Yesterday I had a day that consisted of chores and travel. I was sad to leave Madrid and in hindsight, "the eyes in the back of your rear end" (Who told me this?), I would have liked to stay on the weekend, to go to the rastro market and watch the Spain vs Italy game. It does seem a metaphor for my life, and fortunately I will be equally happy to see either team win. I say that, but it will be more telling on the day when I am watching. Curious to know whether I will be dragged into Spanish enthusiasm and intention (most probably) or taken to a place in myself which holds Italy and its national pride. My loyalities will be tested. I might just want to be stubborn and back the opponent.
The truth is, though. I don't know if I have a strong sense of national pride when it comes to sport. I was almost telling myself that it wouldn't be that bad for the nation if France won the rugby world cup. But I actually think that might be due to my own detachment from solely identifying with the NZ culture.
Anyway, back to yesterday. I spent the morning walking around Madrid (I keep wanting to call it Milan and I haven't lived there for 15 years) looking for a an adaptor and a shop to get my Iphotos fixed or re-installed. First I had churros and coffee at a bar near San Miguel market...

And then after trapsing around all of Madrid and metro-ing when my back was sore I finally found a Mac shop that re-installs Iphotos. The technicians didn't start til 1pm and it might take up to 3 days. I had a train to catch! But I felt like my attempts were well worth because I finally found an adaptor I could use for recharge my things; phone, MP3, Mac computer, camera. Not really a minimalist 'old skool' backpacker eh?

Before going back to my room to pack I made it to San Miguel market where I indulged in sherry and olive creations on sticks, yoghurt shots, chorizo, more jamon serrano (just assume that's on the menu), prawn tapas and a cerveza) I took some photos too. And when I asked a man what he recommended to eat he said it depends what you like, and went through a list of places to try. I stopped him mid flow and said 'Me gusta la carne' = "I like meat" and he and his friend cracked up laughing. I can only imagine what they were laughing about but I might be right of track so we won't go there.

Cheeses and meats...

Mini chorizos in takeaway bags

All sorts of seafoods and other treats

Pastries

Oysters and champagne.... hellooooooo!

Plastic coffees on display... helllloooooooo!

Oh My God... sweets from heaven

Yoghurt shots.... Who wouldn't want to live in Madrid... I mean? Helllloooooo

Lastly, my glass of sherry and olives on sticks with quail eggs, anchovies, cheeses... I am sorry but life without food is like..... ummm..... travelling without going anywhere. I was going to say like having a baby without having sex but that was just as lame. Sorry, can you think of a better one?

Why is it that I can get excited about art, architecture, nature, language, bars, people and all sorts of things but when it comes to food I become obsessed? Is it a McVeigh things? Is it in my genes? Because I tell you one thing it's definitely preventing me from fitting into my jeans! (Pun intended, but figured it out only half way through the sentence).

I packed, I had a dilemma about whether to leave and made my way to the station. Madrid, I'll be back. The station had me wait 3 hours for my 7 hour bus ride but it actually shot past, between having a beer, reading and listening to my Ipod. I was happy. I do feel much less safe with my bags than I used to in Italy. I hold everything close to my chest. (There may be a metaphor in that too.)
I have been told that there are a lot of pick-pocketers in Madrid at the moment, due to the high unemployment.
The bus ride was fine. Nice guy sat next door and answered a few of my queries but generally we sat in silence listening to our music and writing on Whatsup chat on our phones. I nosed over his shoulder a couple of times to see if he was on whatsup as well. God I am nosy!
I spent most of my time listening to Mind, Body and Spirit on my MP3, which is very cool and eating left over mini chorizo. Ok, so I better start eating salad as my tummy is about to explode! It's like a balloon, I kid you not. I think I am gaining major gluten and raw meat intolerance.

Jose picked me up at 2am and we went home for a glass of sparkling water and then to bed. I have a cute wee room opposite his and his house is a beautiful petit country house on the top of a hill with a vege garden, flowers and gorgeous country views.

View from the hammock - doesn't pay it justice though. There is a pool down there on the right, the town of Monda in the middle and a castle to the left....

Today Jose went to work in the morning, picking figs and carving cork off the trees and I slept til 12pm.

Lunch was delicious and we sat outside in the shade. It felt like a Mondese equivalent of a tuscan lunch. We drank sparkling water and ate salad, pate, jamon (it's not even interesting to say anymore), prawns, olives and pickles. Now Jose is sleeping and I am writing to you all. It is soooo hot, feel like another sleep... quasi quasi....

Last night I went out after doing my blog, to have a few bevvies with Guy Thistlethwaight (pretty sure I got that spelling wrong but don't hate me for it Paul! It's a tricky name, lets face it!) at his language school, The Meeting Point. This is friend of my boss and someone he used to study with back in the day. Town planning eh Paul? It appears you made good use of that degree ( : It's much better what you are doing now - hope you are enjoying Project twin streams.

It was cool meeting Guy. Nice to have a contact in a foreign city. I feel quite at home here though which is nice. Guy, another teacher and I have a few beers and chewed the fat (not literally... I am having a break for jamon, and pigs ears) It was fun. We chatted and laughed and I went home happy, and then back out to stroll the street and eat tapas.










This tapas bar was very cool, found on the funky reknowned tapas street of calle de baja. I then went to a funky bar that was playing the footy. The bar was lined with dvds for rent and there was a massive screen the size of an entired wall and people were sitting at the bar drinking the likes of gin and tonic in large bowl shaped glasses.




I actually love being here by myself. I feel so incredibly lucky. I do what I want and don't feel alone. Ok, so I did have a moment last night when I sat in a cool bar watching Italy and Germany in the football. The game finished and I looked around enjoying watching people but because I was sitting up at the bar I felt like a bit of a loner loser but that soon passed. A moment like that is nothing compared to the joy and gratitude I get from having this time in Spain on my terms. It is life enhancing.

