From Barcelona to Madrid

Something new happened this morning I did not have breakfast at the hotel.  I decided to take a cab to the airport as I was not going to do that crazy train ride with heavy luggage again & the Aerobus was a decent & confusing hike away.  I thought about just having a cab take me to the Aerobus but they charge a fee to be dropped off at a bus stop on top of the cab ride so I decided to just make it easy on myself & take a cab.  I opted to skip breakfast as I didn't know how the driving was going to go so I went the safe route on the motion sickness front.  Sad to say that my trip to the airport which included the airport fee was cheaper than the ride the jerk face took me on the other day.  Checking in & security was a breeze & I can't believe the next time I'm in an airport I'm going home!  I did cheat though & had McDonalds breakfast & surprisingly there were very minimal choices.

I want to take this time to reflect on my time in Barcelona...
-It is a beautiful city with amazing architecture.
-The people are beautiful with their numerous tattoos despite their jewel red hair & mullets.
-I never had a bad glass of wine.
-The Catalan Spanish is WAY different than Mexico Spanish.
-I love their love of dogs but they really should fix them.
-I appreciate your devotion to recycling & the cleanliness of your city.
-I hate your maps.
-My three favorite things would be the architecture, Taller de Tapas & the Picasso Museum.
-I'm so glad I visited.  Thank you Barcelona for your hospitality well minus one jerk face cabbie.

I landed in Madrid & this terminal was way better than the one I was in on my way to Malaga.  I inquired with "tourist information" on whether or not there were up & down escalators/elevators in each station & when I wasn't getting a definitive answer I checked out the Aerobus next.  I originally thought there was an Aerobus stop right in front of my hotel but soon found out it was just a regular bus stop.  The closest Aerobus to my hotel was still a hike away & since I don't know how far that really was I decided to just play it safe & take a cab.  That cab fare was also cheaper than my "tour" of Barcelona.  On the drive from the airport to my hotel the city seemed kind of overwhelming so it'll be interesting to see if I continue to feel that way or if that changes.

I didn't think it was possible but my hotel room in Madrid is even smaller than the one in Barcelona; I mean like dorm size with a bathroom.  At least I went from biggest to smallest so when I get home my apartment might feel big for like a day or so.  I of course turned the TV on & this little personalized message from the hotel popped up.  I got unpacked & sat down for a minute to check out my map.  I decided to head to Puerto del Sol.  One thing I have to say for both Barcelona & Madrid is that they are very careful with their city workers as apparent in this photo of two of them in Puerto del Sol-someone would have to be blind to not see them.  Here's a photo of the Bear & Madrono Tree statue in Puerta del Sol.  During my journey I came across this popular restaurant Museo del Jamon-Brendan that photo is for you!

I came across Plaza Mayor where these drunken Irish fools were having a great time as you can see by the one Irishman outstretching his arms to his fellow Irishman sans shirt.  They were singing like it was their job.  I never figured out what they were celebrating but boy they were having fun.  I sat down at one of the restaurants on the square to have my first Bocadillo de Calamares & it was delicious but it could've used some cocktail sauce as it was a little dry.  I was very happy to find out that Madrid does have better Calamari than Barcelona.  Crasian, I thought of you with every delicious bite!

From there I headed down Calle Mayor & ran into the San Miguel Market (which is much cleaner than the one in Barcelona) & Mary T.  I saw these little yogurt shots & thought of you.  The market in Barcelona is more like a farmers market where the one in Madrid is more of a cluster of small restaurants.  I left the market & continued down the street & E they have those crazy "Go Cars" like the one you & Timmy used in San Francisco here too.

I then came across the Cathedral of Almudena & the Royal Palace.  I took some exterior shots of both & then opted to go in the Royal Palace first.  WOW!!  I was only able to get a couple interior shots before me & some dude from Romania were told no photos.  By all the doors to the palace there was one of these guard type stands on both sides of the door.  Next was the cathedral where I had helped these Irish boys take a photo of the three of them by this amazing door so they were nice enough to help me out with a photo of my own.  Horrible teeth!!!!  Once I was inside the detail in the ceiling was the first thing that caught my eye it was SO colorful & it was so different than other cathedrals because you normally only see vibrant color like that in the stained glass.

I left the cathedral & wandered down Calle de Bailen to find the Plaza de San Francisco but I wasn't able to go inside.  I headed back towards the cathedral & noticed I had missed the crypt of the cathedral.  It sounded kind of creepy but figured I might as well while I'm here & I mean if they have a sign up pointing it out why not?  It was actually pretty interesting with some very old tombs, very eccentric ones & some that are still waiting on a tenant.

I found another random park on my way to the Plaza de Espana.  I took some photos of the park & walked around the street vendors that were there & then headed down the Gran Via.  On my way down the Gran Via I got another shout out from the "Herz Herd" with another Nebraska restaurant.  A little bit past that I came across this store window that was full of dolls & stuffed animals; as you can see it was pretty creepy & way creepier than the crypt I was at earlier.  Then it was another shout out from the Springfield store; I probably should have gone in to see what it was like but oh well there's always the Internet.  I turned and headed back to Puerto del Sol & got another shout out from back home...a restaurant called Iowa.

I headed back to the hotel to trade in my day camera for my night one & walked around looking for a place for dinner.  I came across this restaurant called Spott (oh Spot the 11 year old fish) & the menu was very random like tacos, burritos & sushi.  It actually sounded good but there were like two people in there so I decided I better not...I mean you don't go to a restaurant where there's only one car parked outside.  I ended up at a place down the street from my hotel that had this awesome fried chorizo with melted cheese over it (good thing I've been walking around non-stop for the last however many days), olives (I just can't say no) & patatas bravas.

It was time to head back to the hotel & go to bed.  I have a full day tomorrow of site seeing & then Robyn, Faith & Stacy get here.  International Happy Hour...woo hoo!!