9-19-10 Sara

Oh my word where do I even begin? Saturday morning dawned bright and clear in Madrid despite the fact that we had gotten maybe two hours of sleep from a combination of the loud partying going on outside and jetlag. Quick side note on jetlag, this time it has been particularly awful. It's like a zombie zone of no sleep and no energy. I'm exhausted so I crash about midnight and then can't fall asleep because my body thinks it's midafternoon. So I toss and turn until around 6am local time and then fall into light slumber until noon when the day is half over and I stumble about the city attempting to understand a language I don't speak and navigate in a place I do not know. This day we had to be up by about 8:45 to check out so the grand total of sleep was about 2.75 hrs. The airline we are flying allows one checked bag weighing 15 Kilos (33 lbs) and one carry-on weighing 10 kilos (22 lbs). Have you ever tried to pack three weeks worth of stuff into one bag for temperatures varying from almost winter/rainy season in Ireland to beach weather in Greece? It's not easy. After madly packing, weighing, and ever more madly repacking, we stored our bags in the hostel and went out to wander the city.

We ended up in Plaza Mayor which we're pretty sure is famous for something but not quite sure what. It's in the old part of the city with cobblestone streets and old architecture. It's a beautiful enclosed square with shops and apartments above it. A big statue of Philippe III on a horse is in the middle of the square. Walking in the cities here is kinda like navigating through a combination of Mexico and LA. You have to be really brave to cross the street and also very fast or you'll be a bumper sticker! The streets don't run parallel either; they sort of branch off in every direction so it is very easy to get lost but with a map and a few stops for directions we didn't get too lost.

Plaza Mayor

Felicia being attacked  by scary Gremlins

The original plan of action was to store our bags in a locker at the airport while we traverse Europe for three weeks. Upon arrival at the consigna (storage place) we found that they don't store for more than two weeks with no exceptions (they were very firm about the no exceptions part.) After Felicia's negotiating and renegotiating with them to no avail, we sat down on our luggage in the middle of the consigna and started contemplating options. There weren't many. I was kinda hoping that if we sat there long enough they would feel sorry and help us out. I even considered crying (which, after multiple days of travel and only 3 hours of sleep wouldn't have been that hard). We considered bribery as well but since they were security persons as well we reconsidered that option as I'd rather end up on the plane than in a Spanish jail cell. Time was rapidly passing and we had a plane to catch so we decided to say our prayers and leave our stuff there in hopes that Felicia's friend could come re-check it in for the remainder of the three weeks. (We still haven't heard back from her though=(. If worse comes to worse we loose the clothes and have to shop for news ones. There worse things than having to shop for new clothes!

After waiting in the check-in line for a long time and holding our breath while they weighed our bags (mine was 1 kilo over which they're supposed to charge for but they were in such a hurry they skipped it.. yay!) we ran through security and to our gate where they measured the carryons to make sure they adhered to airline restrictions. This airline is incredibly strict! They did not, however, weigh the carry-ons because it they had they would've found that my carry-on weighed more than my checked bag did. The amount of electronics I was carrying (because they put me over my baggage weight limit) could have powered air force one. I was incredibly happy to put the bag underneath the seat in front of me on the plane and just sit. I'm surprise no-one asked about the giant red mark I had on my neck from the strap (or the potential carotid artery damage I will have from the prolonged compression!) Irregardless of the many complications and the hour wait on the tarmac, we safely made it to Ireland where we promptly got really lost, got rescued by a really nice taxi driver, and were delivered safely to our hostel and I finally, finally, got some sleep despite the loud live band and the off tune baritone horn playing in the alley just below the window. Next adventure, look for a wee Irish leprechaun!