Wanderlust Traveler: May 2012

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Whidbey Island (Langley, Freeland, Coupeville, and Deception Pass State Park)

Whidbey Island Greenbank Farm

Although I had lived within 30 minutes of Whidbey Island for the majority of my life, I had ever taken the time to visit the island. Over the course of many years I had heard numerous great things about the island, including the quaint towns of Langley and Coupeville and the popular Deception Pass State Park.

While I was on a trip with my family the year prior at Lake Crescent, we had discussed the idea of initiating an annual family trip to locales around the Puget Sound area. My Aunt Staci recommended that we stay on Whidbey Island for the next trip as one of her best friends had a family home near Freeland that we would probably be able to use for free. It sounded like a great idea to me, especially because I would be able to bring the dogs and also because Whidbey Island had been on my list of places to visit for quite some time. A few months later, we agreed upon a weekend in August that most of us could attend. In addition to the two nights we were going to spend at the beach house, I also made a reservation for a third night up in the small town of Coupeville at a bed and breakfast.

Much to my surprise, while I was completing research for the trip I found out that Whidbey Island is one of the longest islands in the United States, measuring 45 miles long (or 36 or 62, depending on who you ask!). Regardless of where one stands on the island, you are never more than five miles away from the water. Whidbey Island is an extremely popular place for Seattleites to escape from the city, especially during the summer months. The island can be accessed from three points; via ferry from Mukilteo, which is about 20 miles north of Seattle; via ferry from Port Townsend, which is located on the Olympic Peninsula, and lastly via the Deception Pass State Bridge, located on the very northern tip of the island.

Day 1 (Friday, August 7th 2009)

After a very long 10.5 hour day at work, I raced home and quickly began packing up the car. I drove to Mukilteo where I thankfully only had to wait about 45 minutes in line for the ferry. I was waiting for the ferry that would take me to the town of Clinton on Whidbey Island. My sister Kimberly and the rest of the family had waited nearly two hours in the same line several hours prior, so my wait time didn't seem too bad. Much to my surprise, the actual duration of the ferry ride took only about ten minutes, so before I knew it I was on the island.

Once off the ferry, I drove onto the island and met up with the family who had just finished eating dinner. I followed the family to the beach house, which was located within the town of Freeland in a small neighborhood called Mutiny Bay. The house was just a short three minute walk to the beach. After settling in, I relaxed with the family for the rest of the evening which involved several hours of long conversations regarding old family memories and stories.

Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island

Beautiful home in Mutiny Bay, Whidbey Island

Day 2 (Saturday, August 8th 2009)

After eating a casual breakfast with the family, Kimberly, the dogs and I left around 10:00 and headed towards Langley where we had planned on visiting two farmer’s market. The first one that we stopped at was called Bayview Farmer’s Market at Bayview Corner. We arrived just after the market had opened, so the parking lot was full of dozens of cars. We weren’t sure if dogs were allowed at this farmer’s market (as they sometimes aren’t at others) but after checking, we were informed that dogs were welcomed!

I was pleasantly surprised at the size and variety of the market; it was much larger than I had expected it would be and had at least 40 vendors selling a wide range of goods from vegetables and fruits, to baked goods, to an array of art, including photography, jewelry, fountains, and much more. We made our way through the aisles, stopping to photograph and eat some of the beautiful food. I chose to purchase some lumpia and BBQ pork from a Filipino food stand. For those of you who aren't familiar with lumpia, they are similar in concept to an egg roll or spring roll, except that they usually tend to be shorter and skinnier. Kimberly opted to spring for a dessert and bought a chocolate toffee bar cookie, which I was fortunate enough to take a delicious bite of!

Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley

Fruit tart for sale at Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley.

Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley

Lumpia stand at Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley.

BBQ pork and lumpia at Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley.

Chocolate toffee bar cookie from Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley.

