Keith & Julie: First full day in Madrid about to start

Yesterday we were dropped off at Hotel Alantico which is right on one of main roads in city. We showered and then found a Vodafone shop and got SIM cards. Tried to get the data plan I remembered from my research but the shop didn't seem to have same thing.
Think pickpocket might have opened my trousers back pocket when crossing road - I deliberately had nothing in it so no problem.
Found nearby supermarket and bought sparkling water to have in room.
After returning to hotel, we went up to 9th floor where there is outdoor areas (and indoor rooms) with bar service!
The cold beer served with frosty glass went down so well we did that twice :-)
Then we wandered off into some streets just looking around. The city has a lot of "life" in the smaller streets and lanes.
There are many squares/plazas that locals hang out in after a hot day. Children playing, young folks hanging, oldies talking - in a shared space open to the sky.
Got to  Cabriera bar, saw empty table, grabbed it. Too much food for us but great spot for people watching!
Bit lost by time we left there but we found our way back to hotel easy enough.
Hotel has free wireless so I can do most big things there. Found that 22189 is supposed to be Vodafone customer service speaking English so will call them today to check data plan.

Dome above our 9th floor  drinks

Day 1. Leaving on a jet plane

Goodbye rainy Canberra Airport. Not a bad day to be leaving town... we were packed and to the airport in plenty of time so there was time to relax and to look forward to some warmer weather!


The flight from Canberra to Sydney was delayed and then we spent a fair time in a holding pattern out near Warragamba Dam because only the E-W runway was in use due to the strong westerly, which also made for a bumpy flight. Everything in Sydney went smoothly and we weren't rushed despite arriving 40 minutes later than scheduled.

Onto Emirates, a 777-300 and an uneventful flight to Bangkok. A variation from QANTAS in that we didn't have to disembark for the refuelling stop. Dinner was pretty good, a beef stew washed down with a Ventoux Controlle. Not bad.