Last Call for Madrid

As we landed I turned to Judit and said, "I am in Spain, I can't believe I am in Spain, I never thought this day would come." Today after leaving the apartment 20 minutes later than we had intended to and boarding the airplane while the words "Last Call" were flashing red on the screen, Judit and I made it to Madrid, Spain.

We flew with Ryan Air and had the opportunity to board the plane outdoors! I must say fresh air right before sitting in an airplane for 3 hours was a much appreciated free gift from the airline.

Instead of those large brochures in the seat pockets that explain what to do in case of an emergency, the safety rules were printed on the back of each seat. Please notice in the picture on the right that in an emergency landing one must remove all earrings, high-heeled shoes, glasses and DENTURES. What?!

This plane parked next to ours was pink and purple...like my luggage! 

That is real Elle Woods Style.

Here are some beautiful photos of the Alps and the coast of Spain.

Once we landed we took the subway into Madrid. Since we were tired of traveling, still carrying all of our luggage and wanted to arrive at our destination as soon as possible we decided to make it a short one today. This week we will be staying with a family that Judit lived with for one year, a few years ago. I look forward to learning about the Spanish culture through spending time with a family instead of doing the tourist thing. This is my favorite way to travel and learn about various cultures, through people. 

Just after arriving on the streets of Madrid and before heading to lunch we stopped to appreciate Gran Via, the Broadway of Madrid.

We ate tapas for lunch. At this restaurant when one purchased certain drinks "free" tapas were included. So I ordered two waters for 2.90 Euros each and Judit ordered two Cola Lights for 2.90 Euros each. Therefore we were allowed to choose 4 tapas from the menu shown below and we only paid 11.60 Euros for both of us to eat lunch.

Much of these choices seemed similar to American food, but Judit pointed out the most Spanish meals and we ordered those. 

This is the glass bottle that my 2.90 Euro water came in. I wanted to keep it!

Judit and I both first ordered Huevos Rotos, which are french fries with fried eggs and serrano ham. Apparently it is a very Spanish dish. 

These were the other two tapas. One was Ensaladilla Rusa (Russian potato salad) and the other was Pincho Moruno (a "spicy" chicken kabob with french fries). Both were also incredible.

The most interesting food that I saw on the menu today can be seen in the third meal in this photo. Gulas are baby eels; apparently they taste like garlic noodles. I didn't have the courage to order them today, but I hope to try them sometime this week. 

After a delicious lunch Judit and I went to visit an old Egyptian temple. As compensation for Spain's help in recovering old temples and ruins, Egyptians gifted them with this temple in 1968; however, Spain did not turn it into a museum until 2007. Inside I read about each room and saw models of what the whole temple and surroundings would have looked like during the time it was used.  

After arriving at Judit's friends'  house and taking a tour of the house, we ate dinner and visited with them. They are very kind and welcoming and Judit is extremely helpful with translating for all of us. Even though I studied Spanish for more than 5 years switching between languages so quickly is proving to be almost impossible. I can't seem to remember how to compose even the most basic of sentences. 

Oh well...I hope that by the end of this week I will remember how to say some things in Spanish. Baby steps...

Puszi,

Emily