Bayview Farmer's Market in Langley

From the Bayview Farmer’s Market I planned on heading to another farmer’s market. As we approached the South Whidbey Tilth Farmer’s Market from a distance, we could see that it was tiny in comparison to the one we had just visited. We decided to go ahead and stop in anyways as we figured that it never hurts to just walk around. Although there were quite a bit of cars in the parking lot, there was definitely a lack of vendors selling products; in total, there might have been six or seven, none of which had a rather large selection of items for sale. After wandering around for about five minutes, we turned around and headed towards Langley.

South Whidbey Tilth Farmer's Market

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Madrid, Spain

Plaza Mayor of Madrid.

Day 14 (Monday, April 6th 2009)

From Segovia I started my drive early up to Madrid.

I reached the city limits of Madrid without any problems. However, I had issues once I began driving within the city as I attempted to find the car rental agency which was supposed to be located next to the Atocha train station. Unfortunately, my navigation system didn't seem to understand the one way streets so needless to say, I got lost. After becoming extremely frustrated from having driven in circles several times, I eventually found the train station. Thankfully I also saw a gas station right across the street, all with about 15 minutes to spare before the agreed upon drop off time. Had I dropped off the rental car off after 12:30 I would have been charged an additional day’s rental cost, so it was absolutely imperative that I arrive prior to that time.

From the car rental agency, I walked downstairs to the train station and took the metro into the central Madrid neighborhood called Puerta del Sol.

I found Hostal Acapulco easily from the nearby metro stop Gran Via. The hostal was perfectly fine; my room was bright, clean, and had a balcony with a view over Plaza Carmen. The most interesting part of the hostal however was its really cool elevator that appeared to be at least 100 years old, but was actually only built in the 1960’s (according to a plaque on the inside of the elevator). The elevator looked like something you might see in an old building in New York or London; it was wrought iron black metal with a double door that I would have to shut after walking inside. Even though I probably should have taken the stairs more often, it was more fun instead to ride the elevator each time I left or came back to the hostel.

Hostel Acapulco

View from my room at Hostel Acapulco.

Interesting elevator at Hostel Acapulco.

After settling into my room, I headed out into the city in order to complete Rick Steves "Welcome to Madrid Walk." I was quite surprised with Madrid; I had heard some not so positive things about the city prior to my visit (i.e. concrete jungle, dirty, uninteresting). However, as I walked the streets of the city I found that I liked it more than I thought I would have. While it was obviously a huge and sprawling city, it had a lot of beautiful architecture and was relatively clean, given its size and large population of more than three million people. Apparently, the city had placed a bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. In an effort to win the bid, the city poured millions of dollars into massive city-improvement building projects and infrastructure.

Madrid

Museum of Ham in Madrid.

Madrid

During my walk, I stopped at Puerta del Sol and walked inside Salon La Mallorquina, which was a bakery. After eying the many racks of goodies, I purchased two and headed outside to enjoy them.

Salon La Mallorquina in Madrid.

Pastry from Salon La Mallorquina in Madrid.

After completing the introductory walk of the city, my first major stop was the Royal Palace (Palacio Real) the official residence of the King of Spain. While the Royal Palace is considered the official residence, the royal family actually lives in the smaller Palacio de la Zarzuela, located on the outskirts of Madrid. Construction of the massive Royal Palace did not begin until the 18th century after a fortress on the same sight had burned down in 1734. King Phillip V ordered the building of the palace to be built on the same grandeur level of Versailles (Phillip was the grandson of the famous French King Louis XIV and preferred speaking French). Construction of the 2,000 room palace took 17 years and was finally finished in 1755.

I opted to pay for the regular 8 Euro entrance fee instead of 10 Euro for a guided tour as Rick Steves had a somewhat detailed tour described in his guidebook. The interior of the palace was beautiful and reminded me very much of Versailles and Schonbrunn, but I was unfortunately unable to take photos. I walked through the royal state rooms relatively quickly, especially because several of the rooms including the Royal Chapel, were closed for restoration. Afterward, I hurried outside as the sun was finally coming out and I wanted to get some great shots of the giant courtyard.

Royal Palace of Madrid.