I just woke up, it's light out and I was really disoriented. I had been dreaming and I couldn't figure out what time it was. Amelia's computer said 12:30. I decided that must be the time in NY, so it is 6:30 here. That's the time I was supposed to be at the early show, but we decided I had to sleep for a while and so changed my ticket to the late show of Pilobus. It starts at 10:30 pm...I should be there at 10, leave here at 9:30, assuming I don't need time for getting lost. Plus it will be dark then. Amelia told me how to get there, what subway to take and where to transfer, but at the moment, I can't even remember the name of the theater or the right stop. She will probably call here. I have never been so out of it in my life and I knew when she was telling me, I needed to write it down, but couldn't do anything but sleep.

This is probably the nicest hotel room I've ever seen, especially for Amelia, since it has very modern decor--lots of rectangular lamp shades, art on shelves leaning agains the wall, laminate dark wood-looking floors, even in the bathroom, silver and white metallic/grass-cloth looking walls, way too many mirrors. I am wearing the hotel-supplied bathrobe, which I think we are sharing, and drinking glasses of tap water. I am incredibly thirsty. In theory, they supply 2 bottles of water a day, but Amelia doesn't let them clean the room most days, so we are out. She suggested they would send some up if I called the desk. When I did, they transferred me to Room Service. I hung up, not wanting to pay a room service fee plus the cost of the bottled water. Plus I didn't feel like I wanted to discuss it in Spanish. The desk I am working on is a glass and steel table with electronics I can't recognize and a cool phone. Amelia's laptop is plugged into the internet with a cable.

All went well on the flight. Well, the flight from Athens was incredible. The plane has 9 seats. There were 4 of us, all women, ranging from 30s to 60. The pilots were 23 and 24. We asked afterwards. The plane felt like a station wagon with wings bolted on. When it started up, it seemed like we were trying to get up speed to be airborne, which might or might not succeed. Then it was pretty wobbly. There were some moments when I could knit, but most of the time I was gripping the bottom of my seat--no armrests or straps to hang onto. I am sure Ray or many of you would love it. We were never very high and could see every car on the road. I was amazed at how many trees there still are in Athens and Georgia. Some of the time we were in the clouds, completely surrounded by whiteness in a terrifying and yet somehow calming way. There were occasionally drops or wavers, making it feel like the pilots had little control. The landing was fine, although you definitely knew you were down, and slamming on the brakes for dear life. How to weigh convenience and cost against sheer terror? The record is good; no one has died on this trip and they do it 5 times a day each way. Some people would probably pay $39 for the fun of the ride, sort of like a super roller coaster. And it would be sort of a lark to go to Atlanta with a group of friends for the day. But I'm glad I am taking the ground shuttle when I go home. I'll have to see if I can gird up my loins to go again another time, now that I know what it's like. I sort of want to make sure they keep the service going.

Then I had hours in Atlanta. I had gone with only carry-on luggage. My rolling bag weighed less than 20 pounds and my big black tote bag about 17. By now, however, my shoulders and arms are good and tired of lugging them all the way here. I had printed my boarding pass and went right through security. They really had it moving along and I had to rush into my shoes and grab my things off the belt. I got out to my gate about 3 hours early, had a couple short phone conversations and went to find a place to sit and eat and drink. My gate was E-10 (?) and there is a small bar near there. I had a bowl of sweet potato soup and Pinot Grigio Ecco Domani--my favorite wine! I sat there awhile reading about the history of Spain in my new travel guide. The waitress was too chatty; she said she didn't know why the people coming here from other countries didn't study up like she had seen Americans. I said I thought they probably did. She said they never know what to order and I want them to like it. She said if she ever travels, she is going to learn to say chicken in every language--and bathroom.

