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Published: March 29th 2010
So folks, I´m realizing that I haven´t really talked much about the awesome time I´ve been having. Because even though I´ve missed some stuff... it has been awesome. Part of that was adjusting, I don´t think the butterflys are going to go away, cause this is freakin nerve wracking, but the desire to turn tail and run home early has pretty much vanished thankfully.
This is actually the first night since I´ve been in I´m not going out at all. And a hard choice it was too, because Madrid literally does not sleep. As far as I can tell a young Madridian lives with their folks until they are 30+ working pretty crap jobs, but saving money all the while. They start work at like 9 am, and at 2 work really does stop. Places of work close, and the tapas bars fill, around 3 they go home and take a nap. Work starts again around 4. You work until 7, go home, clean up, eat, whatever. Then the party begins, everywhere, between 10 and 10:30 and can go til any hour. I can fully embrace this lifestyle, and it pains me to not be out right now at the hostel run tapas bar and music crawl. Sure it would be awkward, because almost no one in this hostel speaks english, but it´d be good times regardless.
Lets just recap the fun, in case I haven´t mentioned things. Barcelona loves it´s Sangria, I found out soon after arriving, in my goal to stay up late me and a Norweigian chick went and watched a woman whom is supposedly the only female master spanish guitarist. It was pretty damn cool stuff. Afterwards as we were heading back a man handed us a pamphlet, if we buy a jug of Sangria for two we get 3 free plates of tapas. Well how could we resist. (It was also on this night I learned not to take my camera out with me if alchohol would be involved, because she had way to much, and her camera was stolen as a result.) The days in Barcelona also involved Gaudi, though not enough, and two awesome mueseums, plus lots of walking and good/cool vistas. When you´re hosteling alone, you sort of have to meet people if you want to have fun at night, so both my other two nights in BCN ended up having me be pulled into adventures, just because I was around. One night was big elaborate clubs and bars with themes, where again lots of Sangria was consumed. And the other night was the Dow Jones, which I already discussed.
In Madrid on my first night I had intended to not to do much, I really, really did. I had been so relieved by the very fact I made it, and found a place to stay I thought I´d just sleep. But that wasn´t in the cards. I ended up, just in crossing the lobby, meeting some spanish folk who were really trying very hard to learn english. Trying oh so hard, and were willing to take with, and pay for, the guy who could speak to them fluently in English. So we went out. And ate, and drank, and ate, and drank, interspersed with walking and talking and dancing. Because I´ve realized, while in Spain, how true it is that the drinking age in the states messes with people. The spaniards I was with kept making fun of the college students pregaming and binge drinking at the bars and clubs. The tapas bars give you tiny beers. No where near pints. The reason for that seems to be that the drinking is to be enjoyed as part of the night, not as the whole purpose of it. Sure you end up getting tipsy, but nothing beyond that. It´s a totally different lifestyle. But anyways, we were out much of the night.
The next day I walked to one of the main plazas... there´s a lot of them in Madrid, and I think I´ve hit them all now. From that plaza I found this open air antique/crafts market that the lady at the desk at my hostel pointed out to me. I spent hours yesterday walking from booth to booth. I got some pretty fun stuff, and had to stop myself from getting alot of it. Went back to the hostel and ended up meeting up with this guy Ross whom I had met the previous night, he´s from Winnipeg and a month into what could be a year long trip. Talking to him is really what ¨fixed¨me. Realizing that when he started his trip he was feeling the same sort of lostness, and want to just give up and go home, it helped. Even just hearing him talk about how there will be days you don´t find people to explore with during the day, or go out with at night... it´s just part of it all. And it was the perfect thing to hear.
But anyways, the two of us went out exploring, and walked the entire city basically, had a few drinks along the way, and we were chilling in an Irish Pub (a really big thing in Madrid right now) watching a football (soccar) game when I got a call from Alessandra Di Franco and Brenden Lucas, for those who don´t know, two folks I went to highschool with. We did yet more walking, went to one of Alessandras favorite tapas bars... she´s the one who actually lives in Madrid, Brenden is just visiting too... had churros and chocolate, which was weird but good... and yeah, was out with them til fairly late as well. It was indeed good times.
Today I slept way late, like til nearly noon. Then had to get my overnight train ticket, which was far more an ordeal than I expected... besides also costing 75€ on to top of my Eurail pass. I wonder how much it would have cost without it. But yeah, and I went on an open air bus tour thingy and just made certain I got to the main art mueseums and what not. A few things were closed, but maybe I´ll get to those tomorrow, because... I still have basically a full day in Madrid ahead of me.
My train departs at 7pm tomorrow night, and gets into Paris at 830 in the morning. So yeah, I think I´m going to try to find a postoffice, and send some souvineers back, it´ll be expensive, but worth not having to worry about them. And yeah, then just do whatever til it´s time to leave. I´m staying in Paris with an old co-worker of mine, Eliza, and she is going to hopefully be meeting me at the platform. If not... we´ll see what happens, heh, things could get interesting.
Well, that´s all for now I guess. Buh bye. I miss all of you. As of tomorrow morning I´ll have been gone a week... jeeze. It feels so long... but looking back on it, it doesn´t... does that make sense? Well anyways. Good bye again.
I
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D'aria Rose
non-member comment
I knew you would...
Davidicus, I knew you would settle in and rock this trip. As Ross told you, the beginning is always the most challenging. Culture shock really does exist, trust me. All the traveling in the world can't keep you from feeling a little lost and misplaced once in a while. But as I suspected, you are rockin it. Kick ass and pull past, is what my dad always says. (What's really going to be crazy is when you return, and feel the culture shock of home; but I'll give you pointers when you get back.) So, as you are describing, the process of discovery is an incredible one. I'm so pleased that you took the time to report on the real fun stuff you are experiencing. So, just sit back and enjoy the ride!