Total time on flights: approximately 12 hours. Total travel time, including the time-zone change: 24 hours. A first time journey half-way around the world... priceless. After all the cars, planes, buses, and taxis, I am officially no longer in the United States and I have arrived safely in Madrid, Spain.
My mind is STILL trying to wrap itself around this.
Anyway, today was a long day to say the least. It was really exciting witnessing our (Lu, Edgar, Jinah, and I) itinerary travel plans unravel and come to life successfully. Staring at the million shining stars 35 thousand feet above sea level at night was absolutely amazing -- and so was watching the sun rise over Europe in only a few minutes time. It was simply breath-taking. I was lucky enough to awake from a nap and record this gorgeous moment.
Walking out of the Barajas airport in Madrid was "one small step" for Jaimie's kind. In fact, from baggage claim to exchanging currency to finding a taxi to drive us to our hostel, I learned quite a bit about Spain. Here was my observation list of Spain that I wrote down within my first thirty minutes of being in Spain:
1. The airport ceilings are extremely low.
2. Signs are really bold and colorful.
3. Many people smoke here.
4. Graffiti... is everywhere.
5. Spanish citizens drive noticeably smaller cars than Americans.
6. There are no front yards, but rather homes have back-yards tucked in the back instead.
7. Europeans travel often.
8. The air has a powdery/perfume scent.
9. Everyone dresses nicely and smells good.
I'll keep this list going. But, anyway, we eventually reached our hostel to find ourselves a very small room packed with two beds and a cute lounging area that is decorated with just about all the colors of the rainbow. Oh! We even met two Belgian girls who were JUST leaving the hostel we were arriving in. Before meeting with Jinah, Lu, Edgar, and I ate lunch at a small deli place near where we were staying. We took a nap. We awoke. All four of us met. We walked around the small downtown area exploring... searching for an ATM and any food we could find. The evening ended with us stumbling in on a ham-frenzy. We ate at a "hammy" restaurant and finally walked back home to sleep for the night.
And here I am.
It's 2AM right now. Time for bed, finally. Go away jet-lag!
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