First 36 hours

Our first "His and Hers" post on our blog about our adventures around Europe! Read more to find out about each of our perspectives regarding our first 36 hours in Spain.

His:

Alright where to begin... lets start with...  Well, I am a Biology major so sorry if my writing skills are a little (or a lot) suspect, I am by no means a writer.  Also, my traveling experience is that of Mexico and a family trip to the Dominican Republic when I was younger, so this trip should be very interesting.  

First thing that comes to mind is the transit system or the "metro," THERE ARE VERY FEW ESCALATORS AND A CRAP TON OF STAIRS!!!  I'm talking like 10-25 or more steps per stairwell and we probably went through 15 stairwells from the airport to our apartment.  This is a problem because we are carrying at least a 100 pounds of luggage, and not once were we offered any help!  I know I am a little out of shape, but this really gave me an idea of how out of shape I am.

Once out of the metro system, we were met by a nice girl who walked us to our apartment.  There our next fun adventure was getting from the street up the three flights of stairs that anyone much larger then me may not be able to get through.  By now my arms, back, and legs feel like they are going to break. We reach our front door walk in and I immediately sit down on the couch out of breath.  We get a quick tour and I think to myself, thank goodness Jennison had me watching that show called "House Hunters International" because this place is not large.  Mainly the kitchen is the biggest surprise as I'm bigger than the fridge, there is a clothes washing machine in which could maybe fit one outfit of mine, which is next to a tiny stove.  Once the nice girl left we unpacked and I was eager to get my first run at the streets of Madrid!

We step outside, look left, look right and of course Jennison says let's go this way, pointing to the left which is straight uphill.  "Ugh", I think to myself, smile and start to the left.  We walk maybe a mile or two, walking toward whatever buildings look the coolest.  We finally come to a plaza called Plaza Mayor which is this huge, open square surrounded by about 4-5 story buildings.  This is really cool and I get my first, feeling of being outside of the U.S.  Now to find some food, wine or beer!  We first check out this place that looked crowded, the menu wasn't exactly what we were looking for and they only served one type of bottled beer, so we quickly disregarded this place.  Next choice was this place that had a bar with a bunch of alcohol and wine behind it, good enough for me!  We sit down in this booth that had wooden seats that I called sled seats and quickly ordered Sangria which looked delicious as we could see several pitchers on top of the bar.  We both went with the safe route with dinner as I ordered the spaghetti bolognese and Jennison ordered a potato pancake thing and some spicy fried potatoes.  Everything tasted good, my pasta was pretty average and tasted different then spaghetti in the US, but was still good. After finishing Jennison's meal for her I look up and she has this blank stare on her face and I think she must be sleeping with her eyes open.  Time to go!  We then head home stopping for some bottled water and a bottle of wine!

We spend the rest of the evening catching up on sleep. Luckily, I wake up early, take the first shower and get all the hot water (in which lasts about all of three minutes). We spend the rest of the day aimlessly walking and touring the city.  To my surprise I actually enjoyed getting lost and trying to figure out our way home.

Hers:

As the plane landed in Madrid, my first thoughts were, "was it really that easy?" You know when something is meant to be when things just kind of fall into place. Sure, there were many hours of planning put into this trip and yes our wallets have a little more room in them than five months ago....but, nonetheless, it truly feels as though we are exactly where we are supposed to be.

There is a serious lack of escalators in Madrid's Metro system. At first, we found ourselves each carrying about 100 lbs of luggage down a few flights of stairs. We looked at each other and laughed. After a couple metro stops and transfers, we found ourselves looking up what seemed to be endless flights of stairs. We looked at each other and almost cried. We made it though. We stepped out of the metro station, onto the rainy streets of Madrid. After Brian spotted a library (biblioteca) nearby, we were able to connect to WiFi and use Skype to call someone to meet us and walk us to the flat we rented near the city center.

It is amazing how your mindset changes as soon as you step onto European soil. No one in America, in their right mind, would walk a mile to their accommodation, in the rain, carrying 3 heavy bags.... uphill.   But, this is Europe. And in Europe, you don't think twice about those things. 

We arrived to our adorable little flat, unpacked and then headed out to check out our neighborhood to grab a bite to eat. Due to our jet-lagged state, the whole afternoon felt a little fuzzy. We stumbled upon the gorgeous Plaza Mayor and ate at a cute taberna nearby. We were so exhausted from the trip, we weren't really sure whether to speak in English or Spanish, how much to tip, not to mention- what to order! We managed to order some spicy potatoes, and of course, Sangria. 

We slept the rest of the afternoon and night and woke up this morning ready to explore and wander! So far, Brian, although a good sport, does not seem to enjoy the aimless wandering (aka getting lost) as much as I do ;) 

Highlight of the day: In the craziness of packing I left Brian's warm jacket behind. We managed to find a good looking jacket for him (seen below in the photo at Parque del Retiro). Next is the hat. Then the shoes. He'll be looking like a true Spaniard in no time!