Days 1 and 2 - April 2 and 3 - Madrid, Spain

I am writing to you today from Madrid, Spain.  No pictures yet, but hopefully tomorrow.  We had the best overall trip we have had in years- at least since 911.  

We highly recommend Carey Limousine – always on time – they took both of us to the airport for under $50.  This means that we didn’t have to pay parking fees and we didn’t have to inconvenience friends.  The driver was great and the ride to the airport was smooth.

Tuesday is the day to fly. Even though our flight to Atlanta was full, there was hardly anybody in the airport.  We had plenty of time for a soup and salad at Harry and Izzy’s before we boarded the plane.

Once in Atlanta,  we took the "plane-train" to Terminal E and only waited around twenty minutes before they started boarding our international flight early.  The Delta flight was amazing –  the best flight we have had since before 911.  The seats were roomy.  On-demand was free.  Beer and wine were free.  We had hot towels, then beverages and snack, then dinner, then more beverages, and a small breakfast in the morning, and then we landed a half hour earlier than planned. I watched two movies, read a book, slept a couple of hours and we were there. 

We took a cab to the hotel which we shouldn’t have done – that was pretty expensive.  Our room wasn’t ready yet so we had Café Americano and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches at a nearby restaurant and found Tourist information in Plaza Mayor, which dates back to the 16^th century .  We started to feel like we had our bearings a little bit.  Then we found a McDonald’s and had more Café Americano until our room was ready. Breakfast and the second cup of coffee at Micky D’s totaled only 12 Euros. 

Our room is interesting – a little small, and you have to put your room key into a box by the door in order to turn on the lights.  It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean and a place to sleep and that’s all we really need.  Plaza Mayor Hotel is in a 200-year old building.    We haven’t decided what we think of Madrid yet.  We’ll let you know tomorrow –  hopefully with pictures.