Bulls, Sangria, Art, Food……What does this country not have?
For more on Spain please see Running of the Bulls-Pamplona
I have had the opportunity to visit Spain a few different times in my life and it really never gets old. I have been around different parts of it and the people are always friendly and talkative. They have perfected the siesta and also how to stay awake all night partying and still get up and go to work in the morning. Football is pretty much life here as people from every major and minor city eat and breathe it when their club teams play.
Barcelona was one of my first stops in this great city. Their nightlife is among one of the craziest yet calm I have ever seen. Calm in that with how many drunk people running around, I did not see any fights at all, and everyone was friendly. I had a chance to take a jaunt around the town on Las Ramblas street to see all the shops. I did go into a sex museum, but they are all around Europe, and I have been to many of them. They seem to be very proud of Christopher Columbus as they have a huge statue of him right on the water. A visit to La Sagrada Familia and the National Palace rounded out my day here. At night I went to a rather large dinner and of course with Flamenco dancing. I was of course dragged up on stage to embarrass myself as I looked like something out of Steve Urkel dancing. Now I am usually more cautious about where I sit so people cannot drag me up to make a fool out of myself dancing…
I had a chance to stop in a place I have always wanted to go and that was the University of Salamanca in Salamanca. This is the fourth oldest operated university in Europe and was started in the 1200’s. It has seen its share of ups and downs with the Inquisition and also the colonization of the New World. A notable professor is Miguel Cervantes who taught there and a notable alum is Hernan Cortes who was a Conquistador for the Spanish during its exploration days. Walking around there I felt lost in time as many of the buildings have been replaced over the years but it still makes you wonder about the thousands of people and the history constructed in its walls. I also had another uh oh moment. As I was walking, one of my sandals broke so I was running around the university with no shoes on at all. Until I found a shop that sold sandals…except….they were girls sandals, but the ground was so hot I had to get them. No wonder why people were looking at me in the church…..
Madrid is hands down my favorite Spanish city. They have so much to do there and so much food and alcohol, it was a wonder I am still alive. You literally walk ten feet and BAAAAM. Another place to get food. I spent my time there wandering around the city eating and also looking at museums. I had the chance to visit Prado, Reina Sofia, and Thyssen Art Museums. I love seeing art, and these museums did not disappoint at all. I think this is the single longest day in my life I have spent in art museums, but it was well worth it, as I got to see Guernica by Picasso and narrowly missed my other painting as I was running out of time which is The Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch. Then I went to the National Palace there and strolled around there (nothing exciting), and of course I spent the nights drinking away on the streets….oh yea and almost getting mugged…….