Check Out Our Photos on Flickr

IMG_1185, a photo by msinge1 on Flickr.

Click on this photo and it will take you to Flickr. To the right of the picture is the username msinge1, click that and you can view all of our pics!

Madrid

So far we have really enjoyed our time in Madrid. This evening we went to a RealMadrid football game and that was really exciting. Our seats were high up but we had a great view of the field. There were so many differences between sporting events at home. For example you were allowed to bring your own food into the stadium and there weren’t any lines for the bathrooms. The hostel that we are staying at has a very upbeat atmosphere and lots of activities. A woman comes to the hostel a few nights a week and cook paella. We ate that for dinner the first night that we were here. It was only two Euros for a decent sized plate. The second day here we went on a free walking tour that the hostel sponsors, although you were expected to tip the tour guide at the end. The tour was informative and the guide, a Columbian girl named Erica was funny, however there really isn’t all that much to see in Madrid. That same day we visited the Prado Museum. The museum houses an earliest copy of the Mona Lisa which was thought to have been painted at the same time as the original. This copy was recently restored and landscape similar to the original was discovered which had previously been painted over in black. The night life here in Madrid is pretty wild. Tapas bars don’t fill up until around 11pm, bars don’t get going until around 1am, and the discos are empty before 3am. It’s not uncommon for people to get home around 7am. Michael and I went to a tapas bar with a friendly Asian guy named Albert and a few girls from New Zealand that we met at the hostel. Albert who is from a town over from Michael was a riot, very hyper and he spoke Spanish fluently. He also studied abroad in Madrid so he was kind of our tour guide for the evening, ordering tapas such as fried eggplant, potatoes, squid, and even pig ears. We went out another evening with a couple of girls from Seattle, a girl form L.A, and a guy from Australia. We’ve met a lot of people at our hostel who are from Austral and New Zealand as well as California. Up until this point we thought that we were traveling for some astonishing amount of time. Almost everyone we have met here is traveling for somewhere between 3 months and a year and a half! Or like our roommate from Brazil who is staying at the hostel until he finds an apartment here in Madrid. It is fascinating talking to people who are from different places and backgrounds yet who are all united by the same passion to travel and experience new cultures. The last few nights Michael and I have made dinner in our hostel kitchen. Pasta and salad was a delicious yet cheap dinner. Last night we went out for Ice cream after dinner and walked around for a while. It was Saturday night and there were tons of people out. One of the main squares, Plaza Puerta del Sol was packed. There were probably between 20-25 African guys with sheets spread out on the ground selling fake purses and watches. Every so often the police who were visible in the square would walk or drive towards the guys and they would pull the strings that were connected to the sheets creating a huge bag filled with their merchandise and they would briskly walk away. The guys would walk 20ft at the most to a new area and spread their sheet out and start organizing the purses or watches again. This endless cycle and cat and mouse game went on throughout the evening. Between making the sale, constantly scanning the area for police, and making sure their merchandise wasn’t stolen; these African guys had their work cut out for them. Michael did end up buying a watch from one guys, and it was kind of entertaining to be part of the action. Originally, yesterday was supposed to be our last night in Madrid but we schedule the train to Malaga for the wrong day so we ended up staying for one more night. We leave tomorrow for Malaga. From Malaga we will take another train to Fuengirola, then a bus to Elviria where we will then be staying at condo minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea. Wish us luck in getting there. We are both looking forward to relaxing at the beach for the next week!

¡Buenas tardes !

