Madrid

As the tour continues we find ourselves back in the south where we can finally get some sun and warmth, a good way to wind down our European trip. It will be two weeks before we return to Munich, the city we started and the city where we will end.

One word -- Tapas. As we we're told, the story behind tapas starts in the 13th century. The poor people only had so much money could only afford either food or beer. Guess what they chose? Correct. Incidentally the poor people of Spain we're malnourished and drunk and so the king of Spain declared it national law for any restaurant or bar who served beer to also serve some food on top. The Spanish verb 'tapar' translates to 'cover'. Today the law no longer exists but the tradition does. Wherever we bought beer there was also a tapas served alongside, something as small as chips or as large as chorizos, breads, patatas bravas, chicken wings.. We ate a lot of little food in Spain.

Coincidentally, we spent Easter in Spain. While I have no personal affinity Easter, being that the national religion of spain is Catholicism, the Spaniards take the holiday very seriously. You may have heard of their world famous Easter processions. Each church has it's own procession, all of which are on different days. The procession is essentially a large parade with a marching band and an incredibly heavy altar. The processions march for hours all through the city. It is a very large honor to take part in the processions, so large that spectators at one procession cried and embraced when the rain forced the procession to go no further than the church's doorway.

And for those who are trying to travel cheaply, the Euro goes far in Spain.

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