Traveling was so good for me. Dan WK was an awesome travel companion. i got my share of gorgeous views, painfully good art (the old masters, botticelli and rubens, raphael, goya, el greco, sometimes all in one room, like at the Prado in Madrid), churches built so intricately that i almost feel down w/ the overwhelmed feeling. by the end of 3 weeks i grew weary of being a tourist, bc Spain felt amazing enough that i'd love to return and live for awhile, to get the feeling of how it is in a day-to-day sense. but i don't regret the overdose of beauty we allowed ourselves. Hanging out at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, seeing the Alhambre in Granada, eating more vegetarian paella than a person should have right to, drinking the best wine i've encountered. i'll give a quick run-down, but i'm making a small zine for my friends that is way more thorough.
we met up w/ dan's excellent friend Silivia in barecelona. she took us to an excellent tapas place, and introduced us to basque cider. they pour this by balancing the bottle on the backs of their necks like it's no thing. she then took us to a bar called Tequila, dark, smoky, red lights, and a middle-aged DJ who will take your heavy-metal requests by slip of paper, which are piled up in wispy bits on the bar. While he refused me Def Leppard, he came thru most every other way.
We stayed w/ Fran and Corinna at their place in Villapiscina, and they were rad, rad people. Fran works at Barcelon's pirate radio station, corinna bakes cakes and sews really cool shit. we stayed up very late w/ their friend Jorge, drinking Xibecca 40's out of glasses and eating outside on their patio, talking about music and a lot of things. they told us more about squats around europe, how shows are out there, some good stories. we stayed up til at least 2am, drinking mate and talking. then spent the night in a room covered w/ collectible miniature houses, some ex-roomie'd inherited from his grandmother.
we left to meet up w/ Silvia in Sitges, a beach town an hour or so out of Barcelona. It was quite and lovely, I really like her and it was good to walk around in the sun. we had a drink at the poolside of some creepster hotel, and met some wildy drunk gay guys from all over. they laughed tons and took a photo of the tattoo on my back. we saw a man make a brilliant crocodile out of sand, and some Roma boys taking turns diving off rocks into the sea, big golden necklaces shining w/ the salt-water and sun.
Madrid was alright. My favorite parts were El Parque Buen Retiro, and the Prado. Almost getting mugged, being touched inappropriately by a cop, and being mistaken for a hooker by a creepy old man were NOT enjoyable moments. but when we passed thru town again 2 weeks later before returning to Barcelona, something clicked, and suddenly i understood Madrid a bit better. not necessarily loved it, but i didn't dislike it.
We spent Mayday in Segovia, which is gorgeous beyond belief, giant aqueducts, these weird magical horrifying carousels w/ the strangest animals i've ever seen. good wine at night and talking on the plaza while little kids set off firecrackers and the cathedral shown brightly, the best backdrop ever. we found a great trail to hike in the hills, peeled down some Mayday posters to take home.
Toledo had another phenomenal cathedral. It is there that I began to think about where all the money came from to make those grand churches, monuments, artwork. i thought about the inquisition and the countless people who were either murdered, tortured, exiled, or forced to change their religion in order to stay in their country. i saw the graves of isabel and ferdinand, and i wanted to spit on them. dan had a good point: that few people will admit to admiring Hitler, but there are one million monuments to so many other murderers.
Granada was amazing, greena nd hot and windy and mountainous. we sat in the plaza at night drinking wine after a day of hiking and taking things in, fed stray dogs under the table and listened to beautiful students play bossanova.
Seville was more beauty, young people crowding the streets until the sunrise, and i finally saw flamenco! i can't describe it, it's just gorgeous, it's tension and breaking down and emotion and control, it rules. i need more of that in my life.
Basque country is easy to fall in love with. it's green and chilly a bit, bunches of old men walking around in their good black berets, countless signs in both eustati (basque) and castillano, the spanish words spray-painted out, bars and restaurants exclusively for basque folks, stay the hell out otherwise. i want to understand it better, these separatist movements. i want to read up on it more. we ate at a grand vegetarian restuarant there, nearly broke my heart with joy. saw a disapointing exhibit at the Guggenheim there. but the walk in the rain afteward, jokeing and being ridiculous, was such fun. plus, they have a giant sculpture of a dog, covered w/ flowers. the world's largest Chia-pet!
San Sebastian was more loveiness. a beach, good hiking, huge fish, the sea everywhere, the good sea smell that makes me happy. Our last 2 nights were spent in Barcelona, back w/ Fran and Corinna, talking and staying up late, feeling nice but quiet. We spent the last night at the airport, and then we were on a plane back, just like that.
some constants are the way that art effects me. i get overwhelmed, my heart feels heavy, i feel like i'm walking on air or am disembodied, my eyes get wet. it destroys me and makes me better simultaneously. it shows me how good life can be, i see possibility.