Europe 1998

London

Spain

I visited the Prado and Reina Sofia museums today. Rick Steves of Europe Through the Back Door says the Prado is the best painting museum in the world. Wow! Picasso's Guernica is in the other museum and was pretty powerful. If you're not familiar with it, look it up on the web. It details the bombing of a town in northern Spain in 1937 by Hitler to test his blitzkrieg method (with Franco's ok, of course).

I can't decide if tomorrow I should go to El Escorial (out of town, where lots of Inquisition stuff took place) and then Valley of the Fallen, Franco's tribute to Fascist Spain and those who brought it about. (I have to read more about the Spanish Civil War, an exercise in brutality by both sides.) Or if I should go to the Royal Palace, the third best in Europe.

Hey, James, I found No Se Lo Digas a Nadie, it's near my hostal. (A disco where James partied his ass off a few years ago.) I think it's too cool for the likes of me. ;-] I'm near Anton Martin station.

I feel fairly unattractive here. The women are very gorgeous and wear *skimpy* clothing. I'm talking Spanish women here! sigh

Everybody and their mother smokes here. Ugh. Even in the areas marked as No Smoking.

Monday it's off to Galicia and some regular human contact! My bag's feeling very heavy, I can't wait until Ireland and no more trains or buses. What a wuss, huh? ;-]

While I was here a drunk guy with few teeth wanted to take me to see flamenco dancing. I let him buy me an ice cream instead.

BTW, speaking of drunks, I was walking behind some drunk chicks last night when one of them just doubled over and heaved. Ain't traveling great?

After Madrid, I took the train to Oviedo, Asturias. I was not oriented and had no map so I ended up walking around for about 45 minutes until I ended up in a hostal back by the train station. I found the bus station and the times for buses to Ribadeo in Galicia. Since I had time to kill, I walked around checking out the local sights. There was to be a solemn mass at 7pm at the cathedral, so I went to it. I got there a little early and got in on the end part the rosary. The mass was in Spanish but had some beautiful Gregorian chant music. The acoustics of the church were magnificent and it was quite an experience. And to think I had thought about just going straight to Ribadeo after the train ride.

I visited my grandfather's family near here for about 3 days and had a good time. Too bad it was in the middle of nowhere or I would have stayed longer. They were all very nice to me, and it was thrilling (and emotional) to meet his family and see where he had been born and raised.

Vigo is actually pretty, well, what I've seen of it. If you walk down the hill a ways you get to the Ría (occean) and you can look across the bay. It actually reminds me of the Bay back home, looking across to Sausalito and the East Bay. Made me a little homesick. It's hot here!

After resting, I dropped off the stuff to be washed and walked around to get my bearings. Tomorrow I go on a ferry to some nearby islands to spend the day and melt and maybe go swimming. Did I mention it's hot?

I met some kids (6-9 years old) who had been fishing and were walking around with a few little fish. They came and talked to me and the little girl was stroking her dead fish (about 5 inches long). We talked for awhile and then they threw their fishes back in the ocean. I think maybe they had been hanging out and a fisherman had given the fish to them.

I was come on today by two older gents (not at the same time). One invited me for coffee but I declined. The other wanted to know if I was Brazilian. I know this should make me quite excited, but it's actually just depressing. ;-)

Well I'm off to collect my clothes. See ya!

I took my time coming back down and then had lunch at the restaurant (had an appetite today). A guy had a SFMOMA tee on so I had to ask him is he was from there. He was with his lover and I figured he just might be from SF. He was, however, from London and had gone to SF a couple of years ago.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Portugal border to get my passport stamped. I head off to Madrid tomorrow night on the train and hope to store my bag at the station. In Madrid I'm going to get my brother a Hard Rock Cafe tee which I hope he likes, and see the Royal Palace.

It finally stopped raining so I decided to go with my original plan and head to Portugal. BFD. I got to this little town, walked 1km and over a rickety bridge and ended up in ...Portugal. No customs, guard, nothing, just a sign that said "Portugal." I walked a little farther and found nothing of interest so I headed back. I guess not all borders are as militarized as our own. I also guess not a lot of people are breaking into the northern border of Portugal. Sigh. So I waited 45 minutes and headed back to Vigo, where I've been staying at the Downey Soft Hostal (where a whole bottle goes into every wash!). I ate at (brace yourselves) Burger King! Now I'm here whiling away the time until my 10:15pm (now 8:25pm) train to Madrid. My hair is all frizzy too from the rain!

Thanks for the email Michael, James, Marge (go for it, girl!) and Julie! I took the night train from Vigo to Madrid last night and it was what I expected. Cramped compartment, sleeping in my clothes. Yuck. I was ready for a shower when I made it to my hostal room by 9:30.

