iTunes Shuffle All Live Blog Challenge

I'm partially cleaning my kitchen while trying to figure out what all I need to have ready for the Italian dinner tomorrow night some friends and I are putting on.  Since I have complete brain fry from attempting to figure out a code block that isn't conforming to either Max(value) or row() partition I needed to get out of my head onto something a little more creative.  Just shy of 5,000 songs in my iTunes collection, I wondered "Who ever uses shuffle all?"  I use a huge collection of playlists to compile my moods and activities so the shuffle all doesn't appeal to me.  Then it came to me- I'll do a shuffle all and see what comes up.  The rules were simple, no skipping, just write about the song until it ends.

Songs:

1. 'Baby One More Time'- Bowling for Soup.  It's funny the first song on shuffle all happens to be a cover of a song.  While Britney Spears is a lot hotter than Jared and the guys I think they still do an admirable rendition.  The best covers I can think of are Rufio's 'Like a Prayer', GodSmack with 'Rocky Mountain Way' and Alien Antfarm just killed the Micheal Jackson Classic 'Smooth Criminal'.  Not a bad start, I'll have to add some Rufio and Alien Antfarm to my workout mix.  What ever happened to Bowling for Soup, I like the comedy rock and I feel like I've seen them at Taste of Addison or Richardson Wildflower Festival, or some other local event.  If I recall they put on a great show, then again it could have been third eye blind, I wasn't really paying attention.

2. 'Int'l Player's Anthem'- OutKast with UGK.  A great song about Andre falling in love with a bass line that hits soooo hard.  "My partner yelling too soon, reconsider, read some literature. Keep your heart 3 stacks, keep your heart, play your part 3 stacks".  It reminds me of when I had a system in my explorer and Josh and I would hit up every bar in Addison on a thursday night.  The song still holds true.  The singing melody works great with the lazy flow of the ATL and Houston kings.  Still love the southern rap, speaking of southern rap... Where's Mike Jones (who) been?

3. 'Tunnel Vision'- Justin Timberlake.  A pretty middle of the road song for Timberlake.  Timberland does the beat and has the backing vocals.  It seems like they would do a techno re-mix of it that would be a lot more popular.  It's a radio song, I don't really have any opinion on it.

4. 'Since I've been Loving You'- Led Zeppelin.  One of my favorite songs from their catalogue.  I have to be in a certain mood for Zepplin but this song is great.  I bet the Black Keys could do an amazing cover.  'Little Black Submarines' has elements of it, the voice though, Jimmy Page wails like no other.  Controlled chaos, his tone matches exactly with the ups and downs of his emotional state while writing the lyrics.  I wasn't always a Led Zeppelin fan, but this was one of the songs that drove me to others and really listen to them.  Probably top 5 of my Zepplin favs; 'Hey, Hey, What can I do' is number one followed by 'Babe I'm going to Leave You', 'Going to California', and 'Rock and Roll'.  John Marshall and I used to crank this up as we left Cory's lake house and headed downtown to party. 

5. 'My Best Friend' Tim McGraw.  Huh.  Meh, very, very Meh.  Sometimes I think iTunes throws some karma stuff in your download.  "What was that, you just downloaded 100 rap songs that say "bitch" 58 times, "fuck" 92, and reference Killing a white person 1,015 times- You sir, now have a complete Tim McGraw album in your collection.  No need to thank us, we're just the musical halls of Justice..."

6. 'Kill Yourself'- Timbaland.  Timbaland's second appearance on the shuffle.  This time it's a track from his own album.  When shockwave first came out I really liked it, this was song that was just alright on it.  Nothing too great but not horrible.  I like the Red Queen from Resident Evil starting out; personally I think the song would be a lot better without the lyrics.  It would make for a great underwater exploration track or the scene from Prometheus where the Engineer is standing next to the waterfall.  But without the lyrics, no lyrics. 

7.'White' -Odd Future/ Frank Ocean.  Tough to put into a box.  Frank Ocean has a great voice and lyrically it's very good.  I like how it's different from most everything that comes out these days.  The sound and lyrics aren't trying to be different for the sake of being different.  It's just how and what Frank feels.  That's a nice change of pace iTunes.

8.'Letters to God'- Boxcar Racer.  Blink that's not really Blink.  When Mark and Tom couldn't get along anymore they split and formed about 20 different bands; Travis played in all of them.  Boxcar Racer was the most successful and my personal favorite of the Blink off shoots.  Jacob and I would crank it up during drives to the lake house or to Dallas, Lani and I would listen to it when we'd head to Bennigan's to drink and Neil and I would sing it loud at her parents place.  'Letters to God' reminds me of all of those great times, man I miss 2002 in Austin.  

9. 'Superstar'- Lauryn Hill.  Remember when you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing Lauryn Hill?  I always thought 'Superstar' was vastly underrated on the Miseducation album.  She sings, she raps, there is a harp, and it's got a one, one, two beat that you can tap your foot too.  "Come on baby light my fire, everything you drop is so tired. Music is supposed to inspire, how come we ain't getting no higher".  I'm guessing it's lack of popularity could be in direct correlation to how horrible the grammar is, but what do I know...  I still dig it.

