Well, there´s not much to report, but we´re all here in the Internet cafe, so it´s the only time I´ll have to blog today. The flamenco club last night was AMAZING! It was called Casa Patas (House of Feet), and the man and woman who did the dancing were fantastic. We weren´t allowed to take pictures, but I did take a surreptitious video of them for about 5 seconds. They were backed up by a small band whose vocalist reminded me of the Gipsy Kings. Then, we rode the Metro back to the hotel.
6:30 this morning was pretty tough. We got up, ran to breakfast and jumped on the bus to go to the little town of Burgos, north of Madrid (about 4 hours away). I had a nasty spot of motion sickness on the bus because I was trying to write in my journal on the road like an idiot... reading of writing never works out for me in the car. Anyway, we popped into a tourist stop along the way where I dispensed a healthy dose of my breakfast from earlier, drank "un agua con gas" at the bar, and we all went merrily on our way. For those of you taking note at home, my travel vomits now include the Washington Monument in D.C., Myrtle Beach, and the highway north of Madrid. :-)
As I write, we´re sitting in a small bar called The Immaculate Cabaret (it has a shrine dedicated to Madonna.... clearly the name of bar is imspired by her Immaculate Collection CD). Anyway, we´re going to the Burgos Cathedral to see the gravesite of El Cid! We passed by the cathdral already, and it´s muy hermosa. I´ll post pictures later.
Not much else to replt right now... Before we left Madrid, our tour guide Gary (a Venezualen by birth, but who lived for several years in Miami, has all his family now in Madrid, and speaks English without an accent) told us that the day we arrive back in Madrid after our cross-country tour is the day of the Gay Pride Parade... Hmmm... Actually, Gary told us that the entire city makes into one long four-day party, regardless of sexual orientation. Still, I´ll probably be an "active" participant myself, for obvious reasons. He said it´s absolutely crazy... I guess I have something to look forward to!
Things have been very good so far... My roommate, Steve, is a very good guy. He´s a bit on the odd side, but not in a bad way. As a geek myself, I embrace my geeky nature just as much as I embrace all of my other sides. But Steve´s geeky nature is a bit more involved than mine. He accompanied Sonia, Sandra, Chanel, Valerie, Marsha, and I as we traveled around the city yesterday, and I got to know him better. Plus, he is VERY FASTen el bano in la manana, which is good because I´m not exactly Mr. Quick when it comes to getting ready (those of you who know this can keep your snickers to yourself, OK?). He´s easy to room with, and he practically jumps out of bed in the morning, which is good since he motivates me to get my ass moving.
Another traveler, Sonia, and I have become fast friends on this trip. We both admitted to each other that we were somewhat control freaks, but interestingly we´re control freaks in the same ways. We´ve been getting along great, and she´s the one person so far that I´ve told about my being gay. Since she´s married, I think it made her feel better. Plus, it´s good to have a confidant who´s mature (she´s 33) and who has similar interests in sightseeing.
One thing I´ve realized these first three days is that I´m really enjoying traveling with a group. For the most part, we´re treated fairly respectably, but some of the people in Madrid have been fariyl rude to us... I don´t know if this is a Madrid thing (it being the big city) or if it´s because they can tell we´re a big group of Americans. However, in Burgos the people so far have been MUCH nicer. I think this is a coutry/city thing. Still, I´m a bit nervous about the future of my travels... when I go solo after a couple of weeks. In Spain, I know plenty of the languageto get by and things have been good. But when I go to Brussels, Prague, etc. things will be different. It´s going to be an adventure, but one I willfully accept. Mom and Dad.... if you´re reading this, you should know that I´ll be fine no matter what! :-) Also, I might be shipping back to the house about 10 pounds of stuff because I´m WAY overpacked! :-) I can do it now, since we´re using a tour bus, but this extra weight ain´t gonna fly when I´m on my own.
One thing´s for sure: I have fallen in love with Spain. Despite being treated a bit rudely in a few places, the country has enchanted me. The weather, the attitude of the general populace (more laid back), and the political climate are so welcoming. I could see living here one day, even. Who knows? I can´t wait to see what the rest of the pais has to offer.
