Matt and l decided that we will go for a bit of a wonder today and get some piccies as it is our last day here but turns out that we are going to spend more time in our hotel. We left to go for a walk and quickly realized that there weren't too many people around and that the shops were shut. This was strange. We then walked around the corner and saw 6 police vans, 2 motorbike cops and that the metro stations were shut. There was traffic blockades and a police helicopter was circulating above. We thought that there might have been a shooting or siege, but when we turned the next corner toward the main square, we saw that all traffic was blocked off and all the shops were shut. We have always lived by a few travel rules, 1. Never pass a decent toilet, 2. Never trust a fart, 3. Walk away from protesters/congregations and 4. Always read your paperwork. Today, we chose to live by number 3 but only after Matt got his coffee. On our way to starbucks there was a loud explosion and I totally s*** myself!!! After getting coffee, (the worst frappacino in the history of frappacinos) we walked back to the hotel amongst the explosions, which we think are fireworks. We have now found out that the spanish are protesting across the country against the new prime minister who has brought in new laws giving employers more rights...sounds like work choices to me!! Anyway, we are going to chill in our hotel, with some coronitas and wait for the bangs to stop or until we get hungry!!

- K

For the record, my coffee was awesome :)
It's not so bad in our hotel though, unlimited Internet, music, about 90 movies on iPod. We're on the top level too, so we have a nice little rooftop courtyard to relax in, beer in the fridge, yeah, I think we'll be ok.

- M