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On the Road Again
Heat Wave
By the end of September, I was totally over the Californian summer heat and ready for cooler weather. Selina told me it was starting to get autumnal in London and that I should definitely pack warm clothes for my trip. As I arrived at Heathrow Airport with my sweaters, an uncharacteristically warm Indian summer hit London. I started to complain about my plight but stink eyes from sun-deprived natives shut me up faster than you could say “SPF 45″. The weather widget on my laptop indicated LA was diving into the low 70s while Hyde Park was getting littered with half-naked people tanning, rowing boats, eating ice cream and generally going nuts over the 80°+ temperature.
By the time I got to Madrid, it was even hotter. I spent 5 days darting from shade to shade like some kind of vampiric night creature. The weather did start to cool off back in London as I got ready to return to LA where, of course, there was now a heat wave. My greatest desire was to get away from the heat and I ended up following its waves across several lands.
Back in LA, I went straight to the Vortex that is my parents’, where they currently co-habitate with my younger sister, her husband, their 5-month-old baby and my baby brother. I call it the Vortex because, once I enter, it’s tough to get out. I morph into a 12-year-old boy: inhale all available junk food, watch videos and play games all night long, shuffle into the kitchen around noon, repeat. A bag of Sunchips, half a box of LU Petit Ecoliers, 2 Dove ice cream bars, 1 cheese-pizza-diet-Coke combo and an enchilada dinner later (i.e. 2.5 days), I somehow made my getaway.
Sunday at the Park
Live saxophonist performing a duet with saxophonist in a video at the Serpentine Gallery (Anri Sala)
The V&A
Primrose Hill
Southbank Centre ... Yup, that's underwear on the clotheslines.
Pipilotti Rist at the Hayward Gallery
Ryan Reynolds is stuck
Left
Amazing
Like this:
Crystal Palace Park
An idle afternoon with Mr. and Mrs. Stewart:
Breakfast of champions
In Catherine and Nick's backyard
The prehistoric megaloceros
Nick and Sir Joseph Paxton
Mr. and Mrs. Stewart
Table for One
Some stuff I ate and drank in Madrid. Along with actual meals, there were many cervezas, vinos and cafes and even more aguas con gas (sparkling water) in between, mainly because my feet were killing me and beverages are generally an acceptable payment for chair rental and bathroom usage.
Happiness on a half shell
Beer and Bible with a side of chips
Taco and iPhone with a shot of mescal
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day
Pizza roll-up
Like this:
Madrid, in General
I did't have a map or internet connection when I first landed in Madrid. All I had was a hand-drawn route to a bus station with Domino's Pizza as a landmark. Street signs aren't so clear in Europe, I find, so imagine my private joy when I saw this!
Museo Nacional del Prado
CaixaForum
Cathedral de la Almudena | Palacio Real
La Latina
La Latina Neighborhood | Museo Reina Sofía
Museo Reina Sofía
Chandelier in the cafe at Casa Encendida
Mariachi band at Puerto del Sol
Plaza Mayor
(Puerta del) Sol Metro Station
Barrio de las Letras
Barrio de las Letras
Barrio de las Letras (those are flamenco shoe forms)
1€ gets you in to the 3-days of alternative designers and performances at Mercado Nomada
Mercado Nomada
Dusk on Calle de las Huertas
Some info on places mentioned here:
Mercado Nomada
La Casa Encendia
El Campo de Cebada
Like this:
American Girls
I got on the Metro with the intention to go home from the opera house but I got off at a stop midway. My feet seem to be calibrated in such a way that I can’t turn corners or, horror of horrors, turn around. I walked a straight line away from the Metro station, and just walked and walked. I stopped at a random, nondescript restaurant, having already passed a few that looked pretty good. There were three American girls sitting outside the restaurant chatting enthusiastically in that peculiar American Girl way. It was only as I was settling in at a nearby table that I realized I decided on that particular restaurant because I wanted the comfort of familiar sounds for awhile. The girls left as I took my first bite of bland fried calamari.
Togetherness
The temperature in Madrid has been cloyingly hot. I know I’m the jerk for complaining about nice weather but I packed for cool weather and I feel just a little miserable walking around without proper sun protection on exposed skin and too much fabric covering the other bits.
The heat finally let up today, though. In the cool of the evening breeze, a stranger and I warmed a bench in silence for an hour. Sandwiched between the opera house and the Metro station, we didn’t talk or exchange looks but we were fully aware of each other and aware of the fact that we were experiencing a slice of life together, taking it in however it displayed itself before us: pigeons, teenage lovebirds, weather-worn elderly couples, pigeons, teeter-tottering toddlers, rollerblading show-offs and more pigeons. We acknowledged the time together with a nod and “chau”s as I got up to leave.
A Taco by Any Other Name
I’m feeling anxious about being in a random hole-in-the-wall faux taqueria by myself. I have no idea where I am, not that knowing would do me much good. I kept trying to avoid familiar things all day and now I’m getting ready to eat a taco. Well, at least it’s my first time doing a shot of mescal, and I have no idea what kind of taco I’ve ordered. I find that I do so many things without fully understanding or having a clue because I don’t bother (too scared?) asking.
—
Turns out the taco was simple, flavorful and satisfying and the mescal had a great smokey flavor that smolders up the throat. I ordered another shot.
—
Botoca De La Taqueria
Palma 2, Malaña
The Incredibly Short Life Span of Gratitude
It’s stunning to be alive when you come upon new discoveries and the sense of wonder seizes you. It’s equally amazing, and puzzling, how quickly that feeling dissipates as the dust settles back on the world.
Palacio Real
Catedral de la Alumudena
I have so many more photos of this place -- I could not stop taking pictures!
Then I stumbled on to this magical place
... and ate these magical things.
What I Did This Summer: California Dreamin’ VI
San Francisco
San Francisco Library
My favorite of the photos I took in SF
Homeward bound
