Hola from Madrid

I've used my time in Spain for personal productivity - working in the hotel during the evenings, taking care of holiday travel planning, going to the gym, and getting lots of sleep (even fitting in a siesta!).

I was in Madrid for a weekend last November, so I've done my initial sightseeing (Reina Sofia museum) and wandering around already. Without being here with a team of people or a local to show me around, I'm just not that enthused to spend money or be adventurous. I'm also trying to recoup the cost of my Milan shopping and expensive dinner by spending below my per diems in Madrid.

On Thursday night, I took the Metro from my hotel at Plaza de la Castilla into the centre of town, Plaza de Sol. I shopped, but didn't by anything, at Sfera, the Zara or TopShop type arm of El Corte Ingles, and then had dinner at a restaurant I spotted last time I was here. The food was decent, but not fantastic. I had a small glass of rioja, a serving of Manchego cheese, and a mix of sausages, peppers, and potatoes. The entire meal was 20 Euros, which is very reasonable.

Over the last week, as I've emailed many of my friends and as I make travel plans to several of them in the near future, I realise that I don't feel quite as far away from everyone as you might expect. Time zones and cost of flights aside, I'm just as connected with my parents as if I called them from San Francisco, and whether it's through my blog, or through personal emails, I manage to stay in touch easily. I don't even flinch when I get instant messages from friends in India, Australia, or the U.S.

All this communication doesn't replace in-person experiences and contact, but I'm realising how much emails, instant messages, and blogs have really become (for many of us) a primary mode of communication. My friend from university announced her pregnancy on her blog last year, and another close friend recently shared the sad news of his mother passing away via email. I wasn't offended or surprised at either of these announcements being communicated this way. Instead, I was glad to be able to hear about them so close to the event.

While my blog started with my travels and crazy experiences in India, it has morphed into somewhat of an online catalogue of my activities, and even I find I look up previous posts to locate links for restaurants or sights I've previously been to. Some posts, such as this one, are here merely to share my thoughts with 'the world', but more importantly, I write to share my thought process, my emotional state, and my day-to-day life with each of you who aren't here to share it with me.