The First Day

Cody and I arrived in Madrid today around 8:30 in the morning. After arriving at the airport we took a bus to Alcalá de Henares, which lasted about twenty minutes. We got off the bus in the center of the town and searched for our hotel with the use of maps and bus schedules posted at stops. We passed the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, an old university founded in 1499 where the playwright Lope de Vega once taught, and the Plaza de Cervantes, which was surrounded by trees and shops. In the center of the plaza stood a statue of Cervantes. I'll write more on these two locations later when I visit them some more. The hotel

is far from the city center in a fairly new commercial and residential district. Here is a nearby street:

We slept for a while after arriving, then looked online for some apartments. After that, we walked around area near our hotel, La Garena, and ate at a small restaurant called Carena Real. There was a Real Madrid soccer game on the television, so several people were sitting, eating tapas and watching the game. I had a sandwich made of jamón iberico, a local type of cured ham. The restaurant was also a bakery, so the bread was very good. It was toasted with a tomato rub.

Tomorrow we will look at some apartments and will also look for the school at which we will be teaching.

I'll post more soon!