Lost in Madrid

Half the fun of travel is the esthetic of lostness.  ~ Ray Bradbury

It’s easy to feel lost when you are in a new country.  Things look different, things feel different, and in a lot of cases things are different.  That was definitely the case for me when I was in Madrid.  Though I didn’t really get lost - at least, not for long - I sure felt out of place often.  I studied Spanish a lot in school growing up - since I live in Texas - and felt fairly confident that I could speak it pretty well.  It works in Mexico.  The challenge is that they speak true Castilian Spanish in Spain as opposed to the Latin American-type Spanish found in Mexico - at least I think that’s what it was!  It sure sounded different!  It was beautiful to hear, but all my years of Spanish in school were really no help.  They might as well have been speaking Polish or something.  Anyways, I got by ok but it was considerably more challenging than I anticipated.  Oh well, it was still great to see such a beautiful city!  And it's a great place to wander - and get lost - with a camera.

Oh yeah, and I took this photo of a sign.  I just like signs.