Day 1 in Madrid - Thomas and I got to the airport, and met up with a friend of mine from my music classes in High School. Kyle has been living in Madrid for about a year, working as an au pair and teaching guitar and voice lessons (and he is an amazing musician!) We bonded almost 10 years ago as the youngest students in an AP Music Theory course, then did choir and jazz band and several other fun activities together. I was so excited when I found out he had moved to Madrid and that we'd be able to see him this trip. Kyle is always smiling and fun to be around. We walked around the Park Retiro (big famous park in Madrid) and practiced doing some pull-ups on the children's playground so I wouldn't lose my rock climbing muscles completely :)
Because my Spanish isn't fantastic, making friends and learning people's stories was much harder in Spain than in Ireland. So I usually filled the void with a Nutella crepe each day. And it was delicious indeed! It was also fun to see the little scooters everywhere. Very few people drove, most people rode the Metro, but there were all kinds of motorcycles and scooters around as well. Just parked on the sidewalk. Rather different that what I'm used to seeing.
Thomas playing with the G11 because he didn't want to carry around a second DSLR (I don't blame him. The packs got really heavy and we did a lot of walking!)
And afternoon tapas. You walk to this street, sit down at a table, someone may take your order within 15 or 20 minutes, the food arrives another 2o or 30 minutes later, and then you have to beg and plead for them to come back so you can pay when you're done. I love this about the Spanish culture. There is no rush. You are there to talk, not just to eat. You are there to feel the sun, enjoy the life, and SLOW DOWN. I rather enjoyed the food as well.
We have almost an entire week in Madrid, then off to Holland for the wedding. This is an adventure indeed!