We are here! We are in Silvia's apartment in Madrid! It is so exciting here and such an awesome city! The city is all abuzz over World Youth Day ("WYD"). We see groups EVERYWHERE we go from all over the world.
First we met a group in Detroit, from Clawson, who were flying through Chicago. The pastor with the group knew Fr Bill from St Cyprian and went to school with Fr Joe from Cabrini. He reminded us that Fr Joe is coming to Madrid via Malta! Marie's boyfriend Nick was at the airport leaving on a flight at the same time ours did and about 3 gates down! He bought us breakfast but we couldn't talk him into carrying our backpacks! (Note to self, next carryon must have wheels)
Eight hours in the Atlanta airport went by so quickly! We found our own little cubby and eventually took it over with our "stuff" spread out all over. I worked and Marie played Sims (aka "electronic Barbie"). When we went to our gate, there were several groups heading here for WYD. They all had matching shirts. I wish our group of two (The Maltese American Community Club Youth Group) had matching shirts!
After taking some time en route to study the guidebook and maps of the City and subway system, we were confident we could find our way around using the subway. The Madrid airport and the subway were packed with groups heading to WYD. Most carrying their sleeping bags or mats on their backs!
We took the subway to the stop nearest to the offices of Cuatracasus, the law firm where Silvia works. Well, it was the second nearest. We didn't realize we had to push the button to open the door at the stop we really wanted. Marie waited at a cute little street cafe called Cafe & Te while I walked to the law office. The cafe had tables outside and a "mister" made it very pleasant. It is warm here but it is dry. I had white jeans on for my walk to the law office -- which was further than I anticipated -- but did not sweat at all. Silvia left the keys with the guard as promised and I joined Marie back at the cafe where we enjoyed a sandwich and a beverage. Yikes! It came to 30 euros! About $42 dollars! I've since noticed that a few places have WYD "deals" for "set menus". I forgot about the "set menus" where you get a beverage and "set" items for a certain price. We'll watch for those henceforth.
After eating, we headed back to the subway and rode it to the stop nearest to Silvia's apartment. She is right across the street from the subway and a small town square/park which reminds me of the town square in Quara, Malta, where all the people gather in the evenings. I spent some time trying to track down my luggage which didn't arrive with me. Fortunately, I learned my lesson from previous trips and packed a couple changes of clothes, toiletries and other necessities in my carryon!
After a short nap, I went for a walk to check out the neighborhood which, the guidebook says, is a gay neighborhood. Although it was 7:30 pm, everything was closed and a lot of places had signs that they were on vacation until the end of August! I was hoping that places would open back up after siesta but its 930pm now and, as I look out the window, it doesn't appear to be happening. Although I deplore shopping, I saw some adorable dresses in the windows which I must go back and try on. And shoes! Madrid it famous for its shoes! And did you know it has a population of 3.2 million and is the third largest city in Europe behind London and Berlin?
Silvia's apartment is small (by American standards) but real cute. I talked to her earlier and she is in Puerto Rico but is coming here this weekend before heading to Barcelona to visit here parents. I'm excited to meet her!
We're going to head out now and explore the nighborhood some more and look for a reasonably priced meal. It is supposedly very common to eat dinner at 10:00pm and.. when in Madrid... :)
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