Arriving in Madrid

  Madrid, Spain
Thursday, June 24, 1999

I arrived in Madrid on June 24th and made my way alone to a woman's home.  She rents out a couple rooms to travelers and calls the place Hostal Margarita.  The room was tiny with two beds, a sink, and shower with only icy water.  I set my things down inside and struggled to stay awake after that long flight.  I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and taking in the city.  Finally around 6PM I just had to go to sleep.
 
Early in the morning of the 25th at about 9AM I was awaken by the arrival of my cousin Mike.  We spent the next few days exploring the city.  On this first day we visited the Royal Palace.  After that we walked for a few hours. Near the end of the day we visited La Prada Museum and saw a large collection of Goya and Velasquez.
 
On June 26th we visited the Madrid Zoo in Casa de Campo.  It was easy to travel around the city by Metro.  We explored Madrid and walked around the city for a few hours at night.  We sat out at an outdoor bar, had some drinks and "people watched".