Mini-Update from Madrid

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I write to you from Madrid, where I am watching The Postman dubbed in German. (Forgive me my errors in punctuation please' the keyboards here are a little difficult to adjust to=).

How to travel Spain a la Carrie and Ashlee, 09/10

Arrive in Barcelona after 36 hours of awakeness and getting a little bit drunk on the plane. Get to the hostel and it will be too early to check in. Leave your stuff and go get breakfast and coffee. Later that afternoon, get plenty of sangria, check out some Gaudi stuff, make new friends from Turkey, Argentina, Spain, and Gambia, have good coffee with almond liquor (sin nata). Stay 2 days. Explore. Rent a smart car. Marvel at how small it is. Quickly adjust to driving a manual transmission that has no clutch. Make note to self that a Smart Car is on the list of physical things that are both practical and desirable in life.

Drive to Bordeaux. Walk around for a long time with heavy backpacks on because the hostel is full. Ask some strangers for advice and have a funny interaction based on the fact that you are drinking Spanish wine. From a box. Eventually, find a hotel thatś not bad. For once' get enough sleep.

Snowshoeing gets cancelled' the vegan bed and breakfast is all booked. Spend an extra day in Bordeaux instead and befriend two French guys. Stay up late. Drink lots of Bordeaux wine.

Get a wake up call because it is noon and we are still asleep when we are supposed to be checking out. Check out. Have a nice mini' convo with the hotel guy. He is funny and surprised you too can be funny in French. Get in the car and drive to San Sebastian.

Arrive in San Sebastian in the afternoon. Get a beer and a veggie burger. Go to an art market. Try to find stuff for family members. Get really confused about what language youre supposed to be speaking (in S.S. and the area thereabouts they speak Basque... which is a linguistic mystery/miracle and a very strong cultural identity sort of deal... also, there were plenty of French tourists which helped mix up my mouth even more.) Eat Mexican food at a super hip cafe. Have a petit cafe or cafe with whiskey after every meal. Eat one to two meals a day. Sleep late. Meet two Egyptian teachers and talk only in Spanish. Get back to Olgaś place (our hostel) and sleep for some time.

Drive to Bilbao. Get your mind blown by the Guggenheim. Walk around it in a full circle at first because you can´t figure out where the entrance is. Jump on the COOLEST playground ever... hurt your arm a little. Explore exhibits... skip the section on Frank Lloyd Wright after you realize itś mostly just drawings and things you could get from books. Exit after a couple hours when youve finished checking everything out and you are starving for paella or something vegetarian. It is siesta though' so everything is closed. Start getting cranky. It starts torain. POUR. Run into the first bar/cafe that could be a sanctuary. Inside a group of grown up men, well dressed, smoking cigars, sing New Years songs. People exchange gifts. Have some wine and bread and wait for the rain to stop.

Drive to Madrid. Three hours. At hour 2 it starts to snow. Blizzard. Sing songs to focus and stay awake. Sublime, The Blow, A Bicycle Built for Two, Arlo Guthrie. Drink mandarin juice and eat potato chips. Arrive in Madrid at eleven oclock on New Yearś Eve. Stay in a hotel far away from everything. Shower. Drink passion fruit juice with cognac you bought in Bordeaux. Go out to where the action is. Quickly become overwhelmed by the moshpit fullness of the streets. Lose your friend for the actual moment of the countdown. Watch people eat lucky grapes and get sprayed by excited peoples champagne. Find your friend again. Go to a couple of places and take a cab back.

Sleep until 4 pm.

Go to more markets, write, draw, read about neurology and love. Eat lots of Indian food. Consider life. Diga gracias. Go to a drag show. Leave for Lisbon tomorrow. Then, Marakesh.

It is so good.