MITZI & PERI: Made it to Madrid!

       After our day at the Moulin Rouge and Arc de Triomphe we went to the light show at the Eiffel tower.  It was cold, but beautiful.  Every hour on the hour, starting at dusk, white lights all over the tower twinkle, which gives the tower the appearance of being covered in glitter.  We had heard that drunks and pickpockets like to hang out there so we decided to only bring the basics (aka locking our purses back at the hostel).  It was cold and rainy and we were both craving something sweet, so on our way back to the metro we shared a hot chocolate crepe.  Yum yum!!  We made sure that our bags were packed so we would be ready to check out in the morning.

    The next morning we finally made it up in time for our hostel’s free breakfast.  We had baugette bread with nutella (a chocolate hazelnut spread like peanut butter, popular everywhere but the states), cereal, and coffee.  We were told of a free walking tour that was pretty good, but the tour guide was sick, so we had to ride the metro to meet up with a different guide.  We met several young people from England, Australia, and Canada.  Our tour guide was from London, he was very informative and entertaining.  The tour lasted around 4 hours.  We didn’t find it that hard to walk for that long, but our legs will definitely be in shape by the time we get back.  We’re feeling it a little bit today.  The tour was very interesting because it gave us a chance to understand the history behind the famous monuments.  Everyone knew we were American when we squealed at the reference of a Sex & the City filming location we had visited.  After the walking tour we were given a chance to sample authentic French meat and cheese plates at a cafe with a view of the Eiffel tower. 

 
  We made our way back to the hostel to rest as much as we could before going to the airport.  Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:50 the following morning, and we figured it would be cheaper to not pay for another night in the hostel and an expensive early morning taxi ride to the airport, so we decided to spend the night in the airport.  We took a taxi to Charles de Gaulle airport around 7 at night and spent some time finding a good and safe place to spend the night.  Neither of us slept at all, it was difficult to be comfortable enough to close our eyes.  There were homeless and other stranded travelers around, including this fidgety, cigarette feigning, lady who kept sitting next to Mitzi for no apparent reason and pacing around us.  This made us feel slightly uneasy to say the least.  European jumper planes are very tricky.  They only allow 20kilo (44lbs) max, it doesn’t matter how many bags you have.  44lbs ALL TOGEHER. period.  Peri didn’t pack lightly and experienced frustration and a lightening of her pocketbook to get her luggage on the plane.  Luckily we were there early enough to ask for help and figure everything out.  Mitzi was able to stuff her carryon super super full and did not have to pay a fee. 
    After hour flight we were exhausted but still had to make the trip to our hostel.  Another round on the metro.  Needless to say we were not excited.  We found the metro in the airport with no problems, but had some difficulties transferring to the train.  We eventually found our way and made it safely to our hostel.  This hostel is clean and comfortable, much smaller than the one in Paris.  It definitely has a “homey” feel, as right now we are watching Blades of Glory with Will Ferrel with 5 other travelers (in english!! woot woot!).  The hostel is situated right in the heart of a square.  After a nap and a shower we went out to find food and didn’t have to walk far.  Tonight in the square they are presenting the world cup that was won by Spain.  So the square is full with people in jerseys who are excited to see the cup.  When we were in Paris we had no problem finding people who spoke English.  However, so far we have found it different here.  We are both very glad to have some Spanish background because we have talked to a couple of people who only spoke very broken english, or none at all.
    Tomorrow we will part ways.  Mitzi is meeting up with ISA at the designated hotel and starts orientation.  Peri will spend a few days here on her own and then do the same.  We will continue to post our individual experiences and we will be meeting up together occasionally for different excursions (Morocco!!!).