Planes, Trains & Automobiles

October 12th is Spain’s Fourth of July, the day they celebrate their independence. They do it in earnest with the holiday falling on a Tuesday, irrespective of packaging it into a three-day weekend. This allows them to “hacer un Puente” or, “make a bridge” and turn it into a four day weekend.

Part of the celebration features a variety of army and other military vehicles and planes flying overhead and marching down the Paseo de Castellana to Recoletos and onward. But starting just about 4 minutes ago jets have been flying overhead very closely. I was confused for a second thinking it might be the 12th, and if it was the 12th, I sure wasn’t packed yet…

The …

I just came back from having dinner at my little Mexican restaurant; they make some good tacos there. Not as much food as I would normally eat, but it’s tasty. I don’t know if Madrid once suffered a major power outage but trying to get up the stairs is downright dangerous.

The motion detecting lights only stay on for a couple of seconds. If you do anything less than speed walk directly to the door, you’ll be left in total darkness stranded on the second flight. Assuming you reach your door, you proceed to the safety and sanctity of your own flat… only for the lights …