10. 'Joker' -Steve Miller Band.  Shoot me now.  Besides Jimmy Buffett I don't think there's a more generic 70's song lacking of creativity.  Maybe it was good when it first came out, now it just makes my ears bleed. I picture a bunch of sorority girls floating the river with $6 straw cowboy hats from the convenience store drinking Bud light with Coach purses sealed in a $95 clear waterproof bag from REI.  No. Thank. You.

11. 'I am Mine'- Pearl Jam.  One of my claims to fame is going to the first Lollapalooza with Matt Duran in the 4th grade.  Back then the Edge was 94.5, Pearl Jam was unknown, and you had to line your quarters up on the arcade ledge to have "next" at Street Fighter II.  At some point along the way I couldn't stand Pearl Jam.  I guess it was one of those idiotic thoughts a teen has about how a band was "yours" and then you hear them on top 40 stations right after 'Red, Red, Wine'.  Something like that drove me from them.  I never would have come back around for them if it weren't for Randy.  He threw all his music on a SSD and then gave me the hardcopy CD's.  A similar night like this happened and 'Immortality' came on.  Ever since then I've little by little come back around on them.  Eddie Vedder did the soundtrack for 'Into the Wild', after watching it I downloaded the whole thing.  It's taking me longer than I would have thought but Pearl Jam and I have made up.

12. 'Addiction'- Kanye West.  Kanye.  Like most people I despise Kanye as a person.  His tracks on the other hand are, for the most part, awesome.  "Why everything that 'posed to be bad make me feel so good" (see Lauryn, Kanye can jack up grammar like it's nobody's business and score a hit, why couldn't you?).  I guess graduation was the last lyricists album he did, pretty much everything after that was made for the club or hits with some flashes of brilliance.  Ana turned me onto 'Street Lights' from the 808 album and I still like it, but it's his older stuff that I love.  Kanye, why do you have to be such a tool?  Northwest?  Really?  Number one in confidence, number 1,000,000 in intelligence.... sigh...

13. 'Zero Dark Thirty'- Aesop Rock.  Not Aesop Rocky, Aesop Rock.  A jewish hip hop MC along the lines of Evidence, Dilated Peoples, Del, and the like.  He's part of the lyricst groups that have a good beat but what they say is more important.  It's intellectual hip hop.  While Rick Ross talks about eating 24/7 these guys use references from 19th century literature and Stanley Kubrick Movies instead of rapping about weed and cars for the 8,000 time.

14. 'New Wave'- Against Me.  I've never heard this song before in my life.  oh, wait... yup, yup I have.  I knew the band from the song 'Trash Unreal' which describes in detail the kinds of girls I usually date.  I like this song.  It's nothing groundbreaking but it has a nice chorus and a simple 3 chord melody.  I'd have more of a connection with it if it came out in 2002.  I think they were just a little late in getting their record deal.

15. 'I'm not your Boyfriend Baby'- 3Oh3.  ah 30h3.  They always remind me of Linzie, she loved them so much.  When I was hanging out with Melanie and Heather a lot they told me this story about an incident at Vernon's where Heather got into it with a girl who then threw a schooner at her since the guys with her were holding her back from charging Heather.  The story soundeded... well, crazy as hell.  About a week later I met Linzie at Logan's and we hit it off.  A week goes by and we are both at Logan's as Melanie comes in to meet me.  She instantly recognized Linze as the girl that threw the schooner.  The moral of this story is that I have Awesome friends; 2 separate girlfriends that will fight at the drop of a hat and throw a giant beer schooner, if necessary.

16. 'Showerhead'- Eve6.  I loved, love, Eve 6.  I think I listened to their whole first album on repeat as I drove from Dallas to Kansas one December in 1999.  It seems like every so often they would creep up and have another song that everyone would love ('Think Twice' and 'Here's to the Night' come to mind) and then disappear again.  I guess Fallout Boy learned from them and having a ginger lead singer leads to immediate downfall with no staying power on the charts.  Fallout did smart move to have Pete Wentz as the frontman, the music industry has no love for the ginger.

This was pretty fun, I'll have to do it again.  Maybe tomorrow night for the dinner I'll do it and record what everyone says about some of the songs, that could be fun. 

España- Barcelona and Love

Barcelona from our hotel rooftop

Barcelona.  You know when you hear a song and it brings you back to a memory that forces you to smile because of how much that memory means to you?  When I hear the word "Barcelona" my body radiates with happiness.  Before going to Spain everyone that had travelled to Spain told me I would fall in love with Madrid and think Barcelona was just alright.  I had the opposite experience and from talking with my travel partners they did as well.  Maybe all of the mitigating factors possible fell into place at one time.  Similar to a dinner where the combination of the food, the wine, and the company can make the experience better than any Michelin starred restaurant on it's best day, Barcelona was more than I ever hoped for.

The hotel was perfect.  We stayed at the Eurostars BCN Design (http://www.eurostarsbcndesign.com/en/hotel.html) and from the moment we arrived the staff was friendly and welcoming.  Our previous hotels had treated us with indifference, this was a nice change.  Everyone was exhausted from the day's events.  A long stressful morning followed by Mikee and I running with the bulls in Pamplona and all of us being neck to neck for so long was wearing on us emotionally.  Going to our respective rooms the first order of business was showering.  Maily and I unpacked,  I poured some wine, and then I was jumping in the shower to clean up.  After we were all clean we walked around the neighborhood to see what was there.  Barcelona was the first part of the trip that didn't have a set schedule.  Everything could be off the cuff which allowed us to do whatever we wanted.  The first night we were there we bought some beer, wine, and liquor hoped on the roof of our hotel to take in the events so far.

