1st class train rides are not worth the cost...

Hello ladies and gents,

Our lovely group has reached Madrid, but it took four seperate trains (not including the metro), a broken down train, 1st class tickets on one train (there were no other tickets), and 20 hours. All of the travel made us take an overnight train and we missed a day in Madrid. The hostel charged us money because they said we didn´t cancel 24 hours in advance when Bethany called and emailed them three days in advance. We´re trying to get our money back and if we do we at least saved money on the overnight train. The 1st class ticket was €25 though which offsets the savings... And the meal they gave us wasn´t that great. Enough of that nonsense though, sorry for boring you with details.

Last night we went out to a dance clud in Madrid and we all had an excellent time. I tried a drink called the Spanish Flag and it was actually pretty good (probably because it had a lot of grenadine). Stephen has a cold though, so we´re hanging out around the hostel for a little bit so he can get more sleep. I´m glad my medkit came in use though! I brought musinex and he told me I was his saviour. It´s good to know that I did a pretty good job packing. I had to pack more than everyone else though because I´m going directly to my archaeology dig. I´ve got a sleeping bag, two sports bras, two shorts, and four shirts specifically for the dig. My bag is a little heavier than everyone else´s bags but I´m strong enough to handle it!

Before I left for the trip everyone was joking with me about alcohol because I´m allowed to drink in Europe, but not the US. Since I´ve been in Europe I had a great night with my friends our 2nd night in Paris because we went out to a nice dinner and then went to this awesome little bar where the owner didn´t speak English. We all had a glass of wine and just chatted for a while and it was great. Jan tried her first sip of wine and refused to have more! It´s frustrating that the drinking age is 21 in the US instead of 18 because it prevents us from going out and having those types of nights or even going out with parents in restaurants. I like the idea of having a lower drinking age as long as the parents are present. Thoughts?

Today we´re going to see some Spanish churches and squares and check out some authentic Spanish food. We tried some last night and I was a little scared, but it was delicious! I hope I enjoy to food the whole trip as much as I did last night. We´re also going to a flea market or something to check out some shopping options. I didn´t buy anything from Paris, but I´ve got to start loading up on these places! My pack is going to be pretty heavy by the end of it...

Until Rome!