Madrid and Home

Well, to all of my fellow reader-travelers, I must sadly inform you all that my incredible European travel adventure has come to an end... After 3 months of traveling around Europe I arrived back in the United States on November 8th.

The experience was simply amazing! I met and visited incredible people; saw beautiful landscapes, buildings, and art; learned about diverse and interesting cultures and histories; listened to, learned, and spoke or at least attempted to speak different languages; ate great food and drank well; and learned more about myself, Europe, and the world.


While it would still be nice to be "on the road" and traveling around, I have to admit that it is nice to be home, be with family and friends, and sleep in my own bed... Traveling for 3 months while living out of a backpack, changing beds every few nights, and trying to navigate foreign lands and languages was beginning to become a bit tiring, both physically and mentally... However, I would not not give up the experiences of the past 3 months for anything. It all was truly priceless....

Before we depart from our "travels" together I am going to recap my final days in Madrid, Spain and then briefly address what is on the horizon...

Madrid is a great cultural city with a interesting mix of old and new. After the end of Civil War and the death of Franco, the new Spain embraced the opportunity to forge a new identity which includes its royal and powerful past and its new and modern identity.

I spent a great deal of time in art museums: the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza, and the Reina Sofia. In my opinion, Madrid may have some of the best art and art collections in all of Europe. Some of the well known works I saw were by Velazquez and Goya (both Spanish painters), El Greco (claimed by the Spanish but he really was Greek), Botticelli, van Dyck, Durer, Bruegel and Bosch. Some of the more modern artists were Picasso (I saw his famous "Guernica"), Salvador Dali, Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Hopper, Pollock and Rothko among many other famous and lesser-known artists...

Unlike Barcelona, Madrid had more of a "Spanish" feel to it. I wandered around the city and saw sights such as Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real (Royal Palace), Parque Del Buen Retiro, the Templo de Debod and Centro del Sol which marks Kilometer 0 and is the starting point of 6 national highways and from which all distances are measured from in Spain .

I had some very tasty tapas and other traditional or local dishes at a restaurant near my hostel and of course I sampled the local cervezas or canas (beer).

My time in Madrid was very relaxing and a good way to wrap up my travels. On November 8th I left Madrid and flew to Dublin where I changed planes and after a 8.5 hour flight landed in Chicago where my lovely parents were waiting for me.

So what is next for me? Well, as my mother correctly likes to say: "You can take the boy out of Wisconsin, but you can't take Wisconsin out of the boy!" She is right... I look forward to spending the upcoming holidays catching up with family and friends and sharing my experiences from my trip. I will also be taking some time to get out into the woods and hunt. Hunting will provide ample time for me to think about and process my trip experiences as well as give me time to think about the future (I typically spend between 6-8 hours a day sitting in the woods watching trees, squirrels, and little birds, providing me with hours of prime "thinking" time). Shortly after the New Year I hope to find a job so that I can start "contributing to society" and finally enter the "real world."

That's about it for now... Don't be too depressed yet though. This will not be my last blog post. I plan to have one more concluding/summary post within the next few weeks to finalize my travels and experiences.

It was one incredible, once in a lifetime adventure and I hope you enjoyed following along and being a part of it!

Take care and Happy Thanksgiving!
NPL

P.S. See above for pictures from Madrid!