More often than not, journeys begin with a few bumps in the road and this time, I have had my share. O’Hare airport nearly sent me to my knees, but I persevered with the help of two very friendly airport employees. Without them, I might still be stalking their long corridors and riding the shuttle between terminals. It was a breeze getting to Madrid and I enjoyed the friendly man beside me as he lives in Madrid and, although I felt like his grandmother, he helped me with my map, very impressed with all my research of metro and their map system. He was delighted to hear about the Spanish immigration to Hawaii between 1907 and 1911, and he immediately went online and read the summary for The Girl Immigrant in Spanish!
Madrid’s skies were blue like the sky I love in Arizona. Passport inspection was painless and it was lovely to arrive at 8 am, sans crowds. The only bump (a large one) happened when I lifted my heaviest red bag crammed with my books and it wouldn’t stand up! I was horrified to see one wheel missing and the other wheel resembling that of a six year old’s tooth when it’s hanging by a thread… 38 pounds and I knew I was in trouble. But, luck was on my side because I saw a luggage trolley sitting alone in the nearly-empty baggage area. So, a taxi ride (30 euros) with 2 bags, a carryon and my backpack and I was on my way to the storage locker I had reserved for the day (12 euros). That was the second and third bump in the journey because I arrived in the center of Madrid at 9:30 am and could not check in until 3 pm to my AirBnB. When I figured out all the codes and the storage door popped open perfectly, I started laughing. The box was big enough for all my bags so I could tootle around Madrid without them for five hours, but it was shoulder high. I managed to lift the bags above my head, but not sure how I did it.
From previous visits to Madrid, I was familiar with a few large avenues, so I was on my own and the weather was perfect. When I decided to scope out the AirBnB I had rented for the week, I got turned around and was completely lost for about 90 minutes. I had time to waste…but my feet and legs were not happy after pushing them for six miles. And I had been awake for too many hours to calculate with my math abilities. But I found more energy and a roadside table near the Plaza Mayor where I spent the rest of the afternoon with a café con leche, caliente, en la taza. And later, I pulled all that luggage out of the storage box without knocking myself out when it came toward me and I HAILED DOWN A TAXI.
The AirBnB is clean and restful, although there is graffiti everywhere. For now, I have a place to land and went straight to bed, truly exhausted. Tomorrow, I more exploring and I have two meetup dates…
Oh, Iberia Airlines tells me they will replace my bag this week. Fingers crossed.
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