ping sweat.

Full sprint through two entire terminals to get to the gate on time. Pfew... I feel bad for the person sitting next to me after that. I am literally drip

Huge line at customs in vancouver. Apparently i need to transfer my bags here. Boarding in 40 minutes. Hope i make it.

Okay

I leave in less than 4 days and have everything to do still, this is starting to freak me out. Phew...I can handle it. I wish I could just play NBA Hang Time on Nintendo 64. I wish I would have kept that game.

Madrid, Spain

Besides the weather being 90 plus degrees everyday, and my sun burn that i got waiting in the sun at the Frankfurt (Hahn) Airport for my flight to Madrid, my trip was perfect. I'll start off by saying "Thank You" to Sara and her family, without them the trip would not have been nearly as enjoyable. 

I saw so many wonderful and interesting things; art, people, fountains, buildings, etc. I love the city parks in Madrid. They feel very safe and are well kept, they are massive too. I loved the food; from her mother's homemade croquettes and gazpacho, to the fine dining in chinese and arabic restaurants. The highlight of the trip was possibly my surprise that Sara and her mother arranged for us on Monday morning. It was my fifth day in Madrid, and if there was anything i felt could have made my trip more enjoyable and refreshing it was a cold pool. We arrived at Medina Mayrit at 10 am, this was the perfect way to start the day. i had no idea what we were doing or where we were going, Sara had brought my swim trunks, she totally surprised me. Even when we were in the lobby, i still didn't know what i would be doing. it wasn't until i got changed and walked down stairs to see three separate baths all at different temperatures, hot, warm, cold. A stream room, a relaxing tea room, and two different massage rooms, exfoliating and relaxing. i had a huge grin on my face, i had never had a professional massage or been to an actual spa. It was so nice, i loved jumping from the cold pool to the hot pool, or the steam room to the cold pool and then back. I loved the pools, i was so refreshed and relaxed. Then after an hour and a half in pools and steam room, a masseuse comes and asks us if we are ready for our massages. 

the end of a lifestyle

 this is the end... I definitely want to come back to europe soon, every night i meet friendly people that invite me to their houses in other countries, i want to take advantage of that some time. I can't believe that i am going to be home in three days. The truth is i don't want to be, i miss things about my home, but i feel so settled in living here. and don't want to say good bye to my friends and my new city just yet. Well, there is nothing i can do about that though, i am coming home and i am excited for it. It is going to feel weird for awhile, i will miss my routine here.

I'm MELT-ing

Bret's Friday Night

My Saturday Night

The advertisements for the MELT Festival had people and objects dripping as if they were melting, but after experiencing the festival for myself i think they were foreshadowing how rainy it would be. If i were the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz than i would have been melting, but instead i was dripping, muddy, and drunk. Bret had said the way to enjoy the festival environment was to be intoxicated. Friday night Bret was very intoxicated, and i spent most of the night documenting his unusual and hilarious behaviors with my camera. After witnessing his and everyone else's drunken antics i decided that Saturday night was my turn. Thankfully Bret took photos at the start of the night when it was still light out, because i didn't remember being there at that time, i also didn't remember the 15 minute walk to the venue, but i do remember talking to some drunk german guy about Aerosmith during the trek. On Sunday, Bret and i had decided we each had our fun and we would not drink for the Sunday show, which was basically Hot Chip and Bjork. Overall the festival experience was a blast, i am happy Bret and i did it. The crowd was a bit weird, by the way everyone was dressed you couldn't tell who was in a band or not. It looked like a costume party. Bret and i stood-out because we didn't look like Rod Stewart. 

The Lowlights: 

The weather. The Bugs. Hotchip's sound was bad, so the performance was crumby. Hercules and Love Affair was a no show. The best stage was the muddiest, and the Australians we encountered were awful.

The Highlights: 

The Food/Drink- we brought the perfect amount, and the stands at the venue were tasty and affordable.

DJs- Mathias Kaden, Ellen Allien, Cobblestone Jazz.

Bands- Booka Shade(I caught the Drumstick), Zoot Woman, The Whitest Boy Alive, Bjork, Roisin Murphy, Robyn. There was also a bunch of DJ's and bands that i enjoyed, but have no idea who it was because of the mixed up schedule.

Gear- Brought a tent, two sleeping bags, and the perfect amount of clothes, the second pair of pants was great. 

I had a great time at MELT, but once again, it feels great to be back in Berlin.