24 Hours in Madrid - all starts well ends well

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After waking at around 3:30 am from Simons flat in London having around 2 hours sleep I embarked on a mission to terminal 5 Heathrow airport. After waiting for 30 mins for a night bus journey halfway across the city and further taxi ride, I made it to Victoria bus station to find a handful of people and a bus that didnt leave for Heathrow until 8:00, my flight was at 7:30...

Another taxi later through the strangely quiet streets of London where I got to see all the London sights such as Big Ben, the Eye, Trafalgar square - you get the picture - without a Chinese tourist insight but with the mandatory east end cockney driver. I was in a good place.

Arriving into Paddinton station and finding that the Heathrow express didnt open for another 30 mins, I was starting to brick it for the second time in these early hours. It turned out that the Heathrow express only takes 20 mins - panic over!

With a 2 hour gap between arriving in Madrid before my flight to Rio, I thought it was a little tight for time but im sure the modern airline of Iberia would have it under control...

Im sitting writing this post from a very nice 4* hotel in the middle of knowwhere outside Madrid where Iberia have put me up with a bedroom, lunch and dinner. Turns out some twat put his bag on the wrong flight only realising this when he got to the boarding gate. The plane was delayed and despite running to the Rio boarding gate and making it with time to spare it turns out my bag wasnt on the flight to Rio and it seemed there was no intention of this either, 5 people in a similar boat. Myself being the most postive!

I am now getting a flight to Sao Paulo and further flight to Rio arriving early tommorow morning at 10am. Iberia was a funny airline, very old school and very spanish. Despite expressing my concerns about the flight being delayed I was greeted with a very calm laid back response and told I was not to worry.

All that starts well ends well...

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