Staying in Passeig de Gracia has it's advantages; the Casa Batllo and Gaudi Museum are both located on it, numerous restaurants, the Metro stop is across the street, and for those that love to shop you have every store in site.  It also has it's disadvantages.  Fine dining comes at a premium and charge an additional 20% to your bill if you want to sit outside.  The views are amazing and the temperature begs you to sit outside so it's hard to resist.  Some of those restaurants have horrible service; they know it's a tourist or ritzy section so they can treat you like shit.  We had the worst dinning experience at Navarra where our waiter actually took off down the street to eat dinner leaving us wondering.  The supermarkets and vendors also charge more since they are flanked by the likes of Hermes, Chanel, Blvgari, and Cartier.  I think it's one of the best places to stay while visiting Barcelona, but you have to be aware of the above.

Barcelona has so much to do.  My favorite attraction we saw was Sagrada Familia.  The basilica is incomplete and started development in 1882 by Antoni Gaudi.  I wondered how something started so long ago could still remain unfinished, but once you're there you understand the level of detail.  For anyone planning on going- buy your tickets online.  We did the day of and when we arrived the line to get in was well past 3hrs.  Purchasing them online means you walk right up and hand them your ticket and walk in.  No one should wait 3 hrs+, don't be an idiota.

Sagrada Familia is one of the few places that you could go back to every week and catch something new each time.  The attention to detail is unreal.  Everywhere you look something new sticks out to you.  The outside of the church is in stark contrast to the the inside structure whose design was based in things Gaudi saw in nature.  It has an oddly refreshing feel for a 100 year old church.
Outside has some of the most intricate stone carvings depicting various Christian themes.  Inside.... Inside feels warm.  Insides does feel like nature, but it also makes you feel something special within yourself.  It was interesting to walk around and hear other people discuss it.  Some didn't think it looked how a church should look while others were able to see it's beauty.  Not being a religious person, I appreciate it for what it was; a beautiful vision designed to showcase the love Gaudi felt towards God.

Neither my words nor the pictures could ever do it justice.  You have to see it in person to fully grasp it's magnificence.

After spending a few hours taking everything in we split up for a few hours.  I took off to see Camp Nou, the home of Messi, and my friends went to shop for souvenirs.  Once we met back up we went to the Arc d'Triumph.  The park where it is located is very nice.  People of all sorts were running, walking their dogs, rollerblading, and just hanging out.  We bought an assortment of beer as we took in another beautiful architectural delight.  The day was complete with a very nice dinner where we all went to a spot Maily and I had previously found by accident, Pirineus.  The night Felica and Mikee had their romantic couples dinner Maily and I took off on the metro to the Gothico section of the city in search of a tapas bar recommended by a stranger.  We never found it, but we found Pirineus instead (about a block from metro stop Joanic).  The food was made with love and the service was family.  A neighborhood restaurant founded in 1935 where they mange to do everything right.  The first night we tried about 5 different items including an octopus entree.

The night we took Felica and Mikee we must have ordered triple the number of items from our first night.  Chorizo, boquerones en vinagre, croquettes, iberian ham, and a hundred other things lined the table.  Rioja wine was plentiful and lemon beer was served.  I'm pretty sure everything we saw at the aquarium a few days before was now being served to us here.  The meal was topped off with creme brulee ice cream and a healthy dose of Cutty Sark was splashed on top.










Due to a scheduling snafu Felica and Mikee were off to Madrid to catch their flight while Maily and I had another day to kill in Barcelona.  This day was more of a rest and recoup day.  I had a monster blister on my hobbit feet and was drained from my lack of sleep so we took it easy.  We moved hotels closer to the airport in a central neighbor where huge apartment complexes dominated the sky line with parks placed in the center.  We found a great little bistro to have dinner out on a street corner.  At one point a few showers started and those of us without umbrellas above our heads scooted our tables to share with those that did.  It was a perfect ending to the trip.

Looking back on it now I have a lot of different thoughts and emotions about certain events than I had at that time.  Everything is more positive and less stressful.  Spain is many things to me and each region has developed it's own uniqe character.  The first two words that come to mind are romance and beauty.  The architecture is romantic, the beach is beautiful.  The people are beautiful and the countryside is romantic. I guess they go hand in hand, but not necessarily in the traditional sense.  I relate most experiences to songs but there isn't one that encompasses all that Spain was to me.  When I was on the plane to Spain the song that I kept listening to was 'Rising Up' from the Roots but that was pre-trip and for some reason it doesn't make me think of Spain at all.  It was one part 'Ancora' by Ludovico Einaudi.  It was also 'Just One Yesterday' from Fall Out Boy, it had elements of Vicente Fernandez 'Me Voy A Quitar De En Medio' with equal parts Angels and Airwaves 'Everything is Magic' and a small part of 'My Last' from Big Sean.  I think of happiness when remembering the local girl in Pamplona dancing without regard to the street musicians, joy when we were walking in San Sebastian and the city opened up to the Bay of Biscay, serenity when I toured the city solo and ended up with the beach on one side of me and people practicing hard flips on the other while I drank a lemon beer, amazement at Sagrada Familia, and love for the country when I left.

