The Events of Wednesday, April 6, 2011 

                The whirlwind started before I woke up. It was like an unseen force whipping our minds, pushing us in one direction. First Mom, then the other girls hustled through the shower as I set up breakfast and Dad went for his walk. After a quick meal, there was more packing, a bit of sweeping, and lining up the luggage for the trip downstairs. The whirlwind moved quickly, and before we knew it all the luggage was safely stowed in the van. The landlord’s mother dropped by, returned our €500 security deposit, and took back the keys. Luckily Mom checked the apartment, one last time…and found Dad’s backpack still in a bedroom. Whew! Close call. Once we were all crammed in the van, the whirlwind whisked us away toward Madrid.

                As we drove, we rotated through computer time, reading time, podcast-listening time, listening-to-music time, brief-stop-at-a-picnic-ground-for-lunch time, and time to just sit back and enjoy central Spain. The scenery, although nothing fantastic, was very unique. There were sections of bland, flat sand and shrubs followed by a hundred kilometers or so of hills blanketed with evergreens. Then rolling grassy plains, creating a sea of green occasionally interrupted by a stark, sandy hill were the view. After driving for another hour we saw flowering and green orchards creating a patchwork quilt over the land. On the side of the road were huge, metal 30-40 foot high bulls. Just the huge black silhouette of a bull put on the top of a random hill for your enjoyment. I like it.

                There were only two incidents worth sharing about. About an hour after leaving Barcelona, we took a wrong turn onto a tollway. We paid the €1.55 to get on the freeway and then promptly took the next exit. There was a toll booth at the exit—€0.54. Dad went around the next rotary but missed the exit to get back on the tollway. So we went around the rotary again. Following a poor direction, Dad took the wrong exit, promptly pulled a U-turn, and then headed around to the correct exit. Then we headed back through the toll booth. The same attendant who had just helped us took another €0.54, chuckled, and sent us on our way. Then we went back through the first toll booth, paid another €1.55, and headed in the right direction. People must think we’re nuts.

                Secondly, as we drove through the middle of nowhere, we saw a sign advertising the Prime Meridian in one and a half kilometers. As we drew closer, a huge arc appeared over the roadway where the East and West hemispheres meet. We are now in the Western Hemisphere!

                As we approached Madrid, we suddenly hit a point on the road when it got crowded (but not any slower) and insane. The Spanish drivers, although not as bad as many Italian drivers, are definitely aggressive. After taking an exit, we had to cross three lanes of traffic until our next exit in half a mile. It seemed that no one would let us move over, but we forced our way across and barely made the exit. Stressful! Driving on the surface streets wasn’t as bad. The roads were wide and relatively empty, everyone actually parked legally, and plenty of parking spots were available. We found a spot around the corner from our house to wait while Caitlin and Dad went in to meet the owner.

                It turned out to be the owner’s daughter, Silvia, who they met. She took them to the apartment, showed them around, and gave them the rundown on proper operation of the apartment. Caitlin came back to the car with a big smile, told us how awesome it was, and we began the unpacking process. The whirlwind began again, and before we knew it all our bags were crammed into our somewhat small apartment. There are enough beds and everything we need, but not very much maneuvering room. Caitlin and Dad took the van over to our owner’s garage, where it will be parked for the next three nights. They left it with our landlord, caught a train back, and then went grocery shopping. While they were away, the rest of us figured out the sleeping arrangements, moved our stuff in, and stowed away our luggage. It was surprising how much larger the flat felt without piles of luggage!

                While Lindsey and Abby emptied our cooler into the fridge, I set up the laptop and successfully connected to the apartment’s WiFi. INTERNET‼ After five nights with no access, it is strange to be connected again. It’s like a great canyon that had isolated us from the rest of the world for a while had suddenly been filled, leaving us with a whole world of jobs we couldn’t do without internet.

                Once Caitlin and Dad returned from their successful mission, dinner preparations began. The meal was leftover pork, sausages, and onions on noodles with fresh and warm baguettes and salad. Dinner, however, was not as interesting as dessert. Dad had picked up some sweet crackers and Choco Duo, a kind of double chocolaty frosting. It was absolutely delicious, especially when you stacked two or three frosting-covered cookies to make a delicious mess.

                As Mom cleaned up the dinner mess, we set up for bed. Caitlin and Lindsey share a double in their own room, Mom and Dad share another double in an adjacent room, and Abby and I are on the couch/futon and fold-up chair in the main living/dining/bedroom. Surprisingly, these futon beds were huge! Abby has a nice long twin, while I get to enjoy a comfy full sized bed, all for me. No more short, hard, lumpy mattresses under creaky bunk beds with light streaming through the window. Just the faint sounds of our neighbors enjoying dinner Spanish style and the blanketing darkness.