DOUBLE DECKER BUS DAY!!!

Long before coming to Europe, the boys knew of the legendary DOUBLE DECKER BUS.  They has enviously looked at pictures their mother had taken of them while she was in London.  Once landed in Europe, they have been rather pre-occupied with double decker busses.  

Finally, their day on the double deck bus had arrived.

Both greeted the day with enthusiasm.  When asked where they wanted to sit, they were both quick to reply.

“On the top level!” exclaimed Joey.

“On the bottom level!” shouted Sammy.

Having siblings is always a great introduction to compromise.

On the way to the bus stop, they witnessed a brief military parade march through Plaza de Colon.  Were they impressed?  No, they had a DOUBLE DECKER BUS to ride!

Once the tickets were obtained, we dutifully waited at the station.  The boys scanned up the busy road, looking for a double decker bus.  They entertained themselves with a few cement mixers and local busses.

And then, its red paint glistening in the mid-morning sun, came the DOUBLE DECKER BUS.

We had agreed to start on the top level and so we found two seats, cramming the boys into one and Lanna and I in the other.  

Then the bus started to move.

For those of you who are parents, you can appreciate that moment when your child’s eyes light up, filled with joy and wonderment.  

This was one of those moments.

It was fantastic.

Lanna and I had some fun too.  

The bus did provide excellent views as it rumbled past Plaza de Colon and shortly after that, Plaza de Cibeles.  It took us down Gran Via and provided a nice site for me, full of memories the last time I was in Spain, back in 2000 with my family.

The boys were delighted.  They were also fascinated by the fact we were given headphones and they could listen to 16 different languages!  

It was a relaxing and entertaining ride with the goal to stop at Plaza Mayor.

We exited without too much trouble and then walked into the Plaza.  It was beautiful as always and teeming with activity.

There were also a handful of characters there, such as Fat Spiderman (please note his Fat Spiderman sidekick) and THE GUY WITH NO HEAD!

Sammy was less than enthusiastic about meeting someone without a head, so he hung back while Joey posed in front of the Casa de la Panaderia in the Plaza.  And as Joey was posing for his photograph, he appeared to be in some telepathic symbiosis with THE GUY WITH NO HEAD (which is pretty impressive or pretty sad, depending on how you look at it) and they posed independently but similarly.

Sammy was eventually coaxed over to join in the picture, but you can tell he doesn’t trust THE GUY WITH NO HEAD.

Fortunately the GUY WITH NO HEAD rambled off on his own and we could get a few other pictures to capture the Plaza with all of us.

After that we sat down for a nice Spanish lunch and the kids did very well.  It got a bit dicey towards the end but nothing some churros couldn’t fix.

The menu was pretty intriguing, but in the end none of us wanted any coffee with scum or a pitcher of bleeding.

With the sustaining lunch powering us on, we walked to Puerto Del Sol and awaited the return of the double decker bus.  

This time we did ride on the first level and Sammy seemed pretty pleased, however, not as pleased as Joey who still was exploring all the language options.  Sammy was likely making sure everyone around him had the appropriate number of heads.

The bus had a stop near the apartment and we came back to let Lanna get some sleep (she had passed out after the churros).

However, the day of the DOUBLE DECKER BUS was not over!  This had a second route and we were excited to take this second route in the afternoon.

We made the walk back to Plaza de Colon and awaited the return of the bus.  It didn’t take long and we went again topside.  Lanna was invigorated and tried her hand at navigation.

We went to the north and by the Santiago Bernabeu Soccer stadium, home turf for Real Madrid and can hold over 80,000 of their fans.

As the bus was less crowded on this leg, the boys were able to get their own seats.  They promptly began giving their own tours.  (This was on video and can be made available if you’d like to see this.  Joey, per usual, is incredibly verbose.  Sammy, per usual, is pretty unintelligible saying “Conicias” on multiple occasions).

This route was shorter than the first and we soon found ourselves back at the apartment.

It was an epic day and the boys were pretty elated to finally have the chance to ride the DOUBLE DECKER BUS.