We just arrived in Madrid a little bit ago. We caught a high-speed train from Poitiers, a small town in between Paris and Bordeaux. Staying in a hotel train was a fun experience. The 11.5 hour ride went by quickly. It was bumpy and we were a little concerned that Michael might get motion sickness considering his past experiences with sea sickness but he was fine. It was fun walking through the narrow hallways and ordering drinks from the cafe area. I was reminded of the time my uncle Martin took me on a train to see the Liberty Bell when I turned 8, another fond train memory. We had arrived in Poitiers early in the day after a quick 2 hour train ride from Bordeaux. We were expecting Pointers to be a small city that we could explore for the afternoon, but it turned out to be pretty barren with not much of anything to see. We hung around the train station for a good 5 hours, surprisingly time went by quickly. Our bodies, especially our legs probably needed a good day of rest anyways. Our time in Bordeaux was much more eventful! We both decided that we liked the city as soon as we had arrived. It was busy but still at a much slower pace than Paris, where we were previously. We took the tram that runs throughout the city from the train station to a stop near our hotel. We walked to our hotel which was on a small side street. When we arrived we were greeted by a really nice man and checked in. We walked up 4 flights of a spiral staircase and entered our room. The room had a small entry way, a bathroom, and two twin beds. When we opened the window and looked out onto the apartments across the small street we really felt like we were in France! There was less to see in Bordeaux which gave us the opportunity to walk around aimlessly and explore. Bordeaux has many squares of various sizes and an endless supply of outdoor cafes. On several occasions we sat at a cafe and sipped espressos. We love how you can just order a drink and stay at the cafe for as long as you please without feeling obligated to order anything more. Not having to tip the waiter is a plus too. While at one cafe we noticed that the two young women sitting next to us were planning a trip to NYC. In a combination of French and English Michael told them that he was from that area. They immediately began to ask him questions, like the best way to get from the airport to where they were staying. When Michael saw that their flight arrived at 5pm he cringed a little bit and told them that they would probably be in a bit of traffic. All in all he was able to provide them with some valuable information about what areas to visit and the best way to get around and things like that. They were very appreciative. We saw them later that evening when we were walking around and they said hello. We found that the river that ran along the city was a nice place for us to hang out. There was a reflection pool that children were always running around in, either in their bathing suits or just in their underwear. Every half an hour the shallow pool would drain and then a fog of mist would fill the air for about five minutes. The children would always go wild when the mist would happen and that was fun to watch. The pool had the potential to show the reflection of the Place de La Bourse which was across the street, however that required the pool to be completely empty which seemed like an impossible request. On each side of the pool you could find rows of various flowers separated by rows of grass which were prefect for a quiet and semi private picnic. Michael and I ate several meals there. We got pizza twice from a small pizza place where we talked to the guy about our travels as he prepared the pizza and cooked it in the stone oven. This was a treat from the grocery store sandwiches we seemed to be eating at every meal. Sitting on the grass eating pizza and sipping red wine surrounded by flowers was something for us to cherish but it was obvious that this was the norm for the locals who were enjoying their own picnics. Bordeaux is best known for its wine so we thought it was appropriate to go on a wine tour. The tour we choose after speaking to a woman in the visitor’s center was a reasonably priced half day tour that would visit two small vineyards in white wine region. At the first vineyard we visited we were given a tour by the owner himself, an older man whose home was on the property. The vineyard had been in his family for many many generations and the buildings dated to the early 1800•s. The tour was given in both French and English, and when he spoke in English he was very animated to make up for the words he did not know. The owner explained that the wines produced in Bordeaux each contained a several different vine type. They however had special permission to produce a wine made from only one vine due to the exceptional age of that particular vine. At the tasting this was the wine that both Michael and I preferred the most. The second vineyard tour was similar to the first, but still interesting none the less. There was a small tunnel where the barrels were housed which was cold and damp. The ceiling and walls were cover with these various sized growths that felt like slime when you touched them. This tour guide instructed us on the proper way to taste wine. This winery produced a type of sweet white wine, and boy was it sweet. It was thicker than usual and tasted of honey and apricots. It was delicious but you would only be able to have one glass as a dessert after dinner. Michael and I joked that we were the only ones on the tour that didn’t purchase anything. We were happy that we had gone on the tour and both agree that Bordeaux is definitely worth a second visit in the future.

London

Hello Everyone,

Mike and I made it to London safely. The flight was a breeze as we watched a movie, ate a nice dinner and slept the rest of the time. Over the last few days we have done a lot of walking and have covered a substantial amount of the city. We visited Westminster Abby and Big Ben the first day we were here during the day and then went on the London Eye at dusk That was a really lovely view of the city. We took the underground to the Olympic park the other day but there was volunteer training for the Paralympics so we wernt able to get very close to the stadium. We were still able to see many of the facilities from a viewing area in one of the department stores. There is still a very festive atmosphere in the city which is fun get to experience. Seeing the Tower Bridge with the Olympic rings was definitely a highlight for both Mike and I. We are leaving London this afternoon and taking the Chunnel to Paris were we will be staying in a nice hotel. After only three days in a hostel we are already kind of looking forward to that. Overall the hostel was good. decently clean, free breakfast and not to noisy. Travelling is such a great way to learn about other cultures, how else would we know that Londers prefer their ales at close to room temperature!

Weather

Our trip is fast approaching, less than five weeks away! Michael created this informative weather chart so we know what to expect for the two months we're abroad.