An itty bitty trip to Madrid

Eva and me - it's a shame you can't tell we're in Madrid...
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I got to Madrid past midnight due to a delayed flight (as I should come to expect from now on seeing as all 3 of my non-Aer Lingus flights have been VERY delayed) and an hour of travelling from Terminal 4, Madrid airport, to Mad Hostel off of C. Atocha.  Fortunately my little friends were all sitting in the bar at the base of the hostel waiting for me!

We walked around town exploring and looking for something to do and ended up dancing for quite some time...got back to the hostel very late.

Billy, Wil, and Eva in front of Palacio Real
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Though the four of us didn't get the earliest start on Saturday, we did enjoy croissants and coffee included in our hostel fee (thank youuuu Mad Hostel).  We spent the day walking around the Museo de Arte Reina Sophia (free after 2:30, excellent) taking in the pieces from their Picasso and Dali collections (among other artists).  "Guernica" is kept there and was featured with Picasso's preliminary sketches for it.

We then made it over to the Palacio Real.  We enjoyed some cafe con leche (that had an ambience charge attached) as the sun set over the huge palace and gardens.  We walked to the paella restaurant we wanted to go to as soon as it opened at 9:00.  Paella might be more delicious when it is served to you in a two-foot diameter pan meant for 4.

Billy, me, Wil in the Palacio Real gardens
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Another (late) night out and slow wake up left us with an afternoon to walk to the Prado, which was gorgeous, and very full of a variety of artists' work.  I especially enjoyed the Dutch and Flemish art from the 15th-18th centuries (coincidence Linda?)!

We enjoyed some Maoz falafel and agreed on bringing a franchise to San Diego/Santa Cruz wherever - it's just delicious.

I left for the airport at 4:45 thinking I'd have nothing to do in the airport but I really wanted to be on time.  NOTE: if you are ever flying out of Madrid, give yourself plenty of time to get around the airport!  I took the metro to Terminal 2, a bus to Terminal 4, walked about 1/3 mile through Terminal 4, got sidetracked by the Zara and Mango shops IN THE AIRPORT, then saw a sign saying it was 20 minutes to my gate.  I started walking and realized there was a metro to a gate, where all passengers exited and went through passport control, then walked through ANOTHER shopping area, then more walking to my gate.  Yeah, give yourself lots of time.

The restaurant where the paella was bigger than New York pizza from the bottom of the hill.
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Anyway, even though we didn't do all the sights, it was a perfect weekend escape - thanks guys for giving me a reason to go to Madrid!  I need my fix of California people sometimes...