Lo Siento

Hey all! 

We had another late start yesterday, but not because of jet lag. The night before, there was an INSANE thunderstorm. The rain would come and go, ranging from the sound of trickling sand to the sound of a man in the Times Square subway station trying to play drums on overturned buckets. Due to the latter, we decided trying to sleep would be pointless and instead had a ~**SLEEP0VER*~ which lasted until 5 in the morning. 

So, we woke up late. We eventually got our butts out of bed by 4 and out of the house at 5. Luckily the sun doesn't set until 9:30 so not only was it light out, but the weather was fantastic. 

We ended up walking to the Catedral de la Almudena. 

It might be strange, but it wasn't until we were standing inside the cathedral that we truly felt like we were in Europe. The street we live on is full of diversity and delicious food. There's cobblestone everywhere. We can't understand 60% of  the people that walk by. 

But there's something about standing under the expanse of architecture and - religious or not - God; hearing even a murmur echo and carry all the way up to the glowing stained glass; there's something about standing inside a monument to time and faith that makes you feel like you're somewhere special. Somewhere new. Somewhere abroad. 

Directly behind the cathedral was the Palacio Real de Madrid

We took our time, some pictures, and enjoyed the view. 

We then walked across the street to the Plaza de Oriente. 

We decided to find a nice spot to read and relax for a little while. 

An hour or so later, we continued on to another garden down the road. 

By then it was getting close to 8 and we were starving. We tried to find a place to eat back in our neighborhood, couldn't function well enough to decide on a place, and ended up grabbing supplies at the super market and making MASSIVE sandwiches. Now we're about to have breakfast and then head to the Prado and the gardens behind it. Update you soon!

-Ben and Megan