Hola from Mardid, Spain . . .

I'm here in the high octane city of Madrid. I won't bore you with the details of the long flight, but let's just say that I felt like a sardine and sat next to a McCain/Palin supporter and a space hogger! There's something so unjust about creating class systems in Airline seating. Why should I endure while there are those that have reclining seats, better service, better food (is that possible), better everything. But would I pay thousands more to have all those things. Well, no! Do I travel enough to get FF miles upgrade. Well, no too! Okay then enough with my whining and get on with my trip. Whoo hoo, I'm finally here in this fantastic City!

At first glimpse Madrid almost reminds me of LA only I know that it's not. They have freeways and look modern but somehow you know it's quite different. I could see glimpses of these differences . . . the architecture, the people, the way they drive . . . :) It's so funny, but while driving this other car cut off my Taxi Driver and he gave the other driver the finger! Now that's kind of like LA! :) I had to quietly LOL in the back seat, it was so funny!

I get to my hotel and I can immediately see that it is only 3 minutes away from Plaza Mayor and seems to be close to everything. My room is a single and it is tiny, but I don't care. It's just a place to sleep and shower. The real attraction is it's central location to most of the sights I want to see.

Tomnorrow I will hit the Prado Museum something that I have been waiting to see for a long time. I can still hear Sister Wendy's (recommended by Annie) commentary on Goya and Velasquez. Then I'll probably wing it and try to catch the other must see's on my list, maybe the Almudena Cathedral and the Royal Palace.

There's not much I intended to do tonight but check out Plaza Mayor then maybe do some Tapa's Bar Hopping. Mission accomplished! :)

Plaza Mayor is pretty big and dramatic looking. The middle part is mostly empty but with one statue then along the sides are these cafe or tapa bar/restaurants. I had heard on Slow Travel about Cava Bala (I think it was Shannon) as the place to hit the Tapa Bar Scene and so that's the plan for tonight. The guy at the front desk also recommended a place called Plaza Santa Ana.

I walked over and there were oodles and oodles of Tapas Bars and tons of people. Kind of reminds me of the vibe I had in Prague. There's this sort of energy. I settled on a small hole in the wall place because it kind of looked cool. When I was there it wasn't so crowded and then bam it was wall to wall people. A sure sign of a great place. All locals. It's also Friday night! I ordered a Potatos Bravas that came with a serving of bread and had the tastiest hot sauce on it. Sort of like a salsa almost but smoother tasting I think and spicey. Kind of fun mingling with the locals! Very interesting! It started to drizzle so I head back to Plaza Mayor to check out the scene. It really seems to be a place where people just hang out. I got to see and hear my first Flamenco musician performer. They were pretty good!

Anyway, I think I'll head back to the plaza to check more things out! :) It's about 11:00 pm but I think the night is just getting started.

Here are a few snapshots of my first day in Madrid . . .