Where are you outside world. I'm lost inside my little tourism bubble. No newspapers, no TV, and for the passed week the internet has been a luxury I can't afford at 7 and a half Euro for an hour of connection (that's two meals, Come On).
From Barcelona we crossed the open Spanish plains. This remains as one of the most beautiful country sides I have ever seen. It's tough to read, or catch up on sleep (Danny Archer style; I am very good at this style of sleep, ahh the nap), when every turn in the tracks hits you with a new vista of wide landscapes stretching over rolling hills and big blue skies.
At this point I would like to point out the amazing aspects of Train travel. This is the only way to move through Europe. Josh Soles, if you are out there, I must tell you that I am now a Train guy. I understand your love for the tracks and their cars.
With that said, the Barcelona station is out of control. They most definitely lost our train. Neil and I were thrown in all different directions before finally catching a break and having a pair of friendly Americans share the secret to our hidden coach (Texans, man you got'a love 'em).
MuchoMadrid greeted us warmly, and at first inspection seemed to be in the top five Hostels for the trip (No Nice Hotel Pastoral, thank goodness, sorry Pastoral). Then they told us they lost our reservation (first the train, now the room, who loses a room). They didn't actually say that they lost the reservation, but they kicked out one of those "Oh, ummm, what days were you booked in for?" and "Can I see your reservation again... how did you book this?" Luis was a real swell guy about the whole situation, and I would find that he runs a pretty tidy operation there at MuchoMadrid. (a personal favorite was the Champagn and Sangria party where I was able to practice some bad spanish and catch some great stories for other kooks out there, I dig it, the whole scene, the whole crazy hostel scene).
So we walked the streets of Madrid with excitement; this is a town you walk around, forget the Metro, the place is beautiful and built for the wandering tourist. The whole time in Madrid we were caught in one, huge, crazy Spanish Cup final party. The Plaza Mayor was overrun with Sevilla fans, and every site we visited was crawling with drunken football fans dressed in their teams colours (which was always the Red of Sevilla... it's a good thing they won, the crazy riots of joy and better then the angry riots of defeat; gotta love the Futbol). With all the excitement though, there is still the devastation of leaving Madrid, on a Sunday, at 7pm. This just so happens to be the only time during the summer months that the Matador faces the Bull... We missed the FREAKIN BULL FIGHT. This was not made any easier by Tennessee Matt who had recorded some of the nonesense on his camera. Neil and I watched his little 2" screen and couldn't turn away. I may have said "Wow, just like the movies". But hey, you can't see it all right, and aside from the great weather (nothing but sun), the wonderful food (paella, oh paella), the playful atmosphere (Canada needs so soccer, and fast), and the breathtaking sites (random buildings, just random buildings lining a secondary road... amazing architectur), what would I come back for? It still hurts to think that we were settling in for an overnight train, and the crowds were just welcoming the first challenge... Bull vs Matador, it's so great.
Paris is beyond words. I have loved every second here. Someone told me that I should skip Paris and spend more time in Spain... WHAT. Skip Paris. Never. This city must be seen, by all. And I have already started to try and figure out if weekend trips to this city from Calgary are possible... I don't even think this is a stretch.
The night train was a real adventure. I can't believe that these things exist, and that I got to from Madrid to Paris, rocking to sleep like a baby in a crib. What a trip this has been. What an adventure. Man I love the travel. I love the Road life. I love the journey. Everytime it starts to feel like things are settling, it's time to move...
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