Jerez Madrid

... hotel. Massive building. I didn't go in, but read that it has 2200 rooms! Similar looking to Buckingham Palace.

In the evening, i had booked a 9pm Flamenco show at a bar in Sol called Cardomomo. The show was excellent. Very intimate with only about 50 people in the bar; hugely intense, passionate performance from the 2 flamenco dancers (male + female) and the 5 piece band. Was good to get out too and have a drink with some other people.

... memorial to all the Czech Jews who were murdered
during the Holocaust. It is a very powerful display. Originally the
names were written on the walls in the late 60s I believe but then
they were 'wiped out' by the then ruling soviet government. They
were re-written in the early 90s (if I've got my dates correct). It
is a most powerful display with the sounds of a Cantor praying in the
background and occasionally the sounds of someone reciting the names ...

... which they provide graciously. After dropping off the goods, we heading out to explore and acquaint ourselves to our new home. We walked along the Gran Via which is a wide street with more shopping than is necessaary. The economic crisis is not evident here unless all these folks brought their own shopping bags with them. We turned off Gran Via to get a better feel for the neighborhoods as we directed ourselves towards Puerta del Sol.

... point in his adult life, was pronounced dead, only to be brought back to life and eventually come out of a coma. His pastel drawings were incredible!! And his paintings had such interesting brush stroke and emotion. Really cool! The regular collection at the museum was also great and had a lot from the 20th century which is my favorite time period in art. From here I headed to the Prado, which has a vast collection of some classic masterpieces! I got ...

... got water there for sooooo cheap. I also got bananas, of course. I wanted to buy a dress I saw there too but it was too expensive. It was 25 Euro and our daily budget is 20 Euro. We then went to Museo del Prado. Fantastic art! We also saw artists working in there making recreations. We then went to this tiny restaurant and split a pizza. haha it was a struggle to ask how long it will take to make...but I got. Then we headed over to Parque Retira. It was ...

... The green takes away the noise and the stress, with a few tropical birds and insects recordings I would definitely imagine myself under lattitude 30... and I was there just a few days before! We walked for a while in the huge Retiro park, a haven of calm situated right in the middle of the city. Main alleys or small paths under the trees, fountains and statues, joggers passing tourists. A very large pond, a ...

... I'm really beginning to see how LAME LAME LAME a lot of the americanos are.
Par example, when we go out to bars and clubs I'm always on my knees begging not to go to a touristy American one...why? Well, because those are the places where everyone is yelling obnoxiously, where people are throwing up in the bathroom, where they rape each other on the dance floor, etc. The Spanish bars are coo. Very chill, very fun... no obnoxiousness at all. Americans are really loud in general ...

... o el martes me vaya para el sur, a sevilla. La cantidad de barcitos asusta y esta muy bueno, me pegue un pedalin ya, que por suerte fui invitado con algunos chupitos, porque si te descuidas, te gastas 30E como piņa. Algo que esta bueno aca, es que la caņa, un vasito de cerveza, suele ser barata en todos lados (1E) y te dan un aperitvio, que en algunos lados, era bastante bueno.. onda que te tomas 3 cervezas y haces de eso tu cena..

Ok, so Kapital wasn' the only thing we saw in Madrid. I found some cheap flights one day and asked Vera if she wanted to go. One of her friends, Ilaria, from Milano is studying just out of the city. So we went for a cheap weekend! We stayed in Alcala de henares, the home town of don Quijote! The first day in Madrid was St. Patrick's day.. so with my Connell Irish roots I had to celebrate! What's wrong with these people? Madrid doesn't celebrate half as much as we do! So ...

I got here safe. Canīt say the same for my blow dryer though I already fried it ... used the wrong converter. Man that thing was hot....Good thing I didnīt fry my palm pilot, which I had just powered up. Sandy unfortunately had a mishap and has been here for three days ... she got her passport clipped within about 30 ...