Home to our apartment

But there is no lack of things to see and watch on the walk back to Hostal Madrid.

Amazingly complex marionette.

Are these guys playing some instruments we've never heard of?  Dismantled pianos perhaps, or dismantled harpsichords?

The sad truth has arrived.  We have to go back to the apartment, finish packing and get to bed.  Our flight is at 10:10 AM.  We have figured out how to piece together travel by Cercanías and then the metro to get to the airport north of Madrid.

We only lost three things on our way home to Colorado.  My Swiss army knife, which I failed to remember to remove from my carry-on, one precious bottle of water (we've spent a veritable mint on bottled water over the last two months!), and one apple (confiscated in Atlanta).  Oddly, the apple I bought in Spain came from Chile!

Oliver was selected for the extra special, super duper security check in Madrid.  I accompanied him down the airport concourse where they patted him down with embarrassing detail and emptied the entire contents of his backpack.  Whew, I was sure relieved to know I wasn't traveling with a pre-teen terrorist.  Oh well, the US would have done no less.  Really, Louis was once selected as a toddler.  All the while I was silently willing him to poop in his diaper during the pat down.  Well, I missed the opportunity to blog about that years ago....were there even blogs back then?