Roads Less Traveled

Pay bathrooms
A scowling Turk is guarding the entrance to what looks like an old pillbox and he’s collecting money from my ex-wife. She emerges from the sweltering bunker after a few minutes with a look of dismay and horror on her face. She describes to me a scene out of one of Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell, and tells me she will never do it again. Continue reading →

Like the song says, “I love a parade“. I love the precision, the crowds, the music, and the excitement. Military parades have the added bonus of martial traditions and a celebration of a nation’s history. In the case of Spain’s parade at the Royal Palace, Madrid, the whole show is enhanced with a changing of the guard (on the first Wednesday of the month at noon) on the grounds of the courtyard, and is sometimes attended by royalty (though not when I was there). It’s certainly the best free show in town! Continue reading →

I am standing in front of the Palacio Real, one of Spain’s greatest national treasures, and I am being interrogated by an incredulous security guard, who thinks I must be either an imbecile, or a terrorist, or both. Continue reading →