So, after driving 5 hrs to ATL to save significantly on airfare (thanks deregulation) I relaxed in the terminal F Delta Sky Club the newest and nicest club in the system. The above photo is from the outdoor lounge of the sky club very unique. Flight was very pleasant in my little pod.
Food and drink were fine (Delta only carries good scotch only on long haul international flights) unfortunately I forgot that I packed my anti snoring breathing hacks in my checked luggage (sorry fellow pod people). But I do think that it does explain why I was just hammered with jet lag (sorry, didn’t have that much scotch though jet lag does kind of feels like a hangover lol). From the plane I moved to train mode. The Madrid metro is very nice and clean.
So, the last time I arrived in Madrid a speed bump I hit was the subway ticket machine. Subway ticket machine rubrics in general to me are as clear as mud. Add a foreign language to it and there I was standing in front of the machine, at rush hour, frozen. Folks behind me trying to get to work were not impressed. Fortunately many people in Spain speak English and one helped move the line along by assisting me in acquiring my ticket.
So, this time I decided to get ahead of the game by researching Madrid subway machines on google. Well it turns out there was a language option on the machine….duh. However, note to my American readers the English option is indicated by the British Union Jack rather than the Stars and Stripes, which your parochial scrivener was expecting. So this time I moved through the que as if I were a native.
As I noted previously jet lag had hit me hard and, of course, my room wasn’t ready. Granted it was early (10 am) but I was really dragging. Anyway got the room and collapsed for six hours.
So, awaking refreshed I went to get dinner. Spanish cuisine, beyond paella and tapas tends to be IMHO less than impressive, with the exception of bread and pastries which are phenomenal (some of my readers are grinning at this point because they know “I love bread”). So I had a pepito de ternera or sliced beef on a French roll. The beef was ok. Most meat in Spain is simply seasoned with salt and pepper so the flavor of the meat really has to carry the load which it did. But the French roll light on the inside crusty on the outside really made the meal.
So to bed with a five and one half hour train trip the following day. I realize this was a bit long winded but wanted to mix with n everything so that readers understand both the fun and not so fun.
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