Mediterranean Iconic Shores Ocean Cruise

Day 35: Wednesday, December 03, 2025 - Madrid, Spain, and travel [home]

The day's statistics:
-  Weather: low 60s
-  Steps: Linda: 7,724; Steve: 12,958 -  Miles traveled (approximately): 3,700

Our final over-seas wake for this trip. The time had come bid adios to Europe.

Breakfast was the buffet in the hotel restaurant.

Luggage had to be out by 10:00 which was no problem at all.
But before we departed, we headed back to the market one last time to get one of those ensalada de marisco to share for lunch as the timing was that we would be in the terminal at lunch time. And we knew we'd be given food on the flight so we didn't really want to overdo it with lunch either.
The picture of the salad that was shown last night was actually taken this day.

We got back from the store and went to the room. After assuring we collected everything, and had everything for traveling, we grabbed the luggage and took it to the lobby with us - because we could.
We were supposed to be in the lobby by 10:15 anyway, so we essentailly killed two birds with one stone.
After checking out, we joined the other departing travelers in the lobby seating area to chitchat before we headewd to the airport.
As normal with Viking Air transportation, they abide by the "two-hours before the flight" rule, and we left the hotel at 10:15 for our 1:15 flight. We had a Mercedes S-class sedan as our transport.
Unexpectedly, a guard outside the terminal wanted to see our boarding pass before even letting us into the building. I took out the phone to bring it up. The service was really bad in this spot. After what seemed like ten minutes with a blank screen - I showed it to the guard - he let us pass.
I know he was "doing his job", but we were clearly tourists with four pieces of luggage - was there really any doubt we were "supposed to" be there?
Anyway... by 10:45 we were checking our baggage at the luggage counter. Linda's was 18.8 KG (41.4 pounds) and mine was 19.0 KG (41.8 pounds).
I headed over to the Global VAT refund office to get a $10 VAT refund on a purchase from Istanbul. After getting the receipt stamped, I filled out the form, took a picture of all the paperwork, and dropped the envelope into the receptical to hope for the best.
So far, our flight was on time.

We made our way to the gate. But getting there wasn't going to be as easy.
First, we had to get through security. That wasn't so bad.
Then we took a tram to the other terminal building. While the trip was fast enough, we took an elevator to the second floor. But we were then not sure exactly how to get back on line for passport control. We eventually did, and then, starting at 11:30, we had another back-and-forth rat-maze to go through to get our passports validated.
How are we doing? "Go to your gate." We're working on it!

Lastly, we finally arrived at gate S9 a bit after noon.
Time for lunch - because if we had to get to our gate, we knew they were going to be calling us soon.
(This is essentially how it looked last night too.)

At 12:35 our group was called to board. But first... we had to get to the plane.
As with a couple other airports - most notably recently in Cappadocia a month ago - we had to go out onto the tarmac in order to board (I'm sure when airport construction is complete, this will be a thing of the past). We hopped onto a bus with our bags - and a large group of others, and drove over to the plane.


The bus pulled up behind another. And we sat. It was about five minutes before the other bus emptied. Then our bus advanced, and we emptied.
After climbing the packed staircase, we were onboard the plane and sitting by 12:50.

Everyone sits, safety review, seat check, and we were moving by 1:20.
The plane took to the air at 1:32.


Now we had eight hours to kill.... First up: the third and final Downton Abbey movie.
The guy in the aisle seat slept for the better part of the flight. Initially, not an issue - until we needed to use the restroom. He caughed a few times, and even wiped his nose. With his hand. Then wiped it on the blanket. Ewwwwww.
The movie was interrupted by food at 2:10. The tray consisted of the same things except for the entree. There was a small salad and dressing, bread annd butter, cheese and crackers, entree, and a lemon cake dessert. For entree, Linda had the pasta, and I had the meatballs with mashed potatoes and green beans. We both had red wine too.


The aisle guy missed out on this meal as he was still sleeping.
After the meal, we continued the movie.
At 2:30 we got wine refills.
After Downton was done... well, Nobody 2. We saw Nobody [1] and liked it, so we watched the sequel.
And when that was over... we still had time to kill. Jurrasic Park: Rebirth it is.
At some point - I didn't get the 5:00 Europe time, we were served an ice cream snack.

We reach the continent.
At first it looked like either Greeland or Northern Canada (and that's the tundra, not clouds). Or both...



Next up should have been Long Island, New York - with Connecticut on the horizon (the pictures were dark because I tinted the window, and couldn't get it untinted fast enough).


At 8:55 Europe time, we were served a Hot Pocket® type snack.
Linda had the veggie, and I had the Buffalo Chicken.

Further on I think I caught NYC and northern NJ.


And then more-southern NJ, probably Long Beach and or the Atlantic City area.


At 9:57 Europe Time (it should be 3:57 local), we landed. I wouldn't be until after we turned off airplane mode that the phones synched to the cell network and the times updated.
At 10:22 Europe Time, we were waiting for our luggage. That's when I turned off airplane mode.
At 4:45 local time, we were waiting for the shuttle to pick us up.
Our ExpressPark South shuttle driver - as we were the last on the bus - was kind enough to load our luggage directly from the van into the trunk of the car for us.
The car was a little hesitant to turn over, but it fired up. We headed out, paid the fee - to park for over a month - and headed home.
As usual, we didn't straight home as we stopped at Aldi on the way to stock up on all our perishables: milk, eggs, salad, fruit, whatever else we needed.

When departing on vacation, our checklist includes watering the plants. As we no longer have a pet, the only living thing we risk killing is a plant. Or three. However, this Christmas cacti were in full bloom when we got home.

While our other vacations have been great, this one was probably the overall best one (to date).
Between the length - the longest (to date) - locations, sights, food, and more, it was fantastic.
Our next trip should be a drive to Canada and back, stopping in four Canadian cities and Niagra Falls, while also visiting friends, including Judy and Gary that we met on the River Of Gold cruise.
We do have another Viking cruise planned, but I'm not saying anything else about it. We'll just keep you in suspense until we get back.

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