Lonely Hearts on Valentines Day in Madrid
Hello, friends!
Life has been great to me ever since I settled in to my new home in Spain. I’ve continued to make a go of things here and I’m definitely gaining an entirely new appreciation for the people and culture. In fact, I’ve got very little if anything to complain about outside of a burning hole in my pocket and a completely backwards sleeping schedule — the nightlife in Madrid will do that to you, easy.
Oh, I suppose it is worth mentioning it’s Valentines Day and this is one of the most romantic cities in the world. Everywhere I look there’s amorous young couples walking down the narrow streets with hands clasped, the type of couples that look like they should be featured on those sensationalist magazine covers lining the check out aisles in America. It’s a strange feeling, as if I stumbled onto a foreign movie set. When you fly solo in a foreign city the people watching is really beyond compare.
My friend Brandon boldly suggested I try to line up a date out here, and honestly, why the hell not? Without over thinking the situation, having a little fun across the local dating circuit would make for a good story at the very least. That romantic inside of me can’t help but mentally wander, imagine some life-altering event where I meet a foreign girl, fall in love and never leave Spain.
Valentines Day in Spain is a lot like it is back in the States — virtually every amazing restaurant is booked to the gills and public events are an affront to the lonely hearts. There’s the cutest little old ladies on the street corners peddling rich and vibrant bouquets, these ladies are so adorable I almost want to buy flowers from them just to see their reaction. But what would I do with these flowers? Getting a gigantic bushel of flowers from an American stranger would probably put me on some kind of blacklist.
Fortunately, despite that familiar woe that comes with being single on a holiday, there’s entirely too much to do in Spain that keeps me distracted — chiefly, the amazing brunch they have everywhere I’ve been around Madrid. This morning I treated myself to a dosage of dynamite sangria and an authentically Spanish omelet. Sometimes there’s a major plus to not having to share with anyone else.
I’m hoping everyone else out there enjoyed the pseudo holiday, or found artful ways to keep themselves distracted from the gloom of being single.
