The 2010 version of the all-night cultural extravaganza in Madrid was a bit disappointing. The event website was very difficult to use for planning a route and choosing the things you wanted to see in advance. The event brochure wasn't easy to get hold of prior to the event, and quite honestly it wasn't ver helpful in planning a route either -- long texts to read for each activity, in the dark. Tiny maps crowded with numbers. That left us with the option of just wandering around to see what we would run into. And, well, what we ran into wasn't all that interesting.
One final comment before I stop moaning, in what is billed as an all night event in a city known for its all-nighters, it's disappointing that most things are done by 2am. The streets were still packed with people at 3am, wandering aimlessly and hoping to run across something of interest.
So, what did we see?
An installation of a recycled materials wall in front of the royal palace. See the pics above, not really sure what to say about it.
An industrial playground built along the Gran Via. Slides, swings and see-saws made from construction materials. The slide was closed, which seemed odd. A huge scaffolding structure just sitting there to look at. Although i read in this morning's paper that someone was injured on it - that's why it was closed.
There was something massive going on in Cibeles, but we didn't feel like getting into the massive crowd to find out what it was.
A night-time gardening in project just behind the Gran Via. i saw more people walking off with plants than people actually planting them. A lesson on how we treat the planet?
