Blogs from Spain, Europe - page 982

Geo: 40.4637, -3.74922A terrible sleep last night - I was still up early for breakfast, which included eggs that you can cook yourself. As a side note, this place also includes pasta, rice, oil, salt, pepper, etc. Great place! Since I was at it, I also made some breakfast for Rob and Vanessa. In walked a very cute brunette Aussie girl named Angela so being the gentleman that I am, I offered to cook her some eggs, as well. I then found out she had a boyfriend, and wanted to take back the eggs ... so much for being a gentleman ... I've been up Mt. Iguelde before, but not Mt. Urgull - Angela had been up there before but wanted to do it again, so off we went. She's got some friends showing up later ... read more

Have you guys ever met someone and came to dislike them prematurely? Like everything about them bugged the crap out of you for no reason? Then, after getting to know them a little more, you feel foolish for disliking them in the first place? That’s how I feel about Barcelona. I can’t lie, I didn’t really like it the first couple of days. However, I came to realize, Barcelona was a victim of circumstance. First I was a little bummed about my friend leaving, then the whole camera deal didn’t help. I was really beginning to dislike Barcelona. Man, was I absolutely wrong about this place. In the morning, my first order of business was to get a camera. As I set out, I noticed stores were open again. Wow, HUGE difference from the day before. ... read more

Geo: 43.3172, -1.97754Up early - hot and stuffy in the room, I had difficulty sleeping. The nice thing about the late hours that Spaniards keep is that it means a late checkout - 12 PM. Off to the largest indoor market in Spain - a disappointment as less than 1/4 of the place was full. I noticed a lot of homeless people live along the river, on the way to the market. Old town was a little dead, but it was still early (9 or 10 AM). Grabbed some breakfast and walked while I ate ... my ankles are killing me for some reason. I grabbed my first cafe con leche of the trip - much better than the crappy coffee I had in the Canary Islands this past Christmas! Grabbed a newspaper to read as ... read more

Hola, Last night was the big Italy vs. Spain soccer/futbol game. But before that we walked really far to a place where local Segovia players play, that was fun too. People are so into soccer here. I got your post Uncle Steve and Uncle Len. I couldn’t believe Italy did as poorly as they did, I like their goalie though. It was soo cool because they set up a big screen in the plaza mayor where all the people go to watch the game outside. Everyone was dressed in yellow and red and were chanting and stuff. They sure know how to live life here, I don’t think they ever stop drinking and smoking. But it was fun. They went crazy in the overtime when they got those 3 goals. On our way home everyone was ... read more

Jill, Lorin, Katy, and I took a whirlwind three-day trip to the capital of Spain...Madrid! We visited the Prado Museum of Art (pre-nineteenth century art), Reina de Sofia (modern art.....hmm), the Royal Botanical Gardens, and the Royal Palace. We actually weren't allowed to take pictures at either museum or the palace. (amazingly, I still had over 150 pictures....wow.) The Prado was massive. We spent several hours walking around, and I know we still didn't see even close to everything. As for the modern art museum, the Reina de Sofia...I must say. My favorite painting was a white canvas with black dots...or maybe the brown blob...or perhaps the single line...I mean, seriously. I'm not sure I understand modern art. ;) Despite that, we had an interesting time! The botanical gardens were beautiful, even though many things were ... read more