Hi everyone! Well, this is officially my first post since arriving in Europe! Just so you know, I think I will be updating this every Sunday. I arrived in Madrid on Wednesday, May 9th. I almost missed my flight too! I got to the airport in SLC super early, but there was a mix up with my tickets (I used my Delta Skymiles). Continental and Delta kept sending me back and forth between terminals 1 and 2 because they couldn't decide which flight I was on! I barely made it on a Continental flight with minutes to spare!
My connecting flight was through Houston for a little over an hour and then to London's Gatwick airport, where I had a 4 hour layover before taking an EasyJet flight to Madrid. EasyJet is the largest low cost airline in Europe, equivalent to Southwest Airlines. Not to my surprise, I was over the weight limit on my luggage (the low cost airlines in Europe have lower limits than U.S.) I ended up paying an $18 fee. Hmm, guess I need to lose a lot of stuff during this trip, or ship it back home...especially if some of you want souvenirs!!!
I was fortunate enough to have an aisle seat for all three legs of the trip (my preference) and none of the flights were full. This meant that I was able to stretch and sleep comfortably on the plane. As far as jet lag, I haven't really experienced any. I stayed up for more than 24 hours straight the night before, so I don't know if that helped. Tim, who is travelling with me, hasn't been so lucky! Last night he said, "I wish there was a pill you can take to cure jet lag." "THERE IS!" I responded. FYI You can get it at REI for $10.
My connecting flight was through Houston for a little over an hour and then to London's Gatwick airport, where I had a 4 hour layover before taking an EasyJet flight to Madrid. EasyJet is the largest low cost airline in Europe, equivalent to Southwest Airlines. Not to my surprise, I was over the weight limit on my luggage (the low cost airlines in Europe have lower limits than U.S.) I ended up paying an $18 fee. Hmm, guess I need to lose a lot of stuff during this trip, or ship it back home...especially if some of you want souvenirs!!!
I was fortunate enough to have an aisle seat for all three legs of the trip (my preference) and none of the flights were full. This meant that I was able to stretch and sleep comfortably on the plane. As far as jet lag, I haven't really experienced any. I stayed up for more than 24 hours straight the night before, so I don't know if that helped. Tim, who is travelling with me, hasn't been so lucky! Last night he said, "I wish there was a pill you can take to cure jet lag." "THERE IS!" I responded. FYI You can get it at REI for $10. 
From the airport we took the metro to our hostel, which is located in the center of the city near the Plaza Mayor (main square). I am very impressed with Madrid's metro system. Looking at the map of the system, it looks complex and intimidating, but once someone explains how it works, you get the hang of it.
So, in the interest of time, I am going to give a short version of what we've done, and post some pics later. We went to the Royal Palace, the Prado Museum, The Temple Debod (an authentic Egyptian Temple that was gifted to one of the Kings of Spain and transported to Madrid). We also went to a lot of the royal parks, and visited many churches. Not to be left out was the Reina Sofia museum, where I saw a few Picasso's and Dali's, among other notable art.
Royal Palace at sunset, Madrid, Spain.
Photo credit: Tim Cannon
Temple Debod, Madrid, Spain
Photo credit: Tim Cannon
We've also taken a few daytrips:
1) Aranjuez - where the summer palace of the Habsburg and Bourbon families is located; the region is also famous for their asparagus and strawberries...we had a big bowl of strawberries mounted with whipped cream and sugar! YUM!!!
1) Aranjuez - where the summer palace of the Habsburg and Bourbon families is located; the region is also famous for their asparagus and strawberries...we had a big bowl of strawberries mounted with whipped cream and sugar! YUM!!!
2) Alcala - So far my favorite daytrip! It's a cute little town where Miguel de Cervantes (author of Don Quixote) was born. We actually took a tour of his house. We also took a tour of the university, where the king awards the Premio Cervantes (Spain's most prestigious literary award).
3) El Escorial - This former palace was constructed by Phillip II (who the Philippines is named after) and took more than 30 years to build. It serves as a monastery and mausoleum...all but three kings of Spain are buried here, along with their respective queens and children. The mausoleum room was so beautiful and the library was the best I've ever seen.
---MORE PICS AND VIDEOS COMING SOON---
A Spanish fan on display at the royal palace in Madrid.
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