Went/Saw/Did

This weekend was good. I mean good. In the way that you know it’s good as it’s happening and it makes you smile just because it’s happening and it’s happening to you and you can’t think of anywhere else you’d rather be in that moment. How the lights seem to be extra bright or lines not too long or the swarm of people not too pressing even though you know, normally, you’d probably be freaking out, just a little. 

I didn’t stop smiling this weekend. I couldn’t. There were lights and bubbles and my camera was back in my hands and that felt good. I was with a new friend and I was showing her around Madrid, getting lost down the streets I probably should know by now and that moment when she asked for directions to a place we were standing in front of, the look on the man’s face and our combined laughter was worth the fumbling moment. 

I love this city. Maybe I’ve said it before, but I don’t think I’ve said it enough. There’s something about this city that I just love. The way that I like how I feel a part of it. The way I know the quickest way to get to El Rastro from Conde de Casal (Line 6 to Pacifico, switch to Line 1 until Tirso de Molina and walk three minutes to La Latina) and how I now have no problem squeezing myself into a crowded metro car and  grabbing the last empty table in a crowded restaurant and wait for my friends to show up.

Sunday was spent getting lost in Madrid. Deserting our usual haunts and taking random lefts and rights, first on a quest to find a new ‘hipster’ cafe, then deciding to just  stop when a store front interested us, poring over knick knacks and taste testing wines. We took pictures of bar fronts to remember for next time and collected business cards to track our way back. We had our own tapas taste testing, each taking turns buying something to eat when something looked good, sharing it out on the street as we continued on. I took my film camera, no pictures here, not yet, but that also felt good, winding the film and focusing, adjusting settings.

This weekend was good. A postcard weekend I want to file away for days that feel tougher than they should and weeks where I don’t know if I can keep going. Where things just worked out and fell into place and my face hurt from smiling, my feet from walking, but that good ache that comes from knowing you went and saw and did. And it was all just….good.

Things I’m Loving:

+ Battle of the brands – (About Nike, Adidas and winning the World Cup.)
+ The Book of Everything – (Because Lonely Planet knows what’s up.)
+ 18 Breakout Stars of 2013 – (Lawrence. Mikkleson. Dancy. Maslany. Hiddleston. Clegg. This list is all my favourites.)
– (Also 31 Perfect People to Date)
+ 50 Favourite Albums of 2013 – (To get you caught up before the new year.)
+ 2013 by the second – (Really neat interactive!)