"
The title of this post is in reference to the movie The Terminal with Tom Hanks. He plays an eastern immigrant stranded in JFK airport who must take up temporary residence there until he gets a valid travel visa to enter the country. After several attempts to get him to leave the airport, he repeatedly responds - in broken English - that he "will wait".
I find myself in a similar situation these days. I am in Madrid ever so patiently waiting for my UK visa. Since the British Embassy kept my passport to put the visa in it, I cannot travel outside of Spain until I get it back. Oscar is in London and I am here. Apart once again. Hopefully, not for long. So ... I WAIT!
I really hope that I make it there by the weekend. We invited a dear friend of ours over for dinner on Saturday and I don't want to miss it because she is moving back to Dallas in less than 10 days. Also, Oscar has been traveling back and forth between London and Madrid for over three months now and needs a break.
My source of encouragement has been Pslam 105:4: "Look to the Lord and His strength, seek His face always."
I have been challenging myself to be more positive and make the best out of situations when things are going exactly how I want them to. So here are the positives from spending more time in Madrid:
1. Sunshine! It has been really nice weather here and I have been able to wear Summer clothes - something that won't happen for at least another month in London.
2. Spend time with Bea. Bea is one of my dearest friends in Madrid and I am going to miss her very much when we finally get settled in London.
3. Museo de Prado. There is a new expo from Joaquin Sorolla (my favorite Spanish painter) at the Prado museum and I went to see it today. It was spectacular!
I find myself in a similar situation these days. I am in Madrid ever so patiently waiting for my UK visa. Since the British Embassy kept my passport to put the visa in it, I cannot travel outside of Spain until I get it back. Oscar is in London and I am here. Apart once again. Hopefully, not for long. So ... I WAIT!
I really hope that I make it there by the weekend. We invited a dear friend of ours over for dinner on Saturday and I don't want to miss it because she is moving back to Dallas in less than 10 days. Also, Oscar has been traveling back and forth between London and Madrid for over three months now and needs a break.
My source of encouragement has been Pslam 105:4: "Look to the Lord and His strength, seek His face always."
I have been challenging myself to be more positive and make the best out of situations when things are going exactly how I want them to. So here are the positives from spending more time in Madrid:
1. Sunshine! It has been really nice weather here and I have been able to wear Summer clothes - something that won't happen for at least another month in London.
2. Spend time with Bea. Bea is one of my dearest friends in Madrid and I am going to miss her very much when we finally get settled in London.
3. Museo de Prado. There is a new expo from Joaquin Sorolla (my favorite Spanish painter) at the Prado museum and I went to see it today. It was spectacular!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Citizen of the World
I had to change the subhead of my blog to say "Citizen of the world" since I am no longer an "American in Madrid". This long past-due post is coming to you from London, England, our new home.
Oscar had the opportunity to do a one to two year rotation in London with his job and we decided it might be fun. We haven't been in the same place for more than two years straight. And, since we just passed a year and a half mark in Madrid, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that we would be on the move - yet again! We are getting pretty good at it!
I really thought our next move would be back to Dallas, closer to my family. But, God had another plan for us. And, I am sure it will be a good one! We just moved into our first flat. We are officially grown ups with our own bills to pay and everything. Can you believe it?! I can't.
So, stay tuned for more on our lives as Brits.
Oscar had the opportunity to do a one to two year rotation in London with his job and we decided it might be fun. We haven't been in the same place for more than two years straight. And, since we just passed a year and a half mark in Madrid, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that we would be on the move - yet again! We are getting pretty good at it!
I really thought our next move would be back to Dallas, closer to my family. But, God had another plan for us. And, I am sure it will be a good one! We just moved into our first flat. We are officially grown ups with our own bills to pay and everything. Can you believe it?! I can't.
So, stay tuned for more on our lives as Brits.
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