Arriving in Madrid

About a year ago, Anthony and I deliberated on how to handle our future. After some extensive research, discussions and soul-searching, we decided to spend a year abroad and to explore a new country, culture and language. This is our journal of our traveling experiences.

Our flight to Madrid went well. We took British Airways to London, which we highly recommend. Anthony couldn’t stop spouting “I love British Airways!” after he would discover another element of the plane that, compared to his experiences in AlItalia, seemed luxurious. Though we boarded a 9pm flight, we were served dinner, offered UK newspapers and had individual touch screens where we could watch a milieu of movies. After our lovely dinner (Chinese chicken for Anthony and vegetarian pasta for me) we hunkered down to watch our own movies. Anthony viewed a censored screening of “The Watchmen” while I watched “Billu,” a new Indian movie starring Sharuk Khan. Fortunately, we were able to catch a few zzzs before breakfast was served (a Danish and coffee).

We arrived at Heathrow and were herded into shuttles that took us to more terminals. When we finally reached our terminal, the place was a zoo. It seemed that rush hour had already begun and we were swept away with the other wandering passengers through posh stores and duty-free shops. When we finally made it onto our connecting flight to Spain, I couldn’t help but notice that most of the other passengers were quite young Spaniards (who spoke their native tongue in an unbelievable speed) and an Australian volleyball team. Then, we finally arrived in Madrid. I was anxious and ready to meet with immigration. I was prepared for the long lines and the milieu of questions I would have to answer though exhausted. As we entered the airport, we passed a small window where they were checking passports. I handed the policeman mine, he stamped it, and we were on our way. No hold-ups, no security checks, no scary interrogations. We quickly picked up our luggage and we were on our way!

We arrived in our flat jet lagged and exhausted. We made a quick run out to buy some groceries before they closed. The prices were not too expensive. The weirdest grocery item was our milk. It was not in the refrigerated section. It was in a box. You put the milk in the fridge once it's opened! We hope that it tastes the same...



Here's the view from our flat! More pictures to come!