So today was crazy.

And by today I mean this thing that has seemed like one very long continuous day that has rendered me exhausted and ready to sleep for days. Of course that isn't going to happen, but I'll take the 7 hours that I'm going to get.

So let's start this long, exhaustive day where it started for me. My flight was planned to leave from Houston at 1:55 PM so that my plane could arrive in Miami at 5:20, giving me an hour to catch my next flight just a few gates over at 6:20. Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties in the cockpit regarding a screen that has to be functional in order for the plane to fly. They called maintenance and were informed that maintenance would arrive in 20-25 minutes; our plane left an hour late, getting me to Miami at 6:18. I was informed, while still on the flight, that the plane at Miami was waiting! Hooray! I quickly got my things and rushed over to the gate where my next flight was supposed to leave, and there is was, still waiting. However, apparently my seat was not. American Airlines had given my ticket to someone else because they assumed I would not have been able to make it on time. Wow, bummer for sure.

I ended up with a flight leaving at 10:30 PM that night that flew into London and arrived there at 12:00 PM, and then my flight to Madrid left at 2. I ended up arriving in Madrid at 5:25 PM instead of the 9:05 AM I had originally paid for. This meant that I had to take a taxi instead of riding with the group on a bus, costing me 35 euro. Bummer again.

But I think the icing on the cake to this whole scenario is the fact that I'm sitting here with only the items I carried on. Yes, they lost my luggage. Seriously?! How hard is it to get a bag from point A to point B? Yeah, so I'm hoping it arrives at my hotel tomorrow. If not I'm not sure what's going to happen. At least I got flight insurance. :)

Anyway, I arrived to my hotel in Madrid in just enough time for me to freshen up a little bit before we walked around the city and went to dinner. I have to say, this place is gorgeous. On top of that, so is the weather. There was a wonderful breeze as we walked through the Plaza del Sol and the Plaza Mayor that just made me all giddy inside. There were also some people dressed up acting like statues around the plazas. I hope I can get some pictures of them tomorrow.

I was hoping upload multiple pictures tonight but my laptop is dying and my converter is in my lost luggage (of course), so I'll just post one picture of me from dinner tonight. :)

So overall, it was a very taxing day(s), but I arrived safely! Can't really ask for much more than that, right? Except for maybe my luggage. I would like that back.