The Video I made on YouTube of Spain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKmTFrxm158

The Run of Runs

July 7th 2013 Miguel Alva and I ran with the bulls in Pamplona Spain.  After the craziest party on the planet for the opening ceremonies we weren't exactly sure what to expect.  Four minutes after it started we were finished and Mikee said it best "Screw those guys that run a 5k and say it's hard, this is the real shit".

We left our hotel to head to the square; the bus was packed with people from 18- 50 getting off to go home from the previous days activities at 5:30am.  It was obvious they had been drinking all day and night but the majority were not drunk or visibly intoxicated.  The majority of the Spanish drink differently than we (Americans) do.  I have to chalk that up to a cultural difference.  In the states we treat alcohol as a necessary evil but also as a milestone reward.  At 16 you can drive, at 18 you are considered an adult worthy of making life changing decisions such as joining the military or voting on the candidate you think should run our country.  BUT, you can't drink alcohol until the magical age of 21.  The Spanish, and most European countries, consider wine and drink a part of their culture.  Local and regional vineyards are proud of their vintages and children are brought up with that connection to wine from a young age.  I think this integration with alcohol as part of their life instead of a glorified taboo puts them in a significantly better position to handle drinking on every scale.
 
Arriving at the specified corner next to Hemingway's bar where we were to meet Jeff and Richard at 6:00am the realization on how difficult this could be crept in.  Plastic bottles, broken glass from dropped 40oz of San Miguel, paper strewn about from food vendors, and worn red scarves dotted the streets of the old town.  The streets were covered in trash and wet.  The city square and subsequent area was still partying from the previous day. When I first viewed the course online I thought an 825 meter run wasn't going to pose a challenge.  Playing competitive soccer 3 nights a week and having some decent sprinting speed I was more worried about the people in front and around me falling.  Having been in a few riots here and there your biggest challenge in avoiding injury is someone falling in front of you and dragging you down.  With the mixture of ages, sobriety levels, and experience I knew this was the x factor I was most concerned about.  The morning of the run we were presented with another challenge.  In addition to the to the uphill uneven terrain the street was soaked.   To clean the route Pamplona uses mini zamboni like street cleaners that push all of the trash to the side and spray water to wash away the spilled beer, sangria, and urine.  We looked at the route from the top with standing puddles of water now in our path.  Make sure that another spectator didn't take us out or we didn't slip ourselves was now added to the equation.  The morning had been long due to some other complications, checking out of our hotel and the lack of sleep was mixed in with all of this while Mikee and I talked pre-run strategy.

Mikee and I started up a conversation with 2 Englishman and an Irishman who were standing near us.  Jeff and Rodger aren't here and we can't seem to find them.  As the police came they started blocking off the side streets while the expectation grew.  This made the event real.  No matter what happened from then on out I would be able to say that I ran with the bulls in Pamplona Spain.

While the police were blocking off the side sections they were also tossing people off the course that were too drunk or had cameras out taking pictures.  Camera's are not allowed during the run and I found out why later.  Regardless, my camera was in my pocket and I had planned to snap a few during the run.  The police then started blocking off the the course section by section to clean it while pushing us towards the finish point.  As this was happening we eventually were forced out of the course.  A moment of panic set in- we had to find a way back into the course to run.  No way in hell was I going to plan the trip, get there, be so close, and then miss out at the last second.  There was a huge train of people as our group ran down the streets to left and hit each blockade of police trying to sneak in.  Run to blockade, 10 or 15 would squeeze through then the police would block it, run to the next one and the same thing.  Finally, right after dead man's curve, we found an opening and snuck in.  Relief

Dead man's curve & the TV Cameras

They packed everyone in a very tight area so the TV crew could get some good shots of us. Nut to butt, we heard "make a hole" (or the Spanish equivalent) and a priest with the mayor of pamplona passed through us as the police pushed us against each other, making an already crowded area unbearable. Hot, sweating, frustrated, and angry for being packed so tight for so long an Aussie guy pulls out a rocket he had hidden.  The crowd moves away frightened as he threatens to light the wick.  He does this for 5 or 10 seconds.  Everyone is freaking out- this drunk guy has a 1 foot tall by 4" diameter rocket that he's going to light in a crowd of packed people who can't get away from it.  He lights the fuse;  it makes a small pop and confetti goes everywhere. Up until that moment the tension of being packed and the fear of being trampled was showing on everyone's face.  I doubt he knew it at the time but that Aussie calmed the collective, in the instant the rocket bust with confetti the tension was gone and people looked around at each smiling and laughing in unison.

The police opened the gates ahead of us for the crowd to move along to their spot in the course to start the run.  Mikee and I had been separated in the group earlier and I was next to a large group of black guys from Houston that were Aggies, proudly wearing Texas A&M bandana's.  It was strange and beautiful that of all the people I could be walking next to it was a group of Texans.  We passed a balcony that had a Texas flag hung where a family was set up to watch the run.  In true Texas fashion the father had a camo hat on while one of the kids wore a Tyler's sporting good shirt.  Our groups cheered and waived to each other as the mother yelled with a large smile "Good luck boys, and God Bless" while the father echoed her statement with another smile as he raised his glass of beer to us.  The kids cheered and yelled "Go TEXAS!"

