On Being A Travel Addict

So it seems I haven't posted in a long while. The sad thing is, time is flying by so fast that it feels like I posted just yesterday. Where did I leave off? I suppose it would be nearly two weeks ago. Sheesh. I'll try and give a short rundown of the last two weeks.

Well, if I remember correctly, that Thursday we went to a Mexican bar. We got delicious Coronas and much-missed homemade guacamole. It was deliciously spicy and satisfying. Friday, I'm not sure what happened. I imagine I went to a bar and had some beer and tapas. Nothing too important comes to mind, though. Saturday was pretty cool [seriously it was cold outside]. My cousin's friend works at Madrid's tennis arena, so we got free entry into the semifinals of the Madrid Open. I had never been to a professional match before, so it was really cool to watch. We saw Nadal dominate, and he would eventually move on to win the Open. Afterwards, I went out with some East Coast friends for San Isidro. It's basically Madrid's holiday celebrating the fact that it's such an awesome city, and the streets were literally packed. All up and down main street there were concerts and fireworks and people. It took us nearly a half hour to travel one block, it was so full. We just roamed the streets, and eventually lied down in the middle of Madrid's busiest street and had beers. Fun times.

That was that, then on Sunday, my cousins and I went to Warner Brothers Park. It's an amusement park just outside the city, but it's pretty small, compared to U.S. parks. There was hardly anyone there, and there were absolutely no lines, so we systematically rode every ride there was. It was pretty fun I suppose, but I just don't like amusement parks. Sure, roller coasters are thrilling for all of thirty seconds, but somehow amusement parks make me kind of sick inside. I guess it's the touristy atmosphere mixed with the overpriced food and drink, and that lingering thought that everything you pay for goes to one company. I don't know, maybe I'm just weird.

Monday was class as usual, and afterward, I was dragged along to a Pignoise album release concert [it's my cousin's favorite band]. Now I love music and concerts with an insane passion, but this was just awful. First off, the house music before and after the concert was the band's two hit singles played over and over again. Then, for the concert, they played their hit singles first, two other songs that were equally bad, then they played their hit singles again. The lead guitarist didn't even play, he strummed along silently while a real musician was playing offstage. It was great, if you like hearing the I-V-vi-IV progression over and over [and over] again. Wow, what a music nerd. As much as I would have liked a concert full of screaming sixteen year old girls four years ago, now I just found it quite annoying. But hey, at least there was free beer. Wait, no. The "beer" was terrible. If you ever have the opportunity to drink Los Desperados Tequila-flavoured Beer, don't drink it. It tastes like half of a Bud Light Lime mixed with a can of flat sprite. It has the taste of neither beer nor tequila [although it nearly brought the same sensation of vomit mixed with thoughts of dying]. I digress.

Tuesday, I saw Robin Hood. Maybe it was the Spanish-subtitled version, but I wasn't too impressed. It was good to hear a full movie in English though. Afterwards, we got the most delicious döner kebap. I'm kind of becoming addicted to Turkish food. Wednesday, a bunch of my friends and I went to club Pacha, it wasn't the best, but it was definitely a drunkenly good time. Thursday we recovered from the night before, and I went home relatively early. Friday I spent the entire day walking around Madrid. It was awesome, and I'll talk more about that later in this post. Saturday, I relaxed during the day, then at night went out to a bar to watch the Champion's League Final. It was held in Madrid, and the Italians and Germans were taking over the streets. It was pretty ridiculous to see everybody going crazy all weekend. I watched until halftime, then met up with some other friends to go to SuperMartXé, a nightclub of over 10,000 people. It was held in what I can only describe as an arena, and it was seriously the craziest thing I have ever been to. We stayed out until about 07:30, and I crashed the second my head hit my pillow. Sunday was sleep-in day. I got some work done, and prepared for this week.

Monday, I went to class, then after, I got tickets to see Au Revoir Simone. They're a three piece keyboard band from New York, all girls. I really like them, they have an original yet familiar sound, it's kind of indescribable. Anyway, I stood front row, center, and just let the music wash over me. It was far better than the previous Monday's "concert". I got more döner kebap after. Tuesday, I stayed in and watched every last episode of L O S T. The series finale was incredibly good, and I think it ended the only way possible. A tiny part of me feels complete now. That leaves us with today. Where am I now?

Well, tomorrow I fly to Fuerteventura early in the morning. Actually, I'm going to the airport tonight, as the Metro doesn't open in time to make my flight tomorrow. I'll be doing some relaxing as well as some exploring on foot. It will be fun to get away from the big city for awhile. I'm especially excited to see the ocean again. Lately I've been walking a lot, kind of getting my bearings and whatnot. I like going places, I suppose. With walking, I feel like I'm going somewhere, not being taken there. Yeah, have I mentioned I'm a bit strange? Also, I recently bought some cheap sunglasses, which is a first for me. I'm not really a sunglass person, at least I didn't used to be. Maybe I'm changing. I also haven't been shaving, so I've got some pretty gnarly facial hair going on. I should probably do something about it, but I'll think about that later. I only have about three weeks left here, and I still have yet to go to Morocco or Granada. It makes me kind of sad to be leaving so soon, but I feel ready to come home, almost. I'm sure I'll be completely ready come the end of June.

I've been thinking a lot lately, and I really think travelling is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself. I think it opens your mind, and kind of puts you in your place. It's definitely addictive though, I'm already planning my next seven-or-so trips in my head. I think this addiction will only get worse through time, but I think I'd rather be addicted to going places than standing still. Sometimes I think I think too much, and that maybe I should just do and not contemplate. I think I'll never stop thinking so much though. Maybe.

Brian