Finishing up in Madrid..

The Alhambra in Granada is absolutely amazing! We were there at nightime and the place was glowing! That was the first time I actually felt photographically inspired during this trip! I couldn´t get any good pic with my point and shoot digital..I guess i will have to go back someday with a digital slr that i´ve been putting off buying! We arrived in Madrid after a 6 hour train ride yesterday afternoon. We just hung out yesterday and familiarized ourselves with the area. Today, we went to the Royal Palace and the Prado Museum..Madrid is cool place..reminds me of NYC somewhat..there´s a Palace Hotel right by this park that houses the Prado Museum.. by the museum is this lane that sell books..in NYC..the Palace Hotel is right by Central Park and by Central Park is a lane that sells old movie scripts.. just reminders.

This is probably going to be my last update as my adventure will be coming to an end shortly. I think this trip was good overall but definitely nothing compared to my Italy and Prague trip last year. I think the beauty of Prague and Italy is just on another planet compared to others or maybe I am biased. Let´s have a recap of where I´ve been.

Prado+Protest+almost getting pick pocketed= Madrid!

-Lisbon... where ppl don´t sleep! -Salema..the southern beach coast of Portugal..it was a nice relaxation spot -Sevilla..beautiful! -Ronda..nothing like anything I´ve seen..the white hill towns..the Andalucia part of Spain -Nerja.. the Costa Del Sol of Spain..it was a very cute beach town but Positano Italy on the Amalfi Coast has my heart!

-Granada..the Alhambra..what a sight! -Madrid..a city of museums..monuments..culture..yummy spanish hot chocolate with churros..i had that for breakfast!

Next adventure? Its a toss up between Germany& Austria OR Africa...

For folks who havent been to europe or italy,spain,etc yet. I advise..dont go to italy before you go to spain..you´ll spoil yourself..only if u plan to visit both countries..portugal..there really isnt much there but worth a visit if youre curious! see you guys soon!

A day later..

So..much has happened since my last email..so I had to email again! While going to dinner yesterday, Kel and I came across a protest of some sort in front of a government building. We thought it was nothing but half an hour later, there was the military police showing up with their guns and all..I wanted to take a picture really badly but I was scared! Officers and security in Madrid have been a bit unpredictable...what you think is ok to take a shot of..its not..they tell you..venga venga..things u think that arent ok turns out to be ok..see told u guys..weird! As we´re walking back to the hotel..I had my messenger bag behind me in a rare instance but in a sense..I moved it in front of me because I had a feeling that I should..well well well..my bag was unbuckled! Someone tried to pick-bag me! Good thing Timbuk2 bags are very well made...many inner pockets..had they gotten in..they would have gotten my haribo gummi bears and my rick steves guide book. Losing my Rick Steves would have irritated me though..thats been the center of how kel and I have been mtg ppl..they too have been traveling with rick steves! Which brings me to my next story... Yesterday at the Prado Museum, Kel and i were at the cafeteria having lunch and we met this older couple..I´d say 50 years older..they asked where we were from and said that they had the rick steves book too! it was all very cute. they´ve been traveling around..they´re from monterey bay, CA.. so close to home. They rented out an apt in NYC for a week before heading over to Barcelona and San Sebastion before coming to Madrid. I forget if they were going anywhere after this city but we had such an awesome conversation with them. The wife was talking to kel more as she was on her side and the hubby was chattin it up with me. he gave me advice on travel and sites and life..it was very cute. it was nice to see that ppl their age have stayed married and are up and able to travel! i can´t say that i´d be up for a 10+ hour flight when I have 75! A few minutes into our conversation, these other two ppl from Pennsylvania came and sat at our table..Rick Steves..they too were traveling with Rick Steves..his all over the place i tell ya! So today..I hung out on my own..I think we all need our alone time kel and i have been together 24-7 since the trip so it was nice to just kinda hang out on my own! I figured out the metro system and went to another part of madrid..there i saw all the corp buildings and men in their suits..quite a change from all the tourist stuff..couple of shops..i just walked around and explored. I went back to the hotel and found kel still asleep..i guess its all catching up to her..i warned her about backpacking..it can be quite tiring but i think she just needed to veg =). In the afternoon, I visited the Sofia museum..i forget the full name of it but know that it ended with Sofia so I am calling it the Sofia museum. It houses Picasso´s epic Guernica piece! I really liked that museum..I fell in love with this Salvodore Dali piece ´´Girl In The Window¨1925. Loved it!!! Just had dinner and guess what happened? Two chinese ladies started arguing in Mandarin. I coudn´t see them at first..I just heard them..EVERYONE at the square Plaza Mayor heard them! I looked at the waiter and he said...¨Chinas¨ as in chinos but with an A because female..in spanish that means chinese..in case u guys didnt know. He said..dos chinas...I said ooh! They carried the argument up the steps to the plaza itself. it was one woman yelling and the other trying to walk away. I think they both work there at the plaza..i remember seeing one of them the other night..they do curbside massages. It was just a strange sight..seeing two asian women argue in mandarin in madrid...it would have been quite interesting had they spoken in spanish! Wow, email getting long so catch u guys later. I don´t plan on emailing unless something eventful happens tomorrow but highly doubt it since its a day at the Retiro park but u never know...

