Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Matt at dinner the last night of vacation spent in Nashville, TN
Night out in Nashville
Monday, October 25, 2010
ATL
Currently 22:52, 75° according to "Ol' Girl" my car, and the roadkill sighting count is at 44.
Advanced apologies for the possibly blurring attached picture. And if you were wondering, I was in the passenger seat, not driving, when taking this photo :)
It does not portray the Atlanta skyline as it should be justly applauded. Although not large quantities of tall and brightly illuminated buildings are not in abundance and the horizontal length of Atlanta is limited, it has a special an aesthetic grasp.
I do love the south. If they only had my definition of winters.
Return to trying Hoosierland
I broke a few days from blogging due to our visiting time with 2 of my very close friends from Marquette. I knew both separately and introduced them to another and today they are married with a 16 month old amazing daughter; she is a ray of sunshine.
Don't get me wrong, I love both of my friends and the melded 'person' they are as a married couple. But their little girl is something more than words can fully describe. They are family.
Attached is a blurry picture of the little lass trekking a blue top I gave her for her first birthday.
At this point you may be wondering what in the world is that other picture of?
If you had not noticed the picture previously or did not look after the above statement, look now.
Hints: It's not poison ivy nor oak, both matt and I are just short of being absolutely covered in these from neck to toe, it is very very itchy, it is not contagious.
We don't know either!
In short we camped on an inlet state park reservation just off the A1A.
We were warned on checkin that the bugs were bad today. We had bug spray, so that was not an issue.
Matt and I first were assigned a site with no tree or greenery and it was next to the main access road to take boats to/from water.
We picked out another gorgeous site and started setting up camp when we were swarmed by more mosquitoes then i have seen at one time; we put the bug spray on.
The bugs still Seder to to attacking and we felt our skin crawling with itch but could not see anything.
So we spent the entire evening and full night in the tent. This night was the only camping night we experienced in that it rained, although only a little.
We still were itchy and could hear bugs flew by our ears. It was very humid but we needed to cover up to stay away from the mosquitos.
We almost picked up camp and left to get a hotel in the middle of the night.
The next day we took off early and seemed to just be bitten up pretty good by the mosquitoes. We enjoyed the ride down the Florida coast, bopping town to town but just passing through towns for turn most part. It was simply an enjoyable day.
That morning our too bikes fell off the bike rack which was still attached to the car truck.
Semis were flashing their lights at us as we are cruising 80 MPH on the highway. Luckily matt hooked the bikes together and also to the rack itself, which was still attached. So we only dragged our new bikes. No one was hurt.
Matts bike uas some parts needing to be replaced. More on the status with photos of the bikes to come after they are taken home and diagnosed.
All I know is Matts expensive road bike took most, well possibly all the damage. And my $15.00 1 speed garage sale bike, with front metal basket, does not to have seemed to have very minor to no damage.
As we approached the Fort Lauderdale area we stopped for an anti-itch topcal medicine. Since we are two bottles+half a bottle of a similiar Alveno product+ a good portion of a bottle of calamine + antihistamine for a couple days + a lot of gentleness and TLC, we are on the mend.
We do not know the name of the bug that bit us but have concluded it to be sand fleas or some other flying black tiny bug that could fit between the mesh on the tent. We have been eatten alive and we both may be psychologically scarred from this experience.
We spent a day laying on blankets on the beach with our friends and also BBQd and relaxed in a park another day. Matt got the chance to take a bike out on some very technical off road biking trails.
He hurts a little in a few places but really enjoyed trying it out.
Tomorrow we have a 4-5 hour drive from North of Atlanta, GA to Nashville, TN where we hope to get some time logged at a live jazz or blues music evening lounge.
Time to sign off and reapply more topical.
I really wish I could make this stuff up.
Return to trying Hoosierland
I broke a few days from blogging due to our visiting time with 2 of my very close friends from Marquette. I knew both separately and introduced them to another and today they are married with a 16 month old amazing daughter; she is a ray of sunshine.
Don't get me wrong, I love both of my friends and the melded 'person' they are as a married couple. But their little girl is something more than words can fully describe. They are family.
Attached is a blurry picture of the little lass trekking a blue top I gave her for her first birthday.
At this point you may be wondering what in the world is that other picture of?
If you had not noticed the picture previously or did not look after the above statement, look now.
Hints: It's not poison ivy nor oak, both matt and I are just short of being absolutely covered in these from neck to toe, it is very very itchy, it is not contagious.
We don't know either!
In short we camped on an inlet state park reservation just off the A1A.
We were warned on checkin that the bugs were bad today. We had bug spray, so that was not an issue.
Matt and I first were assigned a site with no tree or greenery and it was next to the main access road to take boats to/from water.
We picked out another gorgeous site and started setting up camp when we were swarmed by more mosquitoes then i have seen at one time; we put the bug spray on.
The bugs still Seder to to attacking and we felt our skin crawling with itch but could not see anything.
So we spent the entire evening and full night in the tent. This night was the only camping night we experienced in that it rained, although only a little.
We still were itchy and could hear bugs flew by our ears. It was very humid but we needed to cover up to stay away from the mosquitos.
We almost picked up camp and left to get a hotel in the middle of the night.
The next day we took off early and seemed to just be bitten up pretty good by the mosquitoes. We enjoyed the ride down the Florida coast, bopping town to town but just passing through towns for turn most part. It was simply an enjoyable day.
That morning our too bikes fell off the bike rack which was still attached to the car truck.
Semis were flashing their lights at us as we are cruising 80 MPH on the highway. Luckily matt hooked the bikes together and also to the rack itself, which was still attached. So we only dragged our new bikes. No one was hurt.
Matts bike uas some parts needing to be replaced. More on the status with photos of the bikes to come after they are taken home and diagnosed.
All I know is Matts expensive road bike took most, well possibly all the damage. And my $15.00 1 speed garage sale bike, with front metal basket, does not to have seemed to have very minor to no damage.
As we approached the Fort Lauderdale area we stopped for an anti-itch topcal medicine. Since we are two bottles+half a bottle of a similiar Alveno product+ a good portion of a bottle of calamine + antihistamine for a couple days + a lot of gentleness and TLC, we are on the mend.
We do not know the name of the bug that bit us but have concluded it to be sand fleas or some other flying black tiny bug that could fit between the mesh on the tent. We have been eatten alive and we both may be psychologically scarred from this experience.
We spent a day laying on blankets on the beach with our friends and also BBQd and relaxed in a park another day. Matt got the chance to take a bike out on some very technical off road biking trails.
He hurts a little in a few places but really enjoyed trying it out.
Tomorrow we have a 4-5 hour drive from North of Atlanta, GA to Nashville, TN where we hope to get some time logged at a live jazz or blues music evening lounge.
Time to sign off and reapply more topical.
I really wish I could make this stuff up.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
A mighty fine Thursday
I suppose an inlit camp ground wasn't the best idea this time of year.
As we continue south to Fort Lauderdale on the A1A and route 1, we continue to see some relaxing sights as pictured here.
Road kill sighing count at 39.
1 total shower each.
0 rainy days. This will jinx me.
512 bug bites.
Hope to be at Cisco & Katiera's house soon...
Picture is of around north west palm beach.
Oct 21, 2010 @11:50am
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Oct 20, 2010 @ 11:30
We've had a change in plans as there are no waves to surf so no surfing in Cocoa Beach. Instead we did a good amount of driving to make up time. After staying in 'Red Carpet Motel' were I'm pretty sure we have been the most normal customers this place has seen in a while.
So we shower this morning, the 20th for the first time since the afternoon of the 16th.
The current road kill sighting count is at 32.
We are driving Floridia's Altantic Coast today, taking the scenic A1A South ... to some final place to camp near or in the beach.
This picture was taken just north of Dayton Beach where we have stopped for a stretch on the beach and some photographic opportunities.
Tomorrow onward to Casa de la Rivera in Fort Lauderdale
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Thank you Blue Ridge Highway
Just on nearby state road ways there as a lot of construction. I could see a tourism market in as a work in progress. Not just updates roads, but better offerings at servces and all for the pull of hunting, camping, and all around natural country beauty. If that is your cup of trying tea.
The hikes that we did do today were not too bad at all, and of course we wished to have hiking time. While hiking I follow Matt and find myself on top of rocks half out into The Niagara Dam in WV. The man with no fear when it comes to hiking and a good portion of climbing things.
I should know better by now.
We are well on the way to VA and NC boarder to camp and call an early night. High hopes to drive up some of the very near peak, which happens to be the highest in VA. High hopes :)
We do need to be around Savannah sometime tomorrow evening for the evening.
Wednesday holds an 11:00am surf appointment at Ron Jons in Cocoa Beach, FL.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Blue ridge parkway Virginia south of roanoke. Oct 18 @ 2:24
Matt at an overview look near mile marker 95 on Blue Ridge Parkway, VA
Monday, October 18, 2010 @ 11:30 am
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Leaving WV, entering .....
Minor miscommunication on where to pick up the Blue Ridge Parkway, so will be back tracking south on I-81, sadly on cement highways and away from a dollar store change in each town with a single church if any at all.
Oh yeah, the hills and mountains are full with yellows, browns, greens and dusted with a painter's dash of burgundy, scarlet red, and pale purples.
October 17, 2010 @ 15:08
Road kill sightings at 10
Camp site sign while leaving WV and headed to north entrance of Blue Ridge Parkway, VA
The second picture is our mountain road view in WV.
October 17th, 2010 @ 12:34pm
Indy to Blue Ridge Parkway, VA to Savannah, GA to Cocoa Beach, FL to...
Matt and I have the tent, sleeping bags, ingredients for smores, lanterns, and a cooler all packed up in my VW Jetta sedan. We couldn't fit another person in here with us.
