Day 61
Location 14: Madrid
Dec. 31, 2022
One of my last experiences of 2022 was witnessing Bumblebee, from the Transformers franchise, abandon his post as a guardian of humanity. It was a shockingly miserable sight, and a good indication that it was 2022's time to go. The Decepticons had won.
In celebration of the incoming new year our hostel opened up a few champagne bottles. Wait, sorry, that's inaccurate. Let me rephrase. A middle-aged reception worker riled up the crowd of travelers with a seemingly infinite number of champagne bottles and a seemingly infinite supply of energy. It was ludicrous. After about 8 bottles, we thought "okay, that's the end. There's no way he has more bottles and if he does, there's no way he can keep up this energy". Boy were we wrong.
The final bottle count was close to 18. Also, in that video, you might notice a man in a king costume shouting from a balcony. Look closely. He's yelling into a microphone and doing the Freddie Mercury "Ayyyyy-Oh!" thing from the Live Aid concert, but with the thousands in Plaza Mayor.
New Year's is all about juxtaposition. At 11:59:59 on December 31, 2022, two years of our lives are juxtaposed by a mere second. It's a good reminder that good times and bad times often differ by just the smallest detail and that without one we couldn't have the other. A perfect example of this juxtaposition of good and bad occurred on the way to the club with my three hostel roommates. Upon arrival, one of us passed out from being too drunk which prompted a roommate selfie to savor the moment. Looking at the two markedly different moods captured, it's clear that a more perfect demonstration of "juxtaposition" has yet to have existed. Happy New Year!
Just so you know, a few days into 2023, I saw a sign of good things to come. Humanity had reset and a new dawn had begun. Autobots, roll out.
This was a completely different area than the first photo. It was an unreal discovery.