Maybe just maybe LiM will be able to find those huge muffins he has been craving afterall. At least maybe in Barcelona!

Going off on Taravb´s idea of naming the child FoundinMadrid, maybe we can name him/her Encontrado/a. And then come up with some sort of nick name like "Contri". (my suegra is Asunción and they call her Choni...go figure!) !!

are only 3 things that spain doesn't have that if they had it would be PERFECT, and 2 of those 3 well, i could deal without.

Pilsbury toaster streudles-Blueberry (every now and then for a treat I crave them! But since I may buy a box, oh about once a year, not crucial!)

Burbon Chicken- because I've tried as hard as I can to find the recipe and the ones I've found, TRUST ME- are no good!

And... FRAPPUCHINOS! This I need! I'm not big into coffee and the bottled kind... well not the same. Now I can move to Spain and instead of heaven, live on cloud 9. I can have it all, family, friends my fiance AND my Frappuchinos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't hate me!

Up late with the little sapo (that's what we call him when he makes ugly faces at us).

Ran across this interesting article about Starbucks in Vienna.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/01/busine...artner=USERLAND

"Here in Vienna, there are tables and armchairs on two levels, with plenty of free samples, like the chocolate muffin and the frappuccino. Cappuccino and latte are the most popular choices, followed, Mr. Holzschuh said with a smile, by caramel macchiato."

FREE samples? That sounds so odd to me now... 2 years in Spain and I've lost all sense of American culture.

-Russ

If Starbucks got its inspiration from Italy? why not open an Italian coffee shop? oh! I know, Starbucks has got big bucks and will be selling "American Experience". PS Shocked to find muffins are not found in Spanish shops
PS2 The one thing I miss about Madrid is its cafes, Starbucks in London is complete rubbish in comparison, if they have got atmosphere they are either jam packed or non smoking, non smoking cafes! that's like unlicenced bars! so there, good luck to them but they can only be successful if they go full on American

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

I'm eating a nice, perfectly done Blueberry Muffin from Starbucks. It's great. I'm happy.

My baby is one month old now and my wife and I finally have our stuff together and the babe is finally old enough that we could leave the house for a few consecutive hours today. It can be quite the effort for those of you who don't have babies. But we had a plan this morning so we woke up early, washed, cleaned the house a bit and the kid, I went and did the food shopping for the week so it wouldn't be hanging over our heads later (no shops open on Sunday, remember) while my wife prepped El Sapo and an extra bottle for the road. At 1:00 p.m. we were ready. We could hardly believe it...

We first went to The Casa del Libros near Sol because my wife wanted to check out the baby section - which was cool with me because it's right next to the computer books section (I've got some baby books in English already). Alex was very weird all day: he just slept like an angel in his stroller. Where's that cranky kid we normally have that cries like a psycho after 30 minutes outside the house? We walked out of the store an hour later with 3 very odd baby books in Spanish. My wife is reading them now very excitedly and now believes that Alex sometimes cries because he's stressed. STRESSED? What does a one month old have to be stressed about? (Lots, apparently...)

After our success at the bookstore, we were both hungry so we went to McDonald's (my wife's idea, not mine... she's in love with Big Macs). The Mickey D's on Gran Via is a nuthouse, and especially today when a group of 40 kids or so on some sort of field trip showed up. The level of noise was amazing. And Alex just slept like some kid in a coma... I kept checking to see if he was breathing.

Finally, not wanting to head home just yet and with Alex sleeping away, I suggested we walk down to the Palace Hotel and check out the Starbucks. We had our wedding reception there, so it's sort of romantic for us to go by the hotel and Plaza Neptune.

The Starbucks there is great! It's a REAL Starbucks (who knows what I was expecting). Big, bright and clean. No smoking (the first thing you notice, I swear). Large stuffed chairs in the front and some tables in the back. High ceilings and Lyle Lovett on the stereo. I was in heaven. My wife found us a couple big seats near the front window next to some exchange students with laptops while I went to get a couple Frappuchino's to drink (my wife's first... decaf for her so El Dormidito doesn't become El Despertado de la Madrugada) and 4 blueberry muffins to go.

It was my wife's second time in a Starbucks, but the first time was two years ago at a small one in Boston, so we analyzed it again like new. We sat back and relaxed and watched the tourists come in and struggle with their orders (lots of pointing) and the young (20 and younger) Spanish kids order versions of the cool drinks and hang out (lots of mobile phone messaging). It was definitely busy the whole time, but not packed, and a decent mix of Americans, couple Germans (happy with today's match I think, though who knows what they were saying...) and Spanish. And Alex slept and slept (with a blanket, since the AC was on high. Fine with us since it had to be 98 degrees out today).

We gave him the bottle out in the shade in front of the Prado and decided not to push our luck and catch the bus home. I took a long siesta once we got home and when I woke up, there were four beautiful muffins waiting for me, one of which I just ate before starting this post. MMMMMMMmmmmmm!

All in all, a very good day.

-Russ

P.S. More pics of the kid online at my homepage.

Russ, you can't imagine how delighted I am for you--I had begun to worry incessantly about the lack of muffins in Madrid, certain that that would be the straw that breaks the camel's back and sends you scurrying back stateside (and heaven knows we need you there, reporting at length about all and sundry!).

Tell Ana not to worry...Alex isn't stressed. He's being an occasionally crabby and frequently unpredictable baby (except for today, apparently!). I'm telling you this as a mom who's almost finished a Ph.D. in child development...he's a typical baby, which means that just when you think you have him figured out, he does something completely different. If he's eating and growing and sleeping and pooping, well, you're golden. And within two weeks from now, you'll start seeing the most gorgeous VOLUNTARY smiles that will simply melt your heart. You'll do ANYTHING to get more of them, I promise.

Really, babies have so much to do to regulate their body temp and their moods, integrate their sensations and perceptions, deal with occasional overstimulation from well-meaning abuelitas, etc. I can promise you he's not stressed, or at least not any more than any other baby out there. As for you and Ana, well, that's probably another story!

The crying sucks. I remember that all too well. However, I can tell you that it levels off soon, and then you're home free for a while (until you have to deal with separation anxiety at 7-12 months!). Give each other breaks, and find a way to plop Alex into a bouncy seat just outside the bathroom door while you take a nice long shower. And if you've found a comfortable front-pack baby carrier, try using that around the house (and when you're out) to cut down on the wailing. And buy earplugs for whichever of you is NOT getting up for the next feeding at night.

Parenting books are good doorstops. So are well-meaning abuelitas.

Russ,

You know? I'm going to have to stop reading your posts about little Alex, 'cause they cause my maternal instict (quite strong as it is) to suffer from a huge increase (can you say that¿?) all of a sudden!....

BTW, how is your new job? Are you as busy as I am?!!!

Mmmmmmm! babies' smell is even better than muffins!....

Starbucks, Starbucks!

STARBUCKS IN MADRID!!!WHAT A JOKE!
In my opinon the best cup of coffee in the world can be had *cheap* in Madrid and I assure you it is not in Starbucks. By extension the european pasteries are exponentially BETTER than some cupcake/muffin/bagel found in Starbucks.

I don't know, I travel for several reasons, one is to see my family, two is to GET AWAY from the familiar and submerse myself in the european "joie de vivre" .....Starbucks unreal.