Today was a long day- but tonight we went to bed in a bed, in Spain, so in the grand scheme of things, a good day overall.

We arrived in Madrid after a short flight. A layover in Paris gave us some time to rest, or in the case of mr. Lovatt, sleep on the floor. I shouldn't talk though, as I did too.

Madrid seemed quiet when we first arrived. Good Friday is a big deal here, as most of the country goes on vacation for 5 or 6 days. Almost no one around as we took a driving tour of the city. Saw the bullfighting ring in the city; it holds 30,000 people for bullfights.

Things change around 6 o'clock or so. As we walk around the Plaza Mayor it seems as though people bubble up from the cracks in the pavement. All of a sudden it's busy and crowded. I realize that I don't know as much Spanish as I think I do: walk around saying "how are you?" several times. Note to self: figure out how to ask "how much?".

Dinner is a tapas dinner at a place called Museo de Jamon. Tapas is an appetizer type meal the Spanish have after work with drinks. Dinner comes later, around 9. Museo de Jamon literally translated means "museum of ham" and our guide Sergio says that ham is like a national sport here. I start feeling lightheaded in delight. Dinner was bread with olive oil and vinegar, smoked ham, cheese, potato puffs, calamari.

By the way, I have been lied to with respect to the rain in Spain: it does, in fact, seem to fall outside planes. Pretty soggy in the evening.