Begin.

So now that I am finally at my destination, a little better travelled, considerably poorer, and well and truly rounder, I have decided to blog about my trip. 

I had such high hopes in my documentation of my adventure, to create and keep up to a date a blog, but it really was just a whole lot harder than I had anticipated to get it going. For starters, I take too many photos than is good for me, and can never keep up with them all as the travel and new places and new photos on-go, but also, journal writing can be such a tax, even if typing may be faster. I can never much be faffed to spend my evenings sitting on my computer going through photos and regurgitating the days events. Traveling so many places in such a short period of time means doing and seeing things AAAALL the time, I wanna go wander the Istanbul streets for kebabs, or find some sweet lake to swim in in Slovenia, not be sitting and staring at a screen for hours on end. Some people can do it quick and easy - chuck up some photos and have a wee speel, not I my friends, my travel-computer-time is for hostel and travel bookings, skypings, and of course the quick (hmm) Facebook sups. So now I'll do it. When I have time to sit and go through some photos and stories etc.

Europe has been piles of fun, thus far. My first time here and two months in I am still overwhelmed by just how many countries are in an area smaller than Australia's land mass, how easy it is to just pop over to a new county, and how fast. The concept that you can one morning be hanging out in one city and then by the afternoon be in a whole nother county, immersed in an entirely different culture and language. La de da, you're always going to appreciate it coming from New Zealand or Australian though I suppose, especially. I've met a fair few people from various countries within europe on my travels, and every time i do, I pretty much attack them with questions about where they've been and how cool it is that they are so well connected to so many other places, and that they are an EU citizen etc. They usually admit that they should of course take more of an advantage of their connections to the rest of Europe, especially when I explain that my flight from Wellington to Berlin took me on four different planes and a total of 42 hours at the cost of nearly $2500NZ (return). It's always the way though, innit, you never see what's so close to you… because it's so close to you and you have all the time in the world to see it. You say. I suppose it's funny what foreigners think is cool about other countries, and living in other continents. But it works both ways, every time I tell someone I'm from New Zealand, they ether mention either Flight of the Conchords, Lord of the Rings, the haka but MOST commonly, the fact that they have 'heard that you can go ski in the mountains and go to the beach ON THE SAME DAY!', Ha, sure, New Zealand is an anorexic country, you can get from side to side, mountain to beach in a few hours no sweat. Slash who am I kidding, it's most commonly sheep; "oh I hear you have 10 times more sheep then people hahaHA!". Didn't realise that was actually our defining point, go New Zealand. Having travelled so far to get to Europe, it also makes you appreciate the people that you meet from overseas that have been to our fine country. It really is so super isolated. It's far away and expensive to get there, people I meet that have actually made it all the way to New Zealand, instantly get an extra 5 brownie points. That's an effort, and they deserve a damn strong high-5. 

HowEVER, this is not a discussion of origin, nein, it's about destinations and the in-between, and maybe thereafter. I've been to nine different countries before I have finally arrived in Spain, ready to set up my life for the next six months and embark on this university exchange, and I am going to report back on them all. One my one. Read/view if you so desire, I'm not expecting much of it, but I love looking at other peoples travel photos and hearing stories. and this is what this thing shall mainly be. Less writing than this, and a whole lot of images. A platform to open windows to other places around the world, I suppose, as cheese as it sounds. I am no writer, clearly, so here are some see's.

M  A  D  R  I  D

So I have decided to start backwards. 

Madrid is amaze. I love it already. It took me a few days to find somewhere to live, but I was mainly held back by my inability to ring up and enquire about apartments/flats due to my lack of Spanish. It's not quite at the level of a Spaniard phone conversation just yet… and they don't so often speak english. You're always going to have a few issues starting off in a new city I suppose, I went to Melbourne for a few months the summer before last..., but at least I knew some people there. and at least they spoke english. Anyway, found a flat, made some friends, started this language course, drank sangria (not in the language course…although this is mighty fine idea..), saw some protests, found 10 euro, had some fiesta, had some siesta, got lost at uni…. my university is massive. Massive I say. Some facts for you ..

  • It is one of the oldest universities in the world

  • It is (according to wikipedia) the 'topmost' and largest university in Spain

  • There are more than 90,000 students, and 6,000 staff

  • Albert Einstein received his Doctor of Science degree there

  • Our 'o-weekend'…thing, involved a concert that included 'Sigor Ross, Justice, The Killers, 

     Kings of Convenience, The Kooks, etc, which actually took place on campus… although 

     was rather expensive

  • and the campus takes up a whole freaking district in Madrid, plus some of the neighbour district!

Crazy stuff. Universidad Complutense de Madrid everybody. It's cool. There are just students hanging out all the time… and courses haven't even started yet. Slash there are just students, or rather 'youthful citizens' hanging out all the time in Madrid in general. All around. A common thing is this 'botellón' idea, which is freaking awesome, tis "a mass meeting of young people between 13 and 24 years, mainly in open areas of free access, to consume drinks previously purchased in shops, listen to music, and talk" . Essentially, it's just a whole lot of people hanging out, drinking and having fun times. It's awesome! The last two Friday nights, all the ERASMUS/international students have joined in on the big bottlón that goes on at the Plaza de España, hundreds of people, of the youthful variety, gather there at 12 or so, and drink and meet and hang and slowly move up onto the hill, and by 2am or so there are just some ridiculous amounts of people aaaaaall hanging out. (Sangria, by the way, is the MOST delicious. Watch it though, it can be more lethal than you anticipate). I don't know if this botellón/drinking on the streets thing is entirely "legal" if you will, but the policía, ain't too bothered. In fact they seem pretty relaxed in general. I, for example, am living two doors down from a big police station, and the place separating us, is by chance, a brothel. 

*Haha, I was just looking up a proper definition of bottlón, and apparently "Some of the most prevalent effects after the botellón are a headache, a loss or an increase in appetite, insomnia and lack of motivation for the next day". Thanks for that gem wiki, you wise wise beast.

The spanish people are glorious too. They don't speak so much english, which I have decided is probably rather good in my case, but they are oh so helpful and friendly, which makes a big difference to how you warm to city. And fun. Even though times are pretty darn hard here at present. There's someone homeless on every block it seems, which Madridians have told was not the case a couple of years ago, at all. 

I have also experienced a proper spanish dinner. I met a lovely spanish guy who invited me to share dinner with his flat. I was told to get there before 10, and we ate at 11:30. We ate cheeses and salamis and salads and sangria, and then, as is traditional (although I suppose normal in New Zealand and such as well), stay at the table for another three hours to talk, after we have eaten. It was cool, a proper spanish meal, at a proper spanish time, in proper spanish flat (which includes a small kitchen with the washing machine/dryer in it). So it's true what they say about the lateness of Spainiers. Dinner at 11:30, I like it, I'll take it. Everything is done late around these parts though, shops don't open until 9 or 10, clubs don't get busy till 2 or 3am and actually, a lot of things do close between 2-5 or so, for what I can only assume is for some sweet fiesta time. Although I am yet to take full advantage of this wonder. 

So here are some photos of this place. I'll keep them coming. Unfortunately I managed to break my good lens so am just using my old silly one, but these show Madridish, over my first two weeks being here. You should come. It' awesome.