Madrid

Well I’m pooped. I think I’ve hit the proverbial wall, and it couldn’t have come at a better time as I’ll be heading to the airport in about 7 hours. Here are some numbers relating to this trip:

17- Number of cities that I dined in.
13/8- Number of cities/countries I slept in.
65 – Approximate hours spent in trains
27 – Approximate times I’ve listened to Blink 182’s Enema of the State

I don’t think I realized how fast I was moving/seeing stuff until I hung out with those Korean girls and they kept complaining that I run instead of walk. Indeed, I have gone very quickly, but that’s the way I like it.

You'll notice the title is no play on words, nor is there music. One might guess that this is because I'm tired and lazy. Although partly true, it is also sort of an artistic expression as my trip comes to its end. Sort of like on "24" when the ticking numbers don't make any noise after the finale.

Back to the trip... I slept in yesterday since I finally had a nice room to stay in and this is supposed to be a vacation. I know Madrid is huge and I could spend days here, but I decided to head straightaway to Segovia, a small town to the north. I had seen pictures and heard it was a settlement that predated even the Romans, so I had to go. I was very pleased. Here’s a picture of the meal I had right next to a 2,000 year old aqueduct (I think coke should pay me for this pic):



The Romans were incredible, I was amazed by the buildings in Rome, but it just blows my mind that even in these small cities on the outskirts of the empire, they still built these magnificent structures. I haven’t been to Pont du Gard in France, but I will definitely go someday. The rest of the town was really cool and there’s a castle on the edge of the hill that looked like the one at the Magic Kingdom. I know the castle at Neuschwanstein (sp?) is the real inspiration, but this one ain’t bad:



Here's a pic of the cathedral there, quite impressive and supposedly the last gothic cathedral built in Europe:



I returned to Madrid at about 5:30 and headed to the Prado museum to take advantage of the free admission on Sundays between 6 and 8, nice! It was a cool museum, but I think I’m just not an art guy. I think they’re very nice pieces, but I don’t know what’s good and what’s not. I was proud of myself for recognizing a Caravaggio before knowing that it was indeed his work. I liked his stuff that I had seen in Rome. I think it was Velazquez (or was it Goya?) who painted a lot of the kings and queens of Spain on horseback. I learned on my Paris tour that if the horse’s left leg is raised, that means the person died a natural death. If its right leg is raised, the person was murdered. And if both legs are in the air, the person died in battle. But, my guide also said some incorrect things, so although I’m not sure if that is true, it was consistent with the paintings at the Prado, so I thought that was kind of cool.

Today I did one of those tourist buses again, which at this point in my fatigue is exactly what I needed. I got off quite a few times to check out the sites, but I was happy just sitting there, listening to the commentary. I was excited to see another PwC office though:



Madrid is a very nice city, lots of trees and very clean. I really enjoyed my break in the large park they have (Retiro, I think), where I dozed a little and ate a sandwich. I did a tour of the Royal Palace:



And just walked around the main parts of the city, admiring the architecture. I think I need to read up on Spain’s history, I’m not sure why I never found interest in it before. I didn’t even know Toledo was the capital up until right before the Spanish Armada. You can probably tell by my lack of jokes and rather bland commentary that I’m exhausted, it is no reflection on the city as Madrid is great, we can talk more when I get home, I’m just tired.

Thanks again for following and adding your comments, it’s been an incredible trip, but I’m excited to come back to the states. I made my last Euro withdrawal the other day, which I believe coincided with the Euro’s all time high against the dollar, I apologize for that. Once I exchange my Euros back to dollars, watch for a dollar rally, oil to tumble, and the economy to rebound.