Madrid

I arrived in Madrid late this morning, and easily found my hostel. I can't check in until later this afternoon, so I wandered around the city for a bit.

First off, Madrid is huge. It's as modern and hip as London and, at a first glimpse, it looks like any major American city -- complete with Starbucks and Gap stores and McDonald's. However, once you begin to explore a bit and get off of the major streets, you soon discover ornate palaces, beautifully-maintained gardens, and charming sidewalk cafes. I saw all of the above within my first hour of exploring, without even planning to.

So, I decided to grab some lunch and a newspaper and sit in the shade of a park for a while. As I was strolling around the park, I came across a huge crowd. There was a movie being filmed -- unfortunately, I didn't recognize any of the actors or directors, they were all Spanish, I think -- and it looked like a big production based on the number of crew members and equipment being used. I stood back and watched for a while; they were filming a scene where a young man runs towards a young girl, sending the nearby pigeons into flight, and embraces her, twirling her around. I imagine it'd look very romantic on screen, but as soon as the shot was over, the two actors barely had anything to do with each other.

So, I'm in Madrid for tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday. I leave Saturday evening, and take an overnight train to Paris. That afternoon, I'll meet my family at our hostel. I can't wait.

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Before this trip, I had no concept of how huge and, at the same time, small Europe was. I hadn't a clear idea of how big the cities were, especially more obscure places like Seville, and I had literally no concept of how close everything was. It's amazing to me that I was in Seville just this morning, chatting with some hostellers, and now I'm in Madrid. The difference between the two is extreme.

I've taken so many pictures. I promise to post my favorites whenever I can.