I drove the first 3-4 hours east across Indiana and then go through the middle of Ohio, down to West Virginia were we are currently driving about 100 miles front out camping destination. Matt just pointed out the exit we just lasted because it is simply called Big Otter, exit 13 off of state road 79. We are headed for finding some ground to sleep out just on the outter rims of George Washington National Park.
We now have just past an exit called 'Oil Creek'
Enough said.
As you can tell from the subject of thie post, this is going yo he a great and very eclectically interesting vacation.
Why? Well random is best.
Indy to Blue Ridge Parkway, VA to Savannah, GA to Cocoa Beach, FL to...
Matt and I have the tent, sleeping bags, ingredients for smores, lanterns, and a cooler all packed up in my VW Jetta sedan. We couldn't fit another person in here with us.
I drove the first 3-4 hours east across Indiana and then go through the middle of Ohio, down to West Virginia were we are currently driving about 100 miles front out camping destination. Matt just pointed out the exit we just lasted because it is simply called Big Otter, exit 13 off of state road 79. We are headed for finding some ground to sleep out just on the outter rims of George Washington National Park.
We now have just past an exit called 'Oil Creek'
Enough said.
As you can tell from the subject of thie post, this is going yo he a great and very eclectically interesting vacation.
Why? Well random is best.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Number of Steps taken in Spain
Matt and I LOVE to walk --- just ask Grandma Townsend whom we dragged across southern Germany and parts of Western Germany with us on traveling adventures.
Matt had a pedometer in which we tracked the number of actual steps we took during the trip... this is our work out for the year... just kiddin' --- sort of.
Since we left the pedometer in the car on day 2 and 3 - and those being some of our most heavily foot trafficked days, 49 miles is not bad :)
Matt had a pedometer in which we tracked the number of actual steps we took during the trip... this is our work out for the year... just kiddin' --- sort of.
| | Steps | Miles | |
| Day 1 | 11,327 | 5.03 | |
| Day 2 | 6,095 | 2.71 | left pedometer in car |
| Day 3 | 2,683 | 1.19 | pedometer in towed car |
| Day 4 | 13,654 | 6.07 | |
| Day 5 | 15,834 | 7.04 | |
| Day 6 | 16,691 | 7.42 | |
| Day 7 | 13,954 | 6.20 | |
| Day 8 | 22,394 | 9.95 | |
| Day 9 | 7,622 | 3.39 | |
| | 110,254 | 49.00 | |
Since we left the pedometer in the car on day 2 and 3 - and those being some of our most heavily foot trafficked days, 49 miles is not bad :)
Shattered Car Window in Granada Spain
As can be seen in the April 2010 photos, we had the back window of our rental car shattered - and yes this was a couple days after it was towed for illegal parking in another city.
The hotel owner came out to help Matt unload the luggage from our car. Matt is sure he did not pull anything from the trunk of the car but rather gathered the random things we had thrown in the backseat. The very nice hotel owner said he would drive the car across the street into his car parking garage.
In Spain, the majority of the car parking garages are built underground and entering and exiting them are on very steep ramps.
While driving our car down the very steep ramp into the garage, the hack back on the car opened up and smashed into the low cement ceiling. Matt and I were in the hotel lobby and actually heard this crash, looked at another with a smile thinking and possibly verbally noting that it sounded like a bad car accident. We had already learned by this time that Spain drivers are not safe and drive crazy so a car accident was no surprise.
Little did we know that it was our car this time.
The hotel owner was very apologetic and called our car rental company to speak in Spanish to them and explain what was going on. He indicated to us at this time that we needed to go 7-10 blocks down the street to the police station and make a report. He also told us that we would not have to pay anything, as per what the rental company said on the phone, if we say the accident happened while our car was parked on the street and we were victims of vandalism. We did just this - despite the wait time, this was semi-painless although we were loosing precious touring time.
On our return to the hotel, we waited for a car to be brought to us and a tow to take away our other car, all courteous of the rental car company --- this isnt what happened. We ended up waiting a couple hours longer than expected to have a tow truck show up to get our car and us.
This was our first time riding in a tow truck at least everyone looking at you with "oh!" about the damaged car being dragged behind was an interested point of view.
We were taken to the car rental place about 20 minutes away -- except now it was rush hour on a Friday.
On arrival and pick up of our new rental car, we found out in fact we did have to paid around 300 Euros for damage.
The hotel owner had already given us free parking - which totaled to be 36 Euros in savings and not nearly enough to cover the deposit on the damage... even if it was vandalism. We may not have had to paid for any damage if we told the truth that he was driving it as his own insurance would need to cover it then.
Since this had taken 6+ hours to remedy, we lost a portion of a day touring Granada - which unfortunately was one of the more interesting places in south Spain of those we visited; such is only my opinion although I
do believe Matt is of a similar opinion as well. We decided not to let this ruin the last couple days we had on our trip.
A couple weeks after returning home to London, I phoned the hotel owner asking him to pay half of the cost of damage, even though I felt he should pay all of it. After mincing some words, he hung up on me. My boiling blood cooled and Matt and I decided it was a lost cause and not worth ruining the multitudes of other adventures, cultural experiences, and sheer fun we already had.
The hotel owner came out to help Matt unload the luggage from our car. Matt is sure he did not pull anything from the trunk of the car but rather gathered the random things we had thrown in the backseat. The very nice hotel owner said he would drive the car across the street into his car parking garage.
In Spain, the majority of the car parking garages are built underground and entering and exiting them are on very steep ramps.
While driving our car down the very steep ramp into the garage, the hack back on the car opened up and smashed into the low cement ceiling. Matt and I were in the hotel lobby and actually heard this crash, looked at another with a smile thinking and possibly verbally noting that it sounded like a bad car accident. We had already learned by this time that Spain drivers are not safe and drive crazy so a car accident was no surprise.
Little did we know that it was our car this time.
The hotel owner was very apologetic and called our car rental company to speak in Spanish to them and explain what was going on. He indicated to us at this time that we needed to go 7-10 blocks down the street to the police station and make a report. He also told us that we would not have to pay anything, as per what the rental company said on the phone, if we say the accident happened while our car was parked on the street and we were victims of vandalism. We did just this - despite the wait time, this was semi-painless although we were loosing precious touring time.
On our return to the hotel, we waited for a car to be brought to us and a tow to take away our other car, all courteous of the rental car company --- this isnt what happened. We ended up waiting a couple hours longer than expected to have a tow truck show up to get our car and us.
This was our first time riding in a tow truck at least everyone looking at you with "oh!" about the damaged car being dragged behind was an interested point of view.
We were taken to the car rental place about 20 minutes away -- except now it was rush hour on a Friday.
On arrival and pick up of our new rental car, we found out in fact we did have to paid around 300 Euros for damage.
The hotel owner had already given us free parking - which totaled to be 36 Euros in savings and not nearly enough to cover the deposit on the damage... even if it was vandalism. We may not have had to paid for any damage if we told the truth that he was driving it as his own insurance would need to cover it then.
Since this had taken 6+ hours to remedy, we lost a portion of a day touring Granada - which unfortunately was one of the more interesting places in south Spain of those we visited; such is only my opinion although I
do believe Matt is of a similar opinion as well. We decided not to let this ruin the last couple days we had on our trip.
A couple weeks after returning home to London, I phoned the hotel owner asking him to pay half of the cost of damage, even though I felt he should pay all of it. After mincing some words, he hung up on me. My boiling blood cooled and Matt and I decided it was a lost cause and not worth ruining the multitudes of other adventures, cultural experiences, and sheer fun we already had.
Day 9 - Trip back to Madrid to fly home to London
Matt and I started our day early to pack up and start our 4 hour drive back to Madrid. We had a scheduled flight to catch back to London that afternoon.
We received our car back from the hotel proprietor with no issues this time. Although I will note here that later when calling him to ask for his help to cover the cost of the broken glass, he refused saying it was our fault (even though he was driving) and hung up on me.
In total, we drove around 1700 kilometers / 1060 miles in 9 days while taking our time wandering the south of Spain.
It was hard to return to the looming gloom of London after a at times brisk but sunny long Easter week vacation.
Photos to follow at my photo web site: www.sarahjames.shutterfly.com
Granada - Day 8
Fast forward a couple of days -- blame the lack of blogging as us being lost in the adventure of it all.
Within the Alhambra is an area called Generalife. Matt and I couldn't find the actual entrance so we meandered around amongst the many big tourist groups. Along the way we found some very cool stairs with water...
We started our day with some breakfast and took an early bus to the Alhambra.
In my opinion, the Alhambra should be on the top 10 things to see in southern Spain if such culture intrigues you.
I dare you to read more and try not to be intrigued: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra
We visited what used to be the "Media," which is literally translated as city, within the Alhambra grounds --- I started to wonder how many people would live and be served in here at one time versus how many were just servants.
A quick stop of the Palace of Carlos the V was beautiful but compared to the art and integrity of architecture we had already seen, it was peanuts; Nicely salted peanuts - but peanuts.
Just in case you are not sure, yes we are still within the grounds of the Alhambra! Its massive size and ability to have withhold such peace and utter beauty today makes me really believe it was more than just a jewel in the crown of the Spanish Emperors within its heyday.
Next was the Palace of Nasrid. During our visit, it was clustered with multitudes of children on field trips.
Please do take the time to look at some pictures of the above mentioned places even before I post pictures and share them. The architecture will undoubtedly astound you and take multiple breaths away.
How could this stone and wood been so gently sculpted into fine and intricate designs which are nothing less than artwork, in a time when the poor had almost no food and no jobs to make ends meet - if they did have a job it also did not also provide enough? Some may or will say the same of our generations.
Below is a picture not of my own but from Wikipedia - it passes some of the general idea of the minute architectural design to which I'm referring.