Oh, I forgot to say, during my strolls to the calle de baja, which is reknowned for tapas bars, I came across una manifestazione against the discrimination of gays and lesbians...

Against the sexual, or any other type of exploitation and in favour of sexual workers.

This old couple were cheering for them and banging frying pans together. It was classic!

And they really knew how to prove there point (so to speak)...

A woman asked me if I was shocked to see his penis out, and clearly without thinking for long enough I said "No, it's not that big"! Nice one Anna. Then I tried to take it back while a voice inside my head (no smart comments please) said "Stop digging, stop digging!"

Up this morning and ready for a morning that involves breakfast, of course, a trip to get my computer looked at, to buy an adaptor, packing, chilling and then going to the station. Today I am off to Andalucia to stay with my friend Jose.

Hasta luego!

Another day in Madrid - 29/06/2012

I stayed up until 3.30am last night. I think I was semi wired from the football and experiencing some sporadic jetlag. I was also chatting on facebook and trying to upload photos onto my blog, something that is not working currently - it is fricken annoying!

Anyway, was up again at 7am and couldn't bring myself to go back to sleep. I think I am quite excited. I wish I'd gone back to the same local bar for breakfast as the man was special and it felt like my familiar local. I remember this being such a part of Italian culture; to know your bar and to go there regularly to drink coffee and chat with your extended family, or community. It seems like it might be the same in Spain.
Instead, I went to another one further up the road in a square and they were quite impolite; colder and more distant and I was charged over double for a breakfast that was similar but not as good. That's why it is good to know the locals. Familiarity and routine definitely have their place, and definitely help to make us feel safe and trusting. I have always slightly envied people with a routine that has been in place for many years. Having said that, I also love having a quest for change and adventure. Balance is the key they say, knowing your needs and wants, boundaries, strengths and limitations. Anyway, going off track... where were we? Mah, I left that bar after telling them how expensive they were. I made a joke out of it but I was bloody serious!

Then I followed my familiar route back to el paseo de prado and, in the 35 degree heat, I crawled my way up the boulevard to the museo del collecion Thyssen-Bornemisza. It holds the collection of art of Baron Heinrich and illustrates the history of western art due to it's 800 paintings from different cultures and genres; Titian, Van Gogh, Picasso, Goya and the Baroness's collection of mainly impressionist art, including paintings by Monet and Matisse (apparently famous as a fauvist artist too but don't quote me as I was trying to get my head around the genres for possibly the first time ever.
I felt slightly overwhelemed by all the periods or genres; Expressionism, Impressionism; early and late, Post Impressionism, Post post Impressionism (just kidding), german Expressionism, Northerm American Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, Fauvism,  Realism and the country world, italian paining, Flemish and Dutch painting, Early Avant-garde of the 20th century, North American painting of the 19th Century, Lanscape painting and the list goes on.... the rest area was calling my aching bones after 3 hours of wandering around in a sea of artwork spreading across cultures and centuries.


My happiest outcome of the experience were the reflections I made on art and the aesthetic beauty of man-made artwork, or what we enjoy art-wise and why. I have always thought Renaissance Art is intricate and surrounded with an abundance of culture and history, I have found it skillful, portraying genius. It also entered my heart at a time when I was exploring parts of myself, when I was young and easily manipulated by others' ideas and social and cultural constructs. I was also exploring my romantic side in a foreign culture. It began when I was travelling with my father and I was compared to Boticelli paintings. Ok, this happened once but it was enough to have me fall for the Birth of Venus.
However, Renaissance painting is very often precise and without intense or deep emotion. It is more often than not religious and commissioned to portray certain themes and characters. It holds a very special place in my heart but my days of being a Renaissance purist are up and I am tuning into art that engages more of my senses.
In psychosynthesis it is said that much of our personal growth is about integrating mind, body and spirit and this is what I was witnessing while I pondered the various works of art. It is interesting how learning about artists and their histories and styles can engage your mind, while your heart is in turn influenced by this and also by sight and spirit. I was loving my journey around the gallery. It felt like a spiritual journey into the heart of art.

I was exhausted after 3 hours in there. Also because a woman had started talking to me about Salvador Dali (apparently he was impotent which is why objects in his paintings are often droopy, and apparently he was obsessed with time and death which is why he always draws quite scary or contorted scenes, and clocks) and then continued to talk about the woman she was travelling with and how negative she is, and how hard it is travelling with her. That might seem ironic given her own negativity but humans are funny like that, aren't they? We actually got on very well until she introduced me to the woman which felt somehow wrong and awkward. I am, however, glad I met her. We talked about meditation and mindfulness, which seems the way of the future and many a person's passion these days. I went out and straight to a bar for a beer. I have to stop doing that... nahhhh. The waiter offered me food as this is what happens in Spain. Every time you order a drink they give you an antipasto or tapas. This time it was Pig's ears and Octopus head. I kid you not! It was very tasty as long as I engaged my taste, rather than my mind. Erggh but the cartalidge in the ear was a texture not to be reckoned with.

(A hostel I popped into)


After that I caught the Metro to Palacio Reale and took photos, and lay briefly in the sun. My body is so sore.

Ok, so then to another bar for lemonade this time. And guess where then???
El Museo de Jamon!!!!!!! You can get ham, prosciutto, chorizo or salami rolls for a euro each and beers for the same price. it is full of jamons/hams/prosciuttos and packed with people on foot enjoying the cheap cold beer and real grub. I think I might need to stop having such an intense love affair with jamon and branch out into paella or something else Spanish!

I came home, after that on foot and I have been trying to upload photos and the bloody thing still won't work! Mamma mia.... time for a rest, will do it later!