First day in Madrid

So we have arrived in Madrid. It was good flight with no issues. Suffice to say we were happy to see our luggage come down the ramp, Wendy more so than me. After arriving in Madrid, we navigated through 3 metro lines to get to our hotel. We checked in absolutely exhausted (we only got 2-3 hours on the flight). We took a couple hour power nap, and then went to see the sights.
Our first stop was to validate our Eurail passes at Atocha Renfe Station. After that, we went the Parque de Retiro. We saw the Palacio de Cristal and the Palacio de Velaquez. This is Madrid’s version of Central Park.
After the park, we went to a restaurant close to the Atocha Renfe Station where we ate outside (café style). The waiter came to our table and saw our Spanish phrase book and abruptly handed us and “English menu”. We ordered a steak sandwich and chicken with salad and fries. Everything was delicious, but the even the sodas were $2.50 for a small bottle. No matter where you go in Spain, the Hamberguesa and Fritas are on the menu. We passed several Burger King’s and McDonald’s, but we were never tempted to settle for what we could get back home. We fully intended on going back to the hotel for an early evening, but we found a local bar. Enough said. We met several locals including the new owner of the bar. He was from Egypt, but had lived in Spain for a few years. Between our broken Spanish and his broken English, we ended up being able to communicate well enough to order several cervazes. We are back at the hotel now enjoying the skyline view of Madrid. Miss everyone very much.
We are heading to Alicante early in the morning. We will be on the beach for the next couple of days, so we apologize in advance for the lack of updates.