France Day One

Every time I visit Europe, I'm reminded that travelling is not for sissies! I left Dallas at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday, and arrived in Madrid around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. This was only the second time I've been to the Madrid airport, and, frankly, I found it just as confusing this time as the last...maybe more so!  After a tram ride and a long walk, I finally made it to my waiting area. Since I had almost four hours to wait, the gate assignments were not on the board yet.  I sat in what I thought was the near vicinity, and eventually found out I was correct, although the flight was half an hour late.  A small Iberian Airlines plane (two seats on each side) got me to Strasbourg in two hours, where I had a baggage scare (it was eventually found), and caught a cab to the city centre, where the hotel is located.  We chose a Best Western because honestly that first night....you could almost sleep in a ditch you're so tired and confused over the time change.  But the hotel was a pleasant surprise: very clean and much larger than I anticipated. Hotels in France all seem to be about the size of a shoebox.

I took a walk around the neighborhood, scoped out a restaurant for dinner that the front desk had recommended, and snapped a few photographs. The weather is absolutely perfect, almost like springtime. Nancy and John (who came all the way from Seattle via Los Angeles and Paris, where they then transferred to a train) should be here shortly.  I'm hoping we'll all sleep well tonight.  Even though I didn't have any problem snoozing on either plane earlier, a normal night's sleep will be appreciated!

Here's a photo of the ceiling at the Madrid airport...as confusing as the rest of it!

 Strasbourg is really a beautiful town. This is my third trip here, and there's still a lot that I haven't seen.  The architecture is very striking, and today there were a lot of people sitting at outdoor cafes and walking around, enjoying the weather.

Thanks for starting out my vacation with me!  I'll be back tomorrow!