Spring

I love weekends in Madrid with this great weather. A walk along Gran Via, a glimpse at a photography exhibit, a picnic in Retiro Park with friends.

 

The exhibit we went to is called “Weegee’s New York,” a collection by an american photographer who documented life in New York in the 30’s and 40’s. There was one wall with photos of people asleep – on the street, on fire escapes, outside bars, in houses. There were also photos of people in Harlem, at Coney Island, at famous places like the Bowery Ballroom.

We’ve discovered a Dunkin Donuts on Gran Via, and we’re sure it has a larger selection of donuts than there normally is at any Dunkin Donuts in the States. There aren’t other things like bread or cakes, it’s only dedicated to donuts.

We’ve also realized that “ir de cañas,” or drinking small beers while barhopping, is very fun but a bit dangerous…they’re so small and innocuous that when you leave to go to another bar, you think you’re able to have another one and another one. After having drunk close to 8 beers, you end up drunk without even knowing it.

La Latina!

Welcome to La Latina, the most lively neighborhood in Madrid on Sundays. We used to come here at night to grab some beers (some nights turning into mornings), but since it was such a nice day this Sunday, the streets of La Latina were completely filled with people having lunch, drinking, meeting up with friends…

There were so many people that we couldn’t find any place outside to sit down. I’ve never seen a neighborhood so alive in the last six months of my stay here. It was as if there were a festival of some kind that day, but no…just a normal Sunday in Madrid. This always surprises me, that on whichever day of the week you can also find something fun to do somewhere. We went to a Mexican restaurant, and then we went to have some beers in a bar called Six, where a friend of his was working as a DJ that night.

One of my favorite spots is a bar called Lamiak, which is pretty popular and also overflowing with people. Me and Judy have some fond memories of this place, and I especially love it on Sunday afternoons – the atmosphere and the people are much more calm, you can converse and relax.

We’ve also spent a lot of time in Chueca these days to dine in different restaurants, including Asian ones, which I’ve missed a lot, of course. Every time we plan to have a quiet night, we end up staying at bars and clubs drinking whisky until we get drunk and encounter strange people. I think we’re quite a funny couple. Another long, eventful weekend.

 

Tokyo Blues

[ – Te gustan los mapas? – le pregunté.
– Sí. Cuando acabe la universidad quiero entrar en el Instituto Nacional de Geografía y hacer ma-mapas.

Me admiró la gran diversidad de deseos y objetivos que pretende alcanzar el ser humano. Era una de las primeras cosas que me habían sorprendido al llegar a Tokio. Si no hubiera algunas personas – no hace falta que sean muchas – que se interesan, apasionan incluso, por la cartografía, tendríamos un serio problema. ]

I think of these lines when I see ballerinas, old friends doing what they do well…exactly what he told me when we were in Retiro watching the jugglers. There’s such a variety of interests in the world – how is it that people learn what they like to do and what they are good at?

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These days, the wind in Madrid has been intolerable. It makes such a loud noise, roaring and pushing until the windows of the house open – especially those in my room. They can’t even close now, not with tape nor with a chair propped up against the latch. I returned to my room yesterday afternoon only to find it in a state of complete disorder, with papers everywhere. Now I have to close my door to achieve some level of peace. An ice box is awaiting me tonight.