¡Hola Amigos!

It has been a busy past few days for us. After finding out that wine (really, really good wine) was about  €3 for a bottle our first night in Paris, we couldn't resist and ended up sleeping a little later than expected! First thing we did when we woke up was snatch ourselves up some fresh croissants and other related chocolate flavored pastries. About ten minutes later we decided to find some coffee and eat a crepe, however this ended in our first major miscommunication of the trip.  Hallie ordered us some "lattes" which the server understood as "au lait chaud" which is simply hot milk. Our crepe was ordered with... nothing. It was just a warm, unsweetened pancake. So after our hot milk and cooked flour we were on our way! 

We're getting fatter and fatter after every single meal

Strolling around Paris was beautiful. All the buildings keep within a certain old charm style and architecture that is simply stunning everywhere you look. Every window is stocked with flower boxes (for Angie) over ornate railings.

Typical Paris building

After wandering around for a few hours we went back to the tower where it was a completely different atmosphere in the day time. We were two of ten thousand people taking ridiculous silly snaps (available upon request). The dreary day and winter landscapes made the tower seem less beautiful and somewhat ominous.

Creepy...

 Before our massive 16 hour trek to Madrid we stopped at one of hundreds of sidewalk cafes and sat down to an amazing yet typical French lunch. People love wine in France. Even when we were walking around at 10am everyone was drinking wine. We did not complain.

Bifstek frites and l'ongion soupe 

 After our lunch we headed to the train station for our 15 hour train ride to Madrid. We booked separate sleeper beds due to the gender difference and thus had two separate and extremely cramped four person rooms in separate cars. We made the most of our time together in the bar car where we met a pleasant woman from San Diego (first American spotting all trip!) until they kicked us out around 12am.

As soon as I was soundly asleep in my car, one of my fantastic roommates thought it would be the perfect time to turn on the lights, sit in his underwear on his bed, blast Spanish music and sing along all while clipping his toe nails. Hallie had a less intrusive experience, only two Spanish women talking to her the entire time, in Spanish, knowing she didn't understand anything. It was an enduring 15 hours to say the least, but we survived!

Paris subway train

 When we got into the Madrid station, a bag that was carrying some wine we purchased split open and one of our bottles smashed open on the train station floor. We went to "look for help" and found our way into the heart of Madrid to our hotel. Neither of us have any words for how beautiful or amazing Madrid is. The streets are mainly pedestrian with alley ways bursting out into open squares everywhere you look. Every cafe has drinks, wine (even cheaper than Paris at €2/bottle!!), and a vast amount of food. Every tree has hundreds of bunches of grapes, explaining the copious amount of wine.

View from our balcony at Room Mate Mario

We are now off to explore the streets of Madrid and stuff our gullets with tapas and wine! Updates to follow. 

Salud!