Days 2 - 6

Many of you are wondering what has happened.
Why no updates, you ask?
The simple truth is that we have been on the streets for five days.
Five long days, full of trauma. Here´s what happened:

DAY 2:  Woke up in our Madrid Hostel, snacked on some churros. Four possible directions from our hostel, wandered in all four. Eventually ended up at the botanical gardens of Retiro Park, where we took a siesta on the benches. From there we went to the Museo del Prado and tried to look at every piece of art. That took about a day.
             Excellent dinner...and a fight.

DAY 3: Travel via train to Barcelona. Pretty fun train ride, we met a grad student from Hong Kong who was named Kai-Shek, or something like that. Played Vietnamese cards. Found the hostel in a bohemian district, nice facilities, interesting area. Later in the evening, went on a backstreet tour of the plazas, ate some delicatessed pizza


DAY 4: Hit the streets again, visited the famed Sagrada Familia, among other Gaudi architecture. Scrounged for a cheap lunch, somehow found our way back through some other landmarks to the hostel. Siesta-ed in a childrens school party, walked Las Ramblas, the best known shopping area.

DAY 5:  Hiked uphill to Parc Guell, another Gaudi. A beachy day overall. Lots of water, swam in the Mediterannean, walked the coast, found a cool rock park by the water, came back to the hostel and talked to some interesting folk. Also, saw a neato light and water show at the Magic Fountains.

DAY 6: Turns out we hadn´t seen Kai-Shek for the last time. We met her for an incredible seafood lunch on the coast, complete with mussels and baby squid. Dawful. Then we took a funicular up to Montjuic where we saw the olympic stadium. And that brings us to the present. We just made and ate Tapas, with a loci (see picture below).

So far, we have done much and seen little. The trip is out of its infancy, and a vast new country awaits. Spain has been an incredible place to meet interesting people and do interesting things. Adjusted to the late night culture,  beginning to feel the local spirit.

Adios