The Spain Chronicles – Day 1

I am usually beyond horrible when it comes to keeping records of trips. When I went to Spain 10 years ago, our teacher made us keep a journal which would count for a grade. I didn't write most of mine until after the trip – I guess I wanted to enjoy the sights and take photos and talk to people (my friends, not random strangers) rather than be passive and write things down. But anyway, I think it will be less of an intimidating task if I tell you about it day by day rather than wait until the end.

So here's the deal. At the moment I'm in Madrid, where I will be doing some research at the Biblioteca Nacional and trying to get in some sightseeing. The last time I was in Madrid was 10 years ago, so it's interesting to be back after all that time. On Monday I'll take a train up to Vigo to meet up with my friends Enrique and Justin, where we'll stay until Saturday. This is the first time I've traveled by myself before, and it's been ok so far. Granted, I've been here less than a day, so I probably don't have much to base it on just yet!

My flight was from Gatwick at 2:45 yesterday. I've never been to Gatwick before. It's a bit of a hike from Oxford – the bus took about as long as the flight (both about 2 hours). Anyway, Gatwick is fairly manageable IMHO. The flight was pretty full, mostly because of a group of Spanish students (they looked like very young high school kids) were there. The kid next to me was extremely hyper and seemed to have a crush on his teacher, who was sitting behind us. The flight wasn't bad – they gave us crappy sandwiches on the way, which the Spanish kids didn't like.

We arrived at Barajas at about 6:30. Dear God, it's HUGE. You walk for ages and ages and then take a train to get to your baggage. Customs was easy, but the baggage took a while, so it was about an hour from when I landed to when I finally worked my way out of there.

The Metro was easy. It seems like there are far fewer lines than in London, or perhaps that not all the lines go through all the stations so you don't have to choose between 75 trains at one place. One very cool part was when I got to hear the voice announce: Próxima Estación: Esperanza. I didn't realize it was a real place!

My hotel is called Apartamentos Goya 75, a dumpy little place in the Salamanca neighborhood. It has everything I need for not too much money, and it's not too far from the library. I didn't do too much once I got to the hotel, as I did not want to venture out late by myself. I went up and down the Calle Goya, which has a lot of shops, just to see what's nearby. I bought a load of snacky crap at a store called VIPs, then went up to the cafeteria at El Corte Inglés to have a bocadillo de jamón ibérico for dinner. I got back to the hotel around 10, when it was just starting to get dark, so it worked out nicely.

It's around 11 am now. I think I'll go to the Retiro today, then venture down to the library later on. I'll keep you posted!