From Madrid to Valladolid

I landed in Madrid at about 5:10 on Tuesday night, but I didn't get to the hostel where I was staying until a little after 7:00. The Madrid airport is a little confusing, since they have four terminals and a satellite terminal. You have to a take a shuttle bus to any of them. So, I landed in the satellite terminal and then had to get to terminal 2 where I had to find the metro station, which was not as clearly marked as I would have liked. That's really what took me so long...finding the metro station. Anyway, two of my roommates at the hostel were from England, and they were loud and somewhat obnoxious. The other three roommates were from Germany. They came in late, but they were pretty quiet and courteous. I went to bed around 1:00.

I woke up today around 8:30 and rode the metro north to the train station. I waited at the train station for about 1 1/2 hours for my train to arrive and then left Madrid. By the way, Madrid was a pretty dirty, busy place, or at least the parts that I saw of it. The streets were very small and crowded. The locals were in more of a hurry than I was, which is incredible, considering how fast I usually walk. Nevertheless, I was able to purchase my ticket and get on the train to Valladolid. The train ride to about three hours, but the scenery was amazing. I am going to upload the photos, as soon as I can figure out how! haha

My roommates are from Belgium, and they speak wonderful English, which is both a blessing and curse. In fact, I am acting as their translator, since I know better Spanish than they do! haha I am loving the interaction with a different culture. Apparently, Belgium is more ¨American¨ than a lot of other European countries, because a good majority of their culture is fairly new. They are an under-appreciated society within Europe, that's for sure.

Anyway, last night at the hostel was certainly interesting. The majority of the people I spoke with were either French or from Quebec (the French part of Canada). My roommates were from England and Germany. It is interesting to observe the hostilities between different European cultures. (Apparently, the French, English, and Germans hate each other). The people from Quebec and my roommates were at each others throats all night long. haha. My roommates were going to the England/Spain soccer game in Seville tonight. They were catching a ride with someone they met last night who had tickets.

The train ride from Madrid to Valladolid was amazing! I traveled through snow-capped mountains to wide-open plains and farmlands. I mostly took pictures of the mountainous region, since Valladolid is in the heart of the farmlands. Either way, I hope to upload photos to this site, just to show you how beautiful Spain is. I think the places I like the most were those villages that were built at the very foot of a large mountain. They seemed so quaint and beautiful, as if the people didn't have a care in the world.

It really is amazing how smooth and well thought out the rail/metro system is in Europe. I had absolutely no trouble getting from the hostel to the subway to the train station. In fact, the subway system was incredibly clean and professional, much more so than New York City or others in the States. One of the most interesting things about Spain is that everywhere you go, there is graffiti. I mean, even in the rural areas in between Madrid and Valladolid, on the rocks by the train (even in the middle of nowhere), on buildings, on the trains themselves, on everything. The graffiti is both intricate and tribal at the same time. I really love looking at how beautiful and complex it is.

Anyway, this is all I have time for. I will certainly continue my updates, as time and money allow. Take care, and talk to you soon.