In Lisbon

Watched the bullfight in Madrid...an odd spectrum of emotions. The first bull was so confused and pathetic that it made me uncomfortable and highly sympathetic. The second was fiestier and bucked and stamped, and you could step back from it just being animal slaughter and see some sort of craft in it...a reason why it would be a sport. However, 6 bulls? Really? All killed in the exact same way. It got...boring. And that was the worst thing. Slaughter should provoke something strong--revulsion, entertainment. But when after bull #4 I was bored, I became uncomfortable not with the fight but with myself. Very glad I went--it makes you feel like a part of living history since the times of gladiators, to be honest, however uncomfortable. I dunno, maybe it was the fact it was a sport that bored me? Slaughter and blood aside, not that different from my final reaction to a baseball game.

The next day we went to Toledo, which I really liked. An old midieval town-on-a-hill, it reminded me of St Andrews in its "Historical Tourist Trap" status. Still, some really cool architecture and the winding, impossible streets I've come to love. It's got a cathedral, several churches, and a couple remaining synagogues in a not-burned-to-the-ground-and-desecrated Jewish area. Didn't see any mosques, though there is a historically strong Muslim influence, but ah well. That night it started to rain like nobody's business, and Theo and I had a nice game of running between overhangs to the opposite corner of town. Went back to Madrid in the morning and figured it would be easier to go straight to Lisbon. The bus to Caceres was fairly expensive and it was 2 busses, not 1, to get to Lisbon from there. So an 8 hour bus ride (read a tidy bit of my book and watched RUSH HOUR 3, which was on a repeating cycle, about 4 times) and got in late to take the metro and a cheap train to Theo's friend, who lives decidedly NOT in Lisbon but in the environs. Cool lady--went to Santa Cruz and is soooo the type, with 2 cats (dammit St Andrews re-sensitizing my allergies!) and a house full of Hindi nick-nacks, hardwood, chai tea, brown rice, hip technology, and other hippy accoutraments. Seems like a cool lady--we need to make her dinner tonight. Theo is still asleep--and dammit does he ever sleep--so we'll see what happens later.

Further insight on Theo travel: he says he is content if he eats out/has "local food" once for every country. I weep inside--the UK ok, fine, fair dues, but Paris! Spain! Food is too good not to eat when you can get it authentic and cheap, for the sake of saving a few euros.