Excerpt from TravelMag:
[Wednesday Night]
What is the walk away percentage at the Chili’s restaurant in JFK airport? 15%? 20%? Thoughts while waiting for my buffalo chicken salad wondering whether the people in Spain aspire to be Flamenco dancers and Bullfighters the same way Lawyers and Doctors once were in the states. I’m put at ease once my salad arrives and I remember that the residents of Madrid still believe in the siesta and call all hats sombreros.
Walking onto the plane Beth and I are forced to squeeze into our seats due to a rude couple in front that insists on having their seat backs. At this point I’m fully expecting a flight attendant to lean over and punch me. I can’t be more uncomfortable. Then it happens. We look around and realize the whole middle section is open. The rest of the flight is trouble free, the pasta dinner? Almost enjoyable.
[Thursday Morning]
It is still dark when we arrive at our hotel in Madrid’s Plaza de Santa Anna. A square located near Old Madrid, in the center of the city. Our hotel, the ME Madrid, used to be a Hard Rock Hotel, it now bears little resemblance and there are no cheeseburgers in sight.
Given the time our hotel isn’t ready and our friends Terence and Olya (you may remember them from such adventures as Amsterdam and Dublin) have yet to arrive. We walk around the block to enjoy an Espresso and Cappuccino. Once our friends arrive we decide to begin our adventure and head toward Old Madrid. On our way we are greeted by soldiers and pedestrians dressed as soldiers with horses. It is a lot to take in this early in the morning so we head to a restaurant near Plaza Mayor and have another round of Espressos and Cappuccinos.
A walk around Old Madrid and The Palace is followed by several beers at a couple of the thousand of tapas bars lining the streets. After, we head back to Plaza de Santa Anna for more beers, a shoe shine, and pictures with an accordion player. It is midday Thursday and the plaza is full of locals drinking and having a good time. It’s at this time we make a plan to have a short siesta, have dinner, and turn in early because tomorrow is museum day.
Read the full post at TravelMag.co.uk
Coming Soon, The Italia Diary: A Travel Narrative with Inspired Fiction from author David S. Grant.
For more information go to http://www.davidsgrant.com and http://www.fearandloathingtravel.com. Follow David on twitter: .david_s_grant
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