My time away from the girls...

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Well my time away from the girls was not quite what I thought it was going to be, it was instead filled with boys....don´t worry it was not quite like that sounds. So I don´t know if I mentioned if the guys we met from Israel in Barcelona were also in Seville, well they were. As we were all splitting up and I was supposed to be going to France, I found out they were heading back to the Southern Spanish coast and I decided to hitch a ride along with them. It has been probably the most relaxing three or four days now that I have had while in Spain. It definitely took some getting used to because I have to tell myself it is okay to just be...to just sit on the beach and read all day. The two boys, Samuel and Alon, were great and I had so much fun hanging out with them. We ended up in Malaga, where I left them and finally got a shower from one of those open shower stalls on the beach, in my swimsuit washing my hair and all. I got a few strange looks from tourists, but it felt great after having sand in every imaginable crevas. We camped on the beach most nights and one night was so windy that sand came in from everywhere, it felt a bit like fieldcamp while we were in Nevada...a light dusting of fine sand as a morning present. While in Malaga I got to experience my first Spanish-Chinese Restaurant. I decided to buy them dinner for letting me tag along and this place had an all you can eat buffet...it was quite an experience. We were the only customers in the restaurant and so we received all of their attention. This wasn't a buffet you could go up to yourself, instead they brought it out to you on a little squeeky wheely cart... well the buffet consisted of a salad, egg roll, rice, noodles and an endless amount of meats. Like 10 different meat trays and they just kept coming...we'd get one and then here would come another cart, delivering more. The noise of the wheels almost became a joke and it was like they wanted to fill you up so fast that you couldn't actually enjoy it. Nonetheless, it was a good meal of salt and meat... which was topped off with gelatto.

We departed and then I headed toward France where I met up with Sarah in Cannes, France on the French Riveria. We were there together for one day, she was arriving from Portugal, and then we headed to Venice, where I currently am and where we have reunited with the other girls. Venice is really a neat city, every building is like a fairy tale and there is no way for cars to get around in the city only boats. This morning on our run we saw the garbage being picked up on boats...makes the job a bit more glamorous, eh? There are tourists galor...which is something that I will have to get used to for the next three weeks or so, as we go to Florence and then Rome. Gelatto...have I mentioned this before? We first experienced it in Barcelona, but its origins are in Italy. Much like ice cream, but so much better...my favorite flavor, of course has to do with Nutella, chocolate and hazelnuts, a touch of heaven. I will probably eat it everyday while in Italy, yikes.

So I lost my camera somewhere between Spain and France, quite tragic and sad. The only hope is a train station, but I am not putting much money on anyone turning in a camera... so my pictures will now be fewer and from other girls cameras....sorry about that.

OK, well internet is expensive in Italy so I must get going. Ciao Ciao as they say here.

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Photos

Here are my new travel buddies
Here they are with Blair while we were still in Seville, Alon is on the left and Samuel is on the right...

and their travel buddies
Eric and Bonita...

just a rock
but I like this rock...on the very windy beach in Cadiz

just a sunset
I wish that I could have captured this without the powerlines...and with the field of flowers that we first saw it in...but this will have to do