Bienvienida Madrid

We made it into our destination, after afbout 16 hours of plane rides we landed in Madrid about 29hours after we left Portland. (Time change included) So we were exhausted! I was not able to sleep on the plane at all it was rough, uncomfortable and dont get me started on the food HA! So needless to say we arrived at 11am and were not functioning properly to stay awake and defeat jet lag. We spend about an hour walking around the general area and we got a meal. First off, my family will contest to how picky I am when it comes to food so when we ordered my first European meal I was shocked.... I LOVED IT! It cost about 3 euro for a baguette style sandwhich with just these huge slices of cheese and ham which in spain was just strips of bacon (raw). It was so rich and flavorful, it was real food. Oh and let me mention that its rained since we got here...sad... but funny also because its raining, yes, but not enough to need an umbrella or a warm jacket yet everyone where thinks its pouring and freezing... HA!

Next we had to take a nap, we slept till about 8pm and then walked around and say some night life. We took ourselves on this self guided tour of the area and saw some amazing things. Puerta del sol is this main plaza with towering ancient building now used for department stores. We saw the mayors office and visited this small bakery. The sidewalks and most of the streets are cobblestone so its difficult to walk while sightseeing. We then went to the Plaza de Mayor which is this elaborate building that's got a plaza the size of a football field in the middle, which you walk through. there are tourist, and locals all mixed into this beautiful plaza. People were walking their dogs (without leashes) its amazing how obidient the dogs were even the puppies. Kimberlee you would fit right in, I think I must have seen about 50 dogs like Mud and Cherry. We also say the Cathedral of Almudena and the Royal Palace. I just have a feeling that Quinn might get annouyed at how much I say phrases like "look how big that building is!" and "look how old this building is" I'm sure I´ve already said it 1000 times.



We continued to walk down to the Mercado de San Miguel. Which is this little indoor market with half a dozen bars and shops inside. Its so surreal for me to communicate how culturally shocked I was. Everyone orders the local drink of choice Sangria´s (we did too) then you order a Tapa (appetizer) ok this sounds easy right_ Well now try doing this where you can´t read the menu or figure out the protocol to actually ordering since everyone is just standing around the bar even if they have their Sangria and Tapas. This women about our age was nice enough to notice our troubles and explain in broken English that we had to get a ticket like the kind they hand out in the DMV then wait till our number was called.

We are in Madrid for one more night then its off to Barcelona for some beach time!