Experiment:
Testing for the Existence of Jet Lag
Procedure:
1. Have three subjects
fly halfway across the planet and spend the day walking around the city.
2. Tempt them with food
late at night.
3. Watch them lay awake
for awhile and giggle together because, while it's 2AM where they are, they
still think it's 6PM.
4. Set an alarm for 8:30
the next morning.
Conclusion: While 8:30AM
alarm seemed like a reasonable time, the subjects seemed to disagree as the
begrudgingly got out to bed around 10:45AM. They really started moving around
11:15AM after having to skip breakfast and second breakfast and go straight to
elevensies. Thus, for travelers similar to the subjects tested in this
experiment, it can be concluded that jet lag is real and should be taken as a
serious issue in our world today.
Sorry, I had to let the
Mines student inside out for a bit.
Despite our slow start
this morning, my beloved adventure buddies and I spent the day exploring even
more of Madrid. We started off by walking around four miles in one direction
away from our apartment towards the Crystal Palace (*ooh*). The street we took
was one of the biggest in the city, and at one point it looked like a little
Times Square set in Spanish historical times. The buildings were all beautiful,
huge with arched windows, detailed molding, and domed spires. No two looked the
same, but they all looked similar enough to fit together. Then, there were huge
screens for advertising, which made for a sharp contrast with the old
architecture. There were shops, cars, and people everywhere. Somehow Addy,
despite having the shortest legs of the three of us, was moving at a
near-supersonic speed, so we made pretty good time to make up for our late
start. We eventually came to a huge palace-looking building, which we thought
might be the Crystal Palace. Turns out it was the cultural center, complete
with a reading section that was hopping with older-aged people (even older than
you, Dad). It was quite the surprise, but fun to see anyway.
That one palace thing I told you about. |
We continued on to the
Parque de Madrid (Park of Madrid, I hope these words make you as excited as you
know they make me), which turned out to be the Central Park of Madrid. I know I
raved about the parks yesterday, but this one takes the cake. It was enormous,
complete with a pond of rowboats, rose gardens, several memorials/monuments, a
restaurant, and finally, the Crystal Palace! It looked rather similar to the
building in The Sound of Music where Leisl iconically prepares
to be 17. It was all glass and metal, surrounded by the park on every
side. There was a pond just outside, too, which was filled with little ducks
and turtles. Mesmerizing.
We took a break on one
of the shady benches for a little while, taking it all in as much as we could
and also dreading the long walk back we had unintentionally made for ourselves.
Once we built up the courage, we headed for the edge of the park (thank goodness
Addy knew where that was) and back towards home. We just so happened to pass
another museo de jamon (there are multiple apparently, which is really a gift
from above) and enjoyed some more ham sandwiches for lunch. We parked ourselves
right in front of the air cooling unit in the shop, which blew our hair back
from our faces much like the ears of a dog whose head is hanging out the
window. It felt amazing. After we finished, we continued on in search of a
chocolate and churro place Meghan told us about yesterday, called San Gines
(sounds like He-nez). Well, it just so happens that yesterday when I thought I
was taking a picture of a bookstore in an alley, I caught it in the background!
It was very cute and we all thoroughly enjoyed the churros. The girls said the
hot chocolate was delicious, but it was so thick it was more for dipping than
for drinking.
Our beloved museo de jamon. |
This picture, Round 2. It's the yellow building in the back!
|
After we finished eating
(at least for the next hour), we made the trek home and took a much-needed nap
during the siesta. Side note - siestas may be our new favorite thing and we're
bringing them home with us. Anyway, for dinner we walked back to the same area
we had been earlier and ate some tapas at another little spot Meghan suggested
for us (she really guided us through today) and later stopped for some
diary-free dinner for myself and some ice cream for Addy and Vic. By the end,
it was about 10:30, and decided we had worn ourselves out and headed home. We
walked a little over 11 miles today and are actually ready for bed (thank
goodness).
Take that, jet lag.
Quote of the Day: “Addy,
did you pee upwards?” -Victoria (See picture below)
Status of Addy’s watch
tan: even darker than before, can’t wait to see it when it reaches its full
potential. (see same picture below)
Number of fountains we
dipped our toes in: Just one, but hopefully there will be more.
I forgot to warn you about the hot chocolate! But, there is no problem, as far as I see: only thing better than some chocolate is more chocolate!
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