4th April - Lisbon to Madrid

We had to catch our flight to Madrid this morning much against our will. We really loved Lisbon and were wishing we had planned a longer stay here. After our usual breakfast, we checked out and took the Aerobus to the airport. Then the usual check in procedure etc etc and boarded the flight at 10.10am and got into Madrid at 12.15pm. From the AP we took the metro to Atocha Renfe station, one of Madrid's main train stations and where we had to buy the train tickets for our next day trip to Algeciras, a small port town next to Gibralter, on the southern border of Spain. After much asking around we got to the ticket counter. There were hordes of people around and we found we had to pick a number from those machine things. Our number was 434 or so and they were still serving number 200 something. So we were in for a long wait!!!! Unfortunately it was something we could have done during our previous 3 day stay but we kept putting it off. Serves us right!!! Finally at about 3pm they got to us and we bought our tickets.....very expensive tickets. They were 61 euros/90 dollars each, one way.....!! Much more than our guide book said they would be, about 35 euros!! Even tho it is a 2006 guide book I didnt think prices would go up so much!!! We then walked to Hotel Carlton which was close by, not the same cramped place we had stayed at before, but a much larger better roomed one. Left our baggage and headed out for lunch cos we were both starving after our 7am breakfast! We decided to go back to our favorite Pinicchio Trattoria for salad and pizza. Found a long line for outdoor seating - locals eat lunch very late - so went inside. After a 10 min wait we got seated and found to our dismay that our fav Mediterranean salad which we had had just 4 days ago had been scratched off the menu!!!!! I guess there isn't much demand for a veg salad!! So we ordered a grilled veg platter and a pizza, fruit juice and beer. The drinks were taking very long and the owner was rushing around with a frazzled look on his face. We stopped him while he was dashing by to remind him of our drinks and soon after, in about 30 seconds they appeared. Wow! That was quick! Then about 10 minutes later the same frazzled owner stopped by with another set of drinks, saw we had already been served and went to the kitchen in a huff and poured it down the drain. I know cos from where I was sitting i could see all the frenzied activity in the kitchen. Soon after the food appeared. A quick note about food in Spain - everything is swimming in olive oil! So even tho grilled veggies may sound very healthy, I am not sure it really was. It tasted good, no doubt, but there was enough EVOO left on the plate for Jharna (our cook) to cook us a decent meal!

By the time we were one it was close to 4.30pm, so our second attempt, no, actually 3rd attempt to see Palacio Real failed since it closes at 5pm. Not really having enought time to do any significant sightseeing, we opted to do some Madrid souvenier shopping. So we walked back to the hotel, napped for an hour and left at 6.30pm or so. We bought some keychains, magnets, T-shirts, postcards...the usual. We were saving our serious shopping for the very end of our trip so as not to have to lug everything around. Didn't take any pictures at all today!!! Since we had had such a late lunch we bought some fruits and ice cream for dinner and came back to the room. All in all a pretty dull day! Our train was at 8.45 am the next morning, so we had to check out by 7am, walk to the station and have some breakfast there before boarding.