After leaving Toledo, we arrived in Atocha (Madrid train station) and decided to leave our large backpacks in lockers and grab what we needed for the night and set out for a hotel. This can sometimes be an easy goal and other times, not as easy. You wind up stopping at a hotel, asking the price, seeing if breakfast is included and then ask to view the room to see if it’s worth the money all while trying to speak and understand spanish. We eventually found a very cute loft apt that was in a great area that was cheaper than [View Full Entry]

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Initially we thought we’d go to Toledo on Monday the 24th since it’s approximately 45 minutes from Madrid, but read in our Spain book that the Alacazar (the main draw in Toledo) was closed on Mondays. So, we decided to go back north to Madrid after Sevilla to drop off our backpacks in the train station lockers and immediately head to Toledo to visit the Alcazar. We arrived in Toledo Thursday, 3/27 (Happy Birthday, Kyle!) Adam was really excited about seeing El Sid’s sword and part of the cross Christopher Columbus brought to the New World so we were off to [View Full Entry]

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After being cold in Madrid, we were really excited to head south to Sevilla. We went to the Atocha train station and bought high speed train (AVE) tickets to Sevilla. We met a nice couple from San Francisco that we chatted with on the 2 ½ hour ride. Upon arriving, we got a map at the tourist information center and asked how to get to the center of town. We took a bus and walked to a hostal, dropped off our stuff and headed out to explore this quaint town. We arrived on Monday 3/24, the day after the holy week [View Full Entry]

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Adam and I took an almost two week backpacking trip to and through Spain and while I didn't want to take the time while there to "Blog," I LOVE reliving my travel experiences and sharing them, so I've decided to write now about our travels since we've been back. We went to 5 cities and I will most likely make 5 entries, but don't feel obligated to read any of the following. Though as always, I enjoy reading your comments. :) On Thursday, March 20th, we left St. Louis for Madrid via Atlanta. We left STL at 2pm and were scheduled [View Full Entry]

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On saturday (July 8th), Adam and I took the boat from our resort to San Pedro to catch the Caye Caulker water taxi to Belize City. Here we took a cab to the airport and waited for Adam's plane which also happened to have Kristin and Rani on it. It's always hard to say goodbye to Adam and even a bit harder after such a glorious week, but we know the goodbyes are now numbered and that makes it easier! It was great to see Kristin and Rani!!!! They brought me my first wedding magazines! And, man, those things are overwhelming!!!!!! [View Full Entry]

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Adam and I are nearing the end of this amazing vacation. Neither one of us wants it to end!!!! We're staying on Ambergris Caye (pronounced key) 4.5 miles north of San Pedro. And only a half mile off the coast line is the second largest barrier reef in the world. We can see the waves crashing on the reef from our room and the water is crystal blue and fairly shallow. Our resort has very different set ups. Our room, called a casita (little house) is 40ft from the ocean and when you open all the doors and windows, the most [View Full Entry]

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Hi all, Internet is scarce in N. Guatemala and Belize so these won't be as often as they were when I was stationary and in school. My last night in Antigua consisted of my family there giving me a purse (I've seen several people go and they haven't done anything special for anyone but me that I've seen) and 2 letters from Andres and Maria. It brought tears to my eyes. It was so touching!!! I went to the Guatemala City Airport to meet Adam and wait a few hours for our flight to Flores. It was so great to finally [View Full Entry]

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6/29/06 Last night, my school showed a movie ¨La hija de la puma¨about a Mayan girl who because of the army massacring her pueblo and surrounding pueblos, doesn´t know what happens to her brother when the survivors of her village flee to a Mexican refugee camp. She travels back into Guatemala and risks her life to find her brother. This movie takes place in 1982. 1982! Horrible events happening 20 years ago. It truly is inconceivable to me that terrorizing to this degree still happens. It´s a very hard thing to digest. We truly are lucky to have the rights, freedom [View Full Entry]

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6/27/06 There were rivers in the streets!!!!!!!! Seriously! Literal rivers flowing through the streets. Can I tell you how ¨fun¨that can be? I don't think you can truly understand such a thing without experiencing it. On top of that, today after all that storms, the entire city was without water for over 4 hours. I guess it happens somewhat frequently after storms. It was interesting to say the least. Sometimes it feels like I'm in the middle of a Seinfeld episode, several in fact! I volunteered yesterday afternoon at Nuestras Ahijados, helping kids read in the library after school. There are [View Full Entry]

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Guatemalan Time Where do I begin? Maybe I should begin by saying that Guatemalan time makes my Aunt Janeen look early! And, yes, Dad, you would hate it! (We always tell my Aunt Janeen atleast 30 minutes before we actually expect her.) So, to start off our trip to Xela (nickname for Quetzaltenango pronounced Shay-la) the five of us, Henry, Stina, and two sisters, Abby and Lindsey, ages 16 and 18 (I know!) booked a direct tourist bus to Xela for $20 which is very expensive here. The driver arrived 45 minutes late. Guatemalan Time! After 4 hours, we arrived in [View Full Entry]

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