Melia Galgos Madrid

... in Spanish which was amusing and then CNN International which thankfully is better than CNN we get in America. <br><br>After resting we headed back to Plaza Mayor via Metro for some tapas and cerveza. <br><br>Maybe because we are tired / hungover but we could have easily gone home today or even tomorrow.<br><br>We wandered around Plaza De Mayor and surrounding areas for a bit before heading back to the hotel.<br>

... by Rick Steve's--amazing! Such detail and great recommendations as we explored Madrid. I truly get why they have so many Plazas though...they have to stop and rest every so often--the city is filled with them! We Started in la Puerta de Sol...which sadly was under quite a bit of construction...Puerta de Sol marks the very center the city--literally...a O KM sign that looks more like a decorative sewer manhole cover...you'd walk right over it ...

... park I´ve ever seen. I´ll let the pictures do the talking. Perhaps the most interesting thing we saw Thursday was a huge student rally. We did not understand the signs but we´re assumimg the kids are ****** about the horrible meat loaf they´re serving in the cafeteria. On Thursday night we decided to do a pub crawl that took us to 3 different bars and Madrid´s largest nightclub, Kapital. It started off ...

... museums. I think the older art is pretty cool to see and learn a little bit about how it developed. However, I got to see Picasso´s Guernica here (which I had no idea how huge it was) and then a bunch of Dali paintings. The Dali stuff was really amazing. It´s soo weird but actually catches my eye and intrigues me (not that Picasso doesn´t, but I´m not sure if I understand it...not that I really understand Dali). After talking with a buddy, he told ...

... Chinese food and then made it to bed! I had Pollo Agridulce (sweet and sour chicken) and Arroz Blanco no Frito (you have to special order this, you can't just get plain white rice as in the states). It definitely wasn't the Chinese food that I was used to, but at least I ate it and it was MUCH better than the dorm food that I had been used to.

Yes, I am now in Barcelona until the end of January, when I will return home for my super good friend, Will's wedding. Which reminds me, I have to write a toast. Damn! That's going to be the hardest English assignment I've ever had. Oh well it will be really fun to have the old gang back together again like the good old days. I have been in Barcelona almost 2 weeks and I have a job working in the local Lindy studio which I am starting today. No I am ...

Valencia weekend again - actually it will be my last in this city! I decided to enjoy the beach again and have a fully beach weekend: Playa Malvarossa is very pretty - now we have June - it won¡t have that many people that's what an old lady told me the other day at the bus stop! She said that in July and August - there are way to many people - I must ...

... amazing spectacle. Certainly an experience - a one off experience. In its final 5 minutes, blood cascades from the bull's mouth but, instinctively more than valiantly I suspect, continues its charge towards the matador. After the final blow, the fallen is paraded around the arena, dragged on the ground behind a horse-drawn chariot, smearing the golden sands of La Plaza De Toros with a deep scarlet. Perhaps what is most disturbing is that how the event is such a celebration ...

It's been awhile since I have actually had the time to sit down, reflect on what has happened, and update everyone on the events over here. Well, that's pretty much it--everything has been getting extremely busy and all this is passing right by my eyes too quickly. The last I left off I was visiting Toledo for the day. Since then (thanks to my agenda), I went to the first futbol (soccer) game: Atletico de Madrid vs. Malaga winning ...

... prize left. 5. THE MEDITERRANEAN But that's not all! HONORABLE MENTION mentions honorably: SALAMANCA (this dusty university town of 100,000 people and walkable streets looked cool when I rode through it on a bus); TORTILLAS (Elaine enjoyed these hardy Spanish omelets of potatoes, onion, and eggs); KALIMOTZO AND "KI-DIN-KI"; and FREE HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION FOR EVEN ILLEGAL RESIDENTS. Woohoo! That was a big first-half of this episode of MODERN ODDYSEUS ...