Next on our early afternoon agenda was a visit to the Alcazaba; literally translated from Arabic as a city with fortified walls. Although stunning on its own - today it does not meet the Alcazaba in Malaga nor does it even come close to the Alhambra of Granada.
Matt and I had seen enough historical sites for the day with the interior and exterior grounds of the Alhambra; of which I should mention, if you are planning to visit - BOOK AHEAD. This can be done online or over the phone; you simply will not get in if you just show up.
Culture of cuisine was definitely needed at this point. We went to a very cool tea bar and cafe called Kasbar. It was decorated with multitudes of pillows, bench seats or booths, candles, and hanging traditional lanturns. The time we did not spend eating, was spent mostly in silence taking in the overwhelmingly peaceful atmosphere. This tea house has a menu just for teas. I ordered rose tea while Matt ordered a heavier black tea called embrujo de granada. We also ate fresh and lovely hummus and tabbouleh - to of my most favorite dishes.
After lunch we hiked up small streets which very few if any American's could fit a car down - of course a Spainard could with ease. Our upward destination was the recommended Mirador San Nicolas. At the top of this hill a grandoious view of the Alhambra with snow tipped mountain peaks as background could be enjoyed. The area is also litered with hippies; old and new ones. I use "old and new" to refer to the type and even age of the persons. It was also obvious multiple were traveling gypsies - selling handmade jewelry or dime bags of marijuana right there on the spot. Local cafes filled with cigarette chain smoking men boardered this central part of the hill yet this sight and crowd was clearly old hat for them.
Despite the multiple types of persons - Matt and I found this to be a peaceful and relaxing place. We played with what Matt deemed, 'the cutest puppy ever.' Granted this puppy was barely weened so that helped his cause.
At this point, you are thinking - what is next? So were we - we decided a much deserved siesta, or nap, was needed.
In the evenings, especially in Granada due to its large influence of Arabic culture, markets containing closet sized shops line streets within a neighborhood. Matt and I found ourselves floating in and out of each with eyes pealed for the perfect gift or treasure to take home.
We at dinner not far from the markets place of Granada. Our wine was not corked by means of being sour but was just not right. I have never sent back a bottle of wine before so this was my first time - but the wait staff was courteous. For dinner we had a traditional dinner dish called tagine. This particular dish was with cous cous, a puffed like grain, and chicken. It is oven baked within the dish you eat it from and is full of flavor and natural deliciousness.
Photo from Wikipedia:
With our bellies stuffed to the brim and our bodies ready for rest, we went to bed for the evening.
Bed time
Malaga - Day 6
Due to the previous evening's shinaningans, we slept in a bit this morning and had Botz serve us breakfast for 4 euros each at 10am... a fried egg and bacon with cereal and homemade bread. The bread was either made homemade by Botz or was homemade and just brought into the village from ronda at 10am.
I ate an egg for breakfast for the first time in more years than I can remember.
We drove about 2 hours to Malaga with lovely distractions of more amazing mountains along the way.
Today - we walked! The entire Castillo Gibralfaro and Malaga Alcazaba!
Their history is very interesting:
Drove to Ronda for dinner and ended our day with drinking beers with Botz, the hostel owner.
Ronda - Day 5
I love to buy little treasures which are often known to other people as crap. Yet I stand by the believe that someone's trash is another person's treasure. Matt and I started the day by walking around Seville buying tourist stuff and window shopping.
As we were leaving Seville, of which we had issues getting into and leaving every city so far by car, we were at a complete stop while waiting for our turn to enter the roundabout. 2 cars behind us hit the car in front of us which hit us... no damage and everyone went on their marry way.
The drive from Seville to Ronda was jaw dropping beautiful with mountains and green nature; note southern Spain has had a rainy winter.
We arrived in Ronda and jumped out to see the view. We stopped at a restaurant at 4pm which was just closing their kitchen to prepare for dinner, so we had some starters and a drink or two while we overlooked the valley with a bridge built across it. This is why the tourists staying on the coast come to Ronda just for the day. The timing on their arrival and departure in fact was almost predictable.
After lunch we Walked around taking pictures and enjoying the bridge and thee valley. We hiked to see the bridge from side, then hiked back up. On the other side of the bridge, we visited Casa del Rey Moro. This is where we walked down an old mine and came out at the river which is along the bottom of the valley - looking up.
Evening was setting in so we wandered down to old part of city and came up the other side of the river.
On the way back up the opposite side, Matt spotted millions of little black ants walking a far distance while making an ant hill and carrying greenery from the bushes. We visited and marveled at them and what it would be like to be them for a bit. I think that was the only moment during the entire trip that Matt REALLY wished he would have brought his macro camera lens along.
We drove approx. 20 minutes from Ronda to where our hostel was for the next 2 nights. Cartajima - amazing mountain village managed by a character named Botz.
Interestingly strange fellow, but an amazing cook.
There were also 1 other couple at the hostel that evening, Katherine from Germany and Frederick from Holland. The 4 of us + Botz stayed up and talked and drank beer and wine by the fire in the old cottage. It was almost magical and put together like a page out of an evening in Anne of Green Gables. But with beer & wine.
A group of 5 or so students all travelling together arrived at the hostel around midnight and we all stayed up more and drank and talked... and then went to sleep at silly o'clock.
Seville - Day 4
Today, we decided to wear shorts for the first time this decade! We started our day of touring the Seville cathedral and historical Giralda. The Giralda is a clock tower today but in the past was a former mosque minaret. Both the cathedral & the Girala, as well as the beautiful rose and orange tree garden between the two, were beautiful. They all showed the touched signs of the Islamic and the Christian culture once vested here.
After having lunch and an afternoon siesta, we visited the Alcazar. The gardens were amazing and HUGE -- I can only recommend seeing the pictures as the elegantly shaped bushes and lemon & orange trees as well as flowers galore is better off being depicted through photography.
Matt and I decided to have dinner in a pizzeria restaurant in the San Marco Plaza; I had pasta and Matt had salmon - which he loved.
We finished off the evening with going to the best -and usually sold out- Flamenco show at Taverna Reale Uno... Pictures and videos to follow.
I loved it. The rhythm made by hands and heels is the heartbeat while the dancer controls the pace, passion, and 'soul' of the music.
A good night sleep was well deserved in our hostel in Seville, just off the main drag...
Outdated Posts
Shortly I will be posting text from very outdated posts for your viewing pleasure. I would be my mother nor father's child if I did everything on time; just one of the many great things passed down to me.
These posts are actual notes and text taken during my southern Spain road trip earlier this year in which the prior related posts can be seen within the April folder of this blog.
Enjoy.
Sars
These posts are actual notes and text taken during my southern Spain road trip earlier this year in which the prior related posts can be seen within the April folder of this blog.
Enjoy.
Sars
Friday, April 9, 2010
¡Oppps!
Before you panic when you see this picture, no one was hurt and it did not cost us a cent to get another rental car brought to us (which is on the way!)
Monday, April 5, 2010
Cordoba and Seville - Day 3
Matt and I woke today and took more pictures of hotel, Lineas 38, Cordoba.
The shared lounge outside our room had a stained glass window as the entire ceiling and had function similar to a sky light.
We went around the corner to check on our car as we made our way to the historical sites. Although no street signs and we had put our car out of the barely-the-width-of-a-sedan street, it was gone.
What was even funnier was that Matt joked "let's see if our car is here still" when we left the hotel initially and realised we were headed in the wrong direction.
The local police politely left a yellow stick next to where we were parked so we could collect the car.
We decided we were not getting charged by the hour for the police to hold the car so we toured the city before even inquiring where our rental car was being kept.
The Mosquita was not only a mosque through history but at times it was a Catholic cathedral.
The interior is so elaborate, Matt and I bought a book describing the history of many parts with an associated picture.
We popped in and out of shops looking at all the fun tourist crap we wouldn't buy :)
Our lunch was fun! We sat outside in the sun while the stereotypical grandma type waiter served us. At one point Matt stood up to take a picture of a near building facade. The waiter had Matt also take a picture of 'grandpa waiter' and myself while joking how Matt left his lady at the table to be stolen. I was laughing so hard it took multiple tries for me to get the correct Spanish out to say Matt didn't understand the Spanish the waiter was speaking to him. Both waiter and i laughed at his realisation and Matt also joined in with a good chuckle once I filled him in.
My onion soup with veggie broth and local fresh cheese was brilliant. Best meal in Spain to date for my precious and stubborn taste buds.
Afterwards we wandered through the narrow streets of the historical center towards the Singagoga, (sinagog).
This southern region, Andalucia, is known for its past history of Judiaism, Islam, and Christians living semi-peacefully together. According to our travel guide book, the worst event was the expulsion of Muslims from the country when it was found that they did not honestly convert to Roman Catholic / Christianity. The decor and cultural approach shows a significance to all 3 roots without any obvious bias.
That said, I love the style of homes and decor and lifestyle here. If I could, I would hunt for all types of decorations for my house in the US. Unfortunately my money tree has yet to blossom in 28 years. I'm hoping my 29th is golden :)
After more wandering and picture taking, we asked the hotel reception to help us by calling the impound for location and details.
Once we had where to go we walked with our luggage about 15 minutes to the impound. Sure enough our french made car was there! After some giggles, signatures, gathering of driver information, and 68.20 Euros (approx. $90) later, we were returned the car.
Since this was a new experience INTERNATIONAL for us both, I took a picture of Matt loading the car with our luggage at the impound. The local police doing administration work there found us possibly more amusing then we found ourselves. I guess I did tell the officer I wanted to keep our yellow 'you have been towed' sticker as my most expensive souvenir.
Once again we headed south for 1.5 hours to Seville. Seville is twice the size of Cordoba and I am of the opinion that it also has twice the amount of tourism.
