Josh and I just got done enjoying some delicious Paella and Sangria on Gran Via in Madrid to end our day.  We've decided that our plane must have crashed and we somehow landed in Heaven.  Yes, it's that good, and it's only our first day.  We are both doomed to fall in love with every single place that we head on this amazing adventure of ours.
    The flight over here was loooooong. Although it was only six hours, technically, we were stuck with middle seats on our giant aircraft in the middle of a group of traveling high school juniors.  Josh got about an hour of sleep and I got about two and a half.  Needless to say, upon our arrival we were not very well rested and we soon realized that we were in a world far from our own.  The Madrid airport was easy enough to navigate, it was getting out that was the trouble.  We set out to find the Metro station (the local subway system) so that we could get to our hostal.  However, we could not find it because it was underground, who would have figured right?! and we also missed all of the signs, mainly because we couldn't read anything.  Once Josh finally asked for directions and saved us lots of trouble we found what we were looking for and were on our way.
     We then arrived at our hostal around noon and were informed that we could not check in until 2 because they were cleaning.  This also meant that we could not change out of what we traveled in, which for me was extremely American :/ oooops! Women here do not wear short shorts really and no one wears running shoes, like Josh and I had on.  We dropped our bags off and walked around the city for a little before we found a little Cervezaria in the local part of town.  We couldn't really speak to the waitress, but she brought us some of the best beers either of us had ever had in our lives (I think this is when our Madrid love affair began).
       When we finally got to check in we went took a short nap, showered and then set off to find the Royal palace.  Our hostal owner told us it was “an easy five minute walk.  to the right and over the bridge” 40 minutes and two Metro trains later we were at the Royal palace.  Let me tell you, it was well worth the search.  The Palace grounds were lush with green bushes and huge trees and then there was the palace in the background.  It was probably one of the coolest things either of us had ever seen.  I don’t know how many times I told Josh “I wish I was a princess”, but I still want it to be true.  Next to the Palace was an amazing Cathedral that had both of us awe struck.  The inside was amazing and it was bigger than any church I’ve ever seen.  It made me feel impossibly small under it’s painted ceilings.  We then wandered to Plaza Mayor and then eventually back to our little hostel.  We walked around for nearly 4 hours and we were in shock every second of it.  Madrid is an amazing place and we can only hope that the rest of the trip is as good as our first day!
    So, now we say good night to the hustle and bustle of the busy Madrid streets and wish you all a great rest of your day!

Ps. check fb soon for some pictures from our adventures!