To our hundreds of loyal readers (Lisha, Shannon, and company),
The Lauren has landed and the good times are rolling over here in España. She arrived at Terminal 1 this morning after a delightful 10-hour flight in first class, which was made even more delightful through the wonders of Tylenol PM and her friendship with Emily Gress. After a death defying ride in the Euro-sized automobile of my dear friend Pablo "Rocky" Balboa, we arrived back at my apartment in the sleepy suburb of Rivas Vaciamadrid and celebrated our reunion, as well as our survival of the car ride, with an exhilarating trip to the grocery store (Alas, there were no Honey Nut Cheerios to be had) and a nap.
Seeing as how the trip was already well on its way to being the Greatest Vacation in the History of Recorded Civilization, we decided to get something to eat at the only logical place: A local elementary school. We feasted on some lovely soup, Spanish salad, steak, and only the finest French fries, as prepared by my teammates, friends, and school employees Peter and Puma, who were ecstatic to receive the various t-shirts Lauren had smuggled across the Atlantic for them.
(From left: Ivan, Puma, Lauren, Sean, Peter)
Afterwards, we headed over for a stroll around Madrid, starting in Conde de Casal and meandering our way through Parque del Retiro and Gran Via. We stopped to take a couple of pictures along the way to share our adventures with all of you. You may notice some black smudges at the top and bottom of some of the photos. These are from the lens cover on the camera, which, for reasons known only to it, refuses to open completely. We'll try to make sure to open it manually from here on out.
The gardens in Parque del Retiro asserting their discriminatory anti-Nauzer policies
Some of the gardens
More of the gardens
Red Roses (with thorns)
Yours truly pondering the lack of cowboys singing sad, sad songs
Lauren and her satchel in front of one of the park's many cherub statues. ¡Que bonita!
The two world travelers posing in front of the lake. I asked a man in the park if he spoke English. He responded with "si." I then asked him to take the picture in Spanish. He laughed at me. I don't blame him.
This picture doesn't do it justice, but these cops were riding two of the largest horses I've ever seen.
Después de nuestras aventuras en el parque, I decided to take Lauren on a little tour of Madrid. We walked up Gran Via and, after I decided to take a "scenic"route, we found ourselves hopelessly lost and wandering through the backstreets of the city. One of the nice things about being in Madrid is that the crime rate is pretty low, aside from the occasional pickpocket, so it turned into an entertaining stroll through previously uncharted parts of the city. Lauren, who had opted for Crocs, was not similarly convinced that our "temporary diversion" was temporary or amusing and I was eventually forced to admit that I had no idea where we were. Lauren 1, Sean 0. We hopped on the train at the nearest metro station and headed back for the house. That should about cover this first day of The Greatest Adventure in the History of Recorded Civilization, but we'll be sure to keep you posted in the next installment.
-Sean
