Madrid, Spain

Alright, so maybe my doll-house analogy wasn´t very well developed or articulated, but the more churches I visit in Madrid, the more I am struck by the kernel of truth in the analogy. At the same time, it is quite possible that the toy horses are actually imagining the children playing in the churches...

During the past two days I´ve walked every square inch of Madrid, or so it seems. The Spanish celebrate Las Navidades, the Twelve Days of Christmas (25 December - 6 January), so every day has been a fiesta here. Having slept very little on the night of the 30th, I was inclined to stay in my room on New Year´s Eve to avoid the drunken crowds and catch up on some much needed sleep. But after a 3 hour siesta, I was out on the streets again for the arrival of the New Year. Eat. Sleep (a little). Party (a lot). Repeat. This seems to be the rhythm of life here, at least during Las Navidades.

This afternoon I am going to visit the Modern Art Museum (Centro de Arte Reina Sofia), and tomorrow I plan to spend the day at the Museo del Prado (the Louvre of Spain). On Wednesday I am leaving Madrid for Cordoba, the seat of the Caliphate of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). And after two nights there, I will go to Sevilla.

I am torn by two contradictory inclinations: to see much more than I originally planned (Tunisia, for example, sounds more and more attractive to me), and to see much less than I originally planned (six months of hard travel will surely kill me, won´t it?). In the end, I will probably stick to an itinerary that looks much like the tentative plan I laid out before I left.

I´ve met some very nice people here, who have been quite generous in showing me their city and offering their observations on religion, culture, politics, and everyone´s favorite villain, George Bush. His re-election seriously damaged the reputation of every last American, myself included. It will be interesting to see what kinds of receptions I receive in the Arab world.

I hope you all had a fun and/or relaxing New Year´s Eve. And I hope the New Year brings some semblance of sanity to this world...

Feliz Año Nuevo!!!

(Photo by Eric: Angel Caido, Madrid, Spain)