Traveling to Spain

Ok, so I am really tired. I just spent the last day traveling by air and once I got to Granada, on foot to see the churches and monuments here. It is a totally different atmosphere here than it is in the States, unless you count the High School musical t-shirts, towels, and toys sold in children's stores. Or Hannah Montana stuff. Or the big signs at most bus stops displaying big picture of Jack Black in caveman clothing with "Año Uno" scrolled across them. Oh, and one of my favorites, something that Granada seems to share with Japan... Hello Kitty! haha, although I've only seen her in a couple of stores.

My travels started out from Rochester to O'Hare with a perky Alaskan/southern stewardess who was microphone happy. She used every opportunity she could to speak on the overhead--which was ok with me since her accent sounded so cool. Good Mooooooorning. I hooope you weel enjooooy your fliiiight todaaaayee. Mix a Paula Dean with a Sarah Palin and you have one happy go lucky American Airlines stewardess.

That flight took about forty-five minutes and once we landed we made the trudge across the O'Hare airport, stopping for a bite to eat, and then proceeding onward, after also hitting the bathrooms of course. And, at a major risk of sounding crude, I must explain the amazingness of their toilet system. You see, I hate sitting/touching the toilet seats because they could give me germs. Well, the O'Hare airport has found a way to work around my logical phobia. They have created a system so amazing that I shall forever remember that airport for their toilets. Ok, here it goes: they have created a plastic cover for their toilet seats. Just wave your hand in front of the magic box and instantly the plasitic is rolled up into one end bringing with it a whole new plastic area of clean. Aha! (Yes, I am a freak.)

After seating ourselves, my dad and I plugged into our computers, my dad once in a while going to check to see if we could get new seating, and I heading off to the bathrooms. I must have drank too much or something, however I can't remember what it was. Unfortunately, the flight arrived late and we were forced to sit another hour plus on our computers trying to waste the time away.

The flight to Spain was crowded. It seemed smaller than the one going to Japan, but I could be wrong. It definitely took a shorter amount of time than a transpacific flight. Only seven hours and twenty minutes. However, the seats were tight, and because of this it was hard to sleep. I tried my left side, I tried my right side, I tried middle, I tried leaning back in my seat, I tried folding my pillow, but the most amount of sleep that I could manage was a half hour. After that I lifted my blinds (I had a window seat) which revealed a spectacular night sky. As I looked out, the big dipper was straight ahead of me. There was no need to look up. And it was perfect darkness, there was no red tint, like the one Rochester delivers to our home every night. Just black/navy blue, and the white balls of gas burning billions of miles away. I wish I could see that more often. Unfortunately my camera was stowed up in the overhead compartment, and after considering the weight, I decided I really didn't need, need to take a picture.

(haha, funny story, on my way out of the Rochester plane I older gentleman offered to get my bag for me. I said, careful it's heavy, but I don't think he heard me. So, he begins to lift it down and exclaims in a totally surprised voice, "Whoa, what's in this bag? Bricks?" I replied, no, just books. I must admit that my dad was happy that someone was giving me a bad time about my heavy bag. And what's more. I forgot my leather jacket under the seat in front of me, and the same gentleman goes to get it and pumps his head in the process. I hurt him twice without even trying to.)

The sunrise was also gorgeous. People love sunsets and sunrises because of their beauty. Well, the sunsets on earth are no comparison to the sunrises in an airplane. First the sky begins to pale on the horizon, then before long, the most brilliant red begins to show. Gradually all the colors of the rainbow in their most brilliant form appear, save for purple. Well, I know I saw purple, but I can't remember if it was sunrise or sunset. Even green appeared--a color not known for its presence in sunrises.

When we landed in Madrid, a lady stamped our passports, giving us permission to officially enter Spain (Yay!) Then my dad and I headed off to find our luggage, prepared to bring it through customs, but low and behold Spain doesn't work that way. Unlike los Estados Unidos they do not require you to check your baggage a second time. Instead they forward it to your final destination. It took us three employees to finally ascertain that they indeed knew what they were talking about when they said that our luggage would go straight to Granada without us having to touch it. And guess what? It did. (Another Yay!)

Once inside the Madrid terminal, I looked for my roommate, since I knew that she had been on the same flight from Chicago as us. We found her looking at the flight schedule just as confused as my dad and I had been before we had visited one of our informers a second time. Evidently the flight left from terminal HJK. With K on the left side and H and J on the right, we were totally confused, until the info guy straightened it out. In Madrid, the official gate number is not given until an hour before the flight takes off. So, we wasted some more time in the airport. But this time with Liz. First we went out of the terminal to exchange our USD for Euros (after going back and asking Mr. Info a question for the third time.) Evidently they don't do money exchanges once you get passed security, who knows why. So down we went, Liz with us, and them came back up, bought a couple of Cokes and waited. Now when airport employees in Spain say and an hour, they mean an hour. Not ten minutes before the hour, not five minutes before the hour. This is an hour before take off time, mind you, not bording time. So my dad goes back and forth between the us with the bags and the list of departure times, and finally when Granada's gate shows up, we hightail it down to our gate so we don't miss the flight. Ah, lovely Spanish airports, they remind me of myself somehow. :P

Our flight to Granada was squished. My poor dad. See the below picture. They want to fit as many seats in there as possible, even if it happens to cause discomfort to the people who are giving them business.

It turns out that the Granada airport has no sky walk or what ever you call those things. So, instead, to be more efficient, they put the moving staircases up to both ends of the plane. That was the first time that I have ever exited out the back of a plane. That was pretty cool. Which compared to the weather is its compliment, compliment that is if we are using colors as a metaphor, because Granada is HOT. They don't use Farenheight, so I'm not exactly sure how hot it was, but Liz had a thermometer with her that said 87 degrees. Btw, that was when we were sitting in an airconditioned bus. We were going to take a taxi, but my dad decided to be cheap and take the bus. Afterall, the bus driver said that we were the last stop on his route.

Ok, I REALLY need some sleep *yawn* I'm feeling like I stayed up 'til three in the morning. Haha, so I guess my jetlag isn't that bad, but still I need to set up a schedule and I have been up continuously save for that half hour nap on the plane and the tiny naps I got on the bus and the half conscious nap I took when my dad was talking to my mom on the phone. I guess that's 32.5 hours. Woot! But I really don't want to go for 33 so, I'll write the rest tomorrow.