Something, finally

Hello. Where to start? Since it took me forever just to get this to look decent, I'm going to keep it short and just post a couple of photos to do the talking for me. I promise to go into a bit more detail the next time I update.

On the left, a staple: Haribo Gold Bears. Love 'em. Apparently, in Spain, they're enjoyed as well. On the right, ham flavored Ruffles. Bought 'em five days ago and still haven't tried them.

Frankfurt, Germany. These are smoking booths found all over the airport (which is huge by the way). The few that I passed were crowded and smoky, and everyone gave me weird looks as I walked by.

The look from our window at the hotel in Madrid. Not a super accurate view of the city, but a somewhat accurate view of the craziness that the city contained.

A church in Madrid. Don't remember the name, we didn't go inside, but the outside was quite breathtaking. Enlarged to show detail.

Found in Madrid. Super awesome.

A somewhat typical sidestreet of Madrid. This photo doesn't capture it well enough, but it was quite cool.

Por fin, yo. In the Palacio Real, a beautiful mansion with hundreds of rooms. I believe this was where a king/queen of Spain lived at one point. Man, so vague. Sadly, my memory fails me here as it does often.

That's it for now. I know it's short, but I just wanted to get something up and get this going already. What I've posted above is only from the first 1 or 2 days of my trip. I plan on making my next post about the flight over and Madrid solely. I will then follow up with info about Toledo, which was an amazing city in so many ways. Later, I will begin talking all about Granada, my homestay, my schooling, etc. So far I've taken nearly 400 photos, and while I won't be posting them all here, I'll be sure to help you all visually follow me on this journey.

One more point: A huge, huge, HUGE thank you to everyone who made this trip possible for me. Financially, emotionally, motivationally; thank you all so much for encouraging me to do this and for everything you have done to make this happy. This is truly a one of a kind experience and I am doing what I can to enjoy every minute of it. It's been a difficult road getting here (literally and figuratively) but I'm excited to be here, amazed at the things I have seen and eager to use my Spanish daily. Again, thank you.

More to come, stay tuned.

Ryan