Hotel Holiday Inn Madrid

... bad but we laughed through the whole thing. i think we were punchy from the flight and no sleep. We finally got on the road and started driving - of course the wrong direction - it took us a while but we figured it out and got the right address in the gps and took off for Toledo. Mike and I are keeping track of how many times we stall the car. so far Mike -5 / Staci -0. more to update later...

... back in OZ, and started to feel a tinsy bit better. I made 2 friends at the hostel (Laura from UK and Seho from Sth Korea) and that's when I started to feel like I was going to be ok - FINALLY! We went out to a local cafe and had a few 'vino tino de verona´s' (yum summer wine.. I could drink them forever..) and chowed down on the free tapas - olives, spanish omlette, muscles, nuts..! I was so glad to be feeling better, and I only had to get through one more day ...

... which was nice for us. On our first day in Madrid we were walking around trying to find things to do when this Italian woman comes over to us, asks us if we speak Italian, and proceeds to give us 4 tickets for a bus-tour of the city! (Italy must love us!) We found out that the tickets were like 17 euro each so we were grateful that we got them for free! The weather was beautiful and we sat on ...

... vida. Pues sí, no dimos muchas vueltas a la hora de decidir que era hora de dar un buen giro y hacer algo especial de lo que nunca nos arrepintamos. Ni me voy a enrrollar esta vez, ni me pondré demasiado filosófica (los que me conocen ya saben lo que pienso y cómo me siento). Es algo que necesitaba, que deseaba y a lo que me he lanzado sin dudarlo porque creo que estoy en la edad perfecta y voy con la compañera ...

... is pistachio'crusted shrimp, salmon, and fava beans, and after waking up a three course breafast including an omelet. Plus all the wine and champagne I could drink for free.... Good times! It took a while to actually get to Madrid since my flight out of the U.S. was actually delayed and I missed my Frankfurt connection, but I made it, and at about the same time as the rest of my group. We met up with another group from ...

... I studied "Guernica" for a long time, and although I was more impressed the second time by the artistry of the work, I was less impressed by the meaning. "Guernica" is supposed to be a depiction of the Spanish Civil War that happened in the 1930s when the soon-to-become dictator, Francisco Franco was trying to win power. The reason I say that I am less impressed by the meaning of the painting is that I don't sympathize with the Spanish anymore. While I realize a civil ...

... was almost gone. I found myself a huge cork tree inside the park and sat down to smell the flowers (with my snotty nose), just like Ferdinand. The baguettes were still piping hot and the Guaraná icy cold. Soon my stomach was full and I laid down for a read. I had brought Papillon with me, a book I have read a good few times before. It didn't take long before I drifted off to a Latin American adventure once again (no comparisons by the way).

... of arriving... And for all you who thought it would be me!!!! She said she thinks it was the big T she had on her forhead, for Target. Well, gotta go... now I need to make copies of my passport and put them in a safe place. Had my first STARBUCKS .... it is within a block of our hotel ... I love Europe already.