notes from madrid

1. lisbon is cold in this time of the year? forget about it: madrid was far colder. and rainy. and yet, it's nice to see that the cold and the rain doesn't keep spanish girls from wearing short skirts. 

2. as a matter of fact, i've found spanish girls quite pretty, elegant and sophisticated. think i know where i'll go whenever i get time and money again.

3. as soon as the i get into the van that would take me from the airport to the hotel, the driver turns on the radio, which was airing heroes del silencio. can't imagine a better welcome to spain.

4. the city, from the little i could see of it, is beautiful. it has nice pubs. it has nice, tradicional places where one can taste regional food. and it was delicious. however, my portuguese guts didn't like it as much as my portuguese taste. as a result i got a sleepless, feverish night, getting up every hour to throw up. oh well. at least i could remember how does it feel like to throw up while being sober. it has been a while, after all.

4. spent the night with a spanish friend (david) and his french girl friend. i spoke always in portuguese (even though my tongue kept sliping to "portuguish"). they spoke always in french. had no problems of communication whatsoever. the trick is to pay attention, and to speak slowly. 

5. the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde and the catcher in the rye: (re)read them both during the trip (two days). had forgotten how brilliant is the tale of jekyll and hide, really.

6. have i mentioned the spanish girls already? oh, god. i might have come back with a sore belly, but i loved madrid.