This morning I arrived in Madrid. While I am always excited to arrive here, today was a tough one. The ride across the pond was anything but restful so my body was screaming at me that it was time for bed. I of course ignored it and off I went.
While I was in the Atlanta airport waiting for my flight to Madrid I met another pilgrim. Ellis from Albuquerque, New Mexico and headed out for his first Camino. He is 71 and going to walk alone. I assured him that it would be amazing. He was asking how to get to the main train station in Madrid and told me he was going to go to T4 to catch the commuter train. I told him that I would be taking the express bus from the airport to Atocha, which is the main train station and that he could follow me if he liked. He said that would be great. As it turned out we were in different sections but the same row on the plain so once we were off we walked together to the bus.
Once we were at the train station I walked him to where he would go to his gate we said our goodby’s and off we went. Him to Pamplona and me to my hotel which is a short 5 minute walk from the station.
As luck would have it, I was able to check in and grab a quick showers before heading out.
Today I had reservations at a restaurant in a beautiful area of Madrid. It is near the government offices and the theater district. The restaurant, El Senador has been there for many years and is known for its Cochinilllo which is roasted baby pig. it was delicious. After lunch I walked around town and back to my hotel for a siesta. My siesta turned into 7 hrs and here I am writing a blog post at almost 2 am.
Today, Thursday I am going on a walking tour in Toledo. I will take the train there which takes about 45 minutes. More on my day in my next blog post.