Arrival

This is my first blog post from the other side of the Atlantic! Which obviously means I made it to Madrid in one piece.
Saturday was uneventful, but long. Josie and her family drove me to the airport at 2pm and we got there right around 3 pm, which was perfect because you are supposed to be there at least 3 hours early for international flights, and since my flight was SUPPOSED to leave at 6:30 (we’ll get to that story in a minute), I was ahead of schedule.
I had a brief moment of panic when I lifted my bag onto the scale, because I was dreading having to pay an overage fee. But relief soon washed over me as my bag weighed EXACTLY 50 lbs! Holy crap! Talk about cutting it close! I made some sort of comment to the check - in agent about my packing prowess, and he didn’t find it amusing at all. In fact he was not an example of the Brotherly love Filadelfia is supposedly known for.
The security checkpoint was the fast one I have ever been through. With the exception of the older women in front of me who obviously never flew before or at least not since the new regulations, and needed a lot of help and guidance. Then I had 3 hours to kill in the terminal. I grabbed my water and 3 magazines which I only read when flying, People, Us Weekly and In Touch. Then I grabbed a seat and messed around on my phone and ipod. The waiting area was really thin, then out of nowhere craploads of people showed up.
Our plane boarded on time, but that was the only thing it did on time. We sat on the plane for an hour and a half before taxing to the runway. Why you might be asking? Well evidently according to the message the pilot gave us 20 minutes into our wait, the mechanics were fixing an “issue.” SERIOUSLY? Did you just tell 200+ people that there is a mechanical issue with the plane they are sitting in? The mechanics were slow in fixing this “issue” and then we had to wait for the paperwork to be returned. So the 6:30pm departure ended up being a 7:45 departure.
THEN, during takeoff, there was an awful noise coming from the middle galley of the plane, my seat partner and I were very nervous about that noise. We couldn’t tell if we wanted to keep hearing the noise or not. Eventually the noise subsided. Dinner was well the typical airplane food. Not filling and not all that tasty.
I slept minimally on the plane, which means about an hour. We touched down in Madrid Barajas airport at 9:00 and I was off the plane at 9:15, gotta love front of the plane seats! I made my way to baggage claim, which always causes me a little stress. I know all the horror stories and I just hope that it won’t be me, and this time it wasn’t! I killed some time in the airport, then headed to the metro 2 terminals away from where I was.
I love love love Madrid’s metro. Especially on Sundays! It was only a 2 euro ride from the airport to my hotel. Granted I had to change lines 3 times but for 2 euros I can handle that. That is as opposed to a 30+euro cab ride.
My hotel is decent. I am in a great location for the evening, close to EVERYTHING!
I took a power nap, showered, then went out got some food. Yay for traditional sangria y tortilla! Then I wandered for a few hours before returning to my hotel to catch up on emails and write this and in my journal.
Tomorrow I get up early to ensure I get to the University on time for my first day of WORK.
Mas detalles manana! Hasta!