First Though of Madrid
Never had I missed a flight; I planned accordingly whenever I needed to commute the airport. This day however, a political rally had made it impossible to cross a road necessary to reach the airport. My streak was now on jeopardy, on the one day where would fly to Europe for the first time. Luckily, after having to leave the city and drive through the outskirts for an hour and a half (where typically only twenty five minutes are required), I managed to reach the airport just in time for my flight to Madrid, Spain.
The timing of the flight was just perfect. I left Santo Domingo at 10 p.m. I decide to sleep through my seven and a half hour flight thus arriving at Madrid at about 11 a.m. The perfect planning eliminated my jetlag. I was ready for my first day in Europe.
After some confusion as a result of our differences in Spanish accents, I managed to tell the taxi driver the direction to my hotel. I was expecting the city to have a nice tourist area, one in which the buildings looked as if they were made for the backgrounds of pictures. Arriving to the hotel, I was amazed by the architecture not of a tourist area, but rather every building. Every building was beautiful in its own. Each had its own identity, its own architecture, and best of all it matched perfectly with those around it.
I did not know that some of the upcoming days would be the best in my life. The food was marvelous. Tapas of delicious jamón iberico were everywhere. Manchego cheese was top notch. Croquets were heaven. Food was abundant, beautiful places more so. Everywhere in the city it was clean. Trucks that washed the street passed as frequently as garbage disposals.
The clean city, great food, and beautiful architecture were not even the best part. The best part was the people. Everyone was friendly. They treated you nice and respectfully, and were always offering to provide help. Even better, the people did not sleep. The city looked as vibrant at 4 in the morning as Fairbanks does at 4 in the afternoon. Soccer was more important than water. It is without a doubt, with all its characteristics that appealed to me, that Madrid was one of the best cities I have ever visited.