We approached the city again having issues with under detailed maps available. At an intersection, a guy with a badge suggesting he was a hotel and hostel assistant for the city offered to give us directions before letting us pass onto this one street.
When he saw where our hostel was situated, he went to confirm directions and returned to us asking to get in the car and guide us. Knowing we only had our wallets with little cash on our persons and Matts camera and Kindle 2 within reach of this friendly man, we did what our parents would want us to do. We let the man into the front of our car while I drove and matt protected our things in the back. Sure enough he was a major time saver by what could have been hours. He carried luggage to the hostel with us and then helped us score rock star parking. A parking spot in this town this good must be a Heavenly gift!
we tipped him 5 euros and sent him on his way, although he of course pretended that 5 euros was only a so-so tip, Matt and I know better.
After checking into our hostel, we wondered around the exterior of the Catholic cathedral and then in and out of little shops as we wondered.
Orange trees in this region of southern Spain are in blossom for the second time this season as full blossoms and fruit can be see on the trees. I attempted to get an orange from a tree in Cordoba and realised how amazing the blossoms smelled. Matt described it well; a mix of jasmine and slight sweet citrus.
I did not get any fruit (yet!) And brought blossoms for Matt to smell.
In our usual mood, he took the full pollen staimens and rubbed it on my neck as a perfume. I enjoyed the smell so much that I grabbed a new blossom and deeply breathed in the smell... And pollen.
My material genes have graced me with a very mild hay fever that is usually triggered in the spring and short lived without medication. After knowing Matt, I realise I am lucky for this mild level.
In hindsight, the orange blossoms, which I have never smelled or used the pollen as perfume before, was not a good choice. ("Milk was a bad choice" -Anchorman)
I started sneezing, sinuses dripping, coughing, and had a mild sinus headache. After about 4 hours the symptoms subsided but have yet to fully disappear.
For dinner we had -can you guess- TAPAS! Grilled garlic artichokes, pork fillet in a whiskey sauce -which was top notch,- bread and a slow cooked venison. Its was a relaxing and romantic dinner as you could smell the light and sweet scent of the orange blossoms by just being outside. This time, not enough to trigger more allergies!
We drank sangria with apple pieces and then finished dinner with the local orange wine. It is very sweet and like a port wine without a dry or slight alcohol tasting finish. I really enjoyed it and think it would be a great summer drink with some tonic whereas Matt liked it but found the 15% apv wine too sweet without a tonic as a summer drink.
Now you know the newest drink at my Indy house this summer if you would like to try it.
We checked out the romantic rooftop terrace at the hostel where we were able to see the top of the cathedral as well as the hundred± bats circling the top, semi-near the building's flood lights, for food.
There is so much to see and do that I am excited for what's ahead of us tomorrow.
Oh and our hostel's vending machine has cold water, snacks, and cans of heineken for 1 euro (approx $1.40). Of course we bought 2 beers for relaxing while reading and blogging
in our room.
An email chain stemming from a 95± year old woman stated how I feel: "Life is not fair, but it is pretty good"
Sarah: "my eyes are really itchy and watering but I guess I never have snorted orange blossom pollen before."
The shared lounge outside our room had a stained glass window as the entire ceiling and had function similar to a sky light.
We went around the corner to check on our car as we made our way to the historical sites. Although no street signs and we had put our car out of the barely-the-width-of-a-sedan street, it was gone.
What was even funnier was that Matt joked "let's see if our car is here still" when we left the hotel initially and realised we were headed in the wrong direction.
The local police politely left a yellow stick next to where we were parked so we could collect the car.
We decided we were not getting charged by the hour for the police to hold the car so we toured the city before even inquiring where our rental car was being kept.
The Mosquita was not only a mosque through history but at times it was a Catholic cathedral.
The interior is so elaborate, Matt and I bought a book describing the history of many parts with an associated picture.
We popped in and out of shops looking at all the fun tourist crap we wouldn't buy :)
Our lunch was fun! We sat outside in the sun while the stereotypical grandma type waiter served us. At one point Matt stood up to take a picture of a near building facade. The waiter had Matt also take a picture of 'grandpa waiter' and myself while joking how Matt left his lady at the table to be stolen. I was laughing so hard it took multiple tries for me to get the correct Spanish out to say Matt didn't understand the Spanish the waiter was speaking to him. Both waiter and i laughed at his realisation and Matt also joined in with a good chuckle once I filled him in.
My onion soup with veggie broth and local fresh cheese was brilliant. Best meal in Spain to date for my precious and stubborn taste buds.
Afterwards we wandered through the narrow streets of the historical center towards the Singagoga, (sinagog).
This southern region, Andalucia, is known for its past history of Judiaism, Islam, and Christians living semi-peacefully together. According to our travel guide book, the worst event was the expulsion of Muslims from the country when it was found that they did not honestly convert to Roman Catholic / Christianity. The decor and cultural approach shows a significance to all 3 roots without any obvious bias.
That said, I love the style of homes and decor and lifestyle here. If I could, I would hunt for all types of decorations for my house in the US. Unfortunately my money tree has yet to blossom in 28 years. I'm hoping my 29th is golden :)
After more wandering and picture taking, we asked the hotel reception to help us by calling the impound for location and details.
Once we had where to go we walked with our luggage about 15 minutes to the impound. Sure enough our french made car was there! After some giggles, signatures, gathering of driver information, and 68.20 Euros (approx. $90) later, we were returned the car.
Since this was a new experience INTERNATIONAL for us both, I took a picture of Matt loading the car with our luggage at the impound. The local police doing administration work there found us possibly more amusing then we found ourselves. I guess I did tell the officer I wanted to keep our yellow 'you have been towed' sticker as my most expensive souvenir.
Once again we headed south for 1.5 hours to Seville. Seville is twice the size of Cordoba and I am of the opinion that it also has twice the amount of tourism.
We approached the city again having issues with under detailed maps available. At an intersection, a guy with a badge suggesting he was a hotel and hostel assistant for the city offered to give us directions before letting us pass onto this one street.
When he saw where our hostel was situated, he went to confirm directions and returned to us asking to get in the car and guide us. Knowing we only had our wallets with little cash on our persons and Matts camera and Kindle 2 within reach of this friendly man, we did what our parents would want us to do. We let the man into the front of our car while I drove and matt protected our things in the back. Sure enough he was a major time saver by what could have been hours. He carried luggage to the hostel with us and then helped us score rock star parking. A parking spot in this town this good must be a Heavenly gift!
we tipped him 5 euros and sent him on his way, although he of course pretended that 5 euros was only a so-so tip, Matt and I know better.
After checking into our hostel, we wondered around the exterior of the Catholic cathedral and then in and out of little shops as we wondered.
Orange trees in this region of southern Spain are in blossom for the second time this season as full blossoms and fruit can be see on the trees. I attempted to get an orange from a tree in Cordoba and realised how amazing the blossoms smelled. Matt described it well; a mix of jasmine and slight sweet citrus.
I did not get any fruit (yet!) And brought blossoms for Matt to smell.
In our usual mood, he took the full pollen staimens and rubbed it on my neck as a perfume. I enjoyed the smell so much that I grabbed a new blossom and deeply breathed in the smell... And pollen.
My material genes have graced me with a very mild hay fever that is usually triggered in the spring and short lived without medication. After knowing Matt, I realise I am lucky for this mild level.
In hindsight, the orange blossoms, which I have never smelled or used the pollen as perfume before, was not a good choice. ("Milk was a bad choice" -Anchorman)
I started sneezing, sinuses dripping, coughing, and had a mild sinus headache. After about 4 hours the symptoms subsided but have yet to fully disappear.
For dinner we had -can you guess- TAPAS! Grilled garlic artichokes, pork fillet in a whiskey sauce -which was top notch,- bread and a slow cooked venison. Its was a relaxing and romantic dinner as you could smell the light and sweet scent of the orange blossoms by just being outside. This time, not enough to trigger more allergies!
We drank sangria with apple pieces and then finished dinner with the local orange wine. It is very sweet and like a port wine without a dry or slight alcohol tasting finish. I really enjoyed it and think it would be a great summer drink with some tonic whereas Matt liked it but found the 15% apv wine too sweet without a tonic as a summer drink.
Now you know the newest drink at my Indy house this summer if you would like to try it.
We checked out the romantic rooftop terrace at the hostel where we were able to see the top of the cathedral as well as the hundred± bats circling the top, semi-near the building's flood lights, for food.
There is so much to see and do that I am excited for what's ahead of us tomorrow.
Oh and our hostel's vending machine has cold water, snacks, and cans of heineken for 1 euro (approx $1.40). Of course we bought 2 beers for relaxing while reading and blogging
in our room.
An email chain stemming from a 95± year old woman stated how I feel: "Life is not fair, but it is pretty good"
Sarah: "my eyes are really itchy and watering but I guess I never have snorted orange blossom pollen before."
Cordoba - Day 3
Matt and I woke today and took more pictures of hotel, Lineas 38, Cordoba.
The shared lounge outside our room had a stained glass window as the entire ceiling and had function similar to a sky light.
We went around the corner to check on our car as we made our way to the historical sites. Although no street signs and we had put our car out of the barely-the-width-of-a-sedan street, it was gone.
What was even funnier was that Matt joked "let's see if our car is here still" when we left the hotel initially and realised we were headed in the wrong direction.
The local police politely left a yellow stick next to where we were parked so we could collect the car.
We decided we were not getting charged by the hour for the police to hold the car so we toured the city before even inquiring where our rental car was being kept.
The Mosquita was not only a mosque through history but at times it was a Catholic cathedral.
The interior is so elaborate, Matt and I bought a book describing the history of many parts with an associated picture.
