Sore feet in Espana

We have arrived. The butterflies in our stomachs have settled and we are having fun.

The best laid plans of mice and men...had us taking long naps on the flight. That was until we saw the movie selection at our personal movie screen. We each watched two movies and Tim was well into the third when the screens shut down to prepare for landing. Our flight landed just after 8am and we cleared customs by 8:30am. Grabbing our luggage we were off to start navigating the metro system. It is amazing how quickly you remember how to scrap our way through the maze of trains, stairs and tunnels. By 10am we were at the doorstep of our hostel. Too bad our room wouldn't be ready until 12:30. We dropped off our bags in a holding room and prayed they were there when we returned.

First stop the international train station to try to schedule our eurail train to Lisbon, Portugal. I wish we could post the pictures of the station. They have a rain forest in the middle of it with a turtle pond. Walking up to the ticket counter, we are now relying on Tim's two years of high school spanish to get us across international lines. Of course we get the ticket gal that only speaks "un pocito ingles." By the end of the hour we spent with this gal, with many laughs and gestures and Spanglish, we have not only have a night train to Lisbon with a private room (with our own bathroom) but tickets to Cordoba, Sevilla and Barcelona. Riding high on our euphoria we strike out to find our first meal.

We decided to walk around the town a bit as the room was not yet ready. We walked up a street near the Praso museum and made sure to check the list of recommended restaurants. It is called La Plateria de Museo. Tim ordered a half racion of Iberian pork and it was wonderful. Too bad it cost almost $12.50 US or we would have ordered more!

We spent the rest of the day touring the Puerta del Sol (under construction - not much to see there) and the Plaza Mayor. There were some . . . Interesting characters at the plaza. We may go back for a bite to eat there later. We also scored on the free entry times to the Prado museum. We had fun following the Rick Steves tour version for the museum.

Dinner was sangria and what we thought were tapas at a local club. Except that what we were served was two plates full of sausage and ham. Sangria was great, Michelles face is still red. Light weight, we know!

Now we are back in the room and will probably make it an early night. Tomorrow we hit a palace, and maybe a day trip off to Toledo. My how time flies!