Notes From the Train

"As I write this, it is actually in the early hours of the 16th, and we are riding the overnight train from Madrid to Lisbon. Stacey has been trying her best for the last few hours to grab what sleep she can. I'm not too tired, and thought this an opportune time to finally catch this journal up to the current day. Today we didn't rise until close to 9am, and it really felt great.

The news of Stacey's bag is that they followed our original instructions and it is on its way to the Black and White Hostel in Lisbon. We'll see when we get there, but I'm not holding my breath.

Today was really just a day buying time before our night train. Another cold breakfast and host shower and we were on our way. We made our way through Plaza Mayor and past the palaces to the Plaza España, which I now regret not photographing. There was a central monument probably 30+ feet high that had within it one of the most beautiful fountain/waterfalls I have seen.

Afterwards we made our way to El Parko de El Retiro. Along the way I grabbed my far-from-first kabab. It's not quite a gyro and not quite a sandwich, but it comes from Turkey and tastes like heaven.

At Retiro park, we walked, grabbed gelatto [ed. note: Leche de Merangue is still by far the best flavor, and it's nowhere to be found in Portugal], and tried our best to nap a bit. At the park there is an enormous pool - much more the size of a small reservoir - on the far side of which was a decadent Roman-styled edifice. Many small boats had been rented, and were paddling around serenely.

After our afternoon at the park we made our way back to the hostel to grab my backpack. With that and a small bag of groceries for the train, we took the Metro the the train station. There is little to report from there to here. Our rail passes have finally been put to use and Lisbon awaits!

PS: The weather here in Madrid has been to die for. We were expecting a humid heat, but have been given mid-seventies and mild breezes. The last time I felt weather this nice was years ago in Vancouver."