 Mikee and I found each other and he decided he would move farther up in the course closer to the stadium.  I have a weird thing with superstitions and intuitions.  I'm a believer that your mind and body tells you things sometimes and you need to listen.  I had a feeling I should stay right where I was by dead man's corner.  I also know this feeling could have been complete bullshit, brought on my an adrenaline rush of preparing to run from bulls and 4 hours of sleep.  Either way I stayed put.  A guy in his mid 20's was standing next to me from England and we talked a little as we waited.  The anticipation in situations like that is hard to explain.  You have to balance the adrenaline, excitement, and uncertainty while focusing on the objective.  Door knockers, base jumpers, and the like understand this.  The rocket goes off and we wait.  A group of runners comes towards us and he asks "You ready?"
"Not yet, they aren't running from the bulls"
"What do you mean?"
"Look at their faces, they are smiling and happy"  he nods and understands.
We wait as they pass by us.  There aren't any bulls behind them.  The next group of guys comes running towards us.  Their faces scream terror, this group of guys is running for their lives.
"Here we go" I say to the Englishman and we join this group and run.
The bulls are behind us, close enough to hear their hooves on the cobblestones at a frenetic pace.  The clapping hooves against the cobblestone gets louder and I feel people behind me peel off to the left or right to become paper thin against the metal gates of the buildings.  An older guy that had been elbowing other runners in the ribs to get to "his" spot is backhanded directly in the face by the motion of another runner who turns sprinting uphill.  It might have been an accident or karma; the forty year old is on his back nursing a bloody nose.  Franticly crawling to the side not to get trampled by the approaching madness he's in tears.  I can almost feel the bulls breathing behind me as I peel off the group just ahead of the old man.  They pass 6 inches from me as I'm sucking in my chest flat as a board pushing backwards against a metal shop gate.  At this instant a guy about 15 feet in front of me on the opposite side snaps a picture.  Either the flash combined with his movement or dumb luck triggers a reaction by the bulls, they turn right and take out the guy and the group he was with.  I had the same plan as that guy.  His mistake was a great lesson I was able to learn by observation instead of application.
The first group of bulls passes and we start running behind them.  The younger bulls are trailing them.  Not near as fast but equally as dangerous.  You try to sprint, it's difficult though.  Without good traction on the wet uneven street you don't have the leverage to push off with all of your force.  You run like a woman who has never sprinted but is trying to learn it, not fully extending your legs and awkward, faster than a comfortable jog but you keep slipping if you go to fast.  Fear or excitement isn't really a factor at this point.  You just kind of run as fast as you are able, focus on what the people in front and next to you are doing and attempt to anticipate them falling while keeping aware of how close the bulls are in relation to the distance of the closest wall to press against.
I see Mikee and yell his name.  He joins me and we continue to run uphill towards our goal.  We see people fall, a few people get trampled, I see a guy fall and the bull steps on his ankle with 1,000 pounds of force.  Each time this occurs the person screams out while the bull hardly notices and keeps the same pace, barely missing a step.
The younger bulls pass us and we think the run is over so we start jogging.  Then 3 more bulls with handlers running behind wiping them appear.  we let them pass and start walking and talking, completely forgetting about running into the stadium.  As we approach the stadium it hits us and we pick up the pace but it's too late and they have closed the doors.

We walk back to meet to the girls, both of us are covered in sweat.  Smiles a million miles long with heart pumping adrenaline we talk about the run.
We both saw so many different things.  The square isn't as full as it was yesterday it's easy to tell those that ran versus the spectators.  We meet Felicia and Maily at the bus station and as we wait we see some of the injured;  One guy, maybe 19 or 20, is flanked with friends on each side unable to walk by himself.  His sock off, unable to put any pressure on a ankle swollen larger than a softball.  It's broken, he just doesn't know it yet.  Others holding ribs from being crushed against a wall, nursing ankles or quads hit that aren't as bad as the first kid.

Four minutes.  From the rocket fires to our finish only 4 minutes have passed.  After seeing the run first hand I now realize how dangerous it is.  So many things can come into play that are beyond your control.  On the way to Barcelona I know I would definitely do it again.  If I lived in Europe I would make this an annual event, sadly though, the cost of getting there and the vacation time used in the process mean I have to chose other destinations that are still on my list before going back to Spain.  Looking back, I still plan on doing it again.  If I ever get married maybe I could convince my wife to honeymoon in Spain and then, it would just happen to fall during San Fermin and I could run again.  Otherwise I just have to plan the trip and find someone else as nutty as me.

España la Tercera Parte

Madness.  Controlled chaos.  Wild beyond belief.  Fun. Pure enjoyment.  These are some of the words I can think of to describe the opening ceremony of San Fermin 2013.  After grabbing some breakfast and a few large glasses of Sangria we headed towards the town square by following the other hundreds of thousands of people.  As you get closer to the square the pace of the crowd slows and the side streets are full of people standing around drinking and listening to music outside of the bars, supermarkets, and restaurants.  Our first priority was to find seating, preferably shaded seating since it was already getting hot.  We lucked out and got a table outside one of the most popular bars. One of the few, we later found out, that actually had a restroom.  My friends secured the table and chairs while I went inside to get drinks.

