Heading back to the Hotel Europa for a much needed nap (i.e. drink?) we heard a woman call Mark's name in the hotel lobby--all I can say is, I can't believe it took a full 9 days for Mark to see someone he knew in Europe (everywhere we go, Mark runs into people he knows). This woman Pam went to high school with Mark and graduated the year before him. She's here in Madrid with her husband and two children and mother-in-law. Anyway, we end up having drinks and then spending the next several days hanging out with them. Max and Ella were so happy to have kids to play with, speak English to and compare electronic games with. The 9 of us went to the Prado Museum, ate delicious seafood paella, took the high speed train to Toledo and wandered in the hot sun (going to a really poor exhibition of pirates), etc. Last night we ate at a smoky, tapas (meaning little plates) place with wood floors and two small tables hastily shoved together. We ate plates of meatballs in a type of chili queso sauce, a plate of various salamis, blood sausage, jerky and dried ham, some sort of fried shrimp in egg batter (which was amazingly yummy) and cheese. The house salad is always lettuce greens, onion slices, white aspargas, tomatoes, hard boiled egg, tuna and olives. I've had paella at least three times since Tuesday afternoon--always a saffron rice with shrimp, chicken, various sweet peppers.
