Sweatin in Madrid

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Hellooooo,

I'm in Madrid right now and it is unbearably hot! Now I can completely understand the siesta culture-it is absolutely necessary to take a nap in your air conditioned apartment in the afternoon. In spite of the heat, Whitney has been showing me around the city. At first glance, it's nothing special-sort of a big city you can place anywhere in the world. But, Whit showed me all of the hidden gems of the city like some amazing parks, beautiful plazas, sangria bars, markets, etc. And so I've definitely warmed up to the city. We went to the Prado 2 days ago and we're going to the Reina Sofia today. I'm not too into renaissance era art, but Whit (art history major) explained the history and importance of many of the paintings in the Prado so it was really cool. Having someone there pointing out impressive aspects to look at, I appreciate the art so much more-at least that type of art: the Reina Sofia is contemporary and I think that calls for much more of an individual experience for each piece.
Anyways, I digress...the festival in Santiago was pretty sweet. We staked out a spot in a plaza at the back entrance to the Cathedral to drink wine, watch the fireworks and watch the concert. But, again, it was a little too touristy. You get used to seeing a max of 20 people a day and then all of a sudden you're confronted with 80,000 in a tiny city center.
Ok, so the 2nd half of my journey begins saturday night when I take a train to Lisbon. Already reserved a spot, and I'm ready to go!
Much love!
Dave

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