First Day-

LAURIE'S TAKE:
Interesting day. We arrived at Madrid around 9:30- much better than our scheduled time of 6:30 am. Immigration took about an hour in line and about 90 seconds with the Policia Nacional. After collecting our luggage, we got Metro cards and went to Nuevos Ministerios for a switch. After a couple of mixups, we took a break at a subway cafe for café con leche and croissants. Finally got headed in the right direction and made it to the hotel- Apartamentos Recoletos near the Biblioteca Nacional.

Along the way, we encountered many, many kind people who offered up their seats on the Metro (not sure how I feel about that- am I officially and visibly an Old Lady?)- so sweet. What was even more welcome was the assistance we received at least 4 times with our luggage on stairs. Just voluntary kindness popping out all over the place.

We needed a nap, so headed out around 7:30 for Plaza Mayor. We walked around a bit, then went to the house that Pat lived in when she studied here in Madrid.

Then to Cervecería Alemana. Pat and her friends determined that it was the "Clean, Well-Lighted Place" that Hemingway wrote of. And, indeed, we sat at the table by the window that he apparently loved (under a picture of him, in fact). Our dinner couldn't be beat. We shared a portion of tortilla española, some jamón croquetas, and fried calamari - topped off by generous glasses of sangría.

We caught the bus back- another public transport experience. The driver was the one exception to kind people - closed the door on me and squished my shoulder. I'd like to think it was a mistake. Yes- that's what I will choose to think, after some cussing and very mean thoughts.

PAT'S TAKE:
Arrived in Madrid by 10 am, got through Passport Control, and found our checked baggage.
We were then off to get reacquainted with the Metro system. Really didn't do that badly with our initial attempt on the Metro from the airport into Madrid. The map provided with our passes only showed the station names without any street details, so I guessed at the stop, which was actually pretty close. Arriving at "Avenida de Américas" station we found a place to buy a SIM card for Laurie's hot spot, then noticed an information stand where a friendly man looked up the hotel address and provided exact directions for the train to get us closer to it. As we proceeded, we saw the aforementioned café and were fortified to continue on to the Colón station, just blocks from Apartamentos Recoletos.

Post-nap we easily identified the Metro station "Retiro" and line to take us to "Sol," the closest station to the Plaza Mayor. We spent a little time at the Puerta del Sol Plaza, which is at the center (km0) of Madrid's street system. Found the popular longtime bakery where we discovered croissants back in our foreign study term of 1974-75. One of the number of streets that radiate from Puerta del Sol leads to the Plaza Mayor - thanks to mobile hotspot and Google Maps, we were able to find our way there, and beyond to Calle de Atocha, número 85, and then to the Cervecería Alemana.

Left the Cervecería with take-out containers for the calamar and croquetas, since there's a fridge, to enjoy leftovers later. We visited a small grocery where we purchased a container of sweetened condensed milk for our morning coffee and a jar of jam. Looking forward to tomorrow's breakfast.

On to our first bus experience. We found the location of the stop, though not exactly where to board. We saw the correct numbered route on an approaching bus. He was stopped behind other vehicles right by us, so we motioned that we wanted to board. Instead, he pointed ahead to the actual boarding location, so we ran ahead and fortunately made it in time before he took off. This happened to be the same "pleasant" (not) bus operator that Laurie referred to above. I definitely preferred using the Metro to dealing with the uncertainty & human whims associated with taking the bus.Lue lisää