SPRING BREAK!

WHOO HOO, okay, I realise I'm getting a little old to get excited about SPRING BREAK, but that's one of the advantages to having a sister who's a teacher- you get to go to Spain for SPRING BREAK! Although this spring break wasn't exactly what I remembered- I mean it's Spain, they've got to have a mechanical bull somewhere, right?

Well, what I found out was that in Spain they really celebrate Holy Week. Each night in Granada there was a massive celebration in the streets with parades, bands and floats- till 2 am. A different, perhaps more wholesome, spring break party...

These pics are from 1 am, even the little kids were up for the procession...

The weather was outstanding, a bit nicer than what London has to offer. In five days we only had a brief morning shower and the rest was nothing but wine and sunshine...

After two days in Granada, Kim and I headed to the coast to the town of Nerja. Sun and beaches, a very nice combination- it's about time my pastey white skin saw a little sunshine.

So the big news, I joined the man-bag revolution. Get on board now, I'm telling yah, it's sweeping the globe. Okay, so here's how it happened: Kim was commenting that dudes are always asking girls to put stuff in their purses- cameras, books, etc- when traveling. So I say, 'well it's only fair because you'all get to have purses.' So she says get yourself and man-bag... and the rest is history. I think it's okay for two reasons: 1. I can say, 'I got it in Spain and all the Spanish dudes are doing it' and 2. I'm only going to use it when I'm traveling (neither of which is completely true to be honest). The only reason I think it might not be okay is well, it's a purse. Kim thinks it's as masculine as man-bags gets. Stay tuned for pictures...
Kim- Thanks for a great trip, glad you were able to make it out. Next time I'm expecting you to bring the Bago...

Demain nous faire la greve!

Now I don't speak a lot of French, but I'm starting to think 'En Raison D'un Mouvement Social Le Musee Est Ferme Toute La Journee' means 'Welcome to France' because each time I've been in Paris I've seen it everywhere. Honestly, the world is full of stereotypes- many of which aren't true, but the French being lazy- that's spot on! Seriously, three years ago I tried to go to the Museum Orsay and a 'mouvement social' stood between me and Monet then as it did now.
Why I love the French; a true story- On Monday shortly after arriving in Paris I really had to you know, go. So, I walked into a public bathroom. The first thing I notice inside was that there was a sign that said something something 'Free' but there was also a little table where people were leaving money so I thought, 'sure, I'd leave a little something something on the way out.' Walking towards one of the stalls apparently set off the attendant and she started shouting at me in French. I knew I was in trouble, but I really had to go, so I kept walking towards the open stall. Just before I was able to shut the stall door, she burst into the stall with a gust of furry, continuing to yell at me in French, she proceeded to smack me across the back of the head. Absolutely astonished I attempted to respond in French by clearing my throat as loud as I could while mumbling- she didn't understand. Needless to say, I didn't leave a tip.

Well since the city was on strike, we decided organizeise a little 'sit-in' of our own- a little wine and cheese 'mouvement social'. Now, I'm not sure if the open container is entirely on the up and up in Paris, but since all of the policia were either bagging rioters (or playing pinochle), I figured it was safe.

All in all, a good trip. Paris would have been great, if it wasn't for all the French people.

Venice

Short and sweet, pink ties and pigeons. That about sums up my weekend in Venice. Well, a bit more... Flew into Venice late on Friday night and after a boat ride and a short walk we found the nearest wine bar. Very cool place. The owner was a old man with curly grey hair and big smile. He wore a checkered vest and bow-tie with mismatched red and yellow sneakers. We were a little ways off the beaten trail, so it really felt like a local place. We didn't exactly blend in, but we were able to meet some of the patrons. We were told that the owner was famous in the region for his refined wine pallet. So customers, instead of tasting the wine themselves before accepting the bottle, asked the owner to taste it for them. Needless to say, by 12:30 am when we met him, he was a little goofy from a long night of work. Such a cool place, we couldn't help but visit again on Saturday.

I've never been too hip with the fashion. Though I can't help noticing that in men's stores all over London, and in Venice, pink has become the new blue- it's everywhere! I'm happy to say, I've jumped on the band wagon. I bought myself a pink tie- and man, it's really pink! I'll let you know if I get up the nerve to actually wear it. After my big purchase, I made myself one with nature and joined the pigeons in St Marks Square.

Venice truly is an unique one of a kind place- glad Annie got me to go...

Edinburgh- the other Dublin.

Caught a train up to Edinburgh this weekend, Friday night was St. Paddy's Day and honestly it was impossible to get into, let alone served at a pub. It was kind of crazy, definitely glad I wasn't in Dublin this weekend... what to say, well spent saturday scoping out the castle and walking along the Royal Mile.