The bar with the white awning was our spot

 House music mixed with salsa was at the volume just below ear splitting where it reverberates through your body and envelops.  You couldn't help but dance to it uncontrollably.  Here was where I learned another lesson in Spanish women.  As I was semi-dancing and waiting for my Sangria pitcher and lemon beer a beautiful girl came up and started dancing with me.  I had figured out earlier that in Europe you can smile at any girl and they will smile back without the toxic or perplexed look that American women are so found of.  They accept the smile/ nod and complement it with a return smile.  It doesn't mean anything and they and you go back to what you all were doing.  It's a non-verbal way to compliment them and neither party over analyzes it.  I did this as I was waiting in line dancing and this time she came up and danced next to me and then spoke no less than 7,000 words in Spanish at a Bugatti's pace.  Freezing up I said one of the few Spanish phrases I was comfortable saying "No habla Espanol".  At this she motioned her head like sorry and then walked off.  Gentleman.... If this occurs to do not say "I don't speak (insert language)".  Just smile and figure your way through it or drag her off to one of your friends that speaks that language fluently and won't set you up for failure with some line about you being a murder or someone with horrible gas, otherwise known as a female friend.

Average side street

After this defeat I made my way back to our table.  Thankfully the lemon beer, sangria, and drum beats of the Spanish taking over The White Stripes 'Seven Nation Army' quelled this quickly.

We were all sitting there people watching when we met an amazing group of people; Emily, Marina, and Jeff.  They walked by our table and as I was about to say something I heard Jeff speaking English.  We had come to find the majority of people didn't speak or understand English so it was surprising to hear English in an American Accent.  I talked to Jeff and Marina a little and then we eventually all pooled our resources (tables and chairs were in high demand) to hang out.  Jeff and Emily were in the Marines stationed in Germany and Scotland while Marina was from Australia (somewhere near Sydney if I recall correctly) on a three month traveling excursion before heading to the UK for a job.  As the opening ceremonies neared the square was filled with at least 100,000 people with each side street packed to the brim.  It was more people crammed into one small place than I've ever seen.

We all held our bandanas up in the air.  Chants of "ole, ole, ole" and the drum beat of Seven Nation army was playing.  The energy was electrifying.  As far as you could see people had christmas morning smiles in anticipation of the rocket being fired signifying the start of San Fermin.  Once the rocket was off we were pulled into a local drum section as we waited for the girls to use the bathroom.  Then, it was on.

Our group of four was now seven, ready to experience all that San Fermin had to offer.  Quick to notice carrying outside beer and alcohol to the bars was acceptable and the norm we started with purchasing a gallon of Sangria and a bag of ice then turned down a random street and into the first.

Maily, Emily, Felicia, and Marina

The first song we heard was a dance/techno song we had all heard before (if anyone can remember the name I'd be grateful  My google attempts and then calling Crazy Amy to use her as a personal Shazam app went unfounded).  It fit the mood to a T.  The atmosphere was fantastic, everyone in the bar was dancing and cheering.  We all knew the song by the beat- then the voice came on and it was in Spanish.  Pretty obvious to everyone else, but we were all caught by surprise.  The tempo and tone matched what we felt and we flowed with the music.  After a few songs and non-stop dancing we were off again to see what else the city of Pamplona had to offer.

Jeff, Mario, and Maily

"Maaaaaaaaido".  Standing near a park Mario and Luigi were all too ready to have their picture taken for a euro or two.  We hung out with some guys from the Spanish military and then Emily, Marina, and I went off to find some more fun while Jeff took Mikee, Feli, and Maily to the stadium to purchase seats for the bull entrance the following day.

The girls and I found a large statue in the middle of an office complex that was dedicated to the San Fermin festival and took some pictures.  After that a local drum line showed up.  They played for what seems like forever.  We watched some local girls sprint up and proceed to dance for eternity; their heads moving organically while lost in the beat of the drums with their hips moving methodically to the taps.  As the crowd grew their sound grew.  This eventually led to Jeff and the rest of the crew finding us locked in a trance of happiness.

Drum line

Random, Marina, Emily, me

After coming down from euphoria, we kept walking to see what else was out there.  Each alleyway was more packed than the last.  Numerous bars and people continued to line the streets.  Drenched in sweat and starving we all decided we needed food.

There was an area of town that we had become pretty familiar with away from the city square.  We all figured this would be our best chance of finding some sustenance.  Our first stop was a local bistro that was packed with a two hour plus wait.  Next door to it lay a chinese restaurant.

Marina, a local, and Emily

Wearily I followed my friends inside and we were sat without a wait.  In a city that has one million plus imports for the festival something was wrong with this picture (besides eating chinese fast food in Pamplona).  Once we sat down we understood why. Somehow they managed to keep the temperature inside about 15 degrees warmer than the 85 degree outside temperature.  The group, less Emily and I, chose to order their food to-go.  "I looked at the menu and I didn't see General Tso's chicken or Orange Chicken or anything I liked".  Her words were the most beautiful thing I could hear at that exact moment in time.  With that Emily and I were off to find something, anything, else to eat.  We left the rest, using the bus station as our rally point.  After some mis-steps and a slight detour or two we ran into a fair (I'm still sad we didn't go on the ferris wheel).  There we found food.  Good food.  We each had a beer and some chorizo links on a fresh baguette with mustard.  This was way better than whatever Chinese/ Spanish food our friends settled for.  The only failure was on the french fries that Emily tried.  I think they might have been for decoration or made that moring and then used as decoriation since we didn't order them and they kind of looked like a center piece to a ham sculpture but overall it was exactly what we were looking for.  We took our time eating and talking about life and then made our way back to the RP and in route found Jeff and Mikee heading our way looking for us.

