First day of sightseeing

During our first day of sightseeing downtown Madrid and I already got separated from the group! Luckily my roomie knew I was lost and kept an eye out for me. Thank GOD we found each other at Plaza de Mayor. I really need to learn more Spanish and get better at directions!

Series of misadventures within first 24 hours of Madrid Trip

So my series of misadventures started right from the get go of this trip!

Upon arriving to the airport everything was going smoothly. I got there right when I wanted to which was 8:30 am. I was able to check in my second bag for free with USAirway which was a nice bonus and got through security without a hitch. I found some classmates right away and so we waited for our flight.

It all began around Thursday, 11 am... our flight to Philadelphia was cancelled because the bathroom was broken, so first they only delayed our flight by 10-15 minutes, which of course was no problem. After 30 minutes of waiting they announced that the flight would be cancelled and they would find us another flight to get to our destination. I was very relieved because I despise USAirway. They are worse then Southwest! They found us another flight and said they would have Lufthansa take us to Frankfort Germany and then to Madrid. I was excited and relieved because then I get to say I'd been to Germany and Lufthansa is a better airline while the flight being 11 hours. So I figured I could catch some z's.

The hitch was we had to get our bags again and then go to Tom Bradley International airport and check in our bags there. Getting my bags was no problem, the issue was I was wearing clothes for 30-40 degree weather, but it was probably 70 degrees in LA and I had to lug around 90 lbs. worth of stuff! When we get to Lufthansa they did not have our group of 32 people in the system. So we waited..... and waited..... and waited.... By 1 pm we were getting worried because our flight was at 2:05 and they still didn't check any of us in yet.

I got some sleep on the flight to Frankfort which was nice. But when we get to Madrid my luggage with my clothes finally came out towards the end, but my duffel bag full of toiletries and my scarves were no where to be found. Luckily I have all my clothes since I packed at least 2-3 days worth of stuff in my carryon. So I really was OK as far as clothes went. It's just knowing that your stuff is lost and wondering if you will ever see it again. So we filed a claim. At the claims desk they said it was still in Frankfort and should arrive Madrid that afternoon. I haven't seen the bag yet....

Then when we get to our Madrid Homestay my roommate and I's eyes got big when we saw our room. Basically we are in the attic, hence the address being 5 "attico". I figured it would be nice being at the top of the building, but our room is literally where one would place storage items. Making the best of things we still enjoyed walking around Madrid and chatted with our mum for a little bit. Communication was harder than we thought, but I think I will learn Spanish much faster this way! =)

I attached a picture of our room. Esperanza (that's her name) basically just put 2 twin beds together, so it feels like we are sleeping in the same queen sized bed which is a bit uncomfortable for both of us since it doesn't feel like we have much privacy.  Tomorrow we plan on letting the company know that we like our mum, but just would like a better sleeping situation. 

So there we go! Tomorrow we meet up early and then they are taking us on a walking tour of Madrid. So far the best I can describe it is that it's like NYC or San Francisco. Very Metropolitan like, and no where as intimidating as everyone described it! I can fit in here no problem and I've seen a handful of Asians and Filipinos already. 

I'll give you an update of our field trip tomorrow.