Lynne

Wow! Words cannot describe the day we had today, but I will try :) We are in El Calafate, Patagonia at the moment which is about 40 km from the El Perito Moreno Glacier. We booked in at the Hostelling International hostel in town which legitimately is the nicest hostel I have ever stayed in. I mean, the titled floors are even heated! We headed off on a tour with our hostel this morning to the glacier. It was called the ¨Alternative Glacier Tour¨ because we took the gravel backroads to get to the glacier. The backroads used to be the path that the horse and wool traders took to get to Buenos Aires to sell their goods at port. It is also the best path to see some of the wildlife in the area. On ... read more

Hola amigos. We made it to Argentina! Heidi and I were so excited to touch ground at the Buenos Aires airport. We had to stand in the customs line for an hour and a half, but it was worth it. After only a day and a half, we are having so much fun. Our hotel turned out to be conveniently located in the theater district. Upon arrival, we immediately went to find some empanadas, which cost a mere $1 each. After a nap we headed out to a tango show at the famous Teatro Tortoni. They put on an amazing show (only $24). There were three pairs of dancers and a full band. It was like a short musical. Afterwards we had coffee upstairs and made friends with the waiter who let us take pictures on ... read more

I joined my "Wild in Scotland" bus tour early this morning for a three day trip around the Scotland Highlands. I was pleased to find out that everyone on the trip was really friendly and that we had two great tour guides who would be showing us the sights. We started off by heading to the William Wallace Memorial. For those of you who don't know, William Wallace's story is told in the Braveheart movie. He was a true Scottish hero rurmored to be able to fight off 6 men at a time. He was a commoner who led the Scottish people against the rule of the British. He won several battles and afterwards went into exile in France and Spain. He returned a few years later only to be captured by the British. The British ... read more

We have had another two wonderful days in Barcelona. Yesterday we did the rest of the sights in the city. We started off the day by visiting the church Santa Maria del Mar, right near our hotel. Then we headed to the Picasso museum. Picasso helped found the museum in the 1970´s and donated much of the art work located there. Afterwards we hopped back on the tourist bus and headed to Park Guell. The park was originally commissioned by Gaudi´s patron Eusebi Guell to be a garden suburb community of Barcelona, but it never took off. Gaudi turned it instead into a garden paradise where you are greeted by two gingerbread houses upon entering. The whole place seemed like a scene from Alice in Wonderland. After a great lunch, I accidentally took my Mom through ... read more

I have only two weeks until I come home!! How crazy. Where has the time gone? My parents arrived here yesterday. We´re doing a bit of traveling together before I head back to North Carolina. Yesterday and today were Madrid. We were really fortunate to have excellent weather. Its about 70 degrees at the moment. A few of the places we hit were the Royal Palace, the main Madrid Cathedral, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, and Parque Retiro. They are the fifth group of visitors I have had since I´ve been here so I´ve pretty much got the Madrid tour down pat :) Tonight I´m bringing my parents our for a bit of Madrid nightlife - tapas and a few goodbye glasses of vino tinto with my friends. More on that later... ... read more