I made it to Spain

So today has been a pretty terrible day.  I had to wake up at 3:30 AM to catch my "cheap" easyjet flight from Charled Du Gaul at 650 AM.  Two short 5-10 minute walks, one bus, and an 8.50 Euro train, sounds so simple; however, it did not go as smoothly as I could hope.

When my alarm went off at 3:30 I was hoping thinking that this would be the worst part of the trip to the airport.  I put on 5 t-shirts, 2 jackets, swimming shorts, boxers, and jeans (because otherwise my luggage would weigh too much and I would have to pay 50 euros to check it, on top of the 22 euros I already paid to check it).  As I walk down two flights of stairs with 30 Kilos of luggage I start to hear something that sounds like rain.  It had been 70-75 degrees the whole week I was in Paris, but it decided to pour the morning that I had no choice but to walk, and with all of my stuff.  I get to the first bus without much trouble.  Twenty Five minutes later the bus drops me off, in the rain, 7 minutes away from the train station.  I am early, and have plenty of time to make the train; which is scheduled to arrive at 4:56.  After walking through the huge train station I pay my 8.50 Euros to get my train that will drop me off at the airport.  Once I am on the platform I notice the sign says that the train is coming "on time" at 5:30.  We'll I stand around for awhile thinking about how I will have a 5 minute window to get from the train to the gate before they wont let me check in because its a "cheap" ticket with easyjet.  At about 5:15 I look at the sign again and now it says the train will come at 5:40.  I make a quick decision to head back out of the train station and find a taxi because I figure the taxi will cost less than a new plane ticket (easy jet will not rebook your flight).

The taxi gets me there with plenty of time to check in and my bags are under the weight at which they would charge me.  So I get on the plane and I make it to Madrid.  Wet, sweaty and clueless as to how to get to the hotel.  Every booth in the airport says "no information" so I decide to take another taxi and hope it wont cost me too much.  The taxi driver takes me to the hotel and the meter reads 27 euros.  The taxi driver mutters something like "it's 50 euros."  I hand him 30 and ask for change he says "no no 50 euros airport... baggage... 50 please."  I said "no its 27" and he points at some confusing sticker on the window that says something about the airport.  So I reluctantly take his word for it and hand him 50 euros.

Once I get into the hotel and relax for a bit I read a little bit about Madrid in a guide book that my parents had in the hotel.  It says that the only legitimate charge is 5.50 euros extra for the airport.  So I got riped off about 20 euros.  Not as bad as the 50 I was ripped off last time I was in this city, but still come on Madrid why do you love to steal money.  It really pisses me off and I cannot wait to get to Logrono where there should be less crooks.  Let's see if I can make it 8 days without being robbed or cheated agian.

Pictures soon.