August 5, 2011 - Madrid to Seville, Spain

I sleep forever and wake up later than expected.  The time change really affected me.  After arriving in Madrid yesterday I am already hopping on a train today to head to Seville and won't be back to Madrid until the last two days of the trip.  I still have a few hours until I have to catch my train.

I love staying in a hotel for the products they offer in the bathroom.  You never know exactly what things they will have and I brought so few toiletries in my backpack, only enough to fill my one liter TSA approved bag.  I use the soap, shampoo hybrid they supply in the bathroom.  I'm not really sure if it was shampoo at all, maybe it was just body wash but it did the job.

I check out of the Hotel and head out to find some breakfast.  I stop at a trendy cafe that advertises a croissant and a drink for two Euros, and choke down the croissant, still no appetite.  I sip the coke served in a glass bottle slowly, no refills.  I have a headache and I count back the hours to the last time I've had caffeine, it was on the plane.

Atocha Train Station

I hop on the Metro to Atocha.  There are two Atocha stations, the Atocha Renfe station is the one that exits directly into the train station.  I arrive about two hours prior to the departure of my train because I have to activate my rail pass and I have to stand in line at the ticket office.  It takes me less than 30 minutes to get my pass activated.  I head to the platform to wait, thank goodness for my Kindle.  I spend my time planning what I will be doing in Seville.

August 4, 2011 - Madrid, Spain

I didn't sleep much on the plane.  I was excited to arrive in Madrid and the plane was a circus, 100 teenagers took up the center section of seats and they didn't understand that the 7 hour flight wasn't a party.

I was tired as trudged down the long blue hallway, upstairs, downstairs, left turn, right turn, long blue hallway, repeat.  Finally arriving at customs, I was so excited to get my first stamp and start my adventure.  I had just renewed my passport and all the visa pages were blank.  One Hola and Gracias later my passport was stamped and I was on my way to Terminal 2 to catch the Metro to Puerta del Sol, the center of Madrid.

I purchase my metro card from a machine, thankful that I have some euro change and that there are huge signs in English leading the way to the number 8 train.  The train was pulling away as I came down the stairs, I found a bench to sit down.  I realized a few things in that moment when the weight was off my feet, one, it was only a little after 8:00am (2:00am at home) and two, I'd only slept 3 hours in the last 24 hours, and three, I needed a nap.

Puerta del Sol

Coming above ground in Puerta del Sol from the metro station, the first thing I noticed was a huge police presence.  Puerta del Sol is a huge cement square in the center of Madrid.  There are no benches or trees.  Everything I read in travel books said there were a lot of pickpockets and scam artists here but with the large police presence I felt at ease.  I was a little anxious because I was traveling on my own.  This trip is the first time I have ever traveled out of the country by myself.   I was prepared with a Google Maps print out of directions and the map with the general direction.  I had also walked through the turn by turn pictures to familiarize myself with what the walk looked like so I would have less of a chance of getting lost on that first morning.