Check it out, on either side of the gate statues of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace. FREEDOM!!!! The Edinburgh Castle was just like I remembered it- really windy and really cold. Not sure why, but I tried to climb inside a cannon.

The castle is pretty impressive- a very cool backdrop over the city.

Sunday, went on a little hike to get a good view over the city...

Next weekend: Venice

MAMBELS!!!

Well where to begin... nine days with the Mambels, need I say more???

Okay, I'll say a little bit more. Big Al himself showed up early on Saturday morning, and we hit the ground running the only way Alan knows how... with a nap.

After spending the first weekend out and around London. I was back to work on Monday and Alan, to be honest, I think mostly slept (although he claims to have seen some museums, if you know the Mambels, you know the man loves his naps).

By Thursday, I'd had about enough of the rat race, so we hopped over to Ireland for the weekend. Unknowingly, we ended up in Dublin on the biggest weekend of the year- no not St. Paddy's Day, 6 Nations Rugby Ireland v. Scotland. If you can close your eyes for a minute and envision a city overrun with rugby-luvin' Scotsman in Kilts crawling around the city- pub to pub (boy let me tell you, it was really windy).

On the advise of my boss, a good Irish lad, we found a few locals to spend some time in- anybody ever heard of a stout beverage- Guinness I think the locals called it. It's quite delightful. Sans Kilts, we did our best to fit in...

Apart from the obvious, I have to say my favorite part of the weekend was driving on the 'wrong' side of the road! That's right, we rented a car on Saturday and went out to see the country. "Tim, left, left, TIM LEFT!" (to be fair that only happened once).

Man the country roads on Ireland are narrow, and ever where you look there are sheep, 1000 year old abbey ruins and stone crosses.

So, we stumbled on to a place called Nauen au Brau- an prehistoric pagen sun worship thingy. It was pretty impressive- we got to walk inside a stone cave build over 5000 year ago (that's older the the pyramids).

These guys built the mound such that on the winter solstice each year the cave lites up from the sun for 17 minute, then it goes completely dark the rest of the year. It's a light show that's been happening every December for 5000 years, that's pretty impressive consider the site took 2 generations to build. That's some serious dedication...

Who do you think they're trying to rent bikes to here...

Ireland is pretty awesome- can't wait to go back!

Yo, Shepard- thanks for a great week- see you in Virginia in the fall.

Quiero Espana!

To continue my whirlwind tour of Europe, I spent last weekend in San Sebastian, Spain (on the north coast near the French boarder). Clearly undaunted by the deep feeze weekend in Stockholm last month, Annie saddled up (leaving the backpack behind) and jumped on the plane. To add a little excitement (and challenge) to the trip, we decided to rent a car! After a raining friday night, we opened the patio doors on Saturday morning to find blue skies and sunny weather. Lucky us!

Well we decided not to waist the day, so we climbed (yah climbed...) the mountain outside town and got a glimpse of the amazing setting of San Sebastian!


Not a bad view, eh?

The weather on Saturday was amazing, considering the last two trips were in sub-zero Sweden and Prague. We definitely made the best of things and enjoyed the opportunity to walk on the beach.

It's pretty sweet to leave the grey and gloom of London and spend a weekend in the sun and fun of Spain...

Sunday the rain returned and with it we jumped back in the car and road tripped the northern coast of Spain, making frequent potty breaks and picture stops...

It was really fun having a car. You get the chance to see and visit places you wouldn't if you counted on trains and buses. Despite the fact that if life depended on it I wouldn't be able to find a freekin' gas station in Spain, I'm a huge fan of having wheels.

I'll be the first to admit, there was a time I was a little lost, okay not just a little lost, like not on a 'real' road... but with a some optimism and complete lack of respect for posted traffic signs everything seemed to work out...

Truly an AMAZING weekend! (my feet)

London Boroughs:

Well, I've been in London the last few weekends and doing a little bit of exploring. I'm beginning to realise how big and diverse London is... for example.

Notting Hill- home of the Hugh Grant / Julia Roberts love-affair and a market selling antiques, produce, and all types of books...



On the opposite side of the spectrum, but the same side of the river, Camden- home of the London punk scene (apparently not just an 80s thing) and a massive market where you can buy anything imaginable that's made of leather and get tattoos and all sorts of piercing...


So, the dudes in the last picture- The one's holding a sign that says "Pictures £1." It seems that they stand on the bridge over Camden Lock and 'let' people pose in pictures with them. One of the guys was not exactly happy that I took a picture of the bridge without paying his toll...