Oh, Madrid, you are so awesome.
So last you all heard, I was complaining about the heat. Well, just to show me, Madrid decided to catch me in a thunderstorm on the way out of the Prado Museum. Oh yeah. So I went looking for flip flops, was too picky, and failed. Ate lunch, then went back to the hostel for a shower. The tendonitis in my ankles had been flared non¡stop since the tour, so I was in a lot of pain in most of Madrid. I skipped the Egyptian Temple and walked down to the Prado. Spent time in El Parque del Retiro, but I didn´t do it any justice. My feet hurt to much. Went tot he CaxiaForum and saw photos displays I sort of with I hadn´t. There is only so long I can look at photos of women in iran who have had their faces deformed by acid attacks. It´s awful.
I breezed through the Prado in about an hour with two girls from the US. We sat in front of one painting of some men being executed and I noticed a Robert Downey Jr. look a like in it. So we cast it as a movie. Good cast. They continued on and I chose to walk back to the hostel. And thunderstorm. I ended up sitting on a dry ledge on Calle Lope de Vega with a women. I figure out how to get home and waited for a bit of pause in the thunder and lighting. Tired, wet, and in pain, I skipped the Flamenco Carmen, becuase I thought I might fall asleep during it. I napped until about ten thirty pm and then went for dinner with Enza. Then we wandered Chueca and saw a bunch of aprties and concerts in every plaza as aprt of the two weeks of Pride.
Saturday I bought flip flops that are okay. I then walked past the Royal Palace to Temple del Debod. A legit Egyptian Temple moved to Spain as a thank you to Spain for heling save some other temples in a Nile Flood int he late 1960s. It was totally cool. Then I grabbed the metro then lunch and then went to the Reina Sofia. Again, gave it less time than I probably should have. But I saw the Guernika and really, that´s what it´s all about. Besides, I had more pressing matters.
Went to the hsotel, met the new roommates (joy the loud French girls were gone!), took a shower, and a 10 minute nap. Then Enza and the new girls--an Austrialan named Amy, and three Belguims--and I headed out to the Gay Pride Rally on Grand Via! Rally, because their parade isn´t so much floats as it is people marching and then 18 wheelers with so many peope dancing on them you think they´re gonna break. We climed up into the construction sites scaffolding to watch. we got to the middle of the parade route on Grand Via at about 18:00. Unlike Pride in SF or probably anywhere int he US, the streets were not blocked off. People just walked in them, taking photos, mixing alcohol in the streets, and holding up the parade whenever they felt like it. The big to do in this pre-parade was water throwing from balconies. People would gather in the heat under hostels and apartments chanting ´agua agua agua´ until people threw buckets of water on the crowd. Someone in our scaffolding took control of the construction hose and went crazy. But it leaked and got me soaked. Eventually, the other girls went wandering, and then Enza and I were over being wet. We wandered toward the parade and finally found where the front was.
We watched for a long time next to this guy wearing underwear painted to look like jeans. He had two tattos. One on his calf said "I´m too sexy" and the one on his hip said "touch me". After about four hours we got hungry and went into a cafe ont he street so we could watch both the parade and the football game. HOLY SHIT! I don´t even really like sports and I cheered at the spanish goal. It was fucking crazy. People went ape shit. I looked around a people cheering and screaming and right otside the door was half naked men dancing on a truck. It was kind of amazing. Some things werea bit political. Spain banned Israeli groups from Pride because of the flotilla situation. Well, in the parade were a few men, no idea from what or where, had cardboard men cutouts in nooses. Each with a flag of countries like Iran, Iraq, Saudi arabia, etc. I´m not sure what it was about, but it was just Islamic countried. Also the painted naked man with some protest about the Euro written on him, most interesting for his refusal to smile or make any facial expressions. He was pissed. But you know, blankly.
After the game we wandered out toward Plaza de España to see Kylie Minogue. The streets were trashed. Somehow and I have no idea how, Enza and I got up very close to the stage. Enough that when people on the raiing in front of us were sitting, we could see Kylie. We made friends with nice Spanish men and Italian men, one of which was Jewish. Because we´re so little, they were okay with us standing in front of us against the railing, because they can see right over us. Our little section was vigilant about getting the people on the rail in front of us (seperated by a declined driving area) to sat seated on the rail so we could see. Throwing coins and empty beer cans. At one point, people kept climbing up to stand and one guy we were with threw and empty vokda bottle and there was almost a big old fight. Kylie came on and it was awesome. Also there is this song that´s very popular, Diva by Dana International, the Israeli Transgender singer. The song is awesome. They played it a lot. Enza and I are way into it.
Kylie was done around 2 am and the party was moving back to Chueca, the gay district. Enza and I made our exit and got back to the hostel and to bed around 3 am. I can´t even explain everything I saw (and neither will I, knowing who may be reading this). Left our stuff at luggage storange after breakfast and went to El Rastro, the sunday flea market. I bought myself a rainbow fan, because I passed on one that first night in Chueca. Also, I got myself a €3 necklace. I now have jewlery for this trip. Go me. Lunch then I headed off to the bus station by metro (oh love you metro!) for my 6.5 hour bus ride to San Sebastian. Met a Irish guy named Owen who was very nice and funny. The ride was pretty. Except the bit I fell alseep for. Spain looks so differen than one in the US supposes it does.
Chema, Evan´s friend, picked me up and took me to the beach to show me the route, then we had dinner that his mom made. She doesn´t speak English at all, so after some much needed sleep, finishing my book, and a shower, I am writing this while listening to spanish phrase podcasts on Chema´s computer. When he is home tonight I´m gonna see if I can download some in a few languages and plug in my ipod without wiping it to get them on my iPod. Gonna eat lunch soon with his mom, and later Ahian will pick me up and show me around. Tomorow is Chema´s day off and we´re gonna go eat Tappas! Yay!
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