She's Just a Small Town Girl

Living in Bollullos Par del Condado can almost make you forget that there are bigger cities in the world. But I know better. So why did coming to Madrid strike me as utterly demasiado, although riveting?

I arrived in Madrid a few days ago visiting a friend, and en route back home for the holidays. Ideally when traveling, you wanna get an early start on the day, but mine started around 2pm yesterady and today. Shameful? Perhaps, but I plan to come back. There is so much to see. From the museums: Prado, Reina Sofia, Thyssien; to the Plazas, the districts, the royal palace... it goes on and on and on and on...

It's kind of crazy too to be in a "foreign" city and realize you know a couple of people either through like a third party or just people you've known. Apparently dancing in high school and getting a masters in international relations had a lot to do with knowing people who were here. I don't really live for travel books, so I look forward to their suggestions and recommendations, albeit knowing that I'll come to my own conclusions and probably walk an unbeaten path that gets me to an interesting photo or a place even the inhabitants of the city haven't been.

In short, Madrid overwhelmed me in a way that Bollullos could not. I've come to appreciate that I will almost always run into someone I know in Bollullos. It kind of gives you the feeling of small-town stardom. But I'd missed the diversity of the big city. The luxury of not being stared at. The convenience of the metro. Interior heating... need I say more. And yet, I feel a slight nostalgia for Huelva and Andalucia. We'll see if I still feel that way after three weeks at home. Can't wait for Noche Buena, Christmas, and New Years, and at the end of it all returning to Madrid to catch what I missed on this trip from sleeping late and catching up on overdue work.