Spain

Spain....

The entire country felt a little like a stopover...we hadn't researched Spain much, so we basically arrived without a plan at all.

Madrid was made special by Duilio, a lighting designer that we met for the first time there. We had a great time touring the town in the late evening with him, sampling Tapas and drinking just a little beer.

We hopped a train to Barcelona, drawn there by many recommendations from travelers everywhere. We loved the place. There is a very positive energy in the city, with lively streets at all times of the day and none of the anonymous feeling that you get in a large city center. We happened to be there for the Barcelona boat show, which was a great excuse to wander around and check out all kinds of floating extravagance, none of which we could possibly afford. We made it down to the beach to see the start of an around-the-world sailing race, with plenty of hoopla and helicopters buzzing around...

We stayed in a hostel where we met some good natured Aussies; Michael and Karen. Another late night of drinking and tapas....we were getting to like the Spanish way of life.

Things were going along quite smoothly until I (Andrew) woke up the morning we were planning to leave with my right eyelid itching like hell. Within a couple of hours, it was swollen so much it was hard to see. Off to the hospital we went, to find out that I had a chronic condition of the eyelids called Blepharitis....great.

Straight from the hospital, we hopped a late train heading East for southern France.

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