We’re eating a full dinner when the locals are just out for an evening snack.
Although the midnight renditions of “Diamond Eyes” have tapered off, it’s hard to imagine going out to dinner at 9:30.
Ever.
Somehow, we’ve discovered a way to circumnavigate the system. By making reservations through Trip Advisor, we find restaurants that will accept us at an early hour for dinner – and generally they offer us a 30% – 50% discount for doing so.
Winner. Winner. Spanish dinner.
It’s also a way of enticing us around to explore different neighborhoods – like the hip Chueca, and the touristy old town.
Besides Italian, we’ve tried local varieties of sushi, fusion, and Southern Spanish varieties…
Lots of fish and salad options are keeping us happy!
Pasta and croquettes (one of the iconic Spanish dishes) are keeping the kids happy…
Each little eatery has proven to be a mini-culinary adventure…
Here is Paella’s little sister Fideuà – made with noodles instead of rice. Another dish we had to fight our kids to get a bite of… 
All of this culinary adventuring is not without a few hiccups… for example some amatuer sleuthing is required when attempting to relieve a potty-training toddler…
Try to decipher these in a darkly-lit hallway…
And then there is some over-clarification…
It’s clear that a sense of humor is advised.
We’ve received the keys to our house, but since our household goods are being held up in Bureaucracia for a bit, we’ll be hotel guests for a bit longer.
We don’t mind too much, this kind of nomadic life, all cozy in one room, when one person coughs you all wake up…
Oh wait… yeah, it’s a little tiring after a bit, but… when our room is being cleaned and we have to wait on the top floor with the incredible views of “gold city” – as Smalls and Tiny call it – It’s actually the Metropolis building (comic fans might appreciate that)…
And there’s a lovely bartender that brings snacks to your flirtatious duo…
Maybe you take a moment to be thankful for slowing down the pace…
For NOT having to be somewhere else unpacking boxes in the high-summer heat.
And then you start to notice that from up here the view is incredible…
And you notice that there are special guardians all over the city. You just need to look up. And around.
I used to live in the real Gotham. And I’ll tell you – this place, with the special warriors, the guardians, the angels on high…
feels more Gothamy to me.
Who are these dark heroes perched above with such majesty?
What stories could they share if they were invited for dinner…
There is much to discover, uncover, about our new home.
New surprises appear around every corner…
Treats for kids of all ages…
This kind of home-in-between–home limbo is something both pleasant and rocky. Nothing is in the right place, and although eating out every night seems like a dream, your own stuff and your own bed, and your own home cooked anything becomes like an oasis – a mirage… just a little bit further…
I’ll take you on a tour of the new casa in a bit – however a quick spin around the neighborhood yielded some shocking differences from our last post abroad… that I feel compelled to report immediately – such as…
A bonified…
Wait for it….
BIKE.
LANE.
What the ever loving…!!?
I never, NOT ONE SINGLE TIME got to ride my bike in Italy. Possibly Definitely due to the insane driving tendencies and obstacles (if you recall) such as cars parked on the sidewalk.
I’m not sure exactly where the locals park their cars around these parts, but they are definitely, definitely not on the pristine sidewalks of this neighborhood. Nope. Not in front of Prada,
or Guess, or Zara or even in front of one of Ferragamo’s finest…
~Perhaps because I am already in an nostalgic New York state of mind, I suddenly recall that once upon a lifetime, when I lived in NYC, in a very “Devil Wears Prada” moment – I hand delivered a note to Mr. Ferragamo (although now I’m not sure which one)…
~ The Versace down the block provokes a similar response – having met her (Donatella) at a brunch eons ago…
Ironically, I am probably no closer to owning a pair of those shoes (or clothes) now then I was back in those days… but then again, there are massive sales now before everything shuts down for August… a girl can dream – and window shop… ~
The neighborhood has certainly captured my attention, drawing me in with windows full of fashionable drama – straight out of a scene from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. And, truth-be-told, I haven’t seen this much black clothing in summer since a grad school after party in *the city*.
A cafe across the street offering “quick” food had the nerve to serve an unbelievable salad that looks like this:
And THEN offered me a discount for using my American Express.
I think I’m going to like it here.
I Think I'm Going to Like it Here 