SEMESTER ABROAD
Backpacking through Europe is the most intense thing I've ever done in my whole life. Me, Keith, Erik, Denise, Megan (), Sari, Tim, and Jeff got to Venice last night and all the youth hostels were totally booked so we looked through Let's Go Europe for other places and it said you're allowed to sleep outside on the steps of the train station (that book rocks!!) so everyone's like, "Excellent!" and we rolled out our sleeping bags and played quarters, which Megan called "lires" (), 'till everyone finally passed out (3:30 a.m. or later)

WEEK ABROAD
Today I was forced to walk on the shady side of the street all afternoon as my eye has developed an excruciating sensitivity to light. My new system is to wear my Eric Estrada sunglasses outdoors and a backup pair of lightly tinted rose-colored spectacles indoors. It's especially trippy to wear the rose ones inside since everything is already orange from the horrible eye drops. Combined, all the interiors of Madrid take on this freaky brownish glow. Not that we're seeing many interiors of Madrid. No matter what time of day we walk around, everything is closed for siesta. How anyone can sleep on these crappy beds all day is beyond me. We're paying $200 a night, and our room has two singles with mattresses stuffed with concrete. Not that I'm complaining. I learned a long time ago that travel isn't about comfort, it's about experience. You've got to focus on the positive!

The weather in Madrid is spectacular. Sunny and warm all day. Hot, actually. I thought I was gonna sweat to death in that park Richie schlepped us to this afternoon. He had this idea that we'd just sit in the sun and have a beer. He meant well, but he isn't quite grasping the fact that exposure to light triggers an intense, searing pain in my cerebellum. I sat in the shade and had a bottled water. That's the thing about travel: you've gotta hydrate.

Went to the Reina Sofia after the park. There was a Picasso retrospective covering everything from his blue period to his rose period. Of course, it all looked like one freaky brownish period to me. Richie's gotten really into art history. He said he's been to the museum once a week since his semester began. I can understand why. It was like the first place all week with decent air conditioning. Megan almost bought some Guernica coasters in the gift shop. But then she had a coughing fit and decided to rest up at the hotel. I'm worried that her cold is turning into swollen glands.

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