Greetings from Madrid (at 11:07pm on Tuesday the 29th)!

Prior to leaving DIA, the students had plenty of time to spend all of your hard earned money on Caribou frozen drinks, Panda Express, and believe it or not, flaming socks (ask Jackson).  The kids sat around in a circle and played card games for a while before boarding.  After we got onto the plane and in our assigned seats, the students moved around to sit where they wanted.  It was a crowded flight AND a large plane: a Boeing 777 (lucky 21).

We left DIA on time and had a fairly good flight (albeit with moments of rough turbulence).  It was uneventful with lots of movie watching.  Those little TV’s in the backs of everyone’s seats everyone kept pretty occupied (except for Lauren… her TV didn’t work :^( ).  I think the entertainment of choice for some was The Woman in Black with Daniel Radcliffe.  Others, like Meena, watched some of their favorite shows like The Big Bang Theory.  There was also a lot of sleeping going on.  The time change is always odd on a plane traveling east.  We felt like we had Panda Express for breakfast and breakfast for lunch.  And then, for some unknown reason, when approaching Heathrow Airport the pilot made two complete 360 degree turns over London (“Look kids…Big Ben, Parliament!”).  The landing was smooth.

Our layover in Heathrow didn’t go quite as we had hoped.  We were counting on staying in the same terminal since we only had one hour prior to leaving for Madrid.  But…we had to switch terminals, and as a result we also had to go through security again.  This put us to our connecting gate five minutes prior to boarding which was barely enough time to add “going to the bathroom” to our schedule (pronounced “shed jule” in England.  I’m sure they learned how to say that word in Grammar Shool, and just so you know, the jokes don’t get any better :^).

The flight to Madrid was very smooth with no turbulence whatsoever.  Some of the students slept again and others passed their cell phones between the seats to converse without yelling over the engine noise.  This flight was only half full (I choose optimism) and the students all seemed very relaxed.  

 After a slightly bumpy landing we proceeded through customs (YAY!  We are REALLY in Europe now!) to meet our tour guide Pauline.  She was born in Paris and has lived in Europe for most of her life.  She is wonderful with the kids and very mild-mannered.  We boarded the tour bus (wow, we sound like rock stars) and headed to our hotel, Hotel Moderno in downtown Madrid.  We had an hour to rest and figure out how to work the lights in our rooms before we walked to dinner at the La Cathedral Restaurante where we ate a three course meal consisting of water and bread.  Just kidding...we had a vegetable pastry for an appetizer, glazed chicken with capers and European styled potatoes.  For dessert we had Flan (a fancy way of saying "custard")  with a coffee/caramel sauce and cream puffs drizzled with chocolate (is your mouth watering yet?).  We were VERY proud of all of the kids for trying everything on their plates, and some even found that vegetables can be tasty (even without hot sauce).

Afterwards we walked to and through Plaza Mayor (which included an ATM stop, so don't be surprised if your money starts disappearing).  By the way, a couple of students could only take out a certain amount of money, which confused them (Please let us know if there is anything we should share with your kids about their accounts). The kids loved stopping to take pictures of the buildings and people including various street performers.  On the way back to the hotel for the night, a few of us stopped at the Corte Inglés (the SuperTarget of Spain) to get a few supplies for tomorrow...like water. :^)  

Now we are going to bed.  Since this post covers a couple of days it may be a bit longer than most.  But just know that your kids are doing great!  They started off quiet and tired, but already have tried new things, worked through some home-sickness, and have even purchased and ordered things in Spanish (even the French students).  If the last two days are any indication, this is going to be a fabulous trip.  Tomorrow we are going to the Reina Sofia and Prado museums and making food at Cocina Española.  More will follow tomorrow...