i'm clean now

i haven't yet received my luggage, but i've managed to scrape away the plane-ness and sadly, the madrid-ness from my skin.

it felt odd waking up to nene howling for food at 7 am this morning. in a haze, i wandered to the kitchen and managed to feed her food meant for cats, even though i wasn't sure where i was or what i was doing.

our trip was magical.

every bit of it.

look at our smiling faces.















each day was special, and each day followed this basic regimen:
1. wake up, puzzled to be greeted with, "buenas tardes" because that means it's afternoon.
2. shrug off the fact that the morning is now in the past, and take a shower to prove that the day is still young.
3. accept the traditional spanish sherry that david hands you, and recognize fragrances of lunch being prepared.
4. around 3:00 pm begin eating appetizers and prepare the table for lunch.
5. sit, eat, drink red wine, and enjoy a conversation-filled languorous midday meal.
6. siesta
7. wake around 7:00 pm.
8. chat with friends, and discuss plans for walking, "having wines," and dinner.
9. tour the city, relishing david's penchant and skill for narrating madrid. become accustomed to hearing phrases like, "now we're entering the 18th century" and explanations of history, culture, music, and gastronomy as if david had lived and breathed for hundreds of years.
10. have wines impeccably matched with olives, french fries, or meats of the region.
11. wander to what you believe to be The Most Special Restaurant until you're met with the very same feeling the next dinner.
12. sit back and observe david negotiate in spanish each gastronomical triumph, wondering why so much is being exchanged between him and the waiter.
13. explore flavors and foods unmatched by past culinary experiences.
14. recognize that the unease of being the last group in the restaurant is disappearing, and that my body expects dinner to begin around 10 pm and end at midnight or later.
15. wander to a bar to continue conversations.
16. return home around 3 am and sleep.
17. wake up at 6:30 shrouded in foggy pacific time to find our friend alex from toulouse, bright-eyed and cheery at his laptop, not yet asleep. we wave.
18. repeat for 5 days until our road trip to southwestern spain.