I went over to the Hard Rock Cafe and got in line with all the other Amercians wanting to buy tees. I think only Americans actually go there. So I got two tees, one for me and one for my brother. I think I'll hit the HRC in London too. Bummer there isn't one in Dublin. Consume, consume, consume!

(Some guy is feeling up the female bartender here in the cyberbar, the other bartender already did. I guess she's with everybody.)

Well, I'd recommend northern Spain for anyone coming to Europe. It's different than your preconceptions of Spain: it's green rolling hills, mists and bag pipes.

Madrid was ok; if you're into partying, this is the place to be. The only difference in traffic at 4pm and 4am is that the sun is out at 4pm. Amazing, huh? But don't come in the summer when it's too damn hot.

Well tomorrow I'm off to London and then it's Dublin and the priest on Saturday. Can't wait.

It's Eleanor Rigby now. Cool!

Well, while I was in Spain, a plane was hijacked, a politician was killed by Basque separatists, a couple of hostal (hotel) people were killed by would-be robbers and there was an air controllers strike or something. Let's see what happens in Ireland.

Ireland

Today we saw the National Museum (which had a terrific Caravaggio - The Taking of Christ. Interesting story here. About five years ago, a Jesuit community in Dublin decided to have a painting appraised. This painting had been hanging in their dining room for years, so imagine everyone's surprise to find out it was a Caraviaggio! It is now on indefinate loan to the National Museum.). We also saw the Book of Kells and Trinity College. We're off to meet his sister so I'm kind of in a hurry. Having a good time, will try to write more later.

I have to come back to Ireland . I'd like to concentrate on the West (Cork, Kerry, Galway, Donegal pronounced Daneegol). We missed most of Cork's glorious coastline cuz of heavy rain, but faired better in Kerry. However, we did it in a day trip and I'd like to spend some time out there on the peninsulas and bike around. It's wild, beautiful and to put it poetically, you can feel the hand of God out there in that desolate land. Also, Tom wasn't much of a pub goer and it would've been fun to check out the music scenes more. The night I did in Skibereen, County Cork, I got chatted up by a nice man from the North! He wasn't drunk and had all his teeth! So he was at least 20 years older than me, so what? ;-]

On the way from Tralee to Galway, we took the ferry from Co. Kerry to Co. Clare, bypassing Limerick. We went to Kilkee where I had the best experience in Ireland. We found some cliffs and went walking along them. It was misty, desolate, windy and wild. Everything I had ever imagined Ireland to be. I will never forget my walk out there or the overwhelming feeling of God's presence I had. Just up the road a bit were the Cliffs of Moher (left). Also awesome, but not quite the same as in Kilkee (right).

My next to last night in Ireland was spent in Galway City. It is the capital of County Galway and a very happening town. It's THE university town in Ireland and is crawling with students. Tom and I got into town around 7pm and found a B&B for only about $20 a piece (my treat); it was in a private home and the lady was very nice. We went into town and parted company since he wanted to go see a show with traditional Irish dancing and music and I felt that after two nights of that in Tralee, I'd had enough. I went to eat in an Indian restaurant and then went pub hopping in search of trad (traditional) music. The pubs were very crowded but I ended up coming across some hippie, dreadlocked student-types playing drums on a street corner.

I was standing there grooving ;-] when a fairly drunk guy came up and began talking to me. He had a glass of something in one hand, a cigarette in the other and seemed a bit melancholy (he sighed a lot). He asked me my name and then told me I looked just like his dear departed (as in dead) wife. Talk about novel pick up lines! We stood there for a while, he talking to me, telling me how much I looked like his beloved Lisa; he even tried to touch my hair at one point but I said no. Then after a while he asked if I would go to his brother's house, just up the way a bit, with him. I said no thanks. He started going on about how he was a decent fellow, he thrived (pronounced "trived") on decency, and was not proposing anything indecent to me. (Yeah, right.) And didn't I believe him? (Um, no, not really.) Besides, I REALLY looked like his dead wife, may she rest in peace. He said he was lonely and pulled a bottle out of his jacket to refresh his drink of sherry. (Ok, I'm outta here, no matter how much I like the music.) I made my escape despite his protests. I must have had a neon sign on me that said, "If you're drunk, I want you" on my back or something. These guys seemed to be pulled to me as if by magnetic force.

Tom and I drove back to Dublin by way of Kildare the next day and we visited with his family for awhile. I went downtown one last time to check the place out. I got back to the house around 10pm and chatted until about midnight. His family was very nice and I really appreciate all they did for me.

Now the question is: when do I come back??