September 27th - Madrid - Paris, France

September 27, 2006
Madrid, Spain – Paris, France

Last night was another night of erratic sleep. I continually woke up very thirsty and had to drink a lot of fluids (and therefore pee a lot). Still, I managed to pull myself out of bed, pack up my stuff, and meet Mike by 11:00. Unfortunately, B was even worse shape than me and was unable to get up. Meghan stayed behind to take care of him.

I met Mike just outside of the hostel and was immediately introduced to his Spanish girlfriend Gema. The three of us jumped into Mike’s Nissan Micra. After dropping off Gema at her grandmother’s house, Mike took me on a driving tour of the city. The city is huge and the driving is totally crazy!

We visited Mike’s University and then cruised by all of the famous sites. Unfortunately, I was still feeling quite sick and do not remember most of the names of the places we went. Around 14:30 we picked Gema back up and then went out for lunch by the Plaza Mayor. It was a very large plaza with many artists and street performers. Mike informed me that he sometimes juggles for money on one of the side streets.

For lunch Mike ordered a very Spanish meal. We had Calamari, Chorizo, Rice soaked in Pigs blood, and a ham and potato dumpling. It was good but it was filling! Once we were done with our meal I was ready for a siesta.

Mike got me to the train station just after 17:00 and I chilled out and waited for B. I was feeling very tired and very sick. At 18:00 I found B and Meghan. We all collapsed into a heap and waited for our train. We were a sight for sore eyes…

At 18:45 we said our goodbyes and boarded a night train for Paris (a quick stopover on our way to Munich). Unexpectedly, we were in different compartments. Luckily, I was able to convince a young Canadian to trade beds with me. Everyone else in the compartment was glad I did so because he was not very bright and very annoying.

Once the train got going we watched Top Gun on B’s computer and fell asleep.

PS – I forgot to mention that while settling into th e train I smashed my finger in the door and now have a large blood blister under my fingernail. It is making it somewhat difficult to type…