I spent the last weekend in Madrid with my cousins, Nick and Wooly, who are also studying abroad there. I got there right after the celebration for Spain's victory that night in Euro2008, so I missed the insane festivities at Plaza Colón, which included a lot of chanting. According to Nic, they included encouraging women to kiss somebody ("Que se besan!"), as well as that somebody demanding some flashing action ("Si no me besas, enseñame las tetas!!"). Despite missing that, we still managed to go to a house party at a friend of theirs where their other cousin is staying (if you're lost with all this cousin talk, don't sweat it. Dismiss it as a Cuban thing and keep reading). We had a good time, hung out with some locals there. Some of the guys there were a band that was signed or on the verge of being signed. They got their hands on a guitar, and the party became limited to that for the rest of the night. They were good, but that made it pretty hard to hit on the groupies who did nothing but sing along all night. Oh well.
The next day was "Dia de Deportes" where all manner of streets were closed and turned into playing fields for soccer, basketball, handball, field hockey and such. This was all over Madrid, too. We spent the day at a huge flea market where they looked for gifts for their family. I managed to buy myself a pretty nifty hat 8).
That night we played some intense soccer amongst ourselves at a park clearing, because Madrid is an expensive city where you even have to pay to use soccerfields. Lame, but we still had a good time. We ate tapas later at a cheap place called "El Tigre", and it was damn good stuff. So good, in fact, that there's standing room only! It was a really local place, too, which is always a good thing.
The next day they had class, so I just walked around Madrid and revisited some sites I had been to when I was twelve (which means I barely remember them). It was kinda cool to Puerta del Sol again, where I spent New Years almost ten years ago! That was the craziest New Years I've ever had, hands down. I left that afternoon on the Ave, the highspeed train in Spain (about 300 km/h).
If you ever have the chance to take a train ride through Spain, do it. The countryside is absolutely beautiful, even on the Ave. I included some pictures of it below.
In case you're wondering about the title of the post, it's because I balled up playing soccer with my classmates today. Scored a bunch of goals, saved a bunch more, and scored a couple of ridiculously lucky goals, which is just fine with me. My cousins are still way, way better, but the more I play the less you can ignore a knack for it.
That's all for now. I plan on Sevilla and London next week, so plenty more pictures and videos (especially from Wimbledon and the concert!).
I'll post randomly b/w now and then, but don't be afraid to leave comments to any boberia I may have written. I always like to know you're reading ;)
-Gaby
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