Last day :(

Today is my last day here; I fly out tomorrow around noon, but G flies out a couple hours earlier, so I'll go to the airport early with him. I'm not nearly ready to go. I suppose that's a good thing—to leave with good memories and before you're tired of a place. Ah, well, I guess it's about time to go back to work--office and school.

Christmas Eve we went to the apartment of some of G’s friends for dinner. He’s a Brit and she’s from S Carolina. Enjoyed a great Southern-style turkey dinner—to which G added a tasty apple crisp—and delightful conversation. Christmas was a quiet day at home, resting up before we returned to doing the tourist thing. That evening the family of one of his roommates descended on the place. After much cheek-kissing and a little Spanish conversation, G and I escaped the smoke and took to the streets to view some of the Christmas lights. Madrid really does put up a lot. G said there was an article in the paper not long before I came about an estimated 1+ billion (yes, that's what he said--billion with a "b"-- but that just can't be right) bulbs that're up around town. Anyway, they're pretty.

We toured the palace at El Escorial, which was definitely worth the trip back up there. I think my favorite part was the library—very impressive. We went through the palace in Madrid, too. Very different feel, but equally remarkable. We spent a day in Segovia, which wasn’t long enough. We got a bit lost and happened upon the "Casa del Sol" museum about 40 minutes before it closed. It had some really good exhibits and explanatory videos which certainly deserved a lot more time than we were able to give them. Then we spent quite a bit of time in the Alcázar, the fortress-castle. (This is the one that inspired Disney’s Cinderella castle.) With only a little time remaining before everything closed, we decided to go into the cathedral, which meant we had to bypass other things I really would have liked to see. Last, but certainly not least, we went to the aqueduct (built by the Romans), which was helpful to see AFTER the exhibit at the museum. Wow. We had hoped to sample one of the specialty dishes, roast suckling pig, but our bus back to Madrid left at 9:30 pm and none of the restaurants started serving dinner until 8:30. By the time we were leaving, the tourist buses were gone and the Segovians were coming out to walk around, visit, dine, etc. What can I say about Segovia? If you’ve been there, you understand; if not, be sure to add it to your itinerary when you come to Spain.

Gosh, this is so banal: here’s where I went; this is what I saw. It’s just that in this brief space I can’t begin to describe how awe-inspiring all of this is: the art, especially the unbelievable detail of so much of it; the views; the history; the age of everything; and so much more. What an incredible experience this has been! I took a bunch of pictures –not that I have a clue what I’m doing with a camera, but to refresh my memory in years to come…mm, and yes, also to bore some of you lucky ones with travelogues.

I’ve had an opportunity to see brief glimpses of everyday Spanish life, staying with an older Spanish widow and with a group of young singles. I’ve traveled via subway, slow trains, fast trains, intra- and inter-city buses. I’ved had cañas and tapas in neighborhood bars as well as churros and chocolate (You dip the deep-fried churros into sort of like warm chocolate pudding) and jamón and bocadillos and mazapan and tortillas (not like what I'm used to at home at all--these are potato omelets). I’ve eaten more olives than I thought possible. Did I mention watching G’s roommate’s Galician boyfriend cook their Navidad specialty: whole octopus? The ink make the water dark purple and gave the apartment an, um, interesting smell. A group of friends came over and we shared it on a communal plate, chopped up and served with the onions and potatoes it boiled with.

G’s a charming host and a consistently excellent and imaginative chef with a growing repertoire of dishes. He and I have spent a lot of time together—more than we have in many years—and, as incredible as everything I’ve seen has been, that’s the best part of this whole trip. Of course, since he plans to remain in Europe for awhile, I don’t know when I’ll see him again, so that’s difficult, but he has made this an absolutely incredible time for me.

I’ll try to figure out how to add some of the photos to this blog without making it take so long to load that you fall asleep. Maybe I’ll do that while I sit waiting in airports. (I just figured out my 5-hour Philadelphia layover will be between 1 and 6 a.m. Madrid time—oh, boy!)

Well, time to go. I think we’re headed for a last visit to Sol and/or Retiro.