Tour of Madrid

Hola amigos! Yesterday was my first full day in Spain, and it was great! We got up bright and early to catch the train at 9:30, then we rode to Madrid.

We started in the Puerta de Sol (or Sol for short) and walked around the city. We saw this super-creepy street performer. Just watch: -------------------->

We saw lots of cool things on our tour: a market, a monastery, lots of awesome narrow cobblestone streets, several cathedrals, the royal palace. It all ended with a visit to the Chocolatería San Ginés. We had some churros and chocolate. The chocolate there is NOTHING like hot chocolate from home. It's chocolatey and creamy and thick enough to stick to your spoon. Or a churro. Oh, and the churros are better than the ones at home too. They're not covered in sugar and cinnamon to mask mediocre quality. SO good. Anyway... after all this, my roomie and I decided to go home to Alcalá and walk around the city a bit. But, we had a little adventure getting lost on the Metro. By the time we got home again, we were both super tired, so we napped for a couple hours, then went to the Plaza Cervantes to check out the Feria de Alcalá de Henares. We stayed out til about 10:30 then came home and had dinner and talked to Pilar and Fernando until 2 AM.

This morning, we woke up bright and early again to get ready for church. There is a ward here, and the church is about 2.5 miles away. We walked there and arrived just fine. Everyone there was very nice to us and it was cool to be across the world and still sing the same hymns and have the same lessons as back home. After we got home, I had my first paella! Pilar made it with saffron rice, green beans, red and green peppers, onions, garlic, and chicken and rabbit. Possibly the best dinner ever. We ate outside on the patio where it was sunny and cool and breezy.

Anyway, now I'm all full and sleepy so I'm going to have my customary siesta. Classes start tomorrow, so that should make my life a little more interesting. [Slash] busy. Stay tuned for the next installment of Brian's Adventures in Spain!