9:30pm Hotel Tryp

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I am tired. This has been one of the longest days ever. I’d like to point out that a total of 2 hours of sleep have been had since my last entry yesterday. And that’s a generous figure. I just did the math: I’ve been up for 27 hours, with at least one more to go.

The upside to all this consciousness is that I had a long and eventful day in Madrid. I arrived about 8:30am Madrid time and promptly met several of my U of I companions and also some from a few other states (Nebraska and Michigan.) Universidad de Deusto Staff took us to the Hotel Tryp by bus, close to the heart of Madrid. My roommate Dan and I went out into the city immeditately because he still needed to convert USD into Euros. On our way we encountered “Los Tores Kio”, two famous towers that lean towards each other (looks cooler than it sounds). Here we found the Metro station that would take us into the city. After we got Dan’s Euros, we met back at the hotel for lunch. The food was…different, but I assume I’ll adapt to it. Our hotel room is actually an old, rundown apartment that smells of cigarettes and something not quite distinguishable. The girls, of course, are living in the classy hotel connected to our… “hotel.”

For the rest of the day, we took a bus tour of Madrid, a tour of the royal palace in Madrid, and a small walking architecture tour of buildings in Madrid. We then walked to “La Plaza Mayor” in the exact center of the city where there were many shops. Then to Puerta del Sol, an even larger area in which to shop. After all the tours, a small group of us remained in Puerta del Sol to go shopping. From here we took our first Metro ride back to our hotel for dinner, then a meeting at 10pm about the next day’s tours. Hopefully I’ll sleep after the meeting, because I’ve been up for a LONG TIME!!

Hasta Luego!

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Photos

In the Airport
The Clock may say 9:52 AM, but it felt like 2:52 to me...

Hotel Tryp
View from the balcony of the Hotel Tryp with Los Tores Kio in the background.

La Calle
A view of the street in Madrid from the Hotel.

Euros
My favorite form of money.

El Palacio Real
The first of many Palaces we would tour.

Soy Yo
Me with the view from el Palacio Real in the background.

El Palacio Real
The Arches in El Palacio

Mis Companeros
Some of my friends on the trip. From Left to Right: Katrina, Amanda, Faria, Sarah, and Dan (who doesn't like the sun).

Los Edificios
Some random buildings during our architecture tour.

La Plaza Mayor
Half of La Plaza Mayor, which has a statue in the middle.

Las Tiendas
The shops that surround La Plaza Mayor.

Plaza Mayor
A sign in La Plaza Mayor.