Seeking a Siesta: Spain with a Child

To add insult to injury, it started raining. Not just raining—pouring. And this Londoner, for once, wasn’t carrying an umbrella. As we sat under a tree watching the Spanish children flee from the park, I envisioned what would happen next: William would be crying as we trekked in the rain in this remote area of Madrid searching for a money machine in order to take a taxi home. Deciding this wouldn’t be our fate, I popped back on the next MadridVision bus, showed the ticket-taker my map and receipt they had given me earlier, and explained I lost my ticket.

“No on. You off,” the woman in charge told me. Luckily, the driver kept going. Finally, after five minutes and many stares from passengers, the woman gave in: “You have bambino, it okay.” I wanted to kiss her as it took thirty minutes for us to get back to the hotel.

Sopping wet, we ran past the bar where my husband was interviewing someone for a position, so he couldn’t see us in this ragged state. After changing, we took the elevator to the roof-top deck—as it had stopped raining. I highly recommend going to this roof-top deck, even if you don’t find yourself staying at the Urban. Not only does it have amazing views of the city, it also has a pool and fashionable bar—a romantic spot for an evening drink. I imagined having one later with my husband as William and I played Super-Hero Uno cards and drank juice.


A Night Out:


Later that evening, when the babysitter arrived, my husband and I giggled as we said “Buenos Noches!” blew kisses, and closed the door. Even though it was for a networking dinner, it felt glamorous to slip out into Madrid and navigate our way through the streets to attend a dinner that started at 10 p.m. The trickiest part of traveling to Spain with a little one is that restaurants don’t open until 9:30 p.m. and often dinners last until midnight. We decided to take advantage of the staff at the Urban and let William keep as close to his schedule as possible. This is easy to do when staying at the upscale Urban where they have screened baby-sitters. Later, when on our own in Seville, it was another story altogether. 



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