A little more than one week ago, I was faced with the problem of packing. I needed to squeeze anything I might possibly want in Spain into 2 bags. Preparing to live in another country for 15 months, this was a minor problem. I like being prepared for various situations and hate being in a situation where I think to myself, "damn it, I knew I should have brought that."

In the end I ended up cramming as much shit as I possibly could into my bags. It felt like I was toting a corpse around in my duffel bag, but I managed to fit multiple pairs of shoes, sneakers, flip flops, all kinds of clothes, books, etc...You get the point, I had a lot of stuff.

The good people of Spain could have saved me a few headaches if I was told ahead of time that there is a city ordinace in Madrid decreeing, that no matter where you are standing a shoe store must be visible. If I had known, I would have just worn a pair of sneakers and gotten the rest here. I could drop you off anywhere in the city and if you do a 360, I guarantee you see a store that sells shoes. I think it is an addiction and it might really be time for an intervention.

And seemingly right next to every shoe store is a bar. Any newcomer to the city is going to think that all people of Madrid resemble an alcholic Amelda Marcos. If I had a Euro for every drunk old lady I saw wandering aimlessly down the streets with multiple bags from a shoe store, I´d have at least 1 Euro.

So if I bring home gifts for people, expect footwear. But don´t count on gifts...