Our group made its way back to the square to see the route Mikee, Jeff, and I would run the following day from the bulls.  We hung out for a little bit longer and then figured out where we would meet Jeff in the morning before parting ways for the night.

It was a perfect end to a wonderful day.  A random occurrence, which- to be honest is usually the best, turned into one of the best days I'd had in a long time.  The music varied by the hour and the neighborhoods leading each of us to our own soundtrack of the day.  Each turn lead to more people and masterpieces of architecture from a city founded in the 1500s.  At some point I'll mix all the video I took and upload it to YouTube, but that won't capture our day.  With each of us having separate yet joined experiences we have so many stories to tell.  There are some days you can't re-create no matter how hard you try.  We have pictures and video to show our friends and family but it's the emotional connection each of us has that makes that memory so special.

*Side note- I just found one of the videos I shot while in the club and the song is 'Play Hard' by David Guetta featuring Ne-yo and Akon.  So.... It wasn't Spanish they were singing and I might have had a little too much to drink at that point.  The beat was originally in the song 'Better off Alone' by Alice DeeJay so I think I was kind of right in my mind, but who am I to judge my memories???  Here's the actual song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dbEhBKGOtY

España la segunda parte

España la segunda parte

It wasn't as hard to wake up Friday as I thought it would be.  We were going to San Sebastian today, only an hour by bus, to hit up the beach and see a different region of Spain.  This Basque city looked amazing from the pictures that I saw.  Once we arrived it was spectacular.

Maria Cristina Bridge

The city looks more beautiful than anything you could imagine.  San Sebastian reminds me of Monte Carlo in some ways.  It's romantic; romantic in the way a bottle of red wine with someone you love is.  Walking through the city you notice the architecture moves around you in a Fur Elise like fashion.  The buildings flow with the emotion of of the city, they envelop you with their ancient stories and then part ways for a cathedral that seems to almost touch the sky.

Good Shepherd Cathedral

We walked through the city looking for the beach and seeing some fantastic sites.  It's pretty easy to find the bay of Biscay, maybe a 15 minute walk from the bus station.  As you approach it the city again opens up exposing another treasure. Surrounded by impressive hotels and sidewalk bistros on one side and a giant statue of Jesus perched upon a hill is the beach.

The view; the way the cove arcs out to the bay, and the Jesus (not Angulo) statue are all reminiscent of a smaller Rio.  The people are just as beautiful and very friendly.  We spent the afternoon on the beach people watching and relaxing.  For me, it was well needed.  We bought some beer at one of the markets on the beach and soaked in some vitamin D.  The scenery was varied but nice; families, singles and couples all enjoyed the beach in unison.

 Around 1500 we gathered our stuff, less one hotel towel we donated to the recycling bin and made our way back to the bus station.  The 1930 bus to Pamplona was booked so we had to wait for the 2020 bus.  This afforded us a little more time to see the city and find something to eat.  We settled on a place near the bus station that didn't seem too pricey.  The bartender spoke enough english to communicate well and the tapas looked really good.  There was a wonderful crab/ langoustine mixture perched atop a baguette that we devoured.  He even had to go tell the cook to make some more since the 4 of us ate all that was offered.  After some mish mash conversation with the guy I inquired about the regional wine.  He had been so hopeful and friendly I assumed he'd point me in the right direction for vino.  I tried some wine for 1,40 EU that he proclaimed was "WAY better than any Tempranillo you've tried".  He was right and with a few glasses of that and a pastry that I picked up from a local bakery in ninja like fashion while the girls were looking for something we were off to bus station for the ride back.
The ride back was a calming one.  The scenery is pleasant which lends itself to thinking.  Or sleeping in Maily and Felicia's case.  It made me wish I had brought along my headphones to listen to something while I took in the Spanish countryside.  While the train ride to Pamplona was more Rachmaninoff concerto no. 2 this  was Schubert's Serenade.  I could definitely move here.

 
Arriving back in Pamplona later than we originally planned we went back to the hotel for a quick change before heading into the city for dinner.  Finding most of the restaurants closing early in preparation for the opening ceremony our food luck ran out and KFC was the only thing open.  They let us know they were almost out of chicken and offered us a mixed bag of food for 19 EU.  I think it consisted of a drum stick or two, two breasts, and 4 tenders.  Next up was a couple drinks.  We stumbled around looking for a place before finally picking one where the locals were outside drinking.  Calling it quits early with visions of the San Fermin opening ceremony we hopped the bus back to the Zizur Mayor district and our Marriott.  The drinks had been cold, the staff was friendly and the night ended very well.

 

España la primera parte

España la primera parte

With so much to talk about that happened in Spain this is going to take a lot more than one entry.  Starting in Madrid, on to San Sebastian, 3 days in Pamplona for the San Fermin Festival, and then finishing up in Barcelona made for very different unique experiences.  I don't have the time or energy to try and combine everything into one massive narration.  Here is the first part and I'll chop up the rest into sections based on the content and allowable time.

The plane ride over wasn't bad at all.  Maily and I had a very engaging, partially fueled by alcohol, conversation.  Her inner fat kid provided numerous snacks (by my last count there were 9 different ones) for our 8+ hour flight and the Flipz had molded into one giant Flip starting its own conversation.

Giant FLIP!!!!

