Blogs from Spain, Europe - page 987

Dag 6. Spiste deilig empanadas til frokost paa en benk utenfor Pradomuseet. I dag skal vi vaere svaert saa kulturelle, og besoke museet. Kom litt etter at de hadde aapnet for dagen - allerede forholdsvis lange koer. Pradomuseet har en av verdens fineste kunstsamlinger, den viktigste delen av den er den kongelige samlingen. Hovedsaklig malerier fra 1500- og 1600-tallet. Her kan man se det beste av blandt annet Goya, Velázques, Rubens, Rafael, Botticelli og El Greco. Gikk i over 2 timer, og fikk da bare tatt et "raskt" blikk paa de fleste maleriene. Museet var utrolig stort, kunne sikkert brukt flere dager der. Dessverre maatte vi ha en tilleggsbillett for aa faa med oss Goyautstillingen (sto sikkert informasjon om dette paa spansk i billettluken). Orket da ikke aa staa i ny ko. Gikk videre fra ... read more

So finally, I have my whole address. Some of you have asked for it and I kind of forgot..oops. Here it is: Matilde Fernandez Romero Para Kelsey Rogers CL/ ANDREA NAVAGIERO, 6 1-C Edf. ELVIRA 18006 Granada GRANADA, ESPAÑA The first name is my host Mom. Its basically "care of" but you can't use C/ O because in the address there is CL/ which is very similar but means "calle" or street. So if you put C/O they might try and send it to Kelsey Rogers Street (it could exist...haha) Also, speaking of my host Mom, Mati, my REAL Mom, Elisabeth, was able to say hello to her yesterday! Mati actually initiated it and asked if she could say hi and if Mom spoke Spanish. I thought that was pretty cool. Update on the EuroCup 2008: ... read more

I have always been fascinated with cities. They are all so unbelievably unique in their architecture, people, terrain, food, attractions and nightlife. We have been in Spain for just over a week now, and the anticipation for our stay in Madrid had built to a high point. It is the capital and largest city in Spain, and people here certainly regard it as such - everywhere I go I keep hearing, "wait til you get to Madrid." Well... It rocked my world! Our booking agency in Spain, Love To Art, and all of its lovely employees are headquartered in Madrid, so they were eager to show us a good time in their city. Although not as "beautiful" as Zaragoza or some of the other cities we have been through, Madrid has that irresistible big-city pulse, and ... read more

I'm still walking... And my feet are doing okay - I try to wrap every toe and heel with tape to prevent more blisters. At the end of each day, I can hardly stand on them any more... but by the next morning, they´re ready to go again. It truly amazes me... thank you feet! I'm officially a "Pilgrim" of the Camino de Santiago. The life of a pilgrim isn´t bad... at least it's much better than it was 1,000 years ago. Most of us sleep in "alburgues," like hostals with dorm rooms (less than $10 per night). I get to take a shower everyday. And I sleep on a bed with a mattress and pillow (we bring our own sleeping bag). I don´t have to carry much food or water, as each village has restaurants ... read more

We´re out early by Madrid standards - 6:15 p.m. This has been a packed day. We began this morning with a tour to the palace, there were only three in our group Terry, Susan and a gentleman from connecticut, Patrick, who works for IBM but was taking the day to sightsee. Our guide was Patrizia and she was very knowledgeable (or course that is her career!) Unfortunately we did not get photos of our guides. After two hours in the palace and area, we boarded a bus and Sylvia guided us through the high points of Madrid in both Spanish and English. She is having a baby - a daughter - in September. Then we had to find a dentist for Terry. We took a cab, upon the recommendation of our hotel, Terry received the care ... read more