We popped in and out of shops looking at all the fun tourist crap we wouldn't buy :)
Our lunch was fun! We sat outside in the sun while the stereotypical grandma type waiter served us. At one point Matt stood up to take a picture of a near building facade. The waiter had Matt also take a picture of 'grandpa waiter' and myself while joking how Matt left his lady at the table to be stolen. I was laughing so hard it took multiple tries for me to get the correct Spanish out to say Matt didn't understand the Spanish the waiter was speaking to him. Both waiter and i laughed at his realisation and Matt also joined in with a good chuckle once I filled him in.
My onion soup with veggie broth and local fresh cheese was brilliant. Best meal in Spain to date for my precious and stubborn taste buds.
Afterwards we wandered through the narrow streets of the historical center towards the Singagoga, (sinagog).
This southern region, Andalucia, is known for its past history of Judiaism, Islam, and Christians living semi-peacefully together. According to our travel guide book, the worst event was the expulsion of Muslims from the country when it was found that they did not honestly convert to Roman Catholic / Christianity. The decor and cultural approach shows a significance to all 3 roots without any obvious bias.
That said, I love the style of homes and decor and lifestyle here. If I could, I would hunt for all types of decorations for my house in the US. Unfortunately my money tree has yet to blossom in 28 years. I'm hoping my 29th is golden :)
After more wandering and picture taking, we asked the hotel reception to help us by calling the impound for location and details.
Once we had where to go we walked with our luggage about 15 minutes to the impound. Sure enough our french made car was there! After some giggles, signatures, gathering of driver information, and 68.20 Euros (approx. $90) later, we were returned the car.
Since this was a new experience INTERNATIONAL for us both, I took a picture of Matt loading the car with our luggage at the impound. The local police doing administration work there found us possibly more amusing then we found ourselves. I guess I did tell the officer I wanted to keep our yellow 'you have been towed' sticker as my most expensive souvenir.
Once again we headed south for 1.5 hours to Seville. Seville is twice the size of Cordoba and I am of the opinion that it also has twice the amount of tourism.
We approached the city again having issues with under detailed maps available. At an intersection, a guy with a badge suggesting he was a hotel and hostel assistant for the city offered to give us directions before letting us pass onto this one street.
When he saw where our hostel was situated, he went to confirm directions and returned to us asking to get in the car and guide us. Knowing we only had our wallets with little cash on our persons and Matts camera and Kindle 2 within reach of this friendly man, we did what our parents would want us to do. We let the man into the front of our car while I drove and matt protected our things in the back. Sure enough he was a major time saver by what could have been hours. He carried luggage to the hostel with us and then helped us score rock star parking. A parking spot in this town this good must be a Heavenly gift!
we tipped him 5 euros and sent him on his way, although he of course pretended that 5 euros was only a so-so tip, Matt and I know better.
After checking into our hostel, we wondered around the exterior of the Catholic cathedral and then in and out of little shops as we wondered.
Orange trees in this region of southern Spain are in blossom for the second time this season as full blossoms and fruit can be see on the trees. I attempted to get an orange from a tree in Cordoba and realised how amazing the blossoms smelled. Matt described it well; a mix of jasmine and slight sweet citrus.
I did not get any fruit (yet!) And brought blossoms for Matt to smell.
In our usual mood, he took the full pollen staimens and rubbed it on my neck as a perfume. I enjoyed the smell so much that I grabbed a new blossom and deeply breathed in the smell... And pollen.
My material genes have graced me with a very mild hay fever that is usually triggered in the spring and short lived without medication. After knowing Matt, I realise I am lucky for this mild level.
In hindsight, the orange blossoms, which I have never smelled or used the pollen as perfume before, was not a good choice. ("Milk was a bad choice" -Anchorman)
I started sneezing, sinuses dripping, coughing, and had a mild sinus headache. After about 4 hours the symptoms subsided but have yet to fully disappear.
For dinner we had -can you guess- TAPAS! Grilled garlic artichokes, pork fillet in a whiskey sauce -which was top notch,- bread and a slow cooked venison. Its was a relaxing and romantic dinner as you could smell the light and sweet scent of the orange blossoms by just being outside. This time, not enough to trigger more allergies!
We drank sangria with apple pieces and then finished dinner with the local orange wine. It is very sweet and like a port wine without a dry or slight alcohol tasting finish. I really enjoyed it and think it would be a great summer drink with some tonic whereas Matt liked it but found the 15% apv wine too sweet without a tonic as a summer drink.
Now you know the newest drink at my Indy house this summer if you would like to try it.
We checked out the romantic rooftop terrace at the hostel where we were able to see the top of the cathedral as well as the hundred± bats circling the top, semi-near the building's flood lights, for food.
There is so much to see and do that I am excited for what's ahead of us tomorrow.
Oh and our hostel's vending machine has cold water, snacks, and cans of heineken for 1 euro (approx $1.40). Of course we bought 2 beers for relaxing while reading and blogging
in our room.
An email chain stemming from a 95± year old woman stated how I feel: "Life is not fair, but it is pretty good"
Sarah: "my eyes are really itchy and watering but I guess I never have snorted orange blossom pollen before."
The shared lounge outside our room had a stained glass window as the entire ceiling and had function similar to a sky light.
We went around the corner to check on our car as we made our way to the historical sites. Although no street signs and we had put our car out of the barely-the-width-of-a-sedan street, it was gone.
What was even funnier was that Matt joked "let's see if our car is here still" when we left the hotel initially and realised we were headed in the wrong direction.
The local police politely left a yellow stick next to where we were parked so we could collect the car.
We decided we were not getting charged by the hour for the police to hold the car so we toured the city before even inquiring where our rental car was being kept.
The Mosquita was not only a mosque through history but at times it was a Catholic cathedral.
The interior is so elaborate, Matt and I bought a book describing the history of many parts with an associated picture.
We popped in and out of shops looking at all the fun tourist crap we wouldn't buy :)
Our lunch was fun! We sat outside in the sun while the stereotypical grandma type waiter served us. At one point Matt stood up to take a picture of a near building facade. The waiter had Matt also take a picture of 'grandpa waiter' and myself while joking how Matt left his lady at the table to be stolen. I was laughing so hard it took multiple tries for me to get the correct Spanish out to say Matt didn't understand the Spanish the waiter was speaking to him. Both waiter and i laughed at his realisation and Matt also joined in with a good chuckle once I filled him in.
My onion soup with veggie broth and local fresh cheese was brilliant. Best meal in Spain to date for my precious and stubborn taste buds.
Afterwards we wandered through the narrow streets of the historical center towards the Singagoga, (sinagog).
This southern region, Andalucia, is known for its past history of Judiaism, Islam, and Christians living semi-peacefully together. According to our travel guide book, the worst event was the expulsion of Muslims from the country when it was found that they did not honestly convert to Roman Catholic / Christianity. The decor and cultural approach shows a significance to all 3 roots without any obvious bias.
That said, I love the style of homes and decor and lifestyle here. If I could, I would hunt for all types of decorations for my house in the US. Unfortunately my money tree has yet to blossom in 28 years. I'm hoping my 29th is golden :)
After more wandering and picture taking, we asked the hotel reception to help us by calling the impound for location and details.
Once we had where to go we walked with our luggage about 15 minutes to the impound. Sure enough our french made car was there! After some giggles, signatures, gathering of driver information, and 68.20 Euros (approx. $90) later, we were returned the car.
Since this was a new experience INTERNATIONAL for us both, I took a picture of Matt loading the car with our luggage at the impound. The local police doing administration work there found us possibly more amusing then we found ourselves. I guess I did tell the officer I wanted to keep our yellow 'you have been towed' sticker as my most expensive souvenir.
Once again we headed south for 1.5 hours to Seville. Seville is twice the size of Cordoba and I am of the opinion that it also has twice the amount of tourism.
We approached the city again having issues with under detailed maps available. At an intersection, a guy with a badge suggesting he was a hotel and hostel assistant for the city offered to give us directions before letting us pass onto this one street.
When he saw where our hostel was situated, he went to confirm directions and returned to us asking to get in the car and guide us. Knowing we only had our wallets with little cash on our persons and Matts camera and Kindle 2 within reach of this friendly man, we did what our parents would want us to do. We let the man into the front of our car while I drove and matt protected our things in the back. Sure enough he was a major time saver by what could have been hours. He carried luggage to the hostel with us and then helped us score rock star parking. A parking spot in this town this good must be a Heavenly gift!
we tipped him 5 euros and sent him on his way, although he of course pretended that 5 euros was only a so-so tip, Matt and I know better.
After checking into our hostel, we wondered around the exterior of the Catholic cathedral and then in and out of little shops as we wondered.
Orange trees in this region of southern Spain are in blossom for the second time this season as full blossoms and fruit can be see on the trees. I attempted to get an orange from a tree in Cordoba and realised how amazing the blossoms smelled. Matt described it well; a mix of jasmine and slight sweet citrus.
I did not get any fruit (yet!) And brought blossoms for Matt to smell.
In our usual mood, he took the full pollen staimens and rubbed it on my neck as a perfume. I enjoyed the smell so much that I grabbed a new blossom and deeply breathed in the smell... And pollen.
My material genes have graced me with a very mild hay fever that is usually triggered in the spring and short lived without medication. After knowing Matt, I realise I am lucky for this mild level.
In hindsight, the orange blossoms, which I have never smelled or used the pollen as perfume before, was not a good choice. ("Milk was a bad choice" -Anchorman)
I started sneezing, sinuses dripping, coughing, and had a mild sinus headache. After about 4 hours the symptoms subsided but have yet to fully disappear.
For dinner we had -can you guess- TAPAS! Grilled garlic artichokes, pork fillet in a whiskey sauce -which was top notch,- bread and a slow cooked venison. Its was a relaxing and romantic dinner as you could smell the light and sweet scent of the orange blossoms by just being outside. This time, not enough to trigger more allergies!
