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We're finally in Spain! I can't believe we actually made it, but after 5 days of travel from Italy, including one 26-hour day we spent completely in trains and train stations, we're finally here! Madrid is definitely worth it. Scott and I decided to go right to Madrid, and I was originally very disappointed to postpone Barcelona. I thought of Madrid as just a checkoff list list of museums, but it actually turned out to be a pretty funky city.
We spent our first day at the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza which offers a huge amount of art from the last millenium, and which provided Scott and me with a great art-history lesson. I preferred the Impressionists, and I spent about an hour in a room with Monet, Manet, Van Gogh and Degas. Scott preffered the Expressionsts. The next day we went totally modern at the Reina Sofia, and the day after that was totally classical at the Prado.
After that famous museum, I decided to clear my head in the Parque del Retiro where I saw the real Madrid. I bought an ice cream and watched families ride tiny canoes. Then I strayed to the other side of the park and followed the sound of drums into a magical fairyland full of jugglers and hippies swinging colorful balls of string in fascinating patterns. When I had finally had my full of the commune, I had only to walk a little further to encounter three more drum bands competing for attention from a throbbing crowd. This is not what I had expected from this city.
It is so exciting to explore a country I've never been in before, butchering a language I've never spoken before. One night after searching for an affordable, vegetarian meal, I came home discouraged and lonely. It is hard to feel the community of humanity when you cannot have a conversation with the people around you. But after my day in the park, I've come to realize that Spain is full of welcoming, colorful people, and that the barriers of language are easily overcome by music.
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