I had realized in Athens that my camera card was already half-full and I didn't dare delete the pictures without double-checking that they had downloaded (from Mexico). Ray rushed off and bought me a new card. He was back in plenty of time, although it took us a while to get the packaging open. We put the new card in and--it was unreadable. He was so sad. So now, in the Atlanta airport, I started looking to buy one. It took a few tries, but there is a store near E-26 called Tech Showcase. Lots of not-too-useful stuff, but they had a 2 GB card for $20. Wow! That made my day. It is tiny, too small to fit in the slot in my camera, but it comes with an adapter to make it big enough. Then you can place it another adapter and put it right into a USB port to download to the laptop. Too cool! The only problem is how to keep the tiny adaptor (and the old card) safe while traveling. I grabbed the camera, but not the case. They are in a compartment in my wallet. I hope they won't be damaged.

Then I read some more and knitted a little and it was finally time to board. These giant international planes are pretty crowded--3 seats in the middle and 2 on either side. I had an aisle seat in the middle section. The people next to me were speaking Spanish. We had dinner and breakfast, okay but not great, certainly enough to keep me from starving. Also free wine. And not enough water. I couldn't get the attendants' attention to get more. And the sound didn't work on my little entertainment screen. I finally watched Monsters vs. Aliens with no sound. I dozed some, but didn't really sleep much. Then they were serving breakfast and it started to get light. The flight was very smooth and no serious problems.

I shouldered my bags and followed the signs to the Metro. It was a very long way. Amelia had instructed me to buy a 3-day pass for the least expensive zone. I couldn't find that option on the machines, but a nice English-speaking woman at the information desk told me how to find it (it's called a tourist ticket or pass and available in 1, 2, 3 or more days). Mine was 11,60. I had instructions from Amelia on where to transfer and where to get off and a map the helpful woman gave me. I had no trouble. When I emerged from the subway, I looked around. I saw a hotel with a sign that said AC, so I didn't need to ask anyone. I headed down the street and went up to room 809. I knocked and knocked and called Amelia. A woman finally opened the door and I said, "No esta Amelia? Lo siento mucho." I went down and asked at the desk and this was not the Hotel AC Cuzco. Oops! So sorry, ma'am. I had to walk back to the subway exit and the hotel was just the other side of it. I got in another little elevator, admiring the large and interesting lobby, rode up to the 8th floor, and knocked on her door. "She just left," said the chambermaid. "Acabo de salir." "oh, that can't be...why would she do that? Doesn't she know the first rule of meeting up with someone...stay put!" (I didn't say all that to the chambermaid.) I was about to rush back down and leave my suitcases, but she told me I had to take them down to the desk if I wanted to leave them. I sat on the bench by the elevators and got out my cell phone (and my glasses--traveling is one of the many times I wish I didn't need reading glasses!). I turned it on, no message from Amelia. I sent her a text message, but was pretty sure I didn't have international service: "where are you? I am at room 809." I went back to the room and grabbed my bags and called an elevator. Just as I was getting in, she said, "Mom." I had nearly broken the rule myself! She said she had been going to meet me in the lobby and must have gone down when I was going up. All's well that ends well. I was just a little flustered there at the end.

The room was lovely and all I wanted to do was bathe. She went ahead down for breakfast, while I ran a bath in the tub. Tiny--I had forgotten. The toiletries in this place are way more than I have ever seen. She had told me I didn't need to bring anything for that reason. I used their shampoo and body wash. The towel is ginormous and thick--almost too big; it's too heavy to wrap around your hair. Amelia came back, bearing croissants. She apologized, no pain au chocolat today. She did have a yogurt in her mini-fridge, delicious with a little bit of honey from a jar she had scavenged from the restaurant. I am afraid the rest of the hotels we stay in will not be as nice as this. There is even a bidet, which I haven't seen in years. I made a mess turning the water on.

We talked for a bit and decided to go to the Parque Retiro. Several subway stops and one transfer later, we were there. The weather was incredible. Not too hot, but sunny and beautiful.

We walked and walked.

I sat on a few benches every now and then. There were some great statues and the crystal palace, a building with glass walls, ceiling, etc; a pond with ducks and black geese.

And everywhere people, especially families. Roller-blading, cycling and walking and sitting and talking and eating and drinking. I began to fall asleep every time we stopped.

We got some food: tortilla espanola (thick potato omelette) and a salad. Amelia had some of the thick hot chocolate, even though it was really too warm for it. I am getting hungry again just thinking about it. I should figure out where I am going and make a start before it is pitch dark.