We drank sangria with apple pieces and then finished dinner with the local orange wine. It is very sweet and like a port wine without a dry or slight alcohol tasting finish. I really enjoyed it and think it would be a great summer drink with some tonic whereas Matt liked it but found the 15% apv wine too sweet without a tonic as a summer drink.
Now you know the newest drink at my Indy house this summer if you would like to try it.
We checked out the romantic rooftop terrace at the hostel where we were able to see the top of the cathedral as well as the hundred± bats circling the top, semi-near the building's flood lights, for food.
There is so much to see and do that I am excited for what's ahead of us tomorrow.
Oh and our hostel's vending machine has cold water, snacks, and cans of heineken for 1 euro (approx $1.40). Of course we bought 2 beers for relaxing while reading and blogging
in our room.
An email chain stemming from a 95± year old woman stated how I feel: "Life is not fair, but it is pretty good"
Sarah: "my eyes are really itchy and watering but I guess I never have snorted orange blossom pollen before."
Madrid & Cordoba - Easter Sunday
Happy Easter!
Only a 2 minute walk from our hostel was a Catholic church having mass every hour, totalling 6 all day at only that single church. Compared to its size, this was very surprising yet very accommodating.
Matt and I attended mass at St Giles, and, although it was in Spanish, we were able to say some of the English responses to ourselves and continue self prayer during the rest.
We made the trek from Plaza de Sol via the metro to the airport to get a rental car and hit the road headed south.
The drive was beautiful and stunning. Mountains and miles of olive tree orchards, some seasonally young vineyards, old wind mills, and beautiful nature kept us so entertained for 4 hours that we did not turn on the radio.
There also are two billboard sized icons which have appeared throughout our time here. Whether in the middle of Madrid or just along the highway, the giant toro -or bull- and a giant matador often appear. Matt and I have become accustomed to loudly saying 'TORO!' Each time we see the bull.
Once we got to Cordoba, we drove extra 2.5 hours in circles around and in the city to get on the correct one way maze of streets to our hotel.
We stayed at Lineas 38 hotel. I would recommend staying over and over again. The web site described it perfectly as straight out of Arabian Nights. Its decoration and style, along with comfort was well worth beyond the low price.
Seeing as our unexpected driving tour took too long, it was 11pm when we walked into a local tavern for a very light dinner of a couple of tapas.
The bar keep was excited to have us there for a chat to practice his English. He told us a story of his musician friend who lives and works in Chicago paying trombone in an orchestra as well as other side music gigs.
We slept like rocks, if rocks slept.
Only a 2 minute walk from our hostel was a Catholic church having mass every hour, totalling 6 all day at only that single church. Compared to its size, this was very surprising yet very accommodating.
Matt and I attended mass at St Giles, and, although it was in Spanish, we were able to say some of the English responses to ourselves and continue self prayer during the rest.
We made the trek from Plaza de Sol via the metro to the airport to get a rental car and hit the road headed south.
The drive was beautiful and stunning. Mountains and miles of olive tree orchards, some seasonally young vineyards, old wind mills, and beautiful nature kept us so entertained for 4 hours that we did not turn on the radio.
There also are two billboard sized icons which have appeared throughout our time here. Whether in the middle of Madrid or just along the highway, the giant toro -or bull- and a giant matador often appear. Matt and I have become accustomed to loudly saying 'TORO!' Each time we see the bull.
Once we got to Cordoba, we drove extra 2.5 hours in circles around and in the city to get on the correct one way maze of streets to our hotel.
We stayed at Lineas 38 hotel. I would recommend staying over and over again. The web site described it perfectly as straight out of Arabian Nights. Its decoration and style, along with comfort was well worth beyond the low price.
Seeing as our unexpected driving tour took too long, it was 11pm when we walked into a local tavern for a very light dinner of a couple of tapas.
The bar keep was excited to have us there for a chat to practice his English. He told us a story of his musician friend who lives and works in Chicago paying trombone in an orchestra as well as other side music gigs.
We slept like rocks, if rocks slept.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Madrid: Day 1
Matt and I arrived by plane in Madrid around 11pm on Wednesday. While getting our checked luggage, the clearly new luggage belt system failed by the ground crew delivering the 3 different carts of luggage from the plane to 3 different carousels.
With luggage in hand, we hailed a cab. We found our hostel was not well marked so the driver called for directions. With my limited knowledge of the Spanish and my own lack of shame, I somehow had the cabbie convinced I understood him fluently. In the end, we arrived without too much hassle.
On our arrival, again the receptionist thought I understood him fluently. All I know is there was a mistake with our 3 night reservation and we received 1 night free of charge.
In the morning, we wondered down a major street, Calle Mayor. We visited a lovely church (we have not seen a non-Catholic church yet! Quite the opposite to GB) and took tons of pictures for the architecture and freshly planted flower beds.
Next we visited Cathedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena. The inside is beautiful and written description does not do it justice, so please stay tuned for pictures.
In essence, it is a collection of new and old style of religious decoration with out loosing the centuries of the different cultural influences.
After a light lunch, we continued wondering and taking pictures before deciding it was nap time. 2.5 hours worth, but we are on vacation :)
Afterwards we headed down the main artery street of central Madrid, Gran Via, until we reached a throng of people lining the streets. The TV station cameras on stands above the crowds indicated something was about to happen. Matt and I found a great spot standing behind 3 physically short couples. The view was great.
Again, words escape me. It was a parade of lay persons and clergy dressed as though it was a funeral procession through the street and Plaza Sol.
Some had purple robes with purple pointed hats, not unlike except in color to the hoods of the KKK, yet with a clearly different intent.
Others were barefoot and had chains on their ankles; dragging the chains through the parade path.
A large effigy of a golden alter decorated with mass amounts of fresh and bright flowers carried a statue of Jesus on the top. People clapped and made the sign of the cross as a sign of respect as it passed.
Multiple large sets of bands provided a sombre but traditional atmosphere. We had attended what was clearly an annual family tradition for many.
Matt and I wandered more and ran into Plaza Ciebeles, known for its stunning fountain. Since it was dark, these night pictures of this plaza should turn out great.
More wondering for an hour or so until we ended up with a pitcher of Sangria and 5 tapas for dinner.
Although the original plan was to go out for another drink or two and explore the famous Madrid nightlife, we were very tired and went to sleep close to 1am.
Matt and I agree the architecture is our favorite thing so far in Madrid, although the Sangria was good as well.
Matt is in heaven with different types of tapas whereas my picky palate really enjoys the basics. I am working on the sense of adventure to have a seafood dish during the trip.
With luggage in hand, we hailed a cab. We found our hostel was not well marked so the driver called for directions. With my limited knowledge of the Spanish and my own lack of shame, I somehow had the cabbie convinced I understood him fluently. In the end, we arrived without too much hassle.
On our arrival, again the receptionist thought I understood him fluently. All I know is there was a mistake with our 3 night reservation and we received 1 night free of charge.
In the morning, we wondered down a major street, Calle Mayor. We visited a lovely church (we have not seen a non-Catholic church yet! Quite the opposite to GB) and took tons of pictures for the architecture and freshly planted flower beds.
Next we visited Cathedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena. The inside is beautiful and written description does not do it justice, so please stay tuned for pictures.
In essence, it is a collection of new and old style of religious decoration with out loosing the centuries of the different cultural influences.
After a light lunch, we continued wondering and taking pictures before deciding it was nap time. 2.5 hours worth, but we are on vacation :)
Afterwards we headed down the main artery street of central Madrid, Gran Via, until we reached a throng of people lining the streets. The TV station cameras on stands above the crowds indicated something was about to happen. Matt and I found a great spot standing behind 3 physically short couples. The view was great.
Again, words escape me. It was a parade of lay persons and clergy dressed as though it was a funeral procession through the street and Plaza Sol.
Some had purple robes with purple pointed hats, not unlike except in color to the hoods of the KKK, yet with a clearly different intent.
Others were barefoot and had chains on their ankles; dragging the chains through the parade path.
A large effigy of a golden alter decorated with mass amounts of fresh and bright flowers carried a statue of Jesus on the top. People clapped and made the sign of the cross as a sign of respect as it passed.
Multiple large sets of bands provided a sombre but traditional atmosphere. We had attended what was clearly an annual family tradition for many.
Matt and I wandered more and ran into Plaza Ciebeles, known for its stunning fountain. Since it was dark, these night pictures of this plaza should turn out great.
More wondering for an hour or so until we ended up with a pitcher of Sangria and 5 tapas for dinner.
Although the original plan was to go out for another drink or two and explore the famous Madrid nightlife, we were very tired and went to sleep close to 1am.
Matt and I agree the architecture is our favorite thing so far in Madrid, although the Sangria was good as well.
Matt is in heaven with different types of tapas whereas my picky palate really enjoys the basics. I am working on the sense of adventure to have a seafood dish during the trip.
April fools
For everyone who has not figured it out, APRIL FOOLS!
No, I am not engaged, nor did I win a wet tshirt contest for 1K British Pounds
Sorry Grandma T - we can still go shopping for a new dress anyways!
Thanks to all for being good sports.
I'm lucky to have you in my life. My mom would say, in our family (mostly referring to my maternal uncles) if they tease you, then you know they like you :)
Until next year, when I will be watching my back carefully.
No, I am not engaged, nor did I win a wet tshirt contest for 1K British Pounds
Sorry Grandma T - we can still go shopping for a new dress anyways!
Thanks to all for being good sports.
I'm lucky to have you in my life. My mom would say, in our family (mostly referring to my maternal uncles) if they tease you, then you know they like you :)
Until next year, when I will be watching my back carefully.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Flashback to Oz
I did keep a running week by week journal while in Australia to document most things I did. You can find pictures of it on my shutterfly web site, which is linked here.
