Day 4: Prado (for real) and Dancing

It was up early to catch the train at 8:30am to get to the Prado before it opened. We got there to still find a line, but not as long as yesterday so it was all good. We were undeniably tired, but there was a trusty Starbucks on the way to help us out. In the museum, we spent most of the time dissecting the hidden meanings of all the paintings. Mainly, about how 15th and 16th century art is mostly satirical towards modern politics, global warming, and the disappearance of the Passenger Pigeon, or something like that. Really though, to see the pieces of art that I studied in my Art Appreciation class was pretty cool. A powerpoint presentation with the paintings projected on a screen don't do them justice. Valequez and Goya were the two main artists on display at the time.



After viewing the greatest masterpieces ever conceived on panel and canvas, we went home for a nap. The goal of the evening was to find a good dance spot. We were starting to realize that the night life gets started much later than in the states. restaurants rarely open before 8, and most dance clubs open around 12 or 1! All of our destinations were walking distance from the apartment, so we headed off into the night on foot. The first place we went to was called Supersonic, it was dead when we arrived at around 11:00, so we went up the street to a book store/bar where and English gent helped us with some Redbull. After chatting with the fine chap we headed back to the club only to find a crowd that was a bit too young. The music was right on, but it looked like a high school dance. We continued walking to our next destination. Bear in mind about every other block there are guys with brochures trying to promote clubs that are nearby. It became Rafael's habit to look at every one, and have a 2 minute conversation with the guys passing them out. New Girls Cabaret was one of his favorites. Finally we decided to go into a club with free admission. Dolce, it was called. They were playing Reggaeton and Trance, and the "flamboyant boxer" dancing style of Rafael took hold. Tim and I used the standard radar/eye contact/tractor beam dance style to no avail. We ended up seeing a girl from Tupperware the other night from England, and hung out with her and her German friend the rest of the evening. We ended up ALL walking her home, for what reason I'm still unsure, you'll have to ask Rafael on that one. But all in all it was a fun evening, minimum dancing, but we experience some of the character of the famous night life here...