tiempo para Espana.

After a near restless night's sleep on the train from Paris to Spain, we arrived in Irun around 730am before getting on a bus that arrived in Madrid around 3pm. Once in Madrid, we tried to book a train from Madrid to Barcelona, which we had been told was only 3 hours. However, we were informed it was a 12 hour train ride, so we had to book another overnight train for the next night. Because of this confusion, we had to cancel our hotel in Barcelona for one night. The whole situation took much longer than we anticipated, so we didn't arrive at our hostel in Madrid til 5ish. After getting settled, we sought out to find authentic Spanish food as if we hadn't eaten in a month. We decided on a small, hole-in-the-wall type place close to our hostel, which ended up exceeding all of our expectations. I'm not sure why I assumed Spanish and Mexican food are similar, because they certainly are not. We enjoyed different dishes such as Spanish omelet, Iberian salami, cheese and salmon, and Spanish sheep cheese. Trust me, it's more appetizing than it sounds. Or maybe I'm just not a picky eater? After a fun dinner, we planned to head straight back to the hostel and go to bed, considering we were all exhausted from a terrible night's sleep on the train, as well as a full day of traveling. We were greeted by one of the hostel workers who informed us he was leaving in 10 minutes and taking a group to a local flamenco show, which we all agreed to go to (and sacrifice sleep). Although it was in the basement of a dilapidated building in a sketch neighborhood, the experience was well worth the time, money, and trepidation. It's hard for me to describe the logistics of a flamenco show, so if you're uncertain what it is, I recommend you do a little outside research. We arrived back at the hostel around 1030pm and enjoyed a glorious night's sleep, which we had grown immune to.

The next morning, we woke up well rested and headed to the travel bureau in Madrid to purchase tickets for a 1 1/2 hour walking tour of the city. I hate to admit this, but it was one of the worst walking tours I had ever paid for. Our guide was less than informative and did not take us into the heart of the city. Oh well. You win some, you lose some...right? The rest of the day was spent shopping in a local market and other stores, before we went to the Retiro Park, the main park of the city of Madrid. The beauty of this place (even better since the leaves were turning) certainly made up for the money lost on the less-than-average walking tour from the morning. After good quality time at the park for over an hour, we headed to the Musee del Prado for about an hour so we could enjoy paintings by El Greco, Caravaggio, and friends. We had our last meal in Madrid, which I enjoyed my first serving of Paella, a Spanish staple dish that is a free-style combination of meat, seafood, vegetables, and sometimes beans. After dinner, we ventured off for our final overnight train to Barcelona. Once again, we all slept poorly. I could not get comfortable to save my life. It didn't help that the men inside the compartment with me, Amy, and Allison smelled like rotten cat food. Still grosses me out. Thank God for good hygiene!

I'm almost caught up with the blogging...all I lack: our adventures in Barcelona, which were hilarious and extremely fun! Hopefully before school tomorrow, I can finish writing. Love to all.