Overall, I loved Australia. If I become a snow bird one day, I will not be traveling to Florida to spend winter there, but will be going to Australia. Specifically the north head in DeeWy or Manly.
I took a surfing lesson while there and LOVED it. It was a great workout even when I barely could catch even one wave. Lake Michigan just isnt making the froth like the coasts do but it is where home and family is. Surfing will have to stay as a vacation activity.
Enjoy.
First 1/2 week (oct 14 - 18)
My first few days in australia consisted of going to a client site with two other collegues and sitting in meetings.
Unfortunately I thought I was the one who was to be running these meetings but based on politic stance and the uncertainy of my ability to read people across a culture basis, I was voted down to listen to the meetings and let the Australian manager run them. By all means it was not uninteresting, but I have heard it before - usually running the meetings myself keeps things more interesting. As faue pa as it may sound, I still was shocked to hear the multitude of different sounding accents. The business men in the meeting I was attending were from all of the different australian states and hearing the vast difference was very interesting. So the next time someone tells you American's sound all alike, turn it back on them and say well then *insert nationality here* must all sound a like as well then.
When the weekend came I took to the streets and walked and walked. Some of the things I saw were very interesting but nothing about Sydney really struck me as stunning with one exception. The Sydney Harbour, especially at night, is one of the most beautiful things. I do love a good skyline and in fact my favorite skyline remains as the skyline of Chicago. Yet this harbour harbors (*wink*) a different sense of heir that is beautiful in its own right. I meet some people from the Sydney Manhattan Associates office that Friday night and was late in meeting them not because I was lost, but rather caught up in wandering the harbour. In fact I was in such awe by its beauty that I did not take any pictures of it yet during the night time. Although I do plan to when Matt is in town visiting so stay tuned.
Other things I saw that weekend included many of the old sandstone buildings which of what few still stand are very beautiful. While walking down the street, I realized that people were looking into the sky as well as taking pictures. I looked up and didnt see anything at first, but then realized a small plane was writing "Jesus is Life" in the sky. Later I saw advertisments which concluded that the local community of Bapists had a weekend event themed as such.
My hotel was also right next to Chinatown so I was able to scope out the small shops carrying useless and shabby souveniors made in china. Chinatown's best assett were the numerous small restuarants whose food compared quite nicely to my familiarity of Chinese food from London's Chinatown.
Week of Oct 19 - 25
The business portion of my week included visiting a current client of ours in North Sydney, Chanel Perfume.
Unfortunately no samples, but they did have the basic range of 6-8 different perfumes to use in the women's bathroom. Wednesday - Friday that week I flew with the local manager to Melbourne to meet my current client, Plush Sofas. After discussions and the usual hoops to jump through, it has turned out to be a fairly simple project but to be completed on a tight deadline.
The weekend was kicked off with a couple of beers with the local manager in the Quantas airline Executive lounge, followed by some wine on the 50 minute flight back to Sydney.
Saturday I visited the beautiful and elegant Chinese Garden of Friendship. It is situated immediately in the middle of the city but is so calm and beautiful. I will be visiting here again for a picnic before I leave Sydney.
On Sunday, I signed up to walk 25k which is 15.6 miles for charity. Thank you to all who donated in fact!
I meet beyond my goal - especially since I signed up the day before the walk. It is called the 7 bridges walk,
although we definately walked more than 7 bridges, because it spans over the main 7 bridges of Sydney creating a circuit walk. What made this 7 hour walk more adventurous was that it waas thunderstorming and a downpour for more than half of the walk. We were soaked and cold - but even colder if we stopped, so we kept going! Once we did stop, the muscles and tendons tightened up and it took the rest of the next week to stretch them back out. It was still worth it and proud to have completed it.
Week of Oct 26 - Nov 1
This business week was busy and consisted of flying back out to Melbourne Monday - Thursday.
I realized the warehouse I am working with is a group of kindergarten boys, which makes me feel right at home. The following week is Melbourne Cup day on Tuesday; an official holiday and no work for the Austrailan state of Victoria. Melbourne Cup day is the middle of a week of horse racing. The guys in the warehouse bought in for $5 each to pull a horse for the big race - 23 horses total. I got involved and bought 2 bids myself clearly knowing my chances to win were slim.
Thursday night I flew back to Sydney and spent Friday working as well as putting together my Halloween costume; a dress made out of a cloth shower curtain. My costume was entitled "in the shower."
"What are you dressed as?" "In the shower" I added to my dress belt a metal shower caddy with shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, and toothpaste super glued onto it as well as a cheap shower sprayer, a shower cap, and hotel slippers. On Saturday I met up with the 3 other friends I walked the Sydney Bridges walk with at 11:30 at the Sydney wine & food festival. The desserts were so delicious that I could not decide which ones to have! The wine was also wonderful, especially The Brothers X was very refreshing for sweet and light wines. Afterwards we went by my hotel room to apply the cheap temporary tattoos we purchased on the way as well as enjoy a bottle or two of wine and wash up. Next stop was to Shangrila Lounge on the 47th floor near the water, we had a cocktail there just in time for the sunset. Accidently my friend split the candle and its hot wax on the pants of another friend - which ended our time there fairly quickly. After dinner we made our way to a bar near the water for a costume party, but did not stay terribly long. As 11pm approached, we all got our own cabs and went home to sleep another adventurous day off.
This week - I have found myself back in Melbourne. Although I worked from my self-service apartment on Tuesday when the rest of the state of Victoria went to the races, also known as "the carnival" - I was still able to watch the races on TV. To my 'shocking' amazement, one of my two horses WON the race! The horse's name is Shocking and I won $120 Australian dollars, which is just over $100 American dollars.
I will be spending the rest of this week, the weekend, and the next week in Melbourne, very happy to not have to get on a plane again and be able to stay in one place for more than 3-4 nights.
Month of November
Matt visited me for 8 days in Sydney. It was just so amazing to have someone to share it all with. We did A LOT of walking around. I moved to a 1 bedroom apartment just a 3 minute walk from the famous surfing beach, Manly beach. It is beautiful here. I may not see much more of anything else Sydney has to offer.
The ferry ride from Sydney Harbor to Manly Wharf is just stunning because the ferry passes the Opera House and Bridge with more than beautiful views.
We of course visited the Opera House, the Bridge, took some night pictures from key points along the water, and just enjoy another's company. We rented a car for the day and traveled to the Blue Mountains - outside of Sydney. We hiked as much as we could that day because a good majority of trails were closed due to it being too dry and hot outside and the fire hazard associated with the weather.
I continued for another 2 separate trips to travel to Melbourne supporting the Plush Furniture software implementation. The entire project turned out to be a bit of a IT nightmare but it all worked out in the end and they are using our software today.
I really enjoyed Melbourne and the different type of city atmosphere here. I walked through the botanical gardens and all around the central area - in the Queen Elizabeth Market and to the water. The best area is the few blocks of hands-down great restaurants and bars near the water. I spent a warm Saturday afternoon in a bar having a Pimms & Lemonade (or two) while listening to a live 3 piece jazz band's set. I even spoke with the band's members during their break about jazz music in Chicago. I would suggest anyone going to Melbourne to not miss a visit to the St. Kilda area.
December
Work continued to come in but I made sure to take time to swim (even if the water was freezing) or surf almost everyday. Being so close to the beach also provided for multiple evenings at the bar while listening to live music, nightly walks on the beach, and/or dinner outside.
I flew back to the UK on December 12th and landed on December 13th, 2009 in London. On December 16, I got back on a plane and traveled back home to Chicago to celebrate Christmas
Australia is two months of my life which only make me want to go back and see more!
Overall, I loved Australia. If I become a snow bird one day, I will not be traveling to Florida to spend winter there, but will be going to Australia. Specifically the north head in DeeWy or Manly.
I took a surfing lesson while there and LOVED it. It was a great workout even when I barely could catch even one wave. Lake Michigan just isnt making the froth like the coasts do but it is where home and family is. Surfing will have to stay as a vacation activity.
Enjoy.
First 1/2 week (oct 14 - 18)
My first few days in australia consisted of going to a client site with two other collegues and sitting in meetings.
Unfortunately I thought I was the one who was to be running these meetings but based on politic stance and the uncertainy of my ability to read people across a culture basis, I was voted down to listen to the meetings and let the Australian manager run them. By all means it was not uninteresting, but I have heard it before - usually running the meetings myself keeps things more interesting. As faue pa as it may sound, I still was shocked to hear the multitude of different sounding accents. The business men in the meeting I was attending were from all of the different australian states and hearing the vast difference was very interesting. So the next time someone tells you American's sound all alike, turn it back on them and say well then *insert nationality here* must all sound a like as well then.
When the weekend came I took to the streets and walked and walked. Some of the things I saw were very interesting but nothing about Sydney really struck me as stunning with one exception. The Sydney Harbour, especially at night, is one of the most beautiful things. I do love a good skyline and in fact my favorite skyline remains as the skyline of Chicago. Yet this harbour harbors (*wink*) a different sense of heir that is beautiful in its own right. I meet some people from the Sydney Manhattan Associates office that Friday night and was late in meeting them not because I was lost, but rather caught up in wandering the harbour. In fact I was in such awe by its beauty that I did not take any pictures of it yet during the night time. Although I do plan to when Matt is in town visiting so stay tuned.
Other things I saw that weekend included many of the old sandstone buildings which of what few still stand are very beautiful. While walking down the street, I realized that people were looking into the sky as well as taking pictures. I looked up and didnt see anything at first, but then realized a small plane was writing "Jesus is Life" in the sky. Later I saw advertisments which concluded that the local community of Bapists had a weekend event themed as such.
