Madrid

The train ride here was incredibly easy to arrange. Got the tix ahead on the web (including the seat assignments) and just showed up at the station in time. Comfy ride all the way... Yahoo.

Easy metro, too, and got to the hotel quickly. It´s a funky apartmento place. Hotwire gave it 4 stars. Apparently their reviewer was on crack when he did it. The place is clean, quiet, comfortable, but I think a 2.5 star rating would have covered it adequately. They change the sheets (they proudly announce) once a week...

Headed off to a bonsai exhibit at the botanical gardens immediately. Apparently the former President collected the suckers and loaned them to the gardens for the publico to enjoy. Which we did. I liked the 2 little forests the best. What would George Bush have donated? Cacti? Bushes? Ummmm- donated???

The gardens themselves were pretty impressive, too. I mentioned to D that our back yard would be mirroring the general plan in about 2 years. Oddly enough he was skeptical.

I´d been dying to go to Sofia Reina, the modern art museum with all things conceptual art-wise. After wandering the first and the 4th floors, I was ready to drop the whole expedition. Bad biennial stuff. Third floor picked up considerably with a Juan Munoz exhibit which I liked a lot, and the 2nd wasn´t too bad either. Oddñly enough, I wasn´t able to find Picasso´s Guernica, which is supposed to hold pride of place there. No signs and nobody gave me a plan of the place... I wouild have been too tired to enjoy it, perhaps.

For those who don´t keep up with such things, last PM was the final of the European Club final in Rome. Barcelona v Manchester United (D´s favorite team and, usually, mine, though this time I rooted for Barca...). So we hit a restaurant stufffed with fans and rooted our teams on to (in my case) victory. D, of course, was in the minority, but there were some Brit tourists and a waiter who was being contrary to the wishes of his countrymen... Now Madrilenos have no love for Barca... Madrid Real would be the Yankees to Barcas Red Sox. Imagine, then, if this were the world series (which it is in a way) and the Yankees were playing ummmmm Toronto. A) Who cares? B) Does national pride beat repugnance at the Yankees winning anything???

Our street is true backpackerville. Lots of hostels nearby and liveliness all around. Bookstores and bars. Cool. This is also known as the Literary area cause of all the, like, writers, etc. who hung out and worked here. Also jazz central and I intend to make use of that in the next coupla days.

More as life progresses.

My pix will have to wait since we have no wifi at the hotel and I´m using a computer pùblico...