Madrid

Madrid. Is it fair to say that it may be my favorite Spanish city (Barcelona doesn't count. Barcelona is Catalana, for reasons to be discussed later). It's beautiful, modern, chic, and has an all around great vibe -- not to mention a haven for foodies, such as myself.

I love food, I'm not afraid to admit it. It should be enjoyed thoroughly every single day. In Madrid, this isn't a hard task. They have everything you could ever want: Tapas, American, Mexican, Italian, Argentinian, Chinese, and always more. When you go to Madrid, you will be fed copious amounts of food, and you will never be let down. Next to Plaza Mayor, there is a cool little market that is entirely filled with bars, tapas bars (You order a Canya (a cervecita) or three, and it comes, topped, with a plate of tapas -- thus the name).

Character and good food, what else do you need from a city to enjoy yourself greatly? Well, for one, lots of dive bars help. There are plenty to be had in the bustling nightlife of Madrid. And, after drinking Estrella Damm for a while, it was nice to cleanse the palate with a different pilsner of choice (hell, even through in a stout for good measure -- but the stouts really come in a few weeks when I go to Cork, Ireland).

Madrid also is home to two amazing museums: The Prado, and La Reina Sofia. Both were quite interesting, but La Reina Sofia was home to more of the modern art ala Dali or Picasso. Which suited my tastes in art much better.

The final thing that I like about Madrid -- Its Spanish. All of the signs are in spanish, and all of the people are speaking spanish. While this is also the case here in Barcelona, it is so to a much lesser extent. Primarily, the Catalans speak, well obviously Catalan. So, all of the signs are first and foremost Catalan, then Spanish, then English.

Even though I don't speak Spanish that well (though I am getting better, and understanding mostly everything), I do greatly enjoy being able to communicate -- even if it is not my native tongue. Here in Barcelona, it is sometimes overwhelming with the constant bombardment of Catalan -- with even Spanish as a secondary language.

No pictures, I know, boring. But I am saving my photography abilities for upcoming travels -- next weekend is a much needed weekend of rest, in Barca. Then off to Portugal, then Ireland. So, until next time!

Girona & Figueres

This weekend adventure brought to you by funky artwork and crazy painters -- Namely, Dali. Yes, Dali was a total and complete nutcase, dare I say whackjob. But he was a brilliant whackjob none-the-less. I feel like I have been saying this to much -- sometimes people ask "Why? What is that? Its, so bizzare" to which, all I can reply is "Why not? Its Spain -- they don't care!" well, at least in Barcelona and Catalunya, they don't. The people seem to embrace, love, and charish the oddities and bizarre. Why not? Enjoy.

The Dali museum was built, in part, by Dali himself to house the works of Figueres' most famous painter and eccentric personality -- Dali. It was rebuilt, of sorts, from the wreckage of a theatre that was partially destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and chose it as the proper location to store his works.

As for his paintings, they are all quite strange, many featuring the phallic symbols piddling into their own mouths, random nudity, and crazy colors. Though, some of his work was also more tame. Really, I don't know how to describe his work, nor do I want to because that really takes the fun out of it.

Its the philosopher's conundrum -- the reason why I hate philosophy of any and all kinds. Scholars will study the intricacies of every minuscule detail of the work attributing give certain qualities meaning -- proclaiming to know true thoughts and intentions with absolutely no tangible proof or factual evidence -- instead of admiring it for the (somewhat bizarre) beauty that the entire painting is. To understand his true thoughts you would probably have to be crazy, anyway.

Then we went to Girona. It was a beautiful small town with lots of small churches, narrow streets, and beautiful sights. Had a delicious meal, where the menu was in only Catalan -- not even Spanish. The wait staff spoke Catalan, and you replied in Spanish. Everyone around you was Catalan -- Not Spanish. We weren't in Spain, we were in Catalunya. Relaxing, enjoyable, and a good weekend.

I have a pretty hectic travel schedule within the next few weeks: Madrid, Barcelona (home), Lisbon, Cork, and after that, probably even more travel -- the road is endless, and I haven't seen all that there is to see -- yet.

Montserrat, The best

Well. I know -- don't kill me -- it has been forever. It has felt kind of nice not blogging incessantly about my travels and random thoughts/musings (while they may amuse me they, likely, don't amuse anyone else). What is there to say? Barcelona is the greatest and keeps getting greater. I have a relatively hectic travel schedule the next few weeks (on weekends of course, during the week is serious business!).

Whats the best part about settling down in one place? Well, for one, I am not carrying my entire life upon my shoulders, across countries, and through crowded train stations. Instead, I can leave my things in my beautiful and amazing home-stay in beautiful Barcelona -- close to Parc Guell and the mountains. Yes, I love it here. My familia is amazing, the culture is amazing, the coffee is amazing. Actually, come to think of it, everything is amazing here.

Though I am living in Barcelona, it is always necessary to go out and venture to see what is around Barca. And one of the most amazing sights so far was none other than Montserrat. Built on jagged cliffs high in the mountains, Montserrat -- serrated mountain in Catalan -- is one of the most surreal places I have ever visited. Its about an hour outside of the city by train. Once you arrive, you must take a cable car (or for those with uneasy digestive tracts of any sort -- a funicular railroad) up the steep slopes to the top. Today, we (myself and Ashley) were treated with ascending to the monastery in a thick fog. It made for some interesting pictures to say the least.

We got to the top and were shrouded in Mist/Fog. Though as we walked across the tiny "town" it began to clear. We approached an overlook and the quick moving fog began to burn off, climb the mountain, and slide to the leeward side.

We started to walk down this beautiful pathway, completely surrounded by Mist. Even the spiderwebs glistened with the fresh misting.

The pictures really do it no justice, so although I took too many (and Ashley took about three times as many as I did), I can't make it seem as vivid as it was when I was there. Simply put -- if you haven't been: go! If you have been you probably know that you have to go again.

Yes. I am serious. please go.

Next weekend, Ashley and I are off to Figueres and Girona to take pictures, travel, and view the art of Salvador Dali. My mustached friend. That is all for now.