Normally its not difficult for me to sleep on a plane.  Or really anywhere for that matter.  Waking up at 5am CST did nothing to stop my energy level from hovering north of 1,000 all day.  Maily slept for a few hours here and there during the flight between our talks on life.  Even though our differences far outnumber our similarities we make a great sounding board for each.  I took turns listening to Portishead and then watching portions of 'The Dark Knight Rises', 'Act of Valor', and 'Fast 5'.  I guess I was more restless than I usually am and apprehensive about the logistics of how many connections we had to make in Spain travelling between the different regions.
We landed in Madrid at 7am (cst +7) ready to clear customs and drop our bags off at the train station.  The train didn't leave until later that afternoon.  Our plan was to drop off the luggage and then tour around the city.

After dropping the bags we had a quick breakfast at the train station.  This first impression proved to set the mood for Madrid and it's people.
Mikee: Huevos y Bacon por favor

Special Needs Pretty Waitress: (confused look) que?

M: Huevos Y..

SNPW: Si, Huevos...

M: Bacon (pauses) , Bacon (points to it on the menu)

SNPW: oh. BaCON

This was followed by me ordering Leche (milk) and after 15 or so minutes her bringing me a near boiling glass of milk.  Maily explains to SNPW that I wanted a glass of leche frio and she looks confused and takes it away.  I make a joke about her probably putting it in a cooler and will bring the same one out later.  20 minutes later a slightly less boiling and still roof top mouth pizza burn level glass arrives. After this incident we bolted from the train station on pursuit of the city and me worried about ever ordering a glass of milk in Spain again.

The buildings and museums were amazing.  Each time you turn a corner the city reminds you of the 9th grade World History class textbook with photos of palaces, courtyards, and fountains melding together like a classical concerto.

As we passed a historic museum a 700 year old church would be next door.  Europe has a certain feel in the architecture that America can't re-create.  It's not just in the design or the age of the buildings; it's the planning of things that evoke a grand romance with the surroundings.  Lush gardens and huge trees are found downtown.  Even the modern buildings have parks and sculptures.  The city planners worked with the natural landscape greenery instead of leveling it to build thousands of generic square office buildings lacking any sort of creativity.

Mikee and Feli

In the middle of Madrid, after walking around for a couple hours we found a huge park, one that would be torn down in the US to make way for high priced office space.  350 acres of serene beauty make up the Buen Retiro Park.  We found a hill that was shaded by 30' trees on all sides to lay down for a minute and catch our thoughts.  Felicia took a quick nap, Mikee and I people watched and Maily was attempting to solve the worlds global reliance on fossil fuels and deciphering the Voynich manuscript.

Thinking Maily

After our rest, food was in order.  We left the park and found a really cool area near some hostels with multiple restaurants.  It was relatively early for lunch in Spanish terms (12:30) and that may have had something to do with our service.  To call it a train wreck would be kind.  To call the waiter indifferent to our presence would be generous.  The positive take away would be remembering that in Spain the house red wine is always great and always cheap.  Usually 1 Euro and never higher than 2 Euros a bottle of the house wine is regularly found for 3 Euros which is the same price as a small bottle of water.  The term "house" is also significantly different in Spain than in the US.  Some restaurants classify Ripple a house wine here.  In Spain the term house is referred to wine from that region, sometimes made in house and usually made down the road or in the closest village outside the city.  Since it's cheaper to get a bottle of wine than a bottle of water you should enjoy this moment and drink as much and as many different kinds as you can.

Our frustration of the service and other encounters with the local Madrid folks had us angry and a lack of sleep only compounded that frustration.  Madrid beat us down right up until we got on the train.

To all my fellow travelers.  When you can, travel first class. We booked our train tickets online beforehand (the Renfe site is a MESS) in advance and paid about 23 euros for first class.  2nd class was 19,50 euros and the upgrade in cost is well worth it.  Hot towel treatment, a 5 course meal, a half bottle of wine (or 2 if little one next to you doesn't like it), and extremely friendly staff.  Maily slept for the majority of the trip and I was 6 years old again seeing the Grand Canyon.

 I probably woke Maily up every 10 minutes for the first hour excited to see something new: "Look a castle!!!!  A Monastery!  Did you see all those vineyards, did you see the olive tress, what about the city built into the mountain??".  I doubt she'll ever take a train with me again or She will make sure to get noise cancelling headphones beforehand.  Things like that excite me.  After I could tell she was getting annoyed I slipped on my headphones and played some classical orchestra to provide a sound track to the scenery.

Three short hours later we arrived in Pamplona.  Attempted to check in to the wrong hotel, made it to the correct hotel, were again underwhelmed by our food service and then crashed.  When I started my day it was 5am on Wednesday and it was now 1am Friday morning with a 9am wake up to spend the day in San Sebastian.  We were now also well aware that out of everyone we met or had contact with in Spain one person spoke English.  It was going to be a challenge communicating but inspite of the service and the attitudes of the Madrileos we all had high hopes for what was to come.

Madrid Train Station

Madrid

Lessons I Learned today:

• Always ask for the house red
• Never order milk
• No matter how grand the train station is, it will still feel and look like a rock concert port-a-potty
• 1st Class rules
• Not everyone is as excited about the scenery as you are
• Flips melt to epic proportions
• Gummy anything is best on flights
• Huevos Y (insert everything) is on every men and everything is served with eggs
• No one speaks English
• I look Spanish and they think I can speak Spanish.  The Spanish also look white instead of the slightly less dark hispanic complexion that I thought they would.