Te dejo Madrid

Something unbelievable happened at the Charlotte airport: I upgraded to first class on my flight to Madrid! It was amazing, like being in a hotel and then a fancy restaurant and then a hotel again. I had three windows to myself and one of those seats that reclines almost completely horizontally. (I won't even go into detail about the champagne, personal TV, and steaming hand/face towel before both dinner and breakfast. I felt like royalty!) The stewardess who was assigned to my side of the aisle went out of her way to make sure I had a vegan meal, too -- she swapped my salad (which annoyingly had chunks of shaved parmesan in it) with one of the crewmember salads, which had spinach, romaine, red onions, and yellow peppers. And then for dinner, when she set my plate down (on my little collapsible table covered with a tiny tablecloth), she said, "I know you're a vay-gun and you don't eat cheese, so when you get back to the States, you need to call the airline because they gave you a piece of cheese! I figured you wouldn't want to see that on your plate, so I took it off." I wanted to hug her!

Dinner was a deconstructed paella of sorts, with Spanish rice, peas, a roasted tomato, and artichokes. It also came with a fresh fruit salad on the side, covered with shredded coconut. Yum! Breakfast was an oatmeal/wheat roll with a simple granola and another fresh fruit salad.

I was able to sleep for a few hours on the flight. I looked out the window a few times and couldn't believe all the stars in the sky, since there's virtually no light pollution over the Atlantic. I actually saw the hazy pearlescent strip of the Milky Way, something I've never been able to see before as a city girl. I caught a few ZZZs and woke up just in time to see the Atlantic end at the Portugal coast and then watch the sun rise over the continent that my ancestors left hundreds of years ago to create a better life in the New World. I'm not gonna lie: it was beautiful, and I cried a little.

So, anyway, that was hands-down the best flight I've experienced thus far in my life. It was actually -- dare I say it -- enjoyable! The flight to Barcelona was meh, just like every other flight I've ever been on. But now I'm here in Barcelona, and our apartment is sunny and clean and cute and bright. I'm about to wind my way through these ancient streets (they're not even wide enough to fit a golf car) and find the closest health food store in hopes of scoring some soymilk and a few snacks. I'll post later with a video of our apartment! From Barcelona with love. <3