My hotel was also right next to Chinatown so I was able to scope out the small shops carrying useless and shabby souveniors made in china. Chinatown's best assett were the numerous small restuarants whose food compared quite nicely to my familiarity of Chinese food from London's Chinatown.
Week of Oct 19 - 25
The business portion of my week included visiting a current client of ours in North Sydney, Chanel Perfume.
Unfortunately no samples, but they did have the basic range of 6-8 different perfumes to use in the women's bathroom. Wednesday - Friday that week I flew with the local manager to Melbourne to meet my current client, Plush Sofas. After discussions and the usual hoops to jump through, it has turned out to be a fairly simple project but to be completed on a tight deadline.
The weekend was kicked off with a couple of beers with the local manager in the Quantas airline Executive lounge, followed by some wine on the 50 minute flight back to Sydney.
Saturday I visited the beautiful and elegant Chinese Garden of Friendship. It is situated immediately in the middle of the city but is so calm and beautiful. I will be visiting here again for a picnic before I leave Sydney.
On Sunday, I signed up to walk 25k which is 15.6 miles for charity. Thank you to all who donated in fact!
I meet beyond my goal - especially since I signed up the day before the walk. It is called the 7 bridges walk,
although we definately walked more than 7 bridges, because it spans over the main 7 bridges of Sydney creating a circuit walk. What made this 7 hour walk more adventurous was that it waas thunderstorming and a downpour for more than half of the walk. We were soaked and cold - but even colder if we stopped, so we kept going! Once we did stop, the muscles and tendons tightened up and it took the rest of the next week to stretch them back out. It was still worth it and proud to have completed it.
Week of Oct 26 - Nov 1
This business week was busy and consisted of flying back out to Melbourne Monday - Thursday.
I realized the warehouse I am working with is a group of kindergarten boys, which makes me feel right at home. The following week is Melbourne Cup day on Tuesday; an official holiday and no work for the Austrailan state of Victoria. Melbourne Cup day is the middle of a week of horse racing. The guys in the warehouse bought in for $5 each to pull a horse for the big race - 23 horses total. I got involved and bought 2 bids myself clearly knowing my chances to win were slim.
Thursday night I flew back to Sydney and spent Friday working as well as putting together my Halloween costume; a dress made out of a cloth shower curtain. My costume was entitled "in the shower."
"What are you dressed as?" "In the shower" I added to my dress belt a metal shower caddy with shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, and toothpaste super glued onto it as well as a cheap shower sprayer, a shower cap, and hotel slippers. On Saturday I met up with the 3 other friends I walked the Sydney Bridges walk with at 11:30 at the Sydney wine & food festival. The desserts were so delicious that I could not decide which ones to have! The wine was also wonderful, especially The Brothers X was very refreshing for sweet and light wines. Afterwards we went by my hotel room to apply the cheap temporary tattoos we purchased on the way as well as enjoy a bottle or two of wine and wash up. Next stop was to Shangrila Lounge on the 47th floor near the water, we had a cocktail there just in time for the sunset. Accidently my friend split the candle and its hot wax on the pants of another friend - which ended our time there fairly quickly. After dinner we made our way to a bar near the water for a costume party, but did not stay terribly long. As 11pm approached, we all got our own cabs and went home to sleep another adventurous day off.
This week - I have found myself back in Melbourne. Although I worked from my self-service apartment on Tuesday when the rest of the state of Victoria went to the races, also known as "the carnival" - I was still able to watch the races on TV. To my 'shocking' amazement, one of my two horses WON the race! The horse's name is Shocking and I won $120 Australian dollars, which is just over $100 American dollars.
I will be spending the rest of this week, the weekend, and the next week in Melbourne, very happy to not have to get on a plane again and be able to stay in one place for more than 3-4 nights.
Month of November
Matt visited me for 8 days in Sydney. It was just so amazing to have someone to share it all with. We did A LOT of walking around. I moved to a 1 bedroom apartment just a 3 minute walk from the famous surfing beach, Manly beach. It is beautiful here. I may not see much more of anything else Sydney has to offer.
The ferry ride from Sydney Harbor to Manly Wharf is just stunning because the ferry passes the Opera House and Bridge with more than beautiful views.
We of course visited the Opera House, the Bridge, took some night pictures from key points along the water, and just enjoy another's company. We rented a car for the day and traveled to the Blue Mountains - outside of Sydney. We hiked as much as we could that day because a good majority of trails were closed due to it being too dry and hot outside and the fire hazard associated with the weather.
I continued for another 2 separate trips to travel to Melbourne supporting the Plush Furniture software implementation. The entire project turned out to be a bit of a IT nightmare but it all worked out in the end and they are using our software today.
I really enjoyed Melbourne and the different type of city atmosphere here. I walked through the botanical gardens and all around the central area - in the Queen Elizabeth Market and to the water. The best area is the few blocks of hands-down great restaurants and bars near the water. I spent a warm Saturday afternoon in a bar having a Pimms & Lemonade (or two) while listening to a live 3 piece jazz band's set. I even spoke with the band's members during their break about jazz music in Chicago. I would suggest anyone going to Melbourne to not miss a visit to the St. Kilda area.
December
Work continued to come in but I made sure to take time to swim (even if the water was freezing) or surf almost everyday. Being so close to the beach also provided for multiple evenings at the bar while listening to live music, nightly walks on the beach, and/or dinner outside.
I flew back to the UK on December 12th and landed on December 13th, 2009 in London. On December 16, I got back on a plane and traveled back home to Chicago to celebrate Christmas
Australia is two months of my life which only make me want to go back and see more!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
26 hours
I traveled for 26 hours.
Leaving my London flat at 4pm on Saturday and arrived at my hotel in Santiago, Chile 26 hours later.
It is a strange concept that within 26 hours, I was able to fly to the other side of the world. And for what..? Only 3 days with a client. I fly back on Friday evening. I actually was to fly back to London on Thursday but the flight options were limited.
To top off the long round trip and the short stay, I forgot my phone charger. My computer and my phone are my lifelines to getting work completed and staying in contact with family and work. If I cannot be contacted one way or the other, then it is very hard to complete my job. Luckily I have internet here at the hotel for a small charge for 24 hours.
My luggage also did not make it. Well one of the two pieces of luggage made it - but it was the empty one with just some of my toiletries. It is Sunday and a Presidential election day here in Santiago - so there are no stores open. I am working on contacting (without a phone) my client so I can re-schedule our meeting for the afternoon. That allows me to go out and buy clothes tomorrow morning.
The taxi service that was to pick me up at the airport and take me to the hotel, was not there. Luckily I wrote down the hotel address.
All in all - I am very happy to have landed in Santiago safely. The view of the Andes Mountains when you land is just stunning. I didnt realize the Andes Mountains are just miles away from the city. I never though they were that close.
Outside the hustle and bustle of traveling - the afternoon sun was a lovely welcome to the country. I realize how much I love and depend on general day light. Leaving England will be sad, but to be able to have daylight, instead of a constant hanging grey-darkness, is something I am looking forward to.
Not many things so far have struck me as different or out of place here in Chile - well just yet.
It is interesting how CNN Chile is actually covering different sectors of election offices. In each of these offices, there is someone opening a 1/2 piece of paper and reading off the selected one of the two presidential candidates. One vote at a time. And on camera.
On the way from the airport to the hotel, the taxi drove on an overpass which was covered in heavy smoke. Some locals of a small shacked housing area were enjoying watching very large trees burn and catch onto another .. fast. It looks like something from a movie. I initially thought there was a car on fire at the bottom of the overpass and that was the cause of all the smoke.
Either way - I'm jet lagged but glad I have internet, a shower, and my deodorant
Leaving my London flat at 4pm on Saturday and arrived at my hotel in Santiago, Chile 26 hours later.
It is a strange concept that within 26 hours, I was able to fly to the other side of the world. And for what..? Only 3 days with a client. I fly back on Friday evening. I actually was to fly back to London on Thursday but the flight options were limited.
To top off the long round trip and the short stay, I forgot my phone charger. My computer and my phone are my lifelines to getting work completed and staying in contact with family and work. If I cannot be contacted one way or the other, then it is very hard to complete my job. Luckily I have internet here at the hotel for a small charge for 24 hours.
My luggage also did not make it. Well one of the two pieces of luggage made it - but it was the empty one with just some of my toiletries. It is Sunday and a Presidential election day here in Santiago - so there are no stores open. I am working on contacting (without a phone) my client so I can re-schedule our meeting for the afternoon. That allows me to go out and buy clothes tomorrow morning.
The taxi service that was to pick me up at the airport and take me to the hotel, was not there. Luckily I wrote down the hotel address.
All in all - I am very happy to have landed in Santiago safely. The view of the Andes Mountains when you land is just stunning. I didnt realize the Andes Mountains are just miles away from the city. I never though they were that close.
Outside the hustle and bustle of traveling - the afternoon sun was a lovely welcome to the country. I realize how much I love and depend on general day light. Leaving England will be sad, but to be able to have daylight, instead of a constant hanging grey-darkness, is something I am looking forward to.
Not many things so far have struck me as different or out of place here in Chile - well just yet.
It is interesting how CNN Chile is actually covering different sectors of election offices. In each of these offices, there is someone opening a 1/2 piece of paper and reading off the selected one of the two presidential candidates. One vote at a time. And on camera.
On the way from the airport to the hotel, the taxi drove on an overpass which was covered in heavy smoke. Some locals of a small shacked housing area were enjoying watching very large trees burn and catch onto another .. fast. It looks like something from a movie. I initially thought there was a car on fire at the bottom of the overpass and that was the cause of all the smoke.
Either way - I'm jet lagged but glad I have internet, a shower, and my deodorant
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