Sept 16 in Madrid

Leaving Philly, it was dark and damp, making it seem much later than it actually was (4 pm.)  People have wrapped themselves up in the blankets, closed the blinds, and nodded off.  It's a wide-bodied plane, packed to the gills, and I'm in the middle seating section, though at least I have the aisle.  I keep myself awake for most of the flight, watching random tv shows.  The boy next to me doesn't get up once.

When we near Madrid in the morning, I can feel my excitement rising, like I am coming home.  I crane my neck to look out the now open blinds.  I have an open ticket to Toledo which I'm hoping to use today, but it's super hot out, and I've got hours to kill until it leaves.  I find un correo in the airport, and ship forward duffle bag and anything else I can part with, overpacked of course...really need to find a sleeping bag that packs smaller.  Was there always a post office here?  Makes life so much easier.  I attempt to jam everything into pack, no go.

Off to train station to leave my luggage.  Banana I bought in Philly is getting quite smashed, feel guilty about tossing, so throw into locker.  Leave train station, thinking that I know where I'm going, get lost, wander and wander in the heat and finally concede that I am lost and back track to train station (one of the few times I do this on this trip, not the only time I should.) Catch the metro to Atocha, miss the tour.  It's super hot, probably close to 90 F.  Duck into an open anthropology museum which is air conditioned.  It's the opening for an exhibit on Chinese (I think) porcelain stamps.  Upstairs are exhibits on the Native Americans and African tribes.  I fall asleep when I sit down on a couch, been awake for a day.  Wake up and go look at a mummy and the bones of a giant, leave to go eat something.

Later, think to go to Reina Sofia. As I'm waiting in line, read and re-read that museum is free after 7 pm.  Decide to go find Plaza Mayor and come back later.  Spend remainder of afternoon lost, somehow never finding the Plaza Mayor and when I find Gran Via, walk in direction of Prado instead of Plaza de Espana.  So go sit on grass, and watch hordes of people stream into the Prado. I think it must be some big opening, but it's free, there are hundreds of people waiting to enter. I love Spain.