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So creepy!


I had a late night last night and as a result I canceled my first location of the day, so that I could sleep in a little bit. I was going to go to a giant flea market, but I probably wouldn’t have bought anything and so it’s best that I didn’t go. It’s not like I need to buy anything that I don’t already have. My first stop of the day was the Rieina Sofia art gallery, it’s the first real art gallery I have been to on my entire trip. They had modern art and I enjoyed it even the art that looks like what I drew in kindergarten. I don’t understand how someone who draws like that becomes a professional artist. See my pictures for the example I am talking about. I had decided to buy the audio guide to walk around with because it was free to get in but that was apparently a lot of people’s idea and the line was longer than I wanted to wait so I skipped getting it and made up my own back stories to the art.

After I walked to the other museum Museo del Prado but learned that it didn’t let people in for free until 5pm and so I needed to waste time. I walked all over the town looking at things and found lots of old building and a really nice, large park. When it was time I went back to Museo del Prado and joined the masses of people swarming into the museum. I had read that the museum alone is worth the trip to Madrid. I am not an art critique and I don’t know what is good, or what even makes art good but I wasn’t impressed. There were basically a bunch of paintings of old dead rich people and the paintings of Jesus that they also paid to have done. There ought to be a limit to the number of Jesus painting in an art museum unless Jesus is in the museums title. I feel like the super rich of the time prospered while most of the people in their countries were suffering. The rich people could afford to have ridiculously expensive pictures of them painted and now they are being immortalized. That just doesn’t sit right with me, maybe it was too much heat, walking or art. All of the paintings that I liked were more abstract or done by less famous artists and as a result did not have descriptions in English, so I was unable to learn more about them which was somewhat disappointing.

While walking around the museum a woman walked up to me and put her arm on my shoulder while I was walking and she matched her pace with mine. I quickly moved my hands to cover my pockets and then turned to look at her. At the same time I looked at her she turned to look at me and realized that I was not her husband, she gave a little shriek and made an embarrassed face while I burst into laughter. She quickly ran to her husband and explained the story to him and he too joined in with the laughter.

After both museums and all the walking and the stairs and standing, my knee is hurting me again for the first time in a long time. I am hoping that I just need to rest it and it will feel better tomorrow.

Tomorrow I head to Valencia to stay in the first hotel of my trip in Europe. I found a flight for 4 EUR including tax, which would be much faster and cheaper than a bus ride but it leaves at 6:30 am and the only way I could make that would be to stay up all night and go straight to the airport. I am going to be lazy and spend my money on a bus ticket instead, so that I can enjoy the convenience of going when I please. As a result of La Tomatina, where I will be going on the 26th, all of the hostels in Valencia were booked and I had to get a super expensive hotel room instead. I will also get to have some privacy for the first time in over a week, which will definitely be nice.

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08_22_2009 Madrid small