#1 - If Spain doesn´t have the highest rate of cancer and/or youth smoking in the world, I´d be a little surprised. First, they can buy cigarettes for 2.10 euros a pack. Second, there are vending machines everywhere...restaurants, bars, internet cafes, etc...I´d be surprised if there was a 7 year old in this country that wasn´t able to get a pack of cigarettes in less than 15 minutes. Add to that, people can smoke everywhere. They aren´t supposed to smoke in metro stations, but everyone does. People can walk into many stores while they are smoking. A "no smoking section" at a restaurant...keep dreaming, I haven´t seen one yet.

#2 - Politeness is a virtue frowned upon here, or maybe only exhibited by suckers. I am used to waiting for passengers to exit buses and metros before entering. I learned the hard way not to do that today. A 4´8, 150 pound ump-a-loompa of a women nearly knocked me over as I tried to get off the metro. Silly me, I thought it might be easier for her to get on if all passengers got off first...obviously, we weren´t on the same page. Turns out she has seen a little American football and decided to pretend like she was Jerome Bettis and just plow through me. Next time I am coming out swinging!

When ordering food at a restaurant, there aren´t too many "please" or "thank yous", it´s more of "darme (give me)" or just plain old ordering the food you want. But, this is a little less being rude and more of just being blunt. That´s what they do, so it isn´t viewed as rude, it´s just the way things are. Just an interesting thing to see coming from somewhere that isn´t always the case.

#3 - It´s always funny to see what laws are "selectively" enforced in different places. Here, they decided that drinking on the streets isn´t a big deal. Apparently, it was legal until a few years ago. It had become a big problem and they passed a law banning it. Unfortunately, they don´t enforce it...or at least as far as I can see they don´t. It is not uncommon at all to see a man in a suit walking down the street with a beer at the end of the day. On the weekends, people just hang out on the streets boozing. Kids too! Kind of funny actually, but I always do a double take when I see a 60 year old woman walking down the street with a 40oz. of Mahou (their version of Miller Lite...costs about a Euro by the way).

#4 - I think it is pretty sweet that on Saturday night we sat down at an outdoor cafe at 1:30am and were able to order food. One, it was warm enough to sit outside. Two, the kitchen was open and there was no bitching about us coming in right before they close...they were packed with customers.

#5- Tails are coming back!! If you believe the fact that Europe is ahead of the curve in terms of fashion and trends...start growing those little tails down the back of your head. Note to self...shave head immediately.