Isn't Alhambra just water??

So the last time I wrote, we were in Nerja playing on the beach. It was the land of topless boobies and men in speedos! The beach was pretty awesome and peaceful. The next morning, we caught out 630am bus to Granada which turned out to be 3 hours long and through the mountains. The bus driver would drop ppl off at the most no where of places and pick ppl up at the most random places..likes in the middle of some rode with nothing in sight! I saw a little house with a dinner table outside, crowbars on the windows but with a curtain as a door...does that seem strange to anyone else??

We arrived in Granada and took a cab to the train station to buy our train ticket to Madrid before heading to our hostel. Our hostel is in the center of Granada on a hill towards the Alhambra. Yesterday, we spent most of the day hanging out in the Albazin area which is the most Moorish of area they say? We watched the sunset over the Alhambra from the St Nicohlas viewpoint after having snails and shrimp for lunch. Herbs are huge in Granada..they have herbs for everything and anything! Insomnia? backaches? thinking too much? etc! Its pretty funny! We have an appt to see the Alhambra tonight at 10pm..it was the only time we can get two days ago..i guess we´re lucky being that some ppl never get to see the Alhambra because of its popularity.

Dipping my feet into the Mediterrean Ocean..

We boarded the 5pm bus to Malaga enroute to Nerja on the Costa Del Sol yesterday. We made it to Malaga at 730pm just in time to make the last bus to Nerja- literally! The bus was ready to leave as we were buying out tickets..we walked fast...double time! Once we got to Nerja, we went straight to Hostal Marrisol hoping they would have something but they didn´t. They were full for the night..so we did the next best thing...which was check the best hotel in Nerja..which was next door to the hostal. They had a suite available..I told Kel that I was ok with it if she was! We checked in..a suite right in front of the ocean..we could have jumped onto the ocean if we wanted to!! We just showered and went to bed that night cause its been quite a journey!

Which brings me to this morning! We just had breakfast..we walked next door to the hostal to see if they had anything for the night and they did! As much as we enjoyed the Balcon de Europa Hotel..the Hostal was much more economical =). Our plan for today is just to play at the beach which is off the Mediterrean Sea and then catch the 630am bus to Granada tomorrow. I´ll have to make our reservations today since we know for sure that we´ll be there. In Granada..we´ll see the Alhambra...as in Alhambra water! There´s a marathon going on today..as I type..right outside our hotel..it just got underway. I am tempted to join in..kidding! One´s enough =). The marathon has brought out many good looking spanish guys..I told Kel that now´s her chance to find her quasi-spanish lover haha. Our trip so far has been great and full of culture. Kel is doing a great job of keeping up and just going with it- this being her first backpacking trip. The funniest thing so far was me asking this man for directions and he told me in spanish which i understood..and i told him i understood..he said..ok, repeat it haha..uh...errr..yeah not quite. The hardest thing for me to grasp so far is the numbers..

The best beach on the Costa del Sol- Nerja!

Well..gotta get going..checking out of the Balcon de Europa and into the Hostal Marrisol..

A stop at the White Hill Towns of Spain- Ronda

We spent the last day in Seville touring the Alcanzar Palace which is still in use by some type of royalty- Moorish?? We went to Plaza de Espana which was beautiful and just hung out the rest of the day along the river. We checked out of our cute hostal at 9am..said by tot he grandma and their dog Otto and off to the bus station. We boarded the bus to Ronda which is a white hill town. Every house on that hill and the rest of the hill towns was painted white- it was pretty awesome to see along the way. In Ronda, we went to tour the oldest bullring in Spain and also the famous bridge..i'll send pics out when i get home. 4 hours later, we went back to the bus station, took our backpacks from the locker and boarded the 5pm bus to Malaga enroute to Nerja on the Costa Del Sol.

A top the white hill towns of Espana- Ronda

Ahh..Sevilla!

This morning, we left Salema at 6am for our 630am bus which brought us to Seville, Spain. I LOVE Spain- not a much as I loved Prague and Italy but compared to Portugal- LOVE IT! Once we got to Seville, I bought a phone card so we can call to find places to sleep. Poor Kel..she said..I need to sit down..I ignored it because I was focused on finding us a place to sleep LOL! In Seville is where I am putting my Spanish to use. It´s not the best but hey at least they understand what I am trying to get at =). I got lucky with the hostal situation. After minutes of frustation of trying to get the phone card to work, it finally did. I found a cute place for us..a hostal on this little street with a very cute dog! The 6 hour bus ride was worth it..Seville is beautiful and I am starting to feel my 100% again! Tonight, we plan to watch a Flamenco show and then we stay in Seville all day tomorrow before heading to Ronda!

Ahh..Charming Sevilla!

Continuing from last night..

It´s about noon here and I just finished doing my laundry- Kelly is still there with her load so I am just hanging out waiting for her. It´s so HOT here in Sevilla. so last night, we saw a Flamenco show and it was pretty awesome! Woke up this morning, went to the train station to get our tickets to Ronda tomorrow but they didn´t have a morning train so we walked to the bus station instead and bought tickets there. We depart at 10am tomorrow morning for the white hill towns of Spain before going to the Costa Del Sol of Spain which are the beaches. People in Spain don´t sleep either but in a good way =). Seville is a cute city with a lot of character..traffic here is horrendous but hey I am not driving!

Salema- sleepy beach!

So last time, I left off at Lisbon. I think I had just woken up from a nap? So to continue from there..we went to see this church was that really hammered by this earthquake and instead of re-building it, they thought it was more romantic to leave it the way it is. It was beautiful and amazing to be in the structure of it but without the rooftop. It was built in the 1890´s. After the church..I um..went back and took another nap. I haven´t been feeling 100%..not sure it is was the flight or if I am finally reacting to all the meds I was on for my foot and then the hives I got right before the trip?? Our last night in Lisbon was..something. People in Lisbon don´t sleep. They just don´t. We fall asleep to men screaming at each other until 2am. That night, they stopped at 2am..just in time for the trash truck and then followed by the recycling truck. I thought..u´ve got to be kidding me?! Oh but that wasn´t the last of it..here comes street cleaning. Finally, at 3am..two hours of silence for some Zzzz. We had a 830am train to catch. We decided to head to Salema, the Algarve coast of Portugal because I just wanted to play on the beach. We first arrived in Lagos- didn´t like it one bit. It looked like Sausalito gone to hell- full of tourists, shops and never ending restaurants. We hopped on a taxi to Salema instead which was 20 min away.

In Salema, we found a place to stay by my second try. Salema is just a plain sleepy beach town. It has one main road, one mini mart, two large restaurants, a handful of places to stay, many fishing boats and a nice pretty beach. Our first day there, we sun bathed and then had dinner followed by bedtime. Our second day there, we went to the bus station in Lagos to get bus tickets for today, went back to the hotel to take a nap then went and played on the beach for the rest of the day.

Arrival in Lisbon!

Hi guys,

Kel and I are here in Lisbon. It's monday afternoon and we just woke up from our nap! Our adventure started at SFO saturday. Our flight was delayed an hour which led us to be concerned about our connecting flight to Lisbon from London. The counter person was no help! she originally told us that we were re-booked on a flight that leaves Lisbon the next morning..long story short..we got back on track and didn´t waste a day no help from dumb and ditz- the counter person and her mgr. Our flight from SFO to London was pretty tough to take cause the plane was really stuffy and I found myself pretty close to hurling! Flight from London to Lisbon was a little easier to take..though rockier but more air circulating.

Portugal- Not nearly a tourist flood as Prague or Italy..it has its own charm

We arrived in Lisbon yesterday evening and took the bus to downtown to our pensione. We put our bags down and explored the downtown area. We hopped on a double decker bus for the night tour since neither of us were in a mood to look for street names on a map! After the tour, we had dinner and then headed back to the pensione for a good night´s sleep.

Which brings me to today..its HOT here!! Our day started at 830am. We went to the ruined castle, hopped on a trolley around town, we had lunch and then we decided..we wanted a nap! We were both really tired..not sure if its from the plane ride or from our busy jobs that we left behind. We´re feeling much better now. We plan to visit this old church and explore the narrow narrow streets of Lisbon before walking the beach. Tomorrow, we either head to Evora or just skip the cities and head down south to the Algarve beaches before going into Spain. We´ll decide during dinner tonight. I guess thats the great thing about backpacking..a plan is never really a plan and we just go and do whatever we feel like doing =).

Portugal is a cute country. Not nearly a tourist flood as Prague or Italy..it has its own charm. But because its not as touristy, its a bit more tricky to get around. I find myself mixing up the Italian I learned during my trip last year with the Spanish I think I know..

Happy Monday everyone!