09-02-2025 Walk

Landed in Madrid just before 8:00 local time. Took longer than usual to get off the plane, probably because we were on the tarmac and missed the first transport bus. Still, all good, sine it was a schedule-free day. Got through Customs with no issues, decided to take the Metro into downtown Madrid (good choice on Ann's part). We changed trains twice and got off at Sol station, which is not too far from our Airbnb. But we were way early, so we initially walked to the Plaza Mayor (not very impressive, especially early in the morning).walked back from there and found a little pastry and coffee shop to have a quick bite to eat. Ann's chocolate pastry was too sweet for her taste, and my horchata was made with different flavoring spices, not bad but not as good as the Mexican version. From there we walked back to the Puerta del Sol plaza and sat for a bit to figure out what to do. Ann recommended getting a locker to put our backpacks in, another good idea (I was tired from the flight and feeling slightly irritable). Both fit in there, which was excellent and lightened my mood considerably. From there we walked around several neighborhoods, lots of little and bigger plazas scattered around this part of the city. Had a leisurely light lunch of empanadas by one of the plazas relatively close to our Airbnb, then walked back to the locker and picked up our backpacks. Got into the Airbnb at 2:00, both of us were worn out from the lack of sleep, jet lag, and extensive walking. Curiously, Strava seems to have short-changed me in the distance walked, but no matter. We napped off and on in the afternoon until about 5:00, then watched the 3nd of the Vuelta stage on TV. In the early evening walked to a nearby Carrefours market to get some food for our stay. This neighborhood is a little sketchy, all fine and mixed in ethnicities. Looks like a moderate Islamic population is nearby, also saw Senegalese and Bangladeshi restaurants. The nearby plazas are also a little sketchy with folks hanging out there. There are some cool markets close by that we'll have to check out. Ate potato tostada for dinner, it was tasty. I tried to read in the evening but kept dozing off. Went to sleep around 9:15.