and now i would like to introduce you to this little guy:
this is the OFFICIAL mascot/symbol of madrid. he´s a bear, and he´s eating fermented fruit off of a tree. he does this to get drunk- and then he takes a nap under that tree, just so that he can wake up and do it all over again!
3 days was simply not enough time to get to know the city of experience this fuego. day one was spent completely on museums. my "spanish civil war sensai" (chris from brooklyn) and i spent ALL day at the museo del prado (one of the worlds top 10 classic art museums) and the reina sofia. the museums were full of amazing paintings (like goya´s "pinturas negras") and sculptures. but where did i end up? lying under a tree in the grassy knoll watching people walk by. i came to the realization that fancy art museums are like family- you love them but you don´t always to like them. and according to the yawns across the faces of the other patrons, i think it´s safe to say the majority of them felt the same way too.
the next morning was a walking tour through central madrid- this city does have some fascinating history. i was unaware that the spanish civil war was only 70 yrs. ago and that franco held power over this country for 30 + yrs. there is history everywhere- bullet holes still in buildings, political art work found on the street, and muslim architecture still being used. (half of spain was muslim!)after a siesta came a pub crawl. and again, i don´t know how the europeans do this. it´s a monday night and we didn´t leave the last bar until 4:30 am. the streets were still full of people singing and drinking.
this night i was proposed to by 2 spaniards, an argentinian, and a guy from michigan. (who also happened to be the bartender. weird, right?)
this city is the NYC of spain. it´s huge and it never stops.
so to me, it was just another big city. i´m glad i came- and i´m also glad i´m leaving.
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