Madrid seems like a dream to me now. We spent the morning at the Prado where I learned to like the work of de Goya, which I see as a real feat of appreciation.- his work is really dark.
There were a lot of other significant artists there too, Van Dyke being largely represented. It was a little rainy so after we spent some time walking the streets and admiring the iconic architecture there.
As the sun went down we found a few hugely crowded plazas with TONS of shopping and Christmas trees all ready for December. We also found some intriguing historic-looking winding back streets where we bought some chocolates and ate at a nice little street restaurant. The Plaza Mayor was truly an epic way to end the night. The buildings surrounding the square all seemed to be under construction, but the ground itself was covered in tents with all sorts of puppets and food and Christmas decorations being sold.
There were lights strung across and a cute little carousel that seems to stick in my memory like a perfect picture.
I didn't bother posting yesterday cause I just wanted to enjoy the experience without taking pictures all day. It was a fun day, and I got to know the other team USA guys better. I walked around most of the time just chatting with people and asking about how things were going. Looks like team USA is doing pretty badly as a whole this year. Everyone's getting hit and racking up pentalties. Ken didn't make the top 6 of the last chance qualifier so he won't make the final race, but he remained optimistic and it was a great experience either way.
Today was supposed to rain all day but it turned out lovely. We walked around town and discovered the last little bits here and there that we hadn't made it to yet. I loved the Plaza de la Virgin. There were the most lively drummers in the square and the Spanish people were having fun just dancing in the street. I love how no one is too afraid to look stupid. That's the only way to really have fun in my opinion. Don't just people watch- be that person that people watch! Be that guy.
My videos are short cause my phone was running out of space so I had to take a quick vid and then send it to youtube so I could delete it.
The cathedral in that square was unassuming but the inside was spectacular. That was where the locals go to pray. There were even confessing stations opened and lines of people in front of them.
We also came across the little Lope de Vega Plaza with a neat little Iglesia. This area is more dense with churches than Orem.
Up and down panos are fun but they distort the true size of things. This was much bigger looking in real life.
Before we went to the cathedrals we took a tour of the big Colloseum-like bull ring. It was neat to see the culture of the people up close.
Torro torro!
I must say I actually am less of a fan of the bull ring than I was before. They showed us a little video of what a bull fight looks like and it was actually a little disturbing. I didn't realize that the bull was bled to death and gored that disgustingly. I never want to see one of those again.
The North station was pretty cool on the outside but pretty average on the inside. It was a cool peek in.
We happened to run into one of the serranos and took a look. I still am not really sure what these are but they sure are old.
On the way back we ran into the Market on accident. I had to go in although I know everyone was ready to be done. It was cool to see all the fresh produce and I bought and ate a Naranja Valenciana from a woman who said here and her brother grew them. Delicious.
So we went out to meet up with the rest of team USA to do thanksgiving Valencia style... and then this happened.
The team guys were a lot of fun. They kept us laughing the whole night. We sat next to probably the most lively table in the house. I love the team USA spirit. The place we were at was really nice too. We had an open bar the whole night. I started a piña colada fad and finished with a mojito. It reminded me of Michelles mocktails. I miss her!!
The girls that brought out the food told us that they fed us 12 turkeys for 60 people. Ginormous turkeys. That's a 5:1 ratio. First they brought out a giant pan of Paella Valenciana and right when we were starting to wonder if that was the main deal they walk out with the turkey platter and everyone cheered.
<Andy with the paella girls>
Turns out this turkey was just a show turkey. They brought it out and of course the men set to carving for everyone, just to find out 10 minutes later that everyone was getting their own massive plates handed out. It was so fun! What a great Thanksgiving, right on the beach, unforgettable.
Now to this morning's entry:
After a rough qualifying round yesterday with gas line and tire issues, we were hoping for a better go today during the heat races. Ken ended up getting hit and completely flipped around at the very beginning of the first race of the day, but recovered quickly enough to at least stay with the pack. He actually ended up having a handful of people behind him at the end. So not great but could've been worse.
I think Ken is actually doing pretty good considering he stayed in the race with all that carnage out there. People are all over the place here. His class was split because there were so many people and the group before him had an 8 car pile up scene in the middle of the pack that really shook things up.. then Austrailia went out right in front of us with a flat- Japan and Estonia getting towed out at the end..
I also think he's doing great since this is really the first time he's ever competed on this type of shifter kart. He qualified for this race in a different type of kart.
I really like seeing the different countries coming together for all of this. It's like a mini Olympics with everyone wearing their team jackets and the people from the US that used to race against each other are now helping each other out. It seems like English and smoking are the common languages here for everyone except for the lady that runs the sandwich stand, who can't seem to understand anyone's order no matter what language.
Sounds like the plan for tonight is to meet up with the other racing Americans for a little thanksgiving at a nice place on the beach. Sounds quite lovely. It's wierd to think these people don't celebrate the same holidays. No turkey?? Sad day for them.
The second heat race ended not so great with Ken getting hit and spun a total of 3 times. Rotten luck.
I have to fit 4 large shopping bags of stuff plus 3 extra pairs of shoes into my already pretty much full suitcase. We're gonna do this thing. .. later. Right now I'm struggling to keep my eyes open I'm so tired. Let's just skip to the pictures.
A trip to Europe just wouldn't be complete without coming across drum beating protesters. If young Americans could only care enough to be politically active. Although this might not be the most effective strategy. They were protesting just about everything wrong with the world. Signs said all sorts of things. When Garrett came back from the track we spent a little time last night visiting the sights and shopping around just us two when everyone else was out of steam.
I climbed a tree and made Garrett take a selfie.
Random tourists are really good at taking pictures.
We even climbed back up to the top of the bell tower again and watched the sunset from up there.
We went to go watch the qualifiers today and it's was pretty neat to see people from all around the world all in one place. The kart tents were huge. Racers of all ages in colorful team uniforms were all
over the place.
It was neat to see some girls that made national teams too. There was a little frustration with Kens kart today, so I hope they can get things figured out in time for the next races!
There were a lot of other significant artists there too, Van Dyke being largely represented. It was a little rainy so after we spent some time walking the streets and admiring the iconic architecture there. 
As the sun went down we found a few hugely crowded plazas with TONS of shopping and Christmas trees all ready for December. We also found some intriguing historic-looking winding back streets where we bought some chocolates and ate at a nice little street restaurant. The Plaza Mayor was truly an epic way to end the night. The buildings surrounding the square all seemed to be under construction, but the ground itself was covered in tents with all sorts